From Jan on Patreon:
"What often baffles me is the transition period of various stages of development of gun technology - in particular around the Civil War. What were the types of guns used during civil war and why weren't more modern mechanisms used, if they were available? Was it similar in wars that took place at th...
2022-12-29 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Interested in Warlord-Era Chinese handguns? I have a whole book on them! Check it out here:
https://www.headstamppublishing.com/chinese-pistols
Today we are looking at a high-end C96 Mauser pattern sporting carbine made by ...
2022-12-28 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View PostFrom Jubs on Patreon: "They say that 'no one's gone bankrupt making guns during a war,' but is that actually true?"
It's usually true, but not always. Even during a war, you can make enough bad choices that you can go bankrupt as a gun manufacturer, and Hopkins & Allen is a perfect example of how. During Worl...
2022-12-27 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
From Jubs on Patreon:
"They say that 'no one's gone bankrupt making guns during a war,' but is that actually true?"
It's usually true, but not always. Even during a war, you can make enough bad choices that you can go bankrupt as a gun manufacturer, and Hopkins & Allen is a perfect example of how....
2022-12-27 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
When Polish workers held massive protests in Poznań against the communist Polish government in 1956, the Army was sent in to quell the unrest. In the aftermath of these events, the government decided to create a riot police squad to handle any future such situations. When this unit was put to use in the 1968 Student March, t...
2022-12-26 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This week:
- Angry Glencairn lawyers (oops!)
- I get fired by my merch company
- Starting to run Guadalcanal videos
Merry Christmas!
2022-12-26 00:07:48 +0000 UTC View Post
After joining (formally) World War Two in the wake of Pearl Harbor, the United States endured a series of defeats at the hands of the Japanese. The Philippines garrison fell, Wake Island fell, Guam fell. British possessions in Southeast Asia teetered and fell as well - the campaign was not going well for the Allies. &nb...
2022-12-24 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
The Blyskawica ("LIghtning") is an SMG developed in occupied Poland to be issued out to Home Army units during Operation Tempest; the liberation uprisings planned for the advance of the Red Army into Poland.
The gun was developed starting in September 1942 by two engineers, Wacław Zawrotny and Seweryn Wielanier. Both w...
2022-12-23 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
From Michal on Patreon:
"Can you talk about difference between .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO? Or in more general terms about possibility of using military grade ammo in civilian rifles. I heard everything from 'it will explode' to 'it will work normally'."
The short answer is that the difference between .223 Reming...
2022-12-22 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The Vickers MkI No2 was an improvisation of the British Royal Air Force. They needed arms for airbase defense, without unduly impacting the production of weapons for the infantry. Wheat they had a good supply of were Vickers Gas-Operated (aka Vickers K-class) guns that had been used in now-obsolete aircraft with flexible obse...
2022-12-21 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Only available direct from Vickers Guide:
https://www.vickersguide.com/hk-vol1-1
The Vickers Guide series of books by Larry Vickers and James Rupley began as beautifully photographed firearms art books - and that's all they claim to be ...
2022-12-20 12:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
When Polish workers held massive protests in Poznań against the communist Polish government in 1956, the Army was sent in to quell the unrest. In the aftermath of these events, the government decided to create a riot police squad to handle any future such situations. When this unit was put to use in the 1968 Student March, t...
2022-12-19 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
This week:
- The Collier Kickstarter ends
- I work on Maxim Silencers for an upcoming book
- First range trip with PGM Ultima Ratio
- Filming a G1 pattern FAL
2022-12-18 22:42:13 +0000 UTC View Post
After touring the Fabryka Broni factory in Radom and filming the history of the MSBS "Grot" development, I had the chance to try out the rifle in several different configurations. We didn't have time to film a full-length video, but I did get some footage of running the standard MSBS both left- and right-hand ejecting, the bu...
2022-12-18 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
When Colt decided to sell a semiauto-only civilian version of its AR-15 rifle, it had to make a number of changes to the design of the lower receiver to prevent full-auto fire control parts from being used. These changes would make a semiauto AR receiver legally distinct form a full-auto one, and thus not a machine gun in the...
2022-12-17 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
From LongBeef on Patreon: "What exactly is headspace? And how important is headspace in old milsurp guns vs. more modern guns?"
Headspace is basically the amount of play a cartridge has in a chamber. There has to be some to account for manufacturing variations in guns and ammunition, but too much or too little ca...
2022-12-16 12:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
"Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler" is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?ref...
2022-12-15 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post"Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler" is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?ref=...
2022-12-15 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Prior to World War Two, the Soviet Union had a rather lackluster interest in antitank rifles - a series of guns were developed, but slowly and without all that much success. The Barbarossa invasion gave a very immediate need for just this sort of weapon, however, to give Soviet infantry units an organic anti-armor capability....
2022-12-14 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
When Polish workers held massive protests in Poznań against the communist Polish government in 1956, the Army was sent in to quell the unrest. In the aftermath of these events, the government decided to create a riot police squad to handle any future such situations. When this unit was put to use in the 1968 Student March, t...
2022-12-13 12:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
“Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler" is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?re...
2022-12-12 12:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I need to get back into the habit of doing Apocrypha videos for you guys, and I figured that a weekly update on what is going on behind the scenes would be a good way to do it. Something to keep you abreast of ongoing projects and anything else of interest that's going on. Like it? Dislike it? Let me know!
2022-12-12 01:48:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Pre-order your copy of Tobacco of the Emperor today! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?ref=c7ftho
Patrick Phillips is back with me today to discuss the very real Jap...
2022-12-11 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
After a lot of requests from law enforcement and military organizations, CZ developed a collapsing buttstock for the Bren 2 rifle. It requires a different upper receiver than the standard Bren 2, although that upper will become standard in future production. Combined with a short barrel, the collapsing stock makes for a prett...
2022-12-10 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostWhat would you be most interested in seeing? The options are:
Something to show that you can be competitive with cheap gear. A generic Romanian AK I built years ago and a $300 HS-2000.
Something more classic, and more difficult. A No5 Lee Enfield carbine and a .455 Webley revolver.
Something little more mode...
2022-12-09 23:43:53 +0000 UTC View Post
While under international embargo and at war in the late 1970s, South Africa needed a new 7.62mm GPMG. The answer was Vektor's SS77, a design which would replace the FN MAG in South African service in the 1980s. The gun had really substantial problems for many years, and took a lot of work to revise and improve until it was f...
2022-12-09 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
“Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler" is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?re...
2022-12-08 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler" is available right now for preorder on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/clockwork-basilisk?re...
2022-12-08 12:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The MSBS Grot is Poland's current military service rifle, and has gone through several iterations in the many years of its development that led to its current 2nd generation form. It is best known in the US as a rifle designed to be interchangeable between standard and bullpup layout, although that capability was dropped when...
2022-12-07 12:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
