ForgottenWeapons

Q&A November 2025: The 6.8x51 is Still a Bad Idea (Ad-free)

Pienoiskivääri m/91 Finnish .22 Mosin Trainer (Ad-free)

Aly & Kaufman AKB-23: Better Than the SA80 / L85 (Ad-free)

T20 Family: Springfield Makes the Garand a Grenade Launching Sniper Machine Gun (Ad-free)

Late in 1944 the Ordnance Committee recommended adoption of a magazine-fed, select-fire version of the M1 Garand as a new standard US infantry rifle. Both Springfield and Remington developed rifles to meet the requirement, with Springfield's being the T20 and Remington's the T22.

The Springfield design went through several iterations from the original T20 to the T20E1 and T20E2, with the capability to launch rifle grenades, mount optical sights, and fire in either semiautomatic or full ...

6.5x25mm CBJ: Shooting Through an APC with a Glock (Ad-free)

Carl Bertil Johansson is a Swedish small arms designer who has a wide range of experience. The project he is best known for is his 6.5x25mm CBJ cartridge, which necks 9x19mm down to 6.5mm and then uses a plastic and aluminum sabot to fire a 4mm hardened tungsten penetrator. This provides really exceptional penetration, cleanly defeating all manner of allegedly rifle-proof armor.

The reason is that in addition to the small hardened penetrator, the cartridge develops really high velocity ...

m/27PH aka m/37: Finland's First Standard Sniper Rifle (and it's really bad) (Ad-free)

Join the Forged in Snow launch here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/forged-in-snow?ref=f4214r

The m27PH, aka the m/37, was the first standardized Finnish sniper rifle. It was developed as part of the plan to make a whole family of m/27 rifles for the Finnish Army, including cavalry, trainer, and sniper models. The sniper model was delayed because of the ...

Rideout Arsenal Dragon: A New Low-Bore-Axis Lever-Delayed Pistol (Ad-free)

Wauser t-shirt available from Varusteleka:

https://varusteleka.com/en/products/forgotten-weapons-wauser-cotton-t-shirt

The Rideout Arsenal Dragon is a very interesting new pistol from an independent entrepreneurial designer, Travis Rideout. It is a lever-delayed action with a very low bore axis and a stationary optic when firing. It has a completely tool-less disasse...

Adventures in Surplus! Finnish M28 "Ski Trooper" (Ad-free)

Get your exclusive preorder copy of Forged in Snow today!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/forged-in-snow?ref=5st8it

Today we are going to take a look at just how much historical be read from the features and markings of an individual rifle. This is an early production Finnish M28 "ski trooper" Mosin Nagant that can be traced from Russian manufacture to W...

November Q&A: What Do You Want to Ask?

No particular theme this month, just a general request for questions...

Drum-Fed LMG for Chinese Warlords: the Finnish LS-26/31 (Ad-free)

Join the Forged in Snow launch here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/forged-in-snow?ref=bauo53

After the Finnish Defense Forces adopted the LS26 light machine gun, Aimo Lahti and the Tikkakoski factory continued to work on further developing it. They designed a 75-round drum for antiaircraft use, and built 50 trials examples in 1931. The design used a spe...

MY NEW BOOK! Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms 1917-2025 (Ad-free)

Join the book launch on Kickstarter now!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/forged-in-snow?ref=2ur3bi

Forged in Snow: Finnish Small Arms 1917 - 2025 is a reference guide to military firearms manufactured and modified in Finland. Intended for collectors and historians alike, it covers the full scope of Finland's small arms from pisto...

AK50: How Hard Could it Be? Brandon Herrera's 10-Year Project (Ad-free)

Scaling the AK up to .50 BMG...how hard could it be? Today we find out, with a detailed look at all three iterations of Brandon Herrera's AK-50 project.

Apache Arms Carbine: A Saga of Compliance and Crappy Manufacture (Ad-free)

The Apache Arms carbine was a Thompson SMG lookalike that was made in small numbers in the late 1960s. It was the successor to the Spitfire carbine made by the same people, after the Spitfire was deemed a machine gun by the IRS. The Apache used M3 Grease Gun magazines and was chambered for .45 ACP. It uses a square receiver tube and many of the same cast parts as the Spitfire. It is a very interesting look at how the design was adapted to be legally considered semiautomatic.

