Forgotten Weapons
Published on 24 Jan 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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How Does it Work: Operating vs Locking Systems
To properly understand how firearms work, one must first recognize the difference between two fundamental mechanical systems in them. One is the locking system, and the other is the operating system. The locking system is what keeps the breech end of the gun sealed when firing (examples include tilting bolts, rotating bolts, flapper locking, roller locking, and others). The operating system is what allows the gun to unlock once pressure is at a safe level after firing (examples include long and short gas pistons, long and short recoil, and others). Blowback firearms are somewhat of an exception to this, as they use a single mechanical system to both lock and unlock (inertia of the moving parts).
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Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 26, 2019
How Does it Work: Operating vs Locking Systems
February 25, 2019
Project Lightening Episode 04: Field Strip
C&Rsenal
Published on 21 Feb 2019Project Lightening is the first collaborative project between C&Rsenal and Forgotten Weapons. It features SEVEN World War One light machine guns put head to head to see which is the best!
We’re releasing two episodes a week but you can get them all at once over at C&Rsenal AND support both shows at the same time!
http://candrsenal.com/product/lightening
Episode 01: https://youtu.be/TVgkwQTo2n4
Episode 02: https://youtu.be/-hSZbo8Hvn4
Episode 03: https://youtu.be/A9ryJaj3mPw
February 22, 2019
Project Lightening Episode 03: Walking Fire
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 21 Feb 2019Don’t wait like a chump! Get the whole 8-part series right now at:
https://candrsenal.com/product/lighte…
Project Lightening is a collaborative series with Othais and Mae of C&Rsenal in which we test all seven light machine guns and automatic rifles of World War One and put them through a series of tests and evaluations. Each week we will be posting one video on Forgotten Weapons and one on C&Rsenal. Today we have the walking fire here, and the field strip assessment over on C&Rsenal:
http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 21, 2019
Walther’s .45ACP MP (P38 Precursor)
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 21 Jan 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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During the process of developing the pistol which would become the German army’s P38, the Walther company was also interested in potential export contracts (like the one they actually did get from Sweden). One potential contract briefly explored was to the United States, and a few prototype MP pistols were made in .45 ACP caliber. These were larger in all dimensions than the standard MP, and shared the features of those other developmental guns (most distinctively the shrouded hammer and internal extractor). This pistol was almost certainly taken as a souvenir form the Walther plant in 1945 by an American GI. No records exist of any American trials of the guns, and it seems that the plan to offer them for sale was never followed through on, probably because of the (9mm) guns’ success in German military trials.
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 17, 2019
Project Lightening Episode 02: 100 Yard Test
C&Rsenal
Published on 14 Feb 2019Project Lightening is the first collaborative project between C&Rsenal and Forgotten Weapons. It features SEVEN World War One light machine guns put head to head to see which is the best!
We’re releasing two episode a week but you can get them all at once over at C&Rsenal AND support both shows at the same time!
February 16, 2019
Project Lightening Episode 01: Introduction
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 14 Feb 2019Don’t wait like a chump! Get the whole 8-part series right now at:
https://candrsenal.com/product/lighte…
I am excited to introduce Project Lightening! This is a collaborative series with Othais and Mae of C&Rsenal in which we test all seven light machine guns and automatic rifles of World War One and put them through a series of tests and evaluations. Each week we will be posting one video on Forgotten Weapons and one on C&Rsenal. Today we have the introduction here, and the 100 yard accuracy testing over on C&Rsenal (https://youtu.be/-hSZbo8Hvn4).
http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 13, 2019
Project Lightening: The World’s Best Collab
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 13 Jan 2019You have asked for it for years, so we made it happen. The two hardest-working gun channels on the ‘net have joined forces in the best collaboration in all history. Coming February 14th (because we love you all so much)…Project Lightening!
https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
https://www.patreon.com/CandRsenal
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Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 11, 2019
How Does it Work: Blowback Action
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 10 Jan 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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How Does it Work: Blowback Action
The simplest for of firearms action is blowback, also called simple blowback. It is basically just an application of Newton’s 3rd Law; that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As the bullet moves forward down the barrel, the slide or bolt of the gun moves backwards. The two move with the same energy, meaning that the light and very fast bullet is balanced out by the heavy and slow bolt or slide.
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Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 10, 2019
Semiauto M2 Hyde Reproduction: The Interim US WW2 Subgun
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 9 Jan 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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George Hyde designed the gun that would eventually be adopted as the M2 submachine gun in the late 1930s, and it was first tested at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in October of 1939. At that time, the gun had many good traits (weight, handlings, etc) but suffered from parts breakage and unreliability. Hyde went back to work on the gun at the Inland Division of GM, and came back with a much improved version in April of 1942.
The Inland-Hyde SMG was chambered for .45 ACP ammunition and used standard Thompson magazines, and was poised to become the US Army’s new submachine gun, replacing the overly expensive Thompson. The Hyde passed a 6080 round endurance test with flying colors, and exhibited much better effectiveness in fully automatic than the Thompson. At the end of the April tests, it was formally accepted to replace the Thompson and given the designation M2.
A contract was given to the Marlin company (Inland being busy with other projects) to manufacture 164,450 of the guns, with delivery to begin in December 1942. However, Marlin had problems tooling up to produce the new gun, in particular with dies for several parts to be made using powdered metal sintering. Actual delivery of the first guns did not happen until May of 1943. In the meantime, Hyde and Inland had continued working on cheaper and simpler designs, and created the stamped sheet metal M3 “Grease Gun”. By the time the M2 was actually ready for delivery, the M3 had been tested and accepted by the Army as a better replacement than the M2. By mid-June, the M2 was declared obsolete and Marlin’s contract cancelled.
