Older, Odd, Offbeat and Forgotten Guns & Ammo

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Danuvia M36 - Pal Király's First Géppisztoly M36​


5:22
 

Winchester Lever Action Development: Model 1892​

As the Model 1873 began to show its age, Winchester wanted a new rifle to take its place in the company catalog. Scaling down the Model 1886 to the pistol cartridges of the 1873 seemed like a fine option, and Winchester executives approached John Browning, offering him $10,000 if he could produce such a gun within 3 months, or $15,000 if he could do the job in two months. Browning’s response was to say that he would take $20,000 and have the rifle in company hands within 30 days - or else he would give it to them for free.


The $20,000 that Winchester paid him for the new rifle was well worth it, as the 1892 would become the best selling Winchester rifle to that date, selling more than a million guns by the 1930s. It used the stronger and more cost effective locking system of the 1886, while being chambered for the same cartridges as the 1873 - the .44 WCF (.44-40), .38 WCF (.38-40), and .32 WCF (.32-20), as well as a few new cartridges added over time.


9:18
 

Argentina is considering a NEW rifle for its Armed Forces​

Sep 18, 2024


6:25
 

The Mystery of James Bond's Long-Barrel .45 Car Gun​

Today Caleb Daniels joins me again to discuss one of the mysteries of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. Bond is described as carrying a long-barrel .45 Army Special under the dashboard of his Bentley - but what is this gun? Fleming was not a "gun guy", but he liked to write lots of specific details into his descriptions of things, including guns. The way he describes this .45 car gun leaves it open to some speculation to what the gun actually is...so let's do some speculating!


11:28
 

Carbine Williams​

Oct 16, 2024
David Marshall “Carbine” Williams' story was made famous in the 1952 film starring James Stewart, but his legend has become somewhat larger than the real story. Still the unlikely story of “Carbine” Williams is history that deserves to be remembered.


14:25

en.wikipedia.org

David Marshall Williams - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 

Romanian 1930s Mosin Carbine Conversion​

Romania had more than a million rifles in its inventory after World War One, but they were mused between Mannlicher 88/90, Mannlicher 95, Mosin Nagant, and Berthier patterns - and they were almost all rifles and not carbines. In order to make practical use of all these arms, it was decided to allocate them geographically rather than try to standardize on one single type. The region of Moldavia got the guns in 7.62x54R, including Mosin Nagants. This consisted mostly of M91 rifles, and very few M1907 carbines - but carbines were needed in fairly significant numbers to arm specialist troops (artillerymen, machine gunners, etc).

In the mid to late 1930s, about 10,000 carbine conversions were ordered, and these were about 2/3 completed by 1938 (the one date where we have an archival accounting of the project status). Presumably they were all finished before World War Two began. After the war, they remained in service as Romania continued to use 7.62x54R ammunition as part of the Soviet bloc.

The conversion process on these Mosins was more complex than on the other types of rifles that were shortened in Romania. The bolt handles were bend down, new rear sight leaves made (mimicking the M1907 pattern) and the original M91 rear sight blocks cut down to fit them. The M91 muzzle was removed, the barrel shortened, and the muzzle re-sleeved over the new end of the barrel to fit the original bayonet. And, of course, a sheet metal bayonet housing was added to the furniture to hold the bayonet when stowed.

These carbines are sometimes mistakenly identified as St Petersburg Cavalry School carbines (as in my own previous video on that subject).


9:52
Video on the Romanian Berthier carbine conversion from this same period: • Romanian Berthier Carbine Conversions

Thanks to the King Ferdinand I Military Museum for giving me access to this example and to A.N.C.A. for coordinating the visit! If you are in Bucharest, make sure to stop in and visit the museum:https://www.muzeulmilitar.ro/en/
 

Pribor 3B & TKB 059 : The Soviet Terminator Assault Rifles​

Oct 21, 2024 #russia #ussr #military

The Ultra Over Powered projects from the cold war.


6:21
 

The British Bob Semple Tanks of WWII ( Palestine, Jordan and Iraq )​

Nov 1, 2024 #british #military #youtube

The rare British improvised Vickers Dragon Medium Mk.1 tractor tanks from the 1920's and 1930's used as occupation tanks in the Mandatory of Palestine and Trans Jordan and later in WWII during the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941.


12:12
 

Greif - The Smallest German Aircraft Carrier of WWII ?​

Nov 10, 2024 #germany #history #youtube

Greif was a small experimental Luftwaffe seaplane carrier and recover vessel from 1936 - 1937, she was used in the development of german aircraft carriers like Graf Zeppelin and Wesser. She had an experimental flight deck used to launch the Fiesler Fi 156 scout planes from deck.


6:46

Sources -
 

The Stoner 63 Modular Weapons System​

Nov 18, 2024 ROCK ISLAND AUCTION - COLLECTOR FIREARMS

The Stoner 63 is a machine gun with as much pedigree as one could imagine. Designed by legend Eugene Stoner, and subsequently carried by Navy SEALs in the bullet-torn jungles of Vietnam.

As with many of Stoner's designs, it was revolutionary. Its modularity allowed the Stoner Model 63 to be configured five different ways, offering fighting men a multipurpose weapon. Fewer than 4,000 were ever produced. Today they are legendary for their service and worthy of the most advanced machine gun collections.


5:57
 

“Grey Ghost” - The French Occupation Production P38 Pistol​

Nov 23, 2024

When the French took over control of the Mauser factory complex in May 1945, the plant had some 85 tons of pistol parts on hand - 7.3 million individual components in various stages of production. This was enough to make a whole lot of guns, even if many of them were not completed parts. So alongside K98k rifles, HST and Luger pistols, the French restarted P38 pistol production at Mauser.