Spit...

The Original AR-15: Serial Number 6 in Original Configuration (Ad-free)

The very first AR15 rifles submitted to US government trials were extremely light rights, with an assortment of interesting features that did not last long. They had top-mounted charging handles, one-piece hand guards, very thin barrels with plain muzzles, and a different safety selector configuration than became normal later one. Updates and modifications were made to virtually all of the original rifles, but today we have a chance to look at serial number 6 in the Springfield Armory collect...

Licensed Troubleshooter: Guns of James Bond UPDATE! (Ad-free)

Licensed Troubleshooter is still available for preorder:

https://www.headstamppublishing.com/licensed-troubleshooter

At long last we have proof of life for Licensed Troubleshooter: the Guns of James Bond by Caleb Daniels! This book hit several production delays, but is finally now in the final stages and nearly ready to ship. We just got a couple advance copies; have a look...

Project PRAK: Converting the CZ50 Pistol to 9x18mm Makarov (Ad-free)

In 1966, CZ undertook Project PRAK (“Slingshot”) to investigate the possibility of converting the CZ50 pocket pistol to 9x18mm Makarov. The

In 1966, CZ undertook Project PRAK (“Slingshot”) to investigate the possibility of converting the CZ50 pocket pistol to 9x18mm Makarov. The

In 1966, CZ undertook Project PRAK (“Slingshot”) to investigate the possibility of converting the CZ50 pocket pistol to 9x18mm Makarov. The PM Makarov was adopted in the 1950s and used througho...

Colt LE-901 Modular Multi-Caliber AR: A Well-Designed Failure (Ad-free)

Colt originally developed the 901 as part of the US Army SCAR program, with the intention being to create a 7.62x51mm rifle that could also use unmodified 5.56x45mm upper assemblies. This would allow special operations units to customize a single weapon to a variety of different configurations for different mission profiles. Mechanically, the system Colt devised to do this was quite clever, and very effective. However, the rifle ultimately failed to win a military contract.

Moved to civ...

Albania's Rather Odd Grenade Launching AK (Ad-free)

In addition to its regular ASh-78 (fixed stock) and ASh-82 (under folder) Kalashnikovs, Albania also made a model specifically for launching

In addition to its regular ASh-78 (fixed stock) and ASh-82 (under folder) Kalashnikovs, Albania also made a model specifically for launching rifle grenades and it has some odd features. The rear sight block was redesigned to have a hinge permanently attaching the top cover, and the rear sight was moved back onto that top cover. The top cover rear a...

Q&A October 2025: Weird Pistols & Future Plans (Ad-free)

Use code "FORGOTTENWEAPONS10" for 10% off Kyrö Distillery spirits at their web store:

https://kyrodistillery.com/

Personal questions

03:07 - How is Ian doing?

04:38 - Family firearms background

05:47 - Favorite Finnish firearm

08:22 - Am I still learning French? How about Finnish?

09:58 - Plans for 2026 for Forgotten Weapons and Headstamp Publishing

12:14 - Is my wife involved ...

CZ-531: A Czech Browning in 7.62mm Tokarev (Ad-free)

The CZ-531 was developed as a replacement for the vz.52 pistol in 1953. Even as the vz.52 was being adopted, the Czech military knew that it

The CZ-531 was developed as a replacement for the vz.52 pistol in 1953. Even as the vz.52 was being adopted, the Czech military knew that it wasn’t a great gun, and they wanted a long-term replacement based on the TT33 Tokarev design. There were two pistols put into development for this; the CZ 531 here and the ZKP-524. This was chambered for 7.6...

M1E10 Garand-Ljungman Prototype (Ad-free)

Springfield Armory was involved in experimenting with he M1 Garand throughout its production, looking at various different elements that cou

Springfield Armory was involved in experimenting with he M1 Garand throughout its production, looking at various different elements that could be improved. A series of experimental models were made, with M1E[x] designations. Some of these went on to become production models like the M1C and M1D snipers, while others simply proved that some idea wer...

