ForgottenWeapons posts
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AK fm/54: Prototype Swedish Paratrooper Rifle (Ad-free)
As Sweden experimented with updating the AG42 Ljungman in the 1950s, one of the intermediate patterns was the fm/54. This took the 7.62mm NATO short stroke piston conversion already developed and added a 20-round box magazine and a Carl Gustaf m/45 folding stock to it. Not a Carl Gustaf style stock,...
URZ: Czech Prototype Universal Modular Weapon (Ad-free)
The URZ (Univerzální Ruční Zbraň, or Universal Hand Weapon) was a 1966 project designed by Jiří Čermák (designer of the vz.58 rifle). He envisioned a weapons system family with largely interchangeable elements that could be configured as a service rifle, carbine, light machine gun, vehicula...
Q&A Request: Chinese Small Arms (w/ Jason Clower)
I am going to be doing some filming with Jason Clower (Type 56: The Story of China's Army; https://www.youtube.com/@Type56_Ordnance_Dept) and I figure that's a perfect opportunity for a Q&A. As someone quite knowledgeable on Chinese small arms, what would you like me to ask him?
FK Brno 7.5mm at the BackUp Gun Match (Ad-free)
The FK Brno is a take on the classic CZ75 pistol made in the Czech Republic. It was originally released as a boutique steel-framed gun, and then later as a much more affordable polymer-framed model. I have one of those polymer framed ones, with barrels for both 10mm Auto and the unique 7.5mm FK cart...
Deep Dive With Ian: Origins of the Navy SEALs
I've been holding out on you - I started a second channel a little while back, focused on SCUBA related material. It's a subject I am very interested in, but I didn't want to talk about it much until I had a few videos posted for people to see. I'm only posting there twice per month ...
Arex Delta Machine Pistol Shoot-Off! (Ad-free)
I had a chance to visit the Arex factory in Slovenia recently, and they had a custom-made full-auto Arex Delta pistol. Well, who wouldn't want to give that a try? A whole bunch of us had a shoot-off with it...which I sadly did not win.
Orita 1941: The Original Romanian Submachine Gun (Ad-free)
The Model 1941 Orita was Romania's first domestic submachine gun, but after World War Two the design was upgraded in many ways. The Model 41/48 improved the stock, sights, and controls - and virtually all of the guns underwent these changes. Original configuration 1941 examples are extremely rar...
AK4 TP: Estonia's Modernized G3 DMR / Sniper (Ad-free)
When Estonia received a large influx of small arms from Sweden they got both regular AK4 rifles (Sweden's version of the G3) and scoped DMR models. The standard Estonian infantry squad had nine riflemen and one designated marksman, and the scoped G3s became a large part of the DMR armament as th...
Jonathan Ferguson: British Military AR15s & Flintlock Revolvers (Ad-free)
Jonathan's book, "Thorneycroft to SA80":https://www.headstamppublishing.com/bullpup-rifle-book"Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier":https://www.headstamppublishing.com/collier-book"Who Invented the Wheelgun?":https://www.headstamppublishing.com/purch...
Enjoying Black Powder Episode 12: The Model 1885 Remington-Lee (Ad-free)
Full video with reloading segment and clip solid file available here:https://forgottenweapons.vhx.tv/videos/ep-12-rem-lee-appBlack powder military rifles of the 1860s-1880s are a really enjoyable group of guns. A lot of them are relatively reasonably priced, and they are actually pretty easy to relo...
Bullets and Bones: Archaeological View of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (ASAC Presentation) (Ad-free)
This lecture was presented at the Spring 2025 meeting of the American Society of Arms Collectors. It was given by Doug Scott, who ran a series of archaeological surveys of the Little Bighorn battlefield and coauthored a book on the results. You can find his book here:https://amzn.to/443w6kDI reviewe...
Samopal vz 38: Czechoslovakia's Interwar Drum-Fed SMG in .380 (Ad-free)
Military interest in a submachine gun was late in Czechoslovakia, but by the late 1930s a development program was put into place. Interestingly, the main use case for an SMG was seen as being a replacement for a rifle-caliber LMG in fortification mounts. The thought process seems to have been that a...
Galand de Guerre Model 1872: Too Good for the Military (Ad-free)
Charles François Galand is best known for his simultaneous-extraction Model 1868, but he also developed a very good solid-frame revolver. This was specifically for the French 1871 military trials, which specifically required a solid frame. The Galand was chambered for 12mm Galand (with its distinct...
YouTube & Guns Q&A Roundtable (Feat. Bloke, Ziga, and PSR) (Ad-Free)
This month I am excited to invite three other firearms YouTube channels to join me in the Q&A - Polenar Tactical, Bloke on the Range, and PrintShootRepeat. We all just finished shooting Lynx Brutality (put on by Polenar Tactical) and took the opportunity to address a bunch of questions about firearm...
YouTube & Guns Q&A Roundtable (Feat. Bloke, Ziga, and PSR) (Audio Only)
This month I am excited to invite three other firearms YouTube channels to join me in the Q&A - Polenar Tactical, Bloke on the Range, and PrintShootRepeat. We all just finished shooting Lynx Brutality (put on by Polenar Tactical) and took the opportunity to address a bunch of questions about firearm...
