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Questions for Q&A #53 (Patreon)

Published:
2021-08-04 19:05:45
Imported:
2021-08

Content

What would you like to ask?

Comments

Falling Steel

Why aren’t double-stack/double-feed pistols more common?

Anonymous

What are you using to teach yourself French?

Anonymous

Is it time to say that the ACR is a forggen weapon?

Jon Murphy

If you were a star wars character, what real life pistol and long arm would you want to be used as the base for your blaster pistol and blaster rifle?

Anonymous

What is your favourite "this is great in theory" firearms tech such as the rod bayonet?

Anonymous

It’s 2040, and society has collapsed. You lead a small group of survivors. What small arm would be the easiest to recreate and maintain?

Falling Steel

Can you explain the doctrine(s) behind rifle grenades? Seems like some countries went bonkers for them while others didn’t.

Anonymous

If Johnson or pedersen rifle have won the M1 trials would M14 be better than in this Universum?

Anonymous

Hey Ian, second time asking. Why did it take firearms manufacturers so long to adopt transfer bar safeties for revolvers?

Anonymous

2nd ask: thoughts on FB Radom's return to the US commercial market?

Anonymous

Best "weird" pistol you've used?

Anonymous

While watching your old lugerman 45 pistol video you cut yourself off while talking about what goes into reproducing a gun like this. Would you ever consider doing a long form video about firearms reproduction and what goes into building a modern repro?

Anonymous

Ditto on the history of rifle grenades!

Anonymous

Does adding things like optics to pistol slides, or doing aftermarket milling on slides, effect unlocking time and slide velocity? Does this negatively effect reliability?

Anonymous

What collector firearms do you think would be most interesting to someone who mostly occupies themselves with DIY gun projects?

K. D. Campbell

I just finished a book on the Franco-Prussian War by Geoffrey Wawro (I have no idea how to pronounce that) and recently RealTimeHistory had a video about the Chassepot and the Dreyse needle fire rifles. (There was a pretty good book about the Chassepot recently too). Anyway the gist of these media is that the Chassepot was a far superior rifle to the Dreyse, yet the French lost that war. Since so many questions revolve around “what’s the best gun of a given era”, can you think of other conflicts where the “best gun” lost?

Anonymous

How did the introduction of the M1 Garand change American small unit tactics?

Anonymous

A while back I remember you saying that bayonets that have a multipurpose design tend to be bad at both being a bayonet and the design. Do you think that is still applicable with modern designs like the M9 bayonet for the US and the Type I-III for the Russian.

Anonymous

The nation of Elbonia is planning to build their own state of the art assault rifle in the early 1950's. Unfortunately the military general in charge for the project is an enemy spy. How could he sabotage the design, testing and adoption without being too suspicious?

Anonymous

Repeat question: Othias has his Spite KelTec, do you have a guilty pleasure firearm? One that's outside your normal area of interest, but you just enjoy shooting? Not counting the What would Stoner Do projects.

Anonymous

Were there any concerted attempts at adding a shoulder stock to any of the guns that eventually lead up to the 1911? I feel as if having a semi automatic, with a stock would have been a concept that the army, especially the Calvary , would have been interested in. Or was the concept of a stocked pistol just a European thing?

Anonymous

Was the Kalashnikov ever used as a SMG or was it pretty much always recognised as a better infantry rifle than the SKS?

Jonathon Payne

Was cost ever a consideration for going with needle fire and paper cartridges over fixed metallic ammunition? It seems that, as far as material costs are concerned, there isn't much difference between a needle fire paper cartridge and a muzzle loading cartridge on a percussion cap musket.

J WL

Do you have any information of the so-called "Winchester zero recoil system" supposedly tested with a prototype 9mm SMG. I read this in "Fighting Shotguns of the World" by Thomas F. Swearengen, which I believe you have a review on that caused me to buy it, thank you! (Fourth time asking)

Pete

I'm always interested in the practicalities of historical manufacturing which you bring up from time to time - rows of lathes and shapers each set up for one particular cut, for example. This only covers the steel parts though, and I've often wondered how millions of identical Lee-Enfield or Garand stocks (for example) were mass-produced all to the same relatively complex and curved shapes. What sort of machines did that work, and how was the required shape "programmed" into them? (I've asked something along these lines before)

Anonymous

Which country, nationality, or other group has produced the highest number of great guns on a per capita basis?

Anonymous

If you were in charge, how would you have modified the 1903 Springfield before World War One?

Anonymous
>>65116420

I think John Moses Browning could probably put the Mormons in the number one spot all by himself. If you're only looking at countries, I would go with the Czechs.

Anonymous

Second time asking: What are the tradeoffs between heavy and light bullets (keeping the muzzle energy constant)? How light and fast vs heavy and slow could you make a pistol/intermediate/rifle cartridge (again, keeping energy constant) before it became impractical?

Anonymous

Hi Ian, Been reading your blog for several years, love your stuff! Would a Nagant 1895 style action and cartridge, lend itself to being the quietest suppressed repeating arm? And was this design philosophy ever tinkered with in enough capacity to matter?

Anonymous

How well would a Cold War light machine gun do in the project lightning trials? What about something ultra modern? Any chance of a one-off video revisiting that?

Anonymous

With a company like Arex known for their superior quality, would a nation ever consider adopting the Rex Zero1 or the Delta as their primary sidearm?

Anonymous

Are there any firearms concepts or actions "Simply before their time" similar to the AR-15 pencil barrel and polymer lower reciever

Anonymous

Is there an issue with striker-fired pistols that have “restrike” or “second-strike” capability? Why have they not caught on more?

CardboardAK47

Was HK really the only large gun maker to try to develop and push rimless shotgun shells? It seems that a big limiting factor in seeing if a shotgun could work in a militaries doctrine is the design limits of rimmed 12 guage since it makes magazines more difficult, along with the bulk of said shells.

Scarecrow Repair

How far have ideas been ahead of technical capability? The Puckle gun was a couple of centuries ahead of its time, but would it ever have been practical, even if modified for percussion caps or smokeless powder? Contrariwise, how much sooner could, say, the M-16 have been built, if the design had been sent back in time?

Anonymous

What was the timeline of smokeless powder supplanting black powder on the civilian market? Particularly for different categories of cartridge, revolver, lever rifle, etc. When were the first smokeless powder loadings of, say, existing revolver cartridges or .45-70 available, and how long was it until they were more prevalent than their black powder versions? How often were smokeless powder and black powder loadings of the same cartridge available in stores at the same time?

Anonymous

Not so much a question, but an offer: In case you have another layover in Copenhagen: "silencers are legal and quasi cheap in Scandinavia + relaxed laws for the same in Denmark. Also: Gun laws of Denmark ". I am a state licenced hunting licence instructor in Denmark, as well as a rifle and shotgun shotgun instructor, so I can give insights into that. LOVED your video from Hunters House in Copenhagen:)

Charles Easton

Do any of the soft touch polymer furniture on firearms or optics you study have issues with degradation over time? Do you know what causes it? How do collectors prevent or remediate the sticky mess that occurs?

Anonymous

What role did WW1-era water cooled machineguns play in WW2? Specifically, what nations still made use of them, in what capacity, and how numerous were they? I know the Vickers still saw notable service, but what about the M1917, MG08, etc? Also, did military forces still consider these to be "heavy machineguns" once larger guns like the M2 Browing became widely used, or did they receive an updated designation? Thanks and as always, keep up the fantastic work!

Anonymous

Hi Ian, its 1980 and elbonia are setting up a sniper programme...what are they kitting out their sniper teams with.

Anonymous

With the current generation of 5th Gen Glocks and 2.0 Smith M&P's, do you think after-market triggers are helpful for a carry pistol? Or are such modifications only useful for range-only shooters? And what if it's an older pistol instead, like an M&P 1.0 or Glock Gen 4?

