Category: History of Weapons
Improvised Weapons History: The Humble Lady’s Hatpin
Before Mace, a Hatpin Was an Unescorted Lady’s Best Defense There were once, among the rogues’ gallery of men who harass women in public, disreputable fellows known as mashers. The masher took a lady’s arm, the masher took liberties, the masher might, with the slightest provocation, take advantage. He approached a woman he did not…
Know Your Real Civil War History: The Whitworth Sniper Rifle
Whitworth “Sharpshooter” Rifle The Whitworth was widely considered to have been the first rifle used for true sniping. They were reportedly accurate up to 1,800 yards or more. At shorter distances, such as 500 yards, the Whitworth was far more accurate with tighter groupings than the Enfield rifles of the time thanks…
Know Your Partisan Firearms
Came across this picture on WRSA and being a firearms history nerd, my curiosity was peaked, so I did an image search: ‘A Warsaw insurgent armed with a ZB vz. 26 light machine gun during the Warsaw Uprising.’ More on the Czech ZB vz.26: Caliber: 7.92×57 mm Mauser Weight: 8.9 kg Length: 1168 mm Length…
Lessons from the Past: 3 Reasons to Carry Backup
Lessons from the Past: 3 Reasons to Carry Backup To some, notorious Old West gunfighter John Wesley Hardin was a psychopathic murderer and racist. To others, Hardin was a genuine American hero. Whether Hardin was a terrorist or a freedom fighter was a question that dogged him throughout his lifetime. Now, 150 years after…
Know Your WW2 Naval History: Hunting the Bismarck – Part I
Hunting the Bismarck – Part I Without doubt, the Bismarck is the single best-known German warship of World War II. Large, fast, hard to sink and equipped with the latest in German radar and optics technology, it quickly earned notoriety after it sank the HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. The panicked British response eventually brought low the German monster, but only after…
Know Your WW2 History: The M8 Greyhound
The M8 Greyhound Armored cars tend to be overlooked by World War II history buffs. Nimble fighter planes, deadly bombers, hulking tanks and stealthy submarines are “sexier” than a car that can’t fight like a tank, can’t race a plane, and can’t use terrain to its advantage like infantry. Nevertheless, armored cars were a vital part…
Revolver Corner: The McCulloch Colts
Rebel Yankees: The McCulloch Colts When we think of Confederate revolvers we generally envision six guns like Leech & Rigdon, Spiller & Burr or the revolvers of the Dance Brothers. Of course, almost any handgun of the period of the War Between the States certainly could qualify, since so many rebel soldiers used whatever…
AK Corner: AK’s from Finland
AKs from Finland. Part 1: Development History The small European country of Finland always had a great reputation when it comes to arms production. For collectors, Finnish-made Mosin-Nagants are some of the most desirable Mosin rifles, but there is another rifle design that the Finnish took to a whole other level. It is called RK…
What’s the Story on the Glock Switch?
WHAT’S THE STORY ON THE GLOCK SWITCH? The so-called “Glock switch” is an attachment which fits on the rear of the slide of a Glock semi-automatic pistol and makes it capable of fully automatic fire. It essentially turns it into an approximation of a Glock 18, a selective-fire machine pistol developed at the request…