sa81 KRASA: Czechoslovakia’s Ultra-Compact Lost PDW
The Krása project (which translates as “beauty”, but is also a shortening of “short assault rifle” – “KRÁtký SAmopal”) is a fascinating piece of Czech small arms development. In 1976, the...
View ArticleZB47: A Truly Weird Czech SMG
The ZB47 was developed at Brno as a contender for Czech military submachine gun adoption in the late 1940s. The Czech Army had technically adopted a submachine gun prior to World War Two (the vz.38;...
View ArticlePraga I: A Blow-Forward Bullpup Semi-Auto-Selectable Vickers Gun
The Praga I was the first machine gun design from noted Czech arms designed Vaclav Holek. Three examples were made for Czech military testing in 1922, but they were not acceptable. Instead, this...
View ArticlePraga I-23: Prototype Belt-Fed Predecessor of the ZB26
Vaclav Holek’s first machine gun design for the Czech military was the Praga I, built in 1922 and based heavily on the Vickers/Maxim system. However, it became clear that the military wanted something...
View ArticleAimpoint’s Only Gun: The PC-80 Symmetrical Action
Today we are looking at the entire scope of Aimpoint’s firearms development division…which is actually just this one firearm. Aimpoint was founded in 1975 as a partnership between Arne Ekstrand (a...
View ArticleSchmeisser MK-36,II – The Mechanics of the MP40
The German military began looking for a new submachine gun design in secret in the mid 1930s. There is basically no surviving documentation, but the main contenders appear to have featured: Hugo...
View ArticleErma EMP36: External Form Factor of the MP40
The German military began looking for a new submachine gun design in secret in the mid 1930s. There is basically no surviving documentation, but the main contenders appear to have featured: Hugo...
View ArticleStamm-Saurer Model 1907: A New Swiss Straight-Pull Bolt Action Rifle
After leaving the Zeller company, Hans Stamm went looking for work at major gun manufacturers like WF Bern and SIG. He ended up hired in 1907 by a company caller Saurer. This was an automotive firm...
View ArticleOne of a Kind Prototype vz.38 Pistol in .32ACP
When CZ developed the vz.38 pistol for the Czechoslovak military, they made a number of attempts to also sell it on the international export market. This involved offering some various changes in...
View ArticleExperimental AG-42B Conversion to 7.62mm NATO
Circa 1954, Sweden was starting to look for a new self-loading rifle to adopt for its infantry. The 6.5x55mm cartridge was a good round, but the idea of having ammunition compatibility with its...
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