One-Gun Action Match: Stuff & Things "Stizon" Kit (Ad-free)
The PP-19 Bizon is a Russian 9mm AK model using helical drum magazines, made in several calibers. It was taken into service in 1996, and has been making Western AKphiles drool ever since, because who wouldn't want a compact 9mm SMG with a 64-round capacity (64 rounds in 9x18 Mak; 53 rounds in 9x...
Swedish Kulspruta m/36 Double Browning MGs (Ad-free)
Despite being a neutral power during World War Two, Sweden had a variety of very interesting small arms - like their dual-mount Browning m/36 machine guns. These were originally adopted because the Swedes wanted a heavier medium MG cartridge and didn't think their delayed-blowback Schwarzlose gu...
Prodynamic II: A New High-End Competition Pistol (Ad-free)
Proarmis is a Slovenian pistol manufacturer that has introduced a new high-end competition pistol (priced at approximately €4000). The first example has arrived in the US, and I had the chance to borrow it for some filming. The gun handles very well, and has a really remarkably adjustable trigger ...
Car Park Gunfight & Hostage Escape: Lynx Brutality 2025 Day 2 (Ad-free)
Polenar Tactical has done it again, setting the bar for Brutality matches with this year's Lynx Brutality. Held at the Lynx Pro Training Center outside Kočevje Slovenia, this year's match was 10 stages over two days. My plan was to shoot the match in a covert sort of rig with a suit from Gr...
Trip Mines and Sisyphus' Kettlebell: Lynx Brutality 2025 Day 1 (Ad-free)
Polenar Tactical has done it again, setting the bar for Brutality matches with this year's Lynx Brutality. Held at the Lynx Pro Training Center outside Kočevje Slovenia, this year's match was 10 stages over two days. My plan was to shoot the match in a covert sort of rig with a suit from Gr...
AR-1 "Parasniper" - The First Armalite (Ad-free)
The first rifle produced by Armalite began in 1952 as a project between the brothers-in-law, Charles Dorchester and George Sullivan (no relation to later Armalite engineer L. James Sullivan). Sullivan is the chief patent attorney for the Lockheed aircraft company, and the two have the idea to produc...
Modern Stocked Pistol: B&T's Universal Service Weapon (USW) (Ad-free)
The genesis of the B&T USW was a two and a half hour car ride home from a youth hockey game, when Karl Brugger and a friend were thinking about how to improve police effectiveness with handguns. What would make a handgun more accurate in practice? Clearly a red for and a shoulder stock. So how does ...
H&K MG4: Germany's New 5.56mm Squad Machine Gun (Ad-free)
Heckler & Koch released the MG4, a new 5.56mm squad machine gun in 2001. It was adopted by the German army in 2005, and then by the Spanish and Portuguese armies in 2007. Alongside its sister weapon the 7.62mm MG5, it is H&K's current export machine gun.The MG4 fires from an open bolt, with a 2-...
"Kevin" - A Czech Pocket Pistol With a Weird Delay Trick (Ad-free)
The "Kevin" (sometimes called a ZP-98) was developed by Czech gunsmith Antonín Zendl and introduced at the IWA show in 2007. It was a micro-compact pocket pistol chambered for either .380 ACP or 9mm Makarov (the Kevin M). It held six rounds in its magazine, and the most notable feature is a...
"Kevin" - A Czech Pocket Pistol With a Weird Delay Trick (Ad-free)
The "Kevin" (sometimes called a ZP-98) was developed by Czech gunsmith Antonín Zendl and introduced at the IWA show in 2007. It was a micro-compact pocket pistol chambered for either .380 ACP or 9mm Makarov (the Kevin M). It held six rounds in its magazine, and the most notable feature is a...
GHM-9: B&T's 9mm Budget Carbine (Well, Swiss Budget) (Ad-free)
The GHM-9 is a 9mm PCC from B&T that was developed as an economized alternative to the APC-9. It uses the same grip assembly as the APC-9, but a smaller and simpler upper receiver and a few of the other parts are simplified - like non-captive recoil springs. It has a variety of modular options and c...
IanPat is Back: Make Something Cool and Win! (Ad-free)
Get IanPat hats and fabric here:https://www.varusteleka.com/en/category/forgotten-weapons-merchandise/2852The IanPat uniforms from last year were really popular, but they were a one-time special product. Today, Varusteleka dropped a new batch of IanPat operator caps and boonie hats, plus raw IanPat ...
Gerat Potsdam: Mauser Copies the Sten Gun (Ad-free)
In the fall of 1944, the Mauser company was given a contract to develop drawings of a direct copy of the British Sten gun (code named Gerät Potsdam), and to manufacture 10,000 of them. In fact, they were to make two different sets of drawings; one suitable for large factory use (like their own) and...
Serbu Super Shorty: Is It Awesome or Just Dumb? (Ad-free)
The Super Shorty is a pump action shotgun reduced to a 2-round tube capacity and a 6.5" barrel made by Serbu Firearms. The first one was made in 1998 and since then Mark Serbu has made more than 6,000 of them. There have been a bunch of minor variations, including batches made on both Remington ...
Short Swiss Schmidt Rubins: M1900 Short Rifle & M1905 Cavalry Carbine (Ad-free)
When the Swiss military went to make a short version of its M1896 rifle for cavalry, it realized that the early Schmidt-Rubin action had a problem: it was really, really long. With locking lugs all the way to the rear of the receiver, the system was just not an efficient use of space for a carbine w...