German military production ended at about serial number 3000f in April 1945, and the French chose to start back up at 1g. They would make a total of 38,780 P38s by the early summer of 1946, completing the G, H, and I serial number blocks and getting mostly through K as well. A final batch of 500 were numbered in the L series after being assembled back in France at the Chatellerault arsenal.

French production P38s are generally recognized by the French 5-pointed star acceptance marks on the slides. They will have slide codes of svw45 and svw46 (the French updated the code to match the year in 1946). Many of the parts used were completed prior to occupation, and various German proof marks can be found on some parts.


9:27
 

Anti-Tank Missile Systems ( ATGM ) of Ukraine ( 2005 - Present )​

Dec 2, 2024 #ukraine #military #youtube

Ukrainian made Anti-Tank Guided Missile Systems produced since 2005.


14:28

-----
- RK-3 Corsar ( РК-3 Корсар) - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%...)
- Skif / Stugna-P ATGM ( «Скіф» ПТРК / «Стугна-П» ПТРК ) - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%...
- Kombat ( CLGP / ATGM ) Комбат ( ПТКР / ПТРК ) - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%...) -
- Barrier (ATGM) ( Бар'єр ( ПТРК ) - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%...)
- Konus (CLGP / ATGM) Конус ( ПТРК / ПТКР ) - RK-10 ATGM / OF ( РК-10 ПТРК ) - https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%...
- Falarick 90 / 105mm ( «Фаларик» ( ПТРК / ПТКР ) - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca...)
 

Sten MkII vs Ingram M10/9 (w/ John Keene)​

Dec 11, 2024

If you had to pick one, would you take a Sten MkII or an Ingram M10/9? This applies specifically to the guns in their original factory configurations; no Lage products allowed! It's hard to come up with a mass-production SMG that isn't obviously better than a MkII Sten, but the stock Ingrams might make the cut...the MAC is a more compact package, but has even worse handling than the Sten in some ways (which is a remarkable achievement!). So if you have to pick one, which would it be?


10:41
 

Clint Eastwood's Iconic MP40 Found?​

Dec 15, 2024

In 2017, in a sleepy English town, a man handed in a gun to the local police. It was an MP40, and the man claimed it had been used by Clint Eastwood in the famous 1968 war film 'Where Eagles Dare'. A press storm followed - but was it Eastwood's MP40? I try and crack the case with the help of some famous experts...
Special thanks to Jim Dowdall and Dr. Jonathan Ferguson for their kind assistance during the researching of this programme.

For more on Jim's extraordinary life in film: https://www.jimstunt.com



11:31
 

The Spanish Oviedo Arsenal Sistema MR M 1932 - ( Spanish Bang Rifle )​

Dec 28, 2024 #spain #history #military

A rare Spanish semi-automatic rifle designed just before the Spanish Civil War (Spanish: guerra civil española).


9:31
 

Development of the Uzi Family: Standard, Mini, and Micro​

Jan 4, 2025

The Uzi was originally designed in the 1950s, and it was on the technological cutting edge at the time. The stamped receiver, telescoping bolt, and compact magazine-in-grip layout made it an inexpensive and effective weapon. Its sedate 600 round/minute rate of fire helped as well, making it easy to shoot effectively. Uziel Gal experimented with a compact version at that time, but dropped the idea when he proved unable to make a smaller version with the same low rate of fire as the standard pattern.
You can read more below the vid on youtube.


14:36
 

The Atchisson Silent Pistol Carbine ( 1970's )​

Jan 12, 2025 #military #america #youtube


2:38

guns.fandom.com

Maxwell Atchisson

Maxwell George Atchisson was an American engineer and firearms designer. His primary focus was the development of .22 caliber conversion kits for existing weapons, although he is perhaps best remembered today for his automatic shotgun, the AA-12. Maxwell Atchisson was born in St. Louis...
guns.fandom.com guns.fandom.com

smallarmsreview.com

MAXWELL GEORGE ATCHISSON: FIREARMS DESIGNER - Small Arms Review

While many Class 3 enthusiasts may not recognize the name Max Atchisson, most have heard of, or possibly may own at least one of his many firearm or accessory
smallarmsreview.com smallarmsreview.com
 

Praga I: A Blow-Forward Bullpup Semi-Auto-Selectable Vickers Gun​

Jan 15, 2025

The Praga I was the first machine gun design from noted Czech arms designed Vaclav Holek. Three examples were made for Czech military testing in 1922, but they were not acceptable. Instead, this design served as the first stepping stone to the eventual development of the ZB-26, perhaps the best of the interwar light machine guns.

Mechanically, the Praga I is largely based on the Vickers/Maxim system except with a locking wedge instead of a toggle joint. It also uses a forward-moving gas trap sort of action instead of recoil operation like the Maxim/Vickers. The fire control mechanism is essentially a Vickers lock, just built into the receiver of the gun instead of in a moving bolt or lock. It is a truly fascinating system!

Many thanks to the VHU - the Czech Military History Institute - for giving me access to this fantastic prototype to film for you. The Army Museum Žižkov is a part of the Institute, and they have a 3-story museum full of cool exhibits open to the public in Prague.If you have a chance to visit, it's definitely worth the time! You can find all of their details (including their aviation and armor museums) here:

https://www.vhu.cz/en/english-summary/


13:33
 

Concealed-Carry WW2 Leaders - Who Was Secretly Armed?​

Jan 22, 2025

During WWII several top military leaders and politicians of both the Allies and Axis routinely concealed carried firearms. Find out who they were and what their favoured concealed handgun was here...


10:19
 
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