In total only about 500 M2 submachine guns were made, with (I believe) 6 surviving today. The example in this video is a semiautomatic-only reproduction made from scratch by a viewer of the channel, who graciously offered to loan it to me for this filming. Thanks, K!
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Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
February 3, 2019
How Does it Work: Open Bolt vs Closed Bolt Firearms
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 3 Jan 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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How Does it Work: Open Bolt vs Closed Bolt Firearms
Most semiauto firearms fire from a closed bolt and most fully automatic firearms fire from an open bolt, but these are far from strict rules, and many exception exist. Open bolt offers better cooling and prevents any possibility of cookoff, while closed bolt offers better practical accuracy.
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Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
January 19, 2019
Stopper 37mm: A Simple South African Riot Control Gun
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 29 Dec 2018http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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The Stopper is a simple 37mm single shot riot control gun designed by Andries Piek in 1980. The South African police services were at that time using 37mm guns made by Federal Labs in the US, dating back to the 1930s, and the international embargo on South Africa made it impossible to get parts and do basic maintenance on those arms. So Piek (whose other work included the BXP carbine/SMG and design improvements to the LDP/Kommando) whipped out the Stopper in all of two weeks to provide a new domestic-production 37mm weapon for the police.
The Stopper is a simple break-action gun, with a manually cocked, single action, hammer-fired trigger mechanism. Two versions were made, one with the front grip and one without, and all were fitted with collapsing stocks. Production began in 1982 and ran until 1999, by Mitco Special Products under the Milkor name.
As an interesting postscript, Piek was inspired by seeing Christopher Walken using a Mannville 25mm revolving gas gun in the movie Dogs of War to make something similar in 37mm or 40mm. The gun he designed to this end became the Milkor MGL, adopted by South Africa in 1983 and by the US Marine Corps in 2005.
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Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
January 12, 2019
Shooting the H&K MP5K Operational Briefcase
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 22 Dec 2018http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
Heckler & Koch’s “Operational Briefcase” is a clever system for covert carry of a submachine gun without the need to conceal such a large type of weapon under bulky clothing. By putting the gun into a briefcase, they gave security personnel a way to blend right into the business and executive type of environment. Of course, the idea has become rather well known, at least in some circles. It may not have quite the same element of surprise it once did, but it is still a remarkably discreet contraption.
Thanks to H&K and Trijicon, I had the chance today to actually do some shooting with one of the briefcases. When properly used (which is to say, braced against the belly and aimed with the torso) it is quite a lot more useful and accurate than I had anticipated! It should definitely say something that H&K still sells these briefcases to law enforcement and security firms to this day…
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Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
January 2, 2019
Is the Stoner 63 Really So Good? Shooting the Mk23, Bren, and 63A Carbine
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 8 Dec 2018http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
Is the Stoner 63 really as good of a gun as everyone says? Today is my first opportunity to try one out on the range, and I’m going to look at it in three different configurations: the Mk23 SEAL light machine gun, the “Bren” style automatic rifle, and the carbine. Let’s see how it handles!
I owe a tremendous thanks to Movie Armaments Group in Toronto for the opportunity to take the Stoner kit out to the range! Check them out on Instagram to see many of the guns in their extensive collection: https://instagram.com/moviearmamentsg…
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
December 27, 2018
Shooting the FG42: The Hype is Real
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 3 Dec 2018http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
The hype? Yeah, it’s real. The FG42 is the nicest full-auto full-power rifle I have yet fired. This is a recut of a previous video that YouTube decided to squash.
If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
December 13, 2018
The Israeli Galil
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 23 Nov 2018https://www.forgottenweapons.com/the-…
http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
The Galil was the result of a program to replace the FAL in Israeli service after its somewhat disappointing performance in the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel found that while the FAL had shown reliability problems in the desert, AK rifles ran just fine despite often being badly neglected. In an initial series of tests, captured AK rifles came out superior to M16 and Stoner 63 rifles. This led to a more extensive series of tests and developmental work in which Yisrael Balashnikov developed a number of prototype rifles based on AK actions modified to 5.56mm using Stoner barrels and magazines. This second trial would ultimately compare the M16, Stoner 63, HK33, AR18, Beretta and Steyr rifles, and domestic developments by both Balashnikov and Uziel Gal. The Balashnikov rifles would prove the ultimate winner of the competition.
Balashnikov – whose name being so similar to Kalashnikov through pure coincidence, and who was originally born Mishmar Hayarden in Russia – would change his name to the more Hebrew sounding Yisrael Galili, and the new rifle pattern would be named the Galil after him. While the prototypes had been built on captured Soviet-bloc AKs, the production version would be based on the Finnish Rk-62 Valmet receiver. The Galil featured a great many improvements and additions to the AKM, including much better rear-mounted aperture sights, night sights, integral bipod (on some models), folding stock, ambidextrous safety and bolt handle, folding carry handle, and of course, a bottle opener. The Galil was formally adopted in 1972, but never did completely equip the Israeli Army, as surplus M16 rifles form the US were available for little or no cost. It was phased out by about 2000 and replaced by the Tavor series.
Prior to 1989, semiauto Galil could be imported into the US for commercial sale, and between 7000 and 9000 were brought in by a succession of importers (Magnum Research, Action Arms, and Springfield Armory). A 7.62mm NATO version of the Galil was introduced in 1983, which was not used by the Israeli military but did see adoption by Colombia as well as limited commercial sale in the US. The standard 5.56mm Galil were purchased by an array of foreign militaries including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Estonia, Portugal, and South Africa (where it served as the basis for the domestic production R4 series).
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