Anonymous

Why are AR18 derivations so popular when the AR18 itself was a commercial flop? Similarly, why are there so few AR15 derived systems when the AR15 is so popular?

David C

What are the pros and cons of vertical foregrips compared to horizontal ones?

Adam Schindler

Why was there such a lengthy gap between the abandonment of the very early breech loading artillery and its reintroduction in the late 19th century? In a separate but related question, why was a system like the Ferguson rifle not adopted for artillery in the interim?

Chris Denner

Why do you think the 1906 Luger Rifle never caught on?

Anonymous

Do you do any reloading? Especially now. Pistol cartridges are especially easy.

Anonymous

Second time asking-Two French weapon questions for you 1. Based on comments made during Project Lightening it seems like one of the biggest shortcomings of the Chauchat was ergonomics and an extremely difficult sight picture to aquire. Considering this, why is it that the design was changed from the very ergonomic looking Chauchat-Sutter m1913 to the face-bruising contortion machine that is the csrg 1915? It seems like having the stock in-line with the receiver would have alleviated many of the comfort issues with the weapon and would have been relatively easy to accomplish with the 1915. 2. The RSC 1917 has a rather strange method of reload with sticking an en bloc clip directly into the bottom of the receiver with little in the way of confirmation when it is in place. Is there a specific reason why they couldn't set up the rifle to accept the en blocs normally through the top of the rife, which might have resulted in the rifle standardizing on Berthier clips prior to the 1918? Is this a case of they didn't think about it, or was it in an effort to mitigate mud ingress, or some other perfectly logical reason?

Tristan Sobey

Did Colt or Armalite ever experiment with polymer monolithic lowers for the AR10 like they did with the AR15? It seems like the weight savings benefits would be even greater on that platform but I can also see the lack of demand for AR10s in general prevent that type of experimentation. Would love a KP-10 for a modern AR10 build.

Anonymous

Second ask: You’ve said before that the M1 Garand is an excellent rifle, but that the M-14 kind of sucks, despite it basically being an M1 with a box magazine. Do you believe the M-14 is actually inferior to the M1, or is it just in comparison to all of its contemporaries and how long it took to develop?

Anonymous

You mentioned in a previous Q&A you own a Maxim 9. Have you ever shot it at the Back Up Gun match?

Matthew Jackson

Where would you consider machine pistols (Schnellfuer, Glock 18, maybe even Skorpion, etc) to belong in the submachinegun generation classification?

Anonymous

Why don't we see top ejecting en-block clips on any of the early Mannlicher rifles circa WW1. I get the added complexity and cost but seems way more effective than dropping out the bottom.

David C

3rd time asking: How are bullet diameters chosen? Especially in the case of early calibres that seem quite arbitrary. like .36, .42 and later .45 or rounds that vary by hundredths of millimetres.

Anonymous

Why are open bolt submachine guns so common? Or rather why are closed bolt submachine guns considered so unusual when everyone recognizes designs like the MP5 to be outstanding? Open bolt designs are a bit simpler, sure, but that seems to be a small benefit compared to the overwhelming advantages of closed bolt operation.

Anonymous

Hi the Ian, Why do more revolvers not fire the round in the 6 o' clock position rather than 12? Is there a disadvantage to this configuration that outweighs the reduced muzzle flip?

Anonymous

Dear Ian, which in your opinion doomed the SKS from ever having a spot as a long term mainline infantry rifle in a major country? The nondetachtable magazines and no full auto setting or the fact that it uses machining and not stamping to produce? I feel like there could have been a good work around for adapting a detachable magazine and perhaps even reworking the trigger for full auto but I don't see a good way to adapt it to a stamped sheet metal design.

Anonymous

Are there copyright rules about designing a firearm to use someone else’s magazine? Examples; kel tec p50, silencerco maxim 9.

Anonymous

Any plans or reason to take a trip to Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk in Norway in the Future? Btw I can help with place to stay and contact with the museum👍

Anonymous

How much different would the current western military small arms industry be without the 2nd Amendment? In other words, would FN, HK, Sig or Colt be at the development level and industrial size that they are right now (for military contracts) without the US civilian market to “finance” and test their products for them?

Drew Sizemore

Is there any measurable military benefit to specifically accommodating left handed shooters with ambidextrous weapons or are they made and issued for other reasons?

Anonymous

What is your favorite armory/arms manufacture from each distinct firearms era? With the a stipulation you can't give the same answer twice. Example eras: modern, coldwar, WWII-interwar, WWI-post smokeless, pre smokeless.

Anonymous

Second time asking, how safe is it to shoot old blackpowder cartridges in the original rifles? I recently got some original 11mm gras and while I don’t plan on shooting it I am curious about the quality of it, being that it is almost 140 years old now

Andrew Cook

2nd ish time asking Why do you think under or over folding stocks were so prevalent compared side folding stocks?

Anonymous

Hi Ian! Second time asking, cock-on-open VS cock-on-close. Advantages and drawbacks of each?

Verdha

While you have released multiple videos shooting the MAB-38 series of submachine guns, are there any plans to release a traditional sit down video for them in the near future?

Anonymous

What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen Swallow?

Anonymous

do you know any of the history to the famous pictures of Charlton Heston's gun collection pictures that circulated on the internet a few years ago? i think it was in actual fact the Peterson collection?

Anonymous

What do you see as breakthroughs in military small arms that would greatly improve the current technology? Do you see these breakthroughs happening in a short time period?

Anonymous

What do you think of the Chinese approach to continuing to develop the SKS and the production of SKS/AK hybrids for military use and do you think this was superior to the Warsaw Pact approaches?

Anonymous

Guns can actually become un-fun to shoot after enough rounds in a single sitting. Ever encountered this phenomena yourself?

Anonymous

I have a question! Would you like to have an original M39 bayonet for your Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant rifle? I have an extra and would like you to have it as a token of appreciation for all you have done to highlight the history of Finnish independence through your visits and multiple videos about our armament through the years.

Anonymous

Which do you think would be more effective for a WW2 infantryman - outfitting their Garands with a modern day LPVO or replacing the rifle entirely with an AKM? (Assuming there’s a way to ensure the optic doesn’t get in the way of the M1 action of course)

Anonymous

What was the main battle rifles used at the battle of Dien Bien Phu ? Was is it MAS 36 or MAS LLC 49 or were they using the American M1 Garland ?

Anonymous

When was the first time you realized you had gone from a person passionate about obscure firearms to a leading authority in the field?

Anonymous

What "dead end" military project would you like to see revisited with modern materials and engineering? You successfully saw the revival of the polymer lower, and I'd be interested to see what you think deserves a revisit. Examples: Project SPIW, the caseless ammunition ala the G11 or perhaps gyrojet? - Blake from Madison

Anonymous

What exactly is Rifle, Number 9?

Steve Doucet

When I met you in NH we discussed the type 99 training rifle (?) that I had worked on for the museum. You told me that a type 99 version was rare and most were type 38s. Can you go into a little more detail on Japanese training rifles? Manufacture, use, etc.

Anonymous

How and why are fluted chambers a thing and how are they made?

Anonymous

How are iron sights manufactured and calibrated to their rifle, pistol, machine gun, smg, etc? (Marveling at the rear-sight of a 1903 Springfield and ALL of its apertures inspired this question)

Anonymous

What kind of laser/light would you recommend for a pcc? Most of the combos I see are Chinese garbage and build quality and weight are the biggest factors for me. Or would I be better off going with separate lasers and lights. Thanks, love the content.

Anonymous

I’m very much interested mid to late 19th century firearms and development. Before the wide spread adoption of smokeless powders, what rounds offered the best performance for military use? Basically if smokeless powders never got developed who had the best of the best black powder military cartridges?

Anonymous

Ian, were you the Ian that started an AK forum in the late 90s ?

