This video showcases a Colt Single Action Army (SAA) Flattop Target Revolver from Rock Island Auction Co. Built in the late 1890s, this premium firearm is chambered in .44 Russian, a popular target round of its era. The description highlights its near-mint condition and features designed for target shooting, including oversized, double-diamond checkered grips for a secure hold and a drift-adjustable rear sight with a high-visibility brass insert for aiming at black bullseye targets. The video also points out the checkered wide target trigger and the excellent condition of the nitre blued screw heads. It's noted that despite its age, the revolver is suitable for shooting today, even in the early smokeless powder era.
This video delves into the fascinating history and unique mechanics of the Bittner Model 1893 Repeating Pistol. Despite its unusual appearance, it predates iconic pistols like the Mauser Broomhandle and Luger. The manual action, operated by the triggerguard lever, loads rounds from an internal magazine, ejects spent casings, and cocks the striker. Firing a rimmed 7.7mm black powder cartridge, the Bittner offers reliability and a blend of single/double action capabilities. Its design, featuring an en bloc clip system and wood forend panels, showcases Germanic engineering innovation, representing an evolutionary step towards semi-automatic pistols. Production was limited to a few hundred units in the late 19th century.
This video showcases a rare Rigby-Webley .577 Nitro Express rifle, a piece of best English firearm craftsmanship. It highlights the rifle's falling block action by Webley & Scott, noted for its compact and handy design suitable for big game encounters. The description details the rifle's quality features, including a figured stock, fine checkering, restrained engraving, and superb craftsmanship. The video also touches upon the .577 Express cartridge's ballistics and the smooth operation of the Webley action. It emphasizes the rarity of this Model 1902 falling-block action produced for Rigby, suggesting it might have influenced Bill Ruger's design of the Ruger No. 1.
This "From the Vault" video from Brownells showcases a pristine, early production M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) from 1918, found at Rock Island Auction Co. Gunsmiths Keith Ford and Caleb Savant delve into the BAR's history, highlighting its intended 'walking fire' tactic, its role as a precursor to modern Squad Automatic Weapons, and its unique features like a shorter buttstock and lack of a bipod on early models. The video also details the specialized belt rig for hip firing, the safety-selector design, and historical anecdotes, including its limited WWI deployment and later use by Clyde Barrow. The rarity of an early M1918 BAR, potentially handled by John Moses Browning himself, makes this a significant historical piece.
This video features Brownells Gun Techs Keith Ford and Steve Ostrem showcasing the rare Smith & Wesson "Baby" Aircrewman revolver. Developed for the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s as a lightweight sidearm for aircrews, this J-frame revolver is chambered in .38 Special and features an aluminum frame and cylinder, weighing in at just 10 oz. The video discusses its history, the challenges faced due to its lightweight construction leading to pressure issues, and the rarity of surviving examples, with only about 10 believed to exist. Keith also provides guidance on identifying genuine Aircrewman revolvers, including how to spot hidden markings on those salvaged from government property.
This video from Brownells Gun Tech explores a Colt 1851 Navy revolver attributed to the legendary Wild Bill Hickok. Presented by Keith Ford and featuring insights from Joel Colander of Rock Island Auction Co., the video discusses the gun's provenance, including its connection to the Buffalo Bill Museum and historical research by Hickok historian Joseph Rosa. Factors like matching serial numbers, ivory grips, and historical accounts support the attribution, despite the gun not being in mint condition. The video highlights its condition, including holster wear and well-preserved engraving and grips, and touches upon its sale for a surprisingly low price after Hickok's death.
This video from the "From the Vault" series features Keith Ford and Caleb Savant from Brownells Gun Tech™ examining a rare Czech ZK-383 submachine gun at Rock Island Auction Co. The ZK-383, chambered in 9mm Luger, was designed in the 1930s as a light squad automatic weapon. The video highlights its simple barrel swap and easy cleaning process. It also details the ingenious mechanism for changing the rate of fire between 450 and 750 rounds per minute, as well as the unique side-mounted, tilted magazine that aids feeding and ejection. The discussion touches upon the ZK-383's production history from 1938 to 1948/49, its use by the Nazi Waffen-SS, and exports to Bulgaria. The three variants—standard, police (ZK-383-P), and bipod-less (ZK-383-H)—are also mentioned, emphasizing the firearm's solid engineering and smooth operation.
This video from Rock Island Auction Co. showcases a highly rare Mauser 1912/14 prototype pistol. The gunsmiths, Keith and Steve, detail its features, highlighting how it scaled up the Model 1910 and 1914 platform to fire the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. Key design elements discussed include the unique slide lock mechanism requiring a button depress and the heel-mounted magazine release. The pistol is described as a pre-WWI firearm with excellent craftsmanship. Its limited production and competition from other service pistols are cited as reasons for its lack of widespread adoption. Only 8 or 9 are believed to have been imported into the US.
This video showcases a mint-condition, pre-WWII Colt Match Target Woodsman .22 LR pistol from the Brownells "From the Vault" series. Hosted by Brownells Gun Techs Keith Ford and Steve Ostrem at Rock Island Auction Co., the segment highlights the pistol's distinctive heavy target barrel, adjustable target sights, "elephant ear" grips, and superb fit and finish. The presenters emphasize its accuracy and its status as a high-end target autoloader of its era, noting its completeness with original box, hang tag, test target, and manual. The video appeals to collectors and enthusiasts of classic semi-automatic .22 pistols.
This YouTube Q&A video covers a wide range of firearms topics, including the British adoption of the Besa machine gun, potential Magpul Masada/ACR upper receiver compatibility with AR-15 platforms, the unpopularity of auto-ejecting magazines, and impressive small arms development by smaller countries. It also delves into the pros and cons of en-bloc clips, the future of smaller/faster handgun cartridges, methods of measuring group size, guns with added ballast for recoil control, open-bolt/closed-bolt firing mechanisms, the future of the SIG 550 series in the US, and the potential for an ebook version of 'Chassepot to FAMAS'. Other discussions include the Dreyse rifle's suitability for the US Civil War, surprising auction prices, an incident with an EM2 rifle, the most advanced arms conceivable around 1900, thoughts on the Daewoo K2, French trials of the Madsen LMG, left-handed firearm designs, the British 4.85mm cartridge, a lunch at Rock Island Auction Co., a hypothetical weapon choice for fighting Franco in 1936, interesting firearm locking and operating systems, and which 'Forgotten Weapon' the host wishes to see back in production. The video also briefly mentions reproduction French WW1 uniforms.
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