PDW on Steroids: the vz68 and the Skorpion 9×19
The original Scorpion was adopted in .32 ACP caliber as the vz.61 by the Czechoslovakian military – but development of the Scorpion did not end there. Prototypes were also developed in .380, 9×18...
View ArticleSkorpion 9×19 at the Range
https://www.instagram.com/czguns/ https://www.facebook.com/CZfirearms Yesterday we looked at the development of the Skorpion PDW/SMG in 9x19mm Parabellum both in the 1960s and then when it was...
View ArticleDevelopment of the CZ Skorpion from Laugo Prototype to Evo3A1
https://www.instagram.com/czguns/ https://www.facebook.com/CZfirearms The CZ Skorpion grew out of a Czech Army request for a new 9x19mm SMG as the newly formed Czech Republic pivoted to a Western...
View ArticleBefore the High Power was the FN Grand Rendement
The Browning High Power story begins with a French 1921 request for a new military pistol. FN engineer Dieudonné Saive developed a double stack, single feed magazine and John Browning adapted a...
View ArticlePoland’s Problematic First SMG: The wz.39 Mors
Designed by Piotr Wilniewczyca and Jan Skrzypinski starting in 1936, the Mors was Poland’s first domestic SMG. Polish police forces had purchased Thompsons and Suomi in the 1920s and 1930s, but the...
View ArticleEast Meets West at the BUG Match: CZ’s vz.82
Yesterday we looked at the history and development of the vz.82 pistol; today I am taking it out to the BackUp Gun Match. this should be a pretty competitive pistol in this environment, and it...
View ArticleCroatia’s Prototype Bullpup AK Conversion
https://youtu.be/9LBz7Q7Nges The HS Produkt company, best known for making the XD pistols sold in the US by Springfield, was originally called IM Metal, and was a general fabrication company in...
View ArticleThe CZ-2000 as a 9mm SMG Prototype
There have been several examples of the AK being used as the basis for a pistol-caliber SMG or PDW. The Russians made the Vityaz, the Hungarians made the KGPF-9…and the Czechs actually made a version...
View ArticleGenesis of the VHS: IM Metal Gets a FAMAS
After their abortive effort at designing a bullpup AK conversion, IM Metal (later to become HS Produkt) decided to make another try at developing a rifle for the Croatian Army. This time, they decided...
View ArticleA Path Less Traveled: IM Metal’s Tavor-Based Prototype for the VHS-1
Today we are continuing to trace the development of the IM Metal / HS Produkt VHS rifles. During this period, Croatia briefly considered adopting the Israeli Tavor rifle. Part of the adoption would...
View ArticlePrototype 7.7mm Arisaka Type 99 Carbine
The Japanese military made the decision to move from a 6.5mm infantry rifle to a more powerful 7.7mm cartridge in the 1930s, with specifications for the new rifle proposed in 1938. In response, the...
View ArticleVG45K: Rheinmetall’s 8mm Kurz Volksgewehr
As the end of World War Two loomed close, the German arms industry turned to a number of Volkssturm rifle designs. These were the crudest and simplest rifles that could be made to work with minimal...
View ArticleMAC Model 1947 Prototype SMGs
Today’s video – and many others – have been made possible in part by my friend Shéhérazade (Shazzi) Samimi-Hoflack. She is a real estate agent in Paris who specializes in working with...
View ArticleFrommer Pistolen-MG Model 1917: A Crazy Villar Perosa Copy
After encountering Italian Villar Perosa machine pistols in the field, Austro-Hungarian troops requested a similar weapon. The project was given to FÉG to work on, and the result was the Pistolen-MG...
View ArticleMSBS Grot: The Complete History of Poland’s New Army Rifle
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...
View ArticleKordun 7.62: A Double-Stack Tokarev Pistol from Yugoslavia
The “Kordun” (named after a region in Croatia) was the first pistol design from Marko Vukovic, lead designer for IM Metal and later HS Produkt. It was made in 1985 for the Yugoslav Peoples’ Army, with...
View ArticleMarko Vukovik’s Prototype Machine Pistol: the V.M.18
Today we continue our series on the development of Croatian pistols towards the XD line. Last week we saw Marko Vukovic’s first design, and today we are looking at his second. This was the V.M.18, a...
View ArticleBechowiec: Polish Teenager Makes a Resistance SMG
https://youtu.be/vNoyjHwVCmQ The Bechowiec (or Beha) is a fascinating SMG produced in small numbers in southern Poland under German occupation during World War Two. It was made for use by the Bataliony...
View ArticleRoth Theodorovic Prototypes: From Very Awkward to Mostly Ungainly
Today we are going to take a looks at a series of six prototype Roth Theodorovic pistols. These were a design that competed in Austrian pistol trials around the turn of the century, and eventually...
View ArticlePrototype Birdshead Grip S&W No.3 Russian
This revolver appears to be one of the pre-production prototypes S&W made for the Russian No.3 revolver contract. Its frame has been expertly converted to a birdshead style. It handles very...
View Article