Anonymous

Hey Ian! I always wondered, based on the famous footage from the Reagan assassination attempt, why the US secret service chose a full-scale Uzi SMG when their type of activity seems ideal for one of the successful compact versions (namely the pistol Uzi). I've had experience with the full scale Uzi and it is essentially as cumbersome to carry as an assault rifle, so I can't think of a reason they'd go with that version... Would love to hear your thoughts, thanks :)

Anonymous

Does have Hi-Power any significant advantage over 1911 except magazine capacity and different caliber?

Anonymous

Julian Hatcher cites MacArthur's aversion to fielding separate cartridges for rifles and machine guns as one of the reasons the .276 Pedersen was taken out of the running for use in US rifles. 40 years later, this very situation became the norm after adoption of the M16. What changed? Was MacArthur constrained by finances, doctrine, or something else? Did the logistic dead end of the .30 Pedersen cartridge factor into this decision?

Anonymous

(multi-time repeat question) I've been intrigued with the concept of the scout rifle since I saw your video on the Steyr Scout. You mentioned that the Winchester 1894 was kind of a spiritual ancestor. Are there any other guns over the last 120 years that filled this same niche, either by design or by circumstance? (bonus points if they wouldn't be ridiculously hard to collect or shoot)

Anonymous

Will you do a video(s) on the development of hand thrown grenades? (Maybe limited to 19th to 21st C.?) Looking at the obvious variations of forms and less obvious variations like fuses, triggers and the pineapple type scoring, was it just for grip, as I remember reading years ago, that it was better on the inside for fragmention? Then, maybe a video or three on rifle grenades and other types, like smoke, gas, flash-bangs?

Anonymous

What do you think would be the best way to make a multi calibre gun eg 7.62 NATO to 7.62 russian to pistol cartridge in one system.field or armourer swappable with as few parts as possible

Anonymous

What is your long-term plan for Forgotten Weapons? Someday, when you retire (even if unwillingly), would you pass the torch on to someone else?

Joseph W Cupp

2 questions, 1. Any plans for another book for you, if so what subject ( I hoping Colt Brevettes) and what's next on Headstamp Publishings calendar, need to prep the wife and get her ready, not too hard to do, but kind of surprised her with the Chinese Warlords. 2. If you had to face the world with only one of the trials handguns you have covered that did not get picked up by a military contract which one would you go with & why? Ok, maybe there's like 4 questions in there, but I used to interrogate people in a past life as one of my additional duties, hard habit to break.

Anonymous

Are you aware of the Centerfire Biathlon style of 2-gun shooting competitions, also commonly referred to as "Gun Runs" or Run N Guns, where competitors run a 5 to 10 km course while completing a series of shooting stages along the way?? Thoughts on using those types of competitions to evaluate and judge the practicality, ease of use and general effectiveness of both historical and modern firearms and gear.

Anonymous

Will you ever get the chance to shoot the Steyr ACR or AN-94?

Anonymous

I have heard it said that Kalashnikov’s design for the AK-47 action was based (in part) on the Garand rotating bolt, but how would Kalashnikov or his design team have encountered an M1? Was there lend-lease of M1 rifles to Russia or did the Soviet government purchase samples of different weapons for reference?

Anonymous

How easy would it be to convert .303 to a rimless cartridge and to improve it's ballistics? Do you think that a more efficient bullet design and rimless conversation would be cheap and easy enough for the British to have been able to do in the interwar? What would a conversation to rimless entail on a technical level?

Molly McAllister

Ian. You've shot the Manhurin, have you had a chance to try the HK Mk. 23? Both were the result of a specific request by a special-forces(ish) unit, which service do you think got the better deal and why?

Thunderchild

Given the history of attempts to make a belt fed AR15 and them all not catching on mostly due to the same reason, there not being enough room to make a belt system work well; would trying to build a belt fed 5.56 on the AR10 platform work better?

Thunderchild

I've always wanted an International Harvester Garand to go with my tractor collection, have you ever been surprised by companies you found manufactured weapons, especially during major wars?

Anonymous
>>65120879

For context: https://www.recoilweb.com/what-are-run-and-gun-competitions-140905.html

Anonymous

Why were deeply-crescent-shaped buttplates so popular with early rifles, and what if anything changed in terms of use/technique to make them fade from the scene around the start of the 20th century?

Anonymous

Will you be doing a book on German firearms like the others? If so could the backer edition be in field grey?

Anonymous

I'm a big fan of the 7x57 Mauser cartridge. I feel it strikes a good balance between energy and recoil while being flat-shooting. My question is: why weren't more 7mm cartridges developed for military use?

Anonymous

Can u ask Max Popenker about handgun laws in Russia? Hasn’t been covered in previous vids. Rifles /shotguns are very clear. Internet info is conflicting to say the least on pistols.

Anonymous

Third time asking. In an alternative universe where Mikhail Kalashnikov was a US Sherman Tank commander but still invented the rifle that bears his name, does his rifle face the same opposition by US Ordinance in the late 1940's through 1950's as Stoner's AR-15 did in the 1960's? Is it an easier wood, steel, and .30 caliber pill to swallow by the traditionalists in the US brass?

Quinn Ling

If "magical Elbonia" (or anywhere really) also had minority populations of 4 ft Hobbits and 10 ft Amazons, would they outfit them with the same rifle at different lengths (like Colonial Berthiers) or would they need to give them uniquely produced firearms to fit their statures/strengths?

Anonymous

When the French were modernizing their cartridge and ditching 8mm lebel - I am wondering what was the reasoning for switching to 7,5 bore diameter. Wouldn't it have been lot more reasonable to simply keep everything in 8mm - maybe even keep the bullet design and just change the case (kinda like the US did when they switched from 30-06 to 308). That way all the transition could've been much easier and cheaper. Without having to manufacture new barrels. Also would make sense to do it that way since they were copying the germans who were using 8mm projectiles.

Anonymous

How did countries not discover the ludicrous nature of 300-400 meter zeros on their rifles before WWI? From Conflicts such as the Russo-Japanese war to the Boxer Rebellion, surely troops must of realized how impractical their rifle sights were for the realities of warfare.

Morgan Byrd

Does one case harden a stamped receiver? When is case hardening indicated (and when is it not)?

Anonymous

How about a book on the losers in the US military weapon trials? Also needed to be included are the truly bizarre ideas submitted that never got into the formal trials.

Anonymous

3rd time asking!! We’ve all heard the Winchester 1911 SL referred to as “The Widowmaker”, since the user would, allegedly, place the butt of the gun on the ground with the muzzle facing their chin, and cycle the action occasionally causing a slamfire. I haven’t been able to find any documented occurrences of this actually happening. So, just another case of fuddlore? Or was common sense really a little less common a century ago?

Anonymous

Do you think any 'last ditch' weapons from the past would have made at least a decent general issue service weapons if given a better development and production cycle. (Yes the sten was a last ditch with a relatively long, for a last ditch, service life, but was it ever really decent?)

Anonymous

Given the M1 carbine and .30 carbine cartridge were the hot tacticool thing of the 1950s, leading to developments like the Kimball pistol, were there ever any revolvers chambered in .30 carbine at the time (ignoring the Ruger Blackhawk, given it's a single-action and its .30 carbine model wasn't introduced til 1968)? And if not, why?

Anonymous

At the start of World War I, were there any semi-automatic rifles in existence that would have been battle ready?

Anonymous

Have you done or will you do a thing on the Tabatiere? Or any of the Snider or Snider-esque conversions out in the world? (have one of the brass breech 12 gauge Tabatiere and think they are kind of a hoot)

Anonymous

Fist time asking, What do you think John Browning’s biggest flaw was as a gun designer, like were some of his creations more complex than needed or were some over built ,or was he just perfect in every way?

DutchJakeMetal

As you have traveled to far-away and exotic places like France, Malta, and Wyoming, I'm sure you get plenty of questions regarding gun culture and laws in these places. I have no interest in that subject. What I would like to know is if there is any non gun related cultural aspect you have seen in your travels that you wish would carry over to the US, or which you're you're glad has not not carried over to the US?