Hungarian K1 "Kucher" Light Submachine Gun (Ad-free)

In the early years after World War Two the Hungarian government needed new small arms, but chose to license Soviet designs instead of develo

In the early years after World War Two the Hungarian government needed new small arms, but chose to license Soviet designs instead of developing their own. when it came to submachine guns, this entailed production of the PPSh-41 at FÉG in 1950. Josef Kucher was a talented Hungarian arms designer who had worked with Pal Kiraly on a number of design...

Foldy-Glock: The Full Conceal M3D (History and Shooting) (Ad-free)

Full Conceal was a company that designed a folding Glock. The intent was to create a pistol that could be easily, discreetly, and safely carried in a pocket but still offer the handing and capability of a full size service pistol. They did this by cutting off the grip of a Glock 19 (M3D) or Glock 43 (M3S) and rebuilding it with a hinged trigger guard. An extended magazine could be then carried parallel to the barrel, folded up to render the trigger safe and giving it the profile of a big cell...

ZK-466: CZ Makes a Folding Submachine Gun (Ad-free)

The ZK-466 was one of the post-war submachine guns developed in Czechoslovakia as part of the competition for a new Czech military SMG. Deve

The ZK-466 was one of the post-war submachine guns developed in Czechoslovakia as part of the competition for a new Czech military SMG. Developed by Josef Koucky (who was also designer of the ZK-383 before the war), it is a 9x19mm open bolt simple blowback system with a collapsing stock and folding magazine well using ZK-383 magazines. It was desig...

Gerät 06: Germany's Incremental Steps Towards Roller Delay (Ad-free)

The Gerät 06 is one of the steps in the development of the roller delay system that became H&K. The initial experiments involved replaci

The Gerät 06 is one of the steps in the development of the roller delay system that became H&K. The initial experiments involved replacing the flaps in a G43 rifle bolt with simpler rollers. In addition to making this as an experimental system in 8x57mm, Mauser also made a model in 8x33mm - and this is the Gerät 06. It is roller locked and g...

GIGN's Unique Bren 2 in 7.62x39: Counterterrorism and Hostage Rescue (Ad-free)

GIGN - the "Group d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale" (Intervention Group of the National Gendarmerie) is the tip of the spear for French counterterrorism and major crime response. They are a relatively small (a few hundred operators) unit that deploys anywhere in France any often around the world. They curate a wide range of individual specialties from parachuting to diving and everything in between, backed up by a strong supporting contingent of technical specialists supplying them ...

ASh-78: Albania Makes the Worst AK (Ad-free)

Albanian AKs are both pretty scarce to find outside Albania, and also a bit unusual in the AK field. Where most countries followed Russian A

Albanian AKs are both pretty scarce to find outside Albania, and also a bit unusual in the AK field. Where most countries followed Russian AK development, Albania instead patterned theirs on the Chinese Type 56. China had Russian assistance in producing the original milled-receiver AK, but the milled AKM cam after the Sino-Soviet split and so China...

October Q&A: Free for all AMA - Question Request

I don't have a specific theme for this month's Q&A, so it's an open forum - what would you like to ask me?

Forgotten SIGs: SIG Pro SP2009 & SP2022 (Ad-free)

In 1998, SIG released the SIG Pro SP2340, essentially a polymer framed P226 chambered for .40S&W. This was followed the next year by the SP2009; the same gun but in 9x19mm. These pistols proved quite popular with law enforcement agencies, and SIG was able to win a very large contract with French law enforcement (Gendarmerie, Police Nationale, and Customs services) by making a few improvements to the gun. The new model was the SP2022, and it has also been very widely popular.

Today t...

Type 85: China's Special Forces SMG (Regular and Silenced Versions) (Ad-free)

Jason Clower's video on the development and use of the Type 85:

https://youtu.be/-XB3axKpn98

The Type 85 was a submachine gun developed in the 1980s in China to replace the failure that was the Type 79. It was a very simple design; firing from an open bolt and using a plain blowback action chambered for 7.62x25mm Tokarev. Two different models were made, one regular and one with an integral suppressor.

Type ...