Walter Hoel

Second time asking. Have you checked out the Fuller Gun Collection at the Chickamauga Battlefield visitor's center? They have stuff from the Spanish era all the way through WW1, including a lot of interesting breech loading conversions.

Edmond Griffith-Jones

(Hi Ian) So it's 1919 and the trench hell is still a thing. The Pedersen Device.... didn't do what was hoped, expected. thousands of doughboys die along with their wonder weapon in French mud. Naturally the British are horrified at the debacle, and look longingly and fruitfully, Is it me or does the wise money go on the Lanchester but. In .455 Webley Auto. Would it have not been chambered in a native cartridge over 9 parabellum? Whilst still being in a wartime situation. I understand it post war as a defacto standard later on but whist at war my hunch goes again for something in inventory. Your thoughts please. and how cool would said .455 webley chambered Lanchester actually be.

Jim F

Two questions for you, Ian...

Anonymous

Was there any work by US ordnance (or others) to reduce the size & weight of the BAR as a semi-automatic rifle before/after the Garand?

Jim F

Two questions for you Ian... 1) When will you do a full examination of the Robinson Arms XCR platform and 2) Do you think that perhaps our paradigm of understanding handgun cartridge ballistic effectiveness is a bit off? That is, given no more thorough research than the Thompson-LaGarde tests and Dr. Marvin Fackler and the Army Wound Ballistics Laboratory examinations that perhaps the ballistic "floor" ought to be the .357 Magnum and cartridges progressing upward (.45 ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Magnum and the true heavy hitters of the Linebaugh and Casull persuasion)? I've learned that sadly, due to administrative convenience, a fat budget and a perceived prestige, the FBI's test facility has managed to steer everyone into believing- wrongly, I think, based on my personal experience-, that the 9x19mm Parabellum is just as effective as other handgun cartridges. Seeing perps perforated thirteen times with the 9mm, .38 Special and various and sundry less powerful cartridges prompts one thinking on the matter to understand that the larger, more powerful cartridges actually are more effective and that the problem lies with the training of those who must use them. The FBI was sued by certain woman and small handed man agents over using the .357 out of the model 13 Smith and that same atmosphere killed the full house 10mm Norma for the Bureau after the Miami shootout. Shooting jeans, jackets and gelatin under very controlled circumstances I think is not the best way to determine the proper balance of projectile and the platform to launch it. What say you?

Anonymous

Why don’t we see more Ukrainian firearms? We see firearms from most other European Warsaw Pact countries, but why not Ukraine?

Anonymous

Karl and you keep saying that the choice of firearm rarely or never actually affects the outcome of a battle, let alone a war. If that is so, then why do armies keep updating them and why would they buy fairly expensive guns like HKs? Couldnt everyone then just keep using whatever they had since the early cold war? Or buy barebone AKs if the old stuff isnt actually functioning anymore. Then they could spend the savings on something that "really makes a difference" (fighter jets, cyberwarfare etc). This applies even more so to pistols btw.

Anonymous

Whatever happened to Metal Storm? I remember seeing it on the History channel years ago and it seemed like a novel idea. I heard the original company went under in 2012 but development continued with another brand. And is it still relevant?

Anonymous

Southwest meets Northwest!! Ian: have you ever considered doing a collaborative project or two with Paul Harrell my other favorite gun-related Youtuber? I know you both have different styles and cover different aspects of firearms but how fun might it be if you brought an exotic something or other from your collection (perhaps shooting French Long?) and went through its origin story with all its bits. Then Paul could chronograph it, blow up some Shasta bottles and see how it does against the Meat Target. Can that Chauchat really penetrate orange bag lung tissue? Shatter pork ribs? Get stopped in the new and improved high tech fleece bullet stop? Educational? probably. Quirky? absolutely. Super awesome? YES! As always we wouldn’t try this at home you both are what you might call professionals!

Anonymous

3rd time asking: Was there any country experimenting with plastic/composite magazines before the Soviets?

Anonymous

What do you think of the "Ian can't Othais" clips? And now that you have been doing this a while have you grown more comfortable with the celebrity/internet meme status?

Anonymous

Asked last month, why do you think firearms like the P90, MP7 and M1 carbine end up being used more by elite units and law enforcement more than the rear echelon troops they were meant for?

Anonymous

How effective were factory codes at preventing their enemies from acquiring production data.

LiquidByAnotherName

You are put in charge of arming an Elite Elbonian Strike Team that is headed to Northest Dakota, a region known for its long winters, harsh blizzards, and large expansive mountain ranges. The goal is to infiltrate a weapons testing facility and obtain documents on a reported in development super weapon. Due to the harsh blizzard, the team will be forced to make their way into the AO on foot, with the landing zone about an 8km hike away. Any firearm put ~into production~ after 1985 is disqualified, and if the strike team is detected there is a good chance the super weapon prototypes will be destroyed, so its probably a good idea to use something suppressed in case you come across one of the many patrols being run in the area What do you arm this team with? Primary? Secondary? What other equipment do you think would benefit the team?

Michael Quinn

I've asked this a number of times. We all know about the MP-5 and MP-7. What were the MP-1,2,3,4 and 6?

Tyler Horne

Why aren't there more (or any) gas operated handguns and PCCs? I'm not a handloader so I am uneducated on the differences between rifle and pistol powders and if that is a factor

Straw Man Group Training and Security

I recently purchased a KP-15 lower in OD Green and wanted to know if you had any suggestion on paints that play nice with the polymer used so I don't damage or compromise it.

Anonymous

The Vetterli Rifle seems to be a fairly advanced weapon for the late-1860s. How come it seemingly failed to garner much interest outside of its home country of Switzerland and in Italy?

Anonymous

Second time asking: I'm always hearing online that revolvers are NOT pistols. Most people seem to justify this claim because the NFA defines a "revolver" as a weapon with a rotating cylinder, while a "pistol" has a chamber permanently aligned with the bore. However, the actual text of the NFA defines a pistol as a firearm with a chamber which MAY be permanently aligned with the bore, which from my interpretation would not necessarily exclude revolvers. Moreover, specifically defines revolvers as "firearms of the pistol type". As such, the claim that revolvers are not "pistols" doesn't seem to have any actual basis in US law. Do you have any insights as to how this perception came about? I have seem some indication that this convention may have originated within the US military, but I am not certain of that.

Anonymous

Second time asking (again): I recently acquired a couple of Ethiopian M1 Carbines, and I would like to know more about the M1 Carbine platform. Do you have any recommendations for books/resources on this subject?

Anonymous

A different hypothetical small country scenario: this one needs to arm several thousand troops, and has a reasonable budget to buy small arms and can get ammo, but it expects not to be able to get spare parts. Instead, after the one-time purchase of arms, all replacement parts must be made in a few small machine shops in the country. Given that, what would the idea handgun, submarine gun, rifle, and light machine gun be?

Anonymous

Short: Could you please speak to firearms trusts, why people started using them to register NFA devices; and if they are still a viable option now that the ATF has changed the rules on how they have to be handled? Long: I created a trust for registering my 2 cans, thinking A) I can skip the requirement for having the head of a state or local law enforcement agency sign off on my NFA application, B) I can make my wife and kids trustees, then I can send the devices to the range with any trustee (rather than have to babysit them myself, which I would have to do if they were registered to me), C) I can manage the trustees as needed, at any time; to add son-in-laws, etc, D) When I pass, the devices will still belong to the trust, my family will take possession and not have to pay for another tax stamp in order to keep them. But now the ATF has changed the rules. Every time you add or sell a device that is registered to the trust, or add or remove a trustee; every trustee has to submit a full set of fingerprints, photos, etc. Just as if they are applying for a new tax stamp their own selves. Every trustee, every time you make a change. I'm thinking about adding another can, and I have a new son-in-law I'd like to add to the trust. But I'm not sure the trust model is worth it anymore, and I'm thinking about just applying in my own name. When I croak, let the family worry about what to do with the things. What is your opinion?

Anonymous

Asked before, how common was 9mm luger ammunition in the US pre 1950?

Christian Hanes

Have you ever thought about coming out to the big D-Day reenactment in Conneaut, Ohio? The Chieftan enjoyed his time here, seems like it’d be perfect for you.

Anonymous

2nd time - Has there ever been a gas operated semi-auto pistol design in which gas is vented from a fixed barrel into a slide which also acts as a piston?

Michael James Blum
>>65116404

I don't have a link right now for a "period" film, but like this -- except a dozen or more stocks at once. https://youtu.be/PUr5IFXNT0A

Landric Hakon

Repeat Question: How did the French settle on the bore size/bullet weight/muzzle velocity on the 8mm Lebel? It seems like they basically set that standard for years to come for cartridge performance if not case design.

Anonymous

I've always found that inertia operated firearms are pretty interesting. Why do you think we don't see more designs use the concept of inertia operation?

Chairman

No question; just thanks for the content and hours of infotainment you provide.

Anonymous

Have you read the recently declassified 1988 Australian government evaluation report pitting the Steyr AUG v Colt M16A2 which led to the adoption of the AUG? If so, what did you make of the findings?

Anonymous

I enjoyed your video on your NFA Mini AK abomination; what other firearms do you have in your collection that are fugly but loveable?

Anonymous

Second time asking. You’d mentioned previously that you had watched 15 Minutes of War and you weren’t impressed with the authenticity of the firearms used in the movie. Have you seen Intimate Enemies ( A movie about the French conflict in Algeria ) and if so what did you think of the authenticity of the weapons in that movie.

Chris Hamlin

Francophilia aside, MAS-49 or FN-49?

Anonymous

I had heard from another channel that Forgot Weapons is steering away from producing more content with InRange - ever since hearing this I have noticed no new videos/collaborations with InRange - is this a valid observation? If so, is there a specific reason behind this and what is that reason?

Anonymous

Ian, in recent Q/A you've mentioned that the typical development time of a firearm is 5 years. You attributed a large chunk of this timeframe to working out the tolerances of each part through experimentation. Do you expect this timeframe to shorten as modern designers learn from those who came before and utilize modern technology? As an engineer myself, I can guarantee part fitment through careful tolerancing and the use of historical limits and fit data.

Anonymous

Dear Josh, sometimes, it takes thousands of rounds, a mud bath and a clumsy recruit before MOST malfunctions can be learned. Then you learn which tolerances can be "plus 1 mm, but minus zero." I encountered similar malfunctions when I worked in parachute development. Some of the most confusing malfunctions were caused by users who never read the manual and then proceeded to assemble, pack and operate our parachutes in ways that never crossed the designer's mind in his worst drunken nightmare! A prime example of this is Israeli Army recruits using Galil magazine lips to un-cap beer bottles.

Anonymous

2nd time asking. You’ve traveled back in time and can prevent the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand by arming and training his security detail. What weapons available in 1914 do you equip them with and what training do you give them?

Anonymous

Does engine and propeller speed affect rate of fire on aircraft machine guns? Or is the diffrence to small to notice? Love the content. Third time asking. Thanks!

Anonymous

Ian, I'm going to try to sneak two questions in here. Question 1 - It is 1915 and you can assemble a rifle using the components of any rifle of the belligerent powers in any combination. What would you do? (ie a Lee action, in 8mm mauser, with Enfield p 14 sights) Question 2 - How did you ever convince your wife that this whole "I'm going to make my living making YouTube videos about weird guns" was a viable option? Thanks for all the content

Will Sanders

Second ask Ian, Recently ran across a young lady with a kammerlader cartridge conversion. Know any more about it? Relatedly what, in your opinion, is the most militarily effective cartridge conversion system? Thanks for the continued engaging content.

Anonymous

With your love of forgotten weapons, does it also help lean you into being a big history person as well? I imagine that the two would overlap a lot.

Anonymous

Hello Ian I’m curious of what your friends and family think of forgotten weapons? We obviously value your opinion and insight but did your circle think you were a fool to start forgotten weapons and if so have they had a change of heart over the years?

Anonymous

Hi Ian. If a present day Army were to be in a fixed, heavily fortified defensive position, Armed with a WW1 era Vickers machine gun, would they be at any particular disadvantage compared to having a more modern machine gun? M60E, Mag58, MG3 etc

Anonymous

What is the most interesting item you have ever heard of being found under a buttplate ( or other location) on a surplus /used firearm ? As an example my Swiss K31 rifle still has its original “ issue” paper under the buttplate and I’ve read of coins stashed in Enfields for good luck by assembly line workers.

Anonymous

What are the current scams in faked collectible firearms to watch out for? As an example, faked Enfield Jungle Carbines were a concern back when there were a plethora of cheap No4 Mk1 Enfields. . Thankfully Othias’ excellent article on how to spot a fake steered me to buying a correct No. 5 at my local gun show. Hip Hip Hooray for Othias!

Anonymous

Ian, 3rd (?) time asking. Do you think underbarrel launchers will ever completely replace rifle grenades? The former seems much more more versatile in terms of ammunition types, much less brutal to shoot, easier to load, and more convenient (being always ready and not inhibiting use of the rifle). However, I am surprised that rifle grenades are still being developed to this day. Is there some benefit to them that I am missing? All I can think of is that the system is lighter with no dedicated bulky attachment on the rifle. Thanks, Evan McCallum

Derek Putley
>>65133441

From my UK background, I'd say that the NFA has had no bearing on the historic uses of the terms "pistol" and "revolver" over here. I wonder if revolver handguns were first seen as pistols with rotating chambers (e.g. see https://patents.google.com/patent/US1304 for what Colt said about his invention). I guess the internet has also been responsible for the creation of keyboard warrior pedants, but does that matter in real life?

Anonymous

You have such a peaceful, calming voice - ever think about going into Audiobooks?

Anonymous

Hi Ian! You might have heard about civil semi-auto AKs with odd riflings and calibers made specifically for Russian market. Max Popenker once mentioned it in your video. These products were aimed at bypassing the restrictions set by Russian gun laws that require a person to own a smoothbore shotgun for 5 years in order to be eligible for purchasing a proper rifle. Such products included AKs with oval Lancaster rifling and so-called Paradox rifling when only a short section of a barrel is rifled. These also went with particular calibers i.e. 9,6/53 and .366 tkm. Until recently those counted as smoothbore arms, but about a month ago a law took force that requires the same 5 years to own those. And it practically leaves no reason to buy these products, since they are inferior to normal rifles but have the same strict requirements to own. I expect Russian arms producers to severely cut or even discontinue production of these AKs. Sorry for a long introduction, here finally comes the question: do you see a collector value in these long guns on American market? I am aware of all trading restrictions currently in place, but things change. The law I mentioned takes force in a year and gun shops still have these guns in inventory. For reference, examples of these guns are Vepr VPO 213 and 222 by Molot, Saiga TG2 (including one based on AK-12) by KK and also classic AKs and SKSs rebarrels. Thanks for your great work, being a history guy myself I really appreciate it!

Anonymous

Considering that intermediate cartridges have been a relative success since their introduction with general infantry use and would have probably been beneficial in similar ways in rifles used prior to their popularization (WW1/WW2), do you know why countries in the mid 20th century tended to almost always move away from more "intermediate" rounds back to standard 30 caliber rifle rounds? With examples in the late 1800s like 6mm Lee Navy, it makes sense that they were too ahead of their time in regards to the barrel/rifling metallurgy and powder chemistry of the time, but in the mid 1900s we see 6.5×50mmSR Arisaka being replaced by 7.7×58mm Arisaka, 7.35 Carcano replacing 6.5 Carcano, among others. Logistics issues of issuing different cartridges to rifles and machineguns comes up as a major concern, but 6.5 Arisaka is listed in many places (can't find a solid source) as being criticized during its use for being "underpowered" despite being a relatively flat shooting round with weight/velocity loadings similar to 6.5 Grendel. Do you have any insight why these early "intermediate" rounds were so often put aside? Is it simply the efficiency of having less cartridges to supply combined with the other benefits of ammo weight and lessened recoil being less obvious on manually operated rifles, along with the logistics of the time making them infeasible?

Anonymous

Ian, I've been a big fan since probably about 50k subs or so, and within the last year or so have really found a passion for historic firearms and distinct mechanisms and such. I'm sure you get asked this sort of thing plenty, but I'm wondering if you might have any recommendation on where to get started towards working more hands-on with historical pieces. I want to do this as a career, but I'm not sure who to reach out to first. I know I'd like some experience with parts fabrication and such as well, but my main fascination is less with truly making a manufacturing venture and more with working older pieces. I haven't really even been sure who to ask, but seeing a new Q&A session come up, I figure it couldn't hurt to ask the guy who first piqued my interest in the subject! Thanks. PS, love your content as always, keep up the fantastic work!

Anonymous

Repeat question. How did veterans bring guns back to the US as war trophies? Was there a formal process? What about machine guns? When was this practice discontinued and why? Thanks, and keep up the good work!

Anonymous

What happened to the mag dumps on the full auto weapons? Feels like we haven't gotten them in a while after being spoiled with a bunch of them.

Anonymous

G'day Ian. Are you still involved in InRangeTV?

RegalDeagle

Have you considered covering the SOPMOD program and the various iterations of the M4 that resulted from it, as well as rifles that proceeded the program itself but would still fall under the same vein? I was thinking a video similar to the one you did on the 1911s development, where you get a series of examples and go down the line explaining how each version differs from the last, and how it differs from the standard issued rifle at the time. I know the M4/M16 is far from a forgotten weapon but the development of specialized versions of it for special operations has been a thing essentially since they went into service. If not, is it because the SOPMOD program is still ongoing?

Toby Williamson

Hello Ian I recently rewatched your video on the mockup of the OICW, and you made the comment that the array of switches on the bulky scope could be easily replaced with a cheap knock off smartphone With advancements in the electronics that have occurred, do you think it possible to create something like the OICW again? If not, what features do you think will be able to be placed into the optics of the future? Real time bullet drop compensation? Integration of thermals and night vision? Automatic zeroing?

Anonymous

My father has a vz24 brought home by his uncle who served in the pacific. The story goes that the Germans would send weapons from conquered countries to the Japanese. Do you have any information on this practice, and if so what other countries and weapons were involved in this program.

Anonymous

Hi - hope you and yours are both safe and sane. 2nd time asking - wood can be disposed of properly and metal can be repurposed. What about the polymers being used in modern firearms - while it might be nice if the millions of polymer firearms find a home on someones wall, will there be a pile of just the polymer bits cluttering up landfills? I enjoy watching your videos a lot.

Michal

Hi, I have question about P90: how come it does not jam and why there are not other guns adapting their magazine and/or cartridge? From watching your videos I understand that usually if magazine has a "gimmick" it jams/fails and is discarded but this system looks like it works as intended.

Anonymous

2nd attempt. Did You encountered any info regarding polish Chauchat's? From what I understand they were adopted by Poland in 1918-1919 (by the way of "blue" army of gen.Haller) and even later on in 1920's some of them were re-chambered to 8mm Mauser. How did it work out? Did poles made any additional modifications (like for example Belgians did)?

Anonymous

It is WW2 and the US didn’t invent the M1 Garland. Would you rather have a Pederson Rifle or a Johnson 1941?

PHAZE

If the typical firearm had an electronic fire control group, and thus could have any trigger weight the user/designer wanted without much mechanical difficulty, what do you think the ideal weight for various types of guns would be?

Anonymous

Regarding cartridge development, it has always struck me as strange that countries settle on what appears to be strange sizes. 5.56 or 5.45 versus 5.5mm. 7.92x57 instead of a true 8mm. I would have thought that it would be easier to produce more rounded number bullet sizes and barrels. Can you shed some insight into this?

EyeBall

Are you aware that from 1965-1972 or later, Browning, Weatherby and others, in order to extract moisture process from gunstock blanks by packing them with salt? The end result is corrosion of metal parts in contact with the stock. I found this when my dad gave me a 1966 production Browning T Bolt 22 rifle. Fortunately, the corrosion was minimal, but the pretty wood stock is not usable for its intended purpose.

Anonymous

What are your thoughts on the Maxim-Tokarev, and do you think you’ll ever get your hands on one to do a video?

Anonymous

I know that you have stated that engineers can remain creative under many, sometimes oppressive, systems of government, but would you suggest that the weapons engineers design and the army chooses to adopt are indicative of the political and economic system in which that nation state operate?

Anonymous

Other than the Gyrojet, do you know of any rocket propelled or rocket assisted small arms projectiles?

Anonymous

I was at the Springfield Armory Museum (which is awesome, BTW) and I came across a rifle with the rear sight on the hammer. The card for the rifle said they didn't know why, and I can't think of any reason why you would put there. You?

Anonymous

Off the top of your head, do you know of any firearms that can safely shoot different calibers interchangeably in dire circumstances without changing barrels, bolts or magazines? For example, CZ82’s that can shoot .380, 9 Makarov, and 9 Luger, or how the VSS Vintorez can shoot 7.62x39 if needed, albeit with virtually no accuracy?

Matt Schwoebel

What is your advice for a first-time AK (7.62 x 39) buyer and quality/better origins/manufacturers? $2000 budget(ish) in US. Thanks!

Anonymous

(2nd time) Supposing the development of the Confederate Williams gun had continued past 1865, how close was it to becoming a true self loader or an automatic? Were there other guns that would have been more likely candidates?

Robert
>>65116084

The US won easily in their war against Spain and instantly wanted a Mauser type rifle instead of their Krags...

Robert
>>65116635

HMG is a designation based on the use, not the caliber. MG08 is a heavy, as it is tripod mounted gun. MG08/15 is a LMG, even though they use the same cartridge and isn't that light. It is bipod mounted. Ian has a vid on that 😉

Robert
>>65127526

Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, so they had no "independent" development until 1992. And then they had millions of Soviet guns and no need or money to develop new ones for quite a while.

David C

In the Jungle Carbine video you mention they reduced the weight by making lots of additional lightening cuts. Does this mean the carbine took longer to machine and was more expensive than the full sized version?

Robert

What real life country reminds you the most of Elbonia in its choice of guns?

Anonymous

I’m intrigued by not only collecting, but actually shooting classic cartridge military weapons (1900-1980 era weapons). What features and qualities should one look for when buying a surplus weapon intended for shooting? What are some of the less obvious pitfalls?

Anonymous

(2nd Time asking) is it possible the reputation of the Carcano in "fudd lore" as weak and prone to violent disassembly is just mis-attribution of the Vetterli-Carcano's legitimate shortcomings?

Anonymous

Would you say the goals of project SPIW and ACR have been solved by modern optics?

Anonymous
>>65137371

There's a 2019 article written (in 5 parts) on the the tests which includes links to the reports that you speak of. Oh, it also mentions Ian and Forgotten Weapons. https://cove.army.gov.au/article/the-merits-m4-and-ef88-and-more-part-1 https://cove.army.gov.au/article/the-merits-m4-and-ef88-and-more-part-2 https://cove.army.gov.au/article/the-merits-m4-and-ef88-and-more-part-3 https://cove.army.gov.au/article/the-merits-m4-and-ef88-and-more-part-4 https://cove.army.gov.au/article/the-merits-m4-and-ef88-and-more-part-5

David C
>>65139720

he answered this in 51 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzudoK7E6M

Anonymous

New Patron, love the channel. Hey Ian, love the channel. Keep up the good work. If cost was no option, what submachine gun would you enjoy shooting with an integrated suppressor. This of course would exclude subguns which have of course already been intergreally suppressed (Stens, M3 grease guns, MP5s)

Anonymous

Are there firearms or ammunition that are considered failures because they were used in ways not intended during their design. I’m thinking of .380 acp ammunition being seen as underpowered because it is being used today in much smaller pistols than was originally envisioned?

Anonymous

Hello Ian, I have a question regarding Finnish captured small arms. Did the Finns capture and mark 1895 Nagant revolvers? Or were they just considered poor enough that the time wasn’t taken to stamp the boxed SA on them. Or were they just not a common thing to capture on the battlefield. One would think that Finland would take in just about any arms they could find during the winter and continuation wars.

Jeffrey Allan Beeler

What can you tell us about how to collect firearms in Canada? For example do you need a possession and acquisition license to buy related equipment like bayonets?

Anonymous

You’re all out of ammunition, and the only chance your small warband has against the mutant outlaw biker gang deployed ahead of you is a bayonet charge. What firearm do you hope to have in your hand in this post apocalyptic American west?

Anonymous
>>65158329

The Type “I” was built in Italy for transfer to Japan.

Anonymous

What's the neatest non-firearm related accessories you've come across for firearms (thinking things like the coffee-mill Sharps)?

Anonymous

Have wondered for so many years why when the military stopped buying Thompson firearms and went to grease guns why did they not just keep the Thompson mags? They must have had plenty of them and for just the mags could not have been too much money. And I always hear that making a reliable magazine is one of the hardest parts of building a new firearm. Why not just stick with the Thompson magazines even if it meant a small modification to them or to the mag well of the grease gun to use them.

Anonymous

You’ve mentioned that you spent a couple of years studying aerospace engineering (or at least an adjacent area of study with the intent of going to this industry). Have you ever considered widening the scope of the channel and covering the occasional rare/experimental aircraft?

Anonymous

was it doctrinal stodginess or a technical limitation that prevented earlier adoption of rear aperture iron sights (instead of tangent sights)?

Anonymous

What would DeLisle do?

Anonymous

If countries using an AR-derived platform (thinking specifically of Taiwan here) was forced to make a last-ditch rifle like the Japanese did, what would it look like?

Anonymous

If the US never had restrictions on importation of firearms, do you think that the AR platform would have taken off like it has? If so, what surplus or otherwise would you want?

Sue-Doe Nimm

I'm a big fan of the WWSD project, but I'm also an impractical fool who likes Fallout. If I were to get an AR, I'd probably try to trick it out with a wood furniture kit. I wouldn't want this, but aside from bad taste, manufactoring issues, and insulting Stoner's spirit, what are the limitations of attempting a monolithic wooden lower? What would make it worse than the wood-set rifles of old?

Anonymous

John Browning was clearly a brilliant weapons designer, but what was the worst gun he ever designed?

Anonymous

Why does it seem like the early American semi-auto pistols never made any allowance for a shoulder stock? Was it a cultural difference in the US v Europe, or did Colt/Savage learn something from the "mistakes" of the European mfg's who were earlier to the market?

Anonymous

Besides the the Collector Grade book, what references would you recommend on the Browning Hi-Power?

Anonymous

What is your favorite type of muzzleloader?

PHAZE

Many times in history, a new firearm is nearly adopted or deployed by some country, but some last minute circumstance prevents it. A war begins (the MAS-40), a war ends (the Pedersen device), the political winds shift (the EM-2, the G11), or something else. Which of these guns, or others like them, should the countries be most relieved that they managed to avoid? Which would have been greatest had they had the chance to shine?

William Frank

Assuming the proper time and resources were available to perfect it, what almost, but not quite successful weapon or system would you like to see perfected?

Anonymous

I never figured out which tactical niche the Desert Eagle was actually intended to fill. Did it have any serious military/police purpose or was it just one of those “We’re gonna do a really big gun because we can”-things, like the original Auto Mag?

Anonymous

1) How would you define generations of self loading pistols? Before Browning, Browning-style and Browning-style with polymer? 2) What's your favourite semi-automatic pistol design that is also so rare that the fireplace guy doesn't already have like 3 of them?

Anonymous

I recently lost my pair of “aviator” sunglasses. What brand do you use?

Haris122

From a technical standpoint, which AK receiver type results in a more durable AK, milled or stamped? I have seen a lot of opinions, and I too suspect the milled is still better, but I also read that the greater flexing in stamped receivers actually reduces the amount of stress and “metal fatigue”, whatever that last one means. How much merit do you think there is to this flexing hypothesis? Thanks.

Andrew Sebastian
>>65117248

The muzzle flip is the revolver's recoil mitigation mechanism, so a revolver that recoils straight back into the web of your hand is literally a real pain to shoot. That's just my experience with the Chiappa Rhino, though. I've heard the Matebas didn't have this problem but I ain't rich enough to have ever touched one.

Andrew Sebastian
>>65173906

IIRC Ian made a video ages ago of a revolver with this characteristic. The reason for that one is that the hammer is the tallest point on the gun, so there's really nowhere else to put the sights that won't be obscured by the hammer.

Drew Sizemore

In your last tank video with The Chieftain, you fired the main gun remotely. In this and other videos, it's stated that you shoot from outside the tank for safety reasons (and other channels do this too) but nobody ever says anything beyond that. Why can't you shoot from inside the tank? Are these safety concerns still true for modern tanks?

Anonymous

I've asked this before, but does a firearm's action impact muzzle velocity, given the same cartridge load, barrel length, etc? For example, would a direct impingement have a measurably different muzzle velocity than a roller-delayed gun, if everything else was the same?

Anonymous

Second time asking do you think a modern ring trigger pistol with an intergal silencer could be a commercially viable poduct

Anonymous

Second time asking has anyone experimented with advanced primer ignition small arms, and are there any reasons besides ammo backwards compatibility that stop people from using it

Anonymous

Have you thought of wearing you long hair in any historical fashions?

Anonymous

With surplus machine gun parts drying up do you think gun ranges like battlefield vegas will eventually have to start making reproductions and due to these ranges making money based on round count per gun and not sales volume could we see repros of guns like the federov?

Anonymous

How difficult is it to obtain a C&R license? Are C&R eligible firearms able to be shipped directly to the buyer or, do they still need to ship to an actual FFL? Love your content !

Anonymous

I read sometime ago that the French at some point were developing a rifle grenade that could be launched with standard ball ammunition by making the centre of the grenade hollow and, I presume, vent holes in that hollow centre tube to help launch the grenade by muzzle blast. Do you know what ever came of this and were others developing similar things? It seems an obvious thing to do.

Anonymous
>>65171238

One of the things C&Rsenal’s videos have really driven home for me is how much impact politics, and personalities have on putting a particular gun with particular features in the hands of particular soldiers at a particular time. It’s fascinating.

David Teach

By World War One, and especially after, the 9mm Luger round became basically the standard pistol round for Europe and, to a lesser extent, the world, even up to today. But suppose that original Luger pistol was never produced, for whatever reason, back in 1900. Would it's lack slow down the popularity and adoption of the 9mm as the standard in those pre-war years? Would some other cartridge like the .30 Mauser or .380 ACP have become more widely popular instead? Or would something very similar to 9mm have been devoloped to take it's place?

Anonymous

Hey Ian, Scott from Scotland here. I started watching your channel about a few weeks ago and I'm loving how informative it has been. I was curious are you considering doing a video to cover ammunition terminology? I know you have multiple different ammo videos but maybe a video to cover a lot of the common ammunition terms and abbreviations out there. Thanks again for great work.

K. D. Campbell
>>65283102

You just fill out the paperwork and write a check. One copy needs to go to your local law enforcement office. Took about two months to get mine.

Anonymous

Have you seen the rare breed frt-15 trigger,and what are your thoughs on a forced reset trigger in general?

Anonymous

Can you explain the recent trend of European armies ( French, German, Norwegian ect) moving towards a modified AR platform main battle rifle? It’s hardly a radically new design.

Josh Ross

Hello Ian, how's it going?

Anonymous

Hey Ian, I've noticed that on older guns typically pre 1930 that iron sights on guns in general are quite small and hard to use, like on the trapdoor Springfield and many others, what are your thoughts.

Anonymous

You mentioned in a recent History Unloaded podcast that your recent book was sort of a spur of the moment project when you got access to a significant collection of Chinese pistols. You can explain a bit of how long the process was from start to finish to put together the written material for the book, the photographs, etc to give everyone an idea of how long a project like this takes to put together?

Anonymous

What is your pick for most funky looking firing pin that actually work reliably?

Anonymous

Hi Ian- Big fan of your content! I have two questions: I just finished the Nathan Gorenstein book, The Guns of John Moses Browning, and while I enjoyed it very much, it left me wondering about Browning’s cartridge development. I am aware that he is responsible for a number smokeless cartridges, yet the book sadly does not touch on their development. Did he work on them with UMC, Colt, or FN (maybe even Winchester earlier on)? Or did he prototype them in Ogden? Any insight you could provide would be appreciated! That leads me to my next question: How do modern ammo manufacturers decide to resurrect a discontinued cartridge? I recently acquired an old Remington model 8 in .30 Remington and I would love to see a modern manufacturer bring it back for limited runs so I am not caught between silly GunBroker prices or manufacturing my own brass. I’ve heard you mention at least one French cartridge that was just recently brought back, and I was hoping you might have some insight on this process of making a cartridge “brought back by popular demand”?

Anonymous

Has the winner of a weapons trial ever been decided by whether or not tooling was set up?

Anonymous

Hi Ian! Two questions for you. In Q&A 52, you were asked about a hypothetical WWI assault rifle, the WWSD 1914. One issue you discussed was the lack of intermediate cartridges. Would .30 Remington have been a viable cartridge? It is very close in perforance to 7.62x39. 2nd question: What Would Chauchat Do 2021? Is there still a use for the low-cost, automatic rifle? And how many changes would need to be modified to make the Chauchat a viable platform?

Anonymous

Hello Ian, thank you so much for all the work you do and all the things you've taught me over the years! I just bought my first C96 Broomhandle and it got me thinking. If reliable semi-auto pistols were available as early as the 1890's, why did it take so long to adapt & adopt the technology into military rifles? Why not simply "scale up" existing actions like the 1911 or the P08?

Michal

Hi, I have a question about external vs internal safety: given that Glock-like internal safety is considered by many "better" than external, why it is common only on handguns and not on rifles/carbines etc?

Anonymous

Which of the NGSW entries do you think has more potential: Sig‘s high pressure hybrid ammunition or TV‘s polymer cases?

Anonymous

Why have major firearms companies (seemingly) become reluctant to design assault rifles with polymer receivers? Besides the SCAR and the Arx-160 polymer receivers seem to have gone out of style. (I‘m deliberately not including the KP15 because that‘s purely a commercial product)

Fruitbat44

You've been hired as the technical advisor to the TV show 'Motherland: Fort Salem' on the sort of weapons the US Army would be using on the show. The thing is since the year 1693 firearms development has withered since magic wielded by witches has the been the main weapon. (No World War Two in this universe either.) So what would you be recommending for the arms of the "conventional" units of the US Army?

Drew Sizemore

Why does Turkey make so many shotguns?

Anonymous

Thank you Mr. McCollum for your time, and hello from Lawrence, Kansas. I love learning from you so much. Your YouTube channel is a blessing to all who seek practical knowledge about weapons. If it is acceptable and prudent to do so, I would like to hear stories of how being memed as, “Gun Jesus”, has affected your life. Has it been mostly positive? Do you have any anecdotes of the upsides and downsides of life with that moniker.

Anonymous

Would you be interested in being sponsored by a firearms training company and creating a revolving relationship with said company? If so, please message me. Love the show and I look forward to future content.

Drew Sizemore

In your M20A1B1 Super Bazooka video, you said that experiments had been conducted with the intention of turning the Browning M2 into an anti-tank weapon, but that never went anywhere. Can you give us any more details into those experiments?

Anonymous

You and carl seem to differ on which 357 carbine is better, you prefer the 92 over the 73, why?

Anonymous

Have you had a chance to, or do you want to, use thermal optics for hunting

Anonymous

2nd time asking, if a large quantity of firearms where required by the us military for a sudden event would there be a resurgence in simple stamped subguns Or would civilian ar production shift to military

Anonymous

Were there many military arms that were adopted but never saw conflict, other than Swiss rifles and the British EM-2?

Anonymous

Given that commercial and easily availible technology is closing the gap as compared to military level technology and with the rise of things such as 3d printers, what do you think the implications of a world where anybody can easily and relatively inexpensively create/invent their own gun and have the capacity to produce at least a few would be?

Anonymous

Hey Ian, hopefully I'm not too late. Would you consider visiting Russia? If you do go there, since you know Max Popenker, what top 3 guns you'd like to look over and why?

Anonymous

Howdy, Ian, second time asking. I'm very interested in "last-ditch weapons", such as those made by late-war Germany and Japan, as well as Britain earlier in the war. Are there any other good examples of a small arms' quality drastically reducing throughout a war. Also, are there any good books on the subject?

Anonymous

Q&A's are my favorites. Thanks. Why do early twentieth century battle rifles have wood furniture out to the muzzle and the contemporary sporter rifles do not?

Anonymous

Hey there, Ian! I'm a long time viewer, first time participating in the Q&A. My question is about getting started with 2 and 3 gun matches. I've been shooting recreationally and hunting for around 20 years, and I've been interested in participating in those matches for a long time, but I'm not sure where to start. Could you give an overview of the steps to take to start competing? Additionally, as a fellow long-hair, how do you make sure to keep your hair out of the way when you're moving between shooting positions in competition? I suspect that my hair could flop into the wrong position even when pony-tailed during a match. Thank you for putting out such quality content!

Anonymous

Ian, the FN-49 and the SVT-40 seem too similar have been designed ignorant of the others existence. Is one based off of the other? Thanks, Will

Anonymous

Hi, Just watched your M1 scout carbine video. Does the 3rd round stoppage exist in the M1 with the 7.62 conversion or was that malfunction left with the 30-06 M1 Garands? and What would your thoughts be on a No5 jungle carbine in a scout rifle configuration? Your M1 is awesome btw and I am thouroughly enjoying the Ians Customs series so far. ~ Nate

Drew Sizemore (edited)

Comment edits

2021-11-11 03:24:47 I was watching your presentation on the Ingram M10 & M11. The Military Armament Corp's logo is a Cobray wrapped around the world. You said it was a very 80s thing to do. Can you give any more details on that?
2021-08-22 04:31:32 I was watching your presentation on the Ingram M10 & M11. The Military Armament Corp's logo is a Cobray wrapped around the world. You said it was a very 80s thing to do. Can you give any more details on that?

I was watching your presentation on the Ingram M10 & M11. The Military Armament Corp's logo is a Cobray wrapped around the world. You said it was a very 80s thing to do. Can you give any more details on that?

Anonymous

Hey Ian, love your videos and have been watching for a long time. I'm curious to what extent was the Mondragon self loading rifle was actually used by the Mexican Army. Was it actually used in any combat? It seems to me that Mexico would lack the industrial capacity to actively produce and equip one of the first self loaders around and keep them in working order but I would imagine they would continue to purchase them to fight off revolutionary groups. If they didnt use this weapon, what weapon was standard issue for them.