Q&A #15: Disappointing Guns, 7.92x41 CETME, and 1873 Revolvers

[@HPBrowningBoy]

And suddenly an unexplainable price surge for Swiss straight-pull occurs.

[@rhinovirus2225]

This is hands down the best KZbin channel in my opinion. The videos always come out just as I'm getting home from work so they fit nicely in my daily routine. I can always count on some quality content every morning. Thanks a ton Ian for Forgotten Weapons!

[@rhinovirus2225]

Right on man. I just love that he shows that I'm not alone in my firearm nerdiness.

[@SpyderMadeKaSog]

The hair, the mustache, the goatee, the content. Omg.

[@johnathonholbrook4041]

He's definitely got french blood

[@timblack6422]

In his veins, or in his cup?😮

[@maverickpaladin4155]

This may have already been mentioned in the comments, but regarding last ditch weapons of WWI...the Great War "ended" in an armistice, something akin to the end of a soccer match where time expires and the referee blows the whistle. They did not fight to the end, so to say, as was seen in WWII, or as you and Karl like to say, the second half of the Great War. As such, that level of desperation didn't set in. Couple this with the lack of devastating aerial bombing, and it's as if the Great War was only the first half, both sides made their adjustments at halftime, then hostilities resumed roughly 20 years later. This is not meant to trivialize the hardship of war or to equate it to a ball game, but it's the best analogy that comes to mind at the moment.

[@Tiger351]

Not a bad analogy actually.

[@judgegrinch1139]

Except that all the teams totally and fundamentally changed? It's a terrible analogy the Great Wars were fought for several different ideological reasons sure many of the causes of WWII stemmed from perceived mistreatments of WW1 the reality is that there was an ideological reasons the battle between facism and democracy, facism and Communism. It would be more fair to call it a bracket period between WW2 and the Cold War and from the Cold War to the Modern War on Terror. But to say its like a halftime sports show does a massive disservice to the reasonings and rationale of Imperial nations in WWI and the ideological war that was fought in world war 2

[@BogeyTheBear]

More like the game was called, dissatisfied fans of several teams stormed their respective clubhouses and fought among themselves over the corpses of the players they murdered for control and ownership of the club, then resumed the match.

[@maverickpaladin4155]

@@judgegrinch1139 how did the sides fundamentally change?

[@maverickpaladin4155]

@@BogeyTheBear are you referring to the Russians / Soviets, the Italians, or another belligerent?

[@johnyricco1220]

Belgium has one of the most restrictive gun controls anywhere and it doesn’t stop FN from being one of, if not the foremost firearms designers in the world. The British just don’t have much of a manufacturing base left for consumer products in general. A prospective gun designer needs access to skilled machinists and machining equipment more than range time. Belgium and Germany make excellent guns because they preserved their manufacturing, not because they have more civilian gun ownership.

[@datro864]

You forget Britain is home to Accuracy International? It is also home to BAE Systems, the largest Defence contractor and manufacturer in Europe. And Rolls-Royce plc, the second largest aircraft engine manufacturer in the world. Manufacturers need contracts, the Sterling company was killed largely by the UK govt insisting on the SA80 rather than the clearly superior SAR-87, because they wanted to sell Royal Ordinance and a large contract would increase its stock price. The utter hopelessness of the team behind the SA80, and the BAE purchase of H&K resulted in further development of the rifle being outsourced to them. Also after the PR fallout of the L85A1, and many following procurement being UORs, purchasing good quality of-the-shelf weapons to meet requirements quickly became the preferred option. The only military firearms being produced in the UK good enough to secure overseas orders were those of AI, and the only market in the UK was for expensive, high quality sporting rifles and shotguns, the likes of those still produced by Purdey and Holland & Holland. So yes, the lack of civilian gun ownership meant the commercial market many US manufacturers have relied upon to recoup the costs of failed military contract bids was not there, whilst not being the full story by any means, it is at least a contributing factor.

[@MegaBoilermaker]

You are correct Sir, 40 years ago our stupid, greedy politicians decided that we could all make a living selling each other insurance policies and did not actually have to make anything and destroyed 200 years of proud industrial history.

[@Lowlandlord]

@@datro864 Their civilian gun market is where AI comes from. AI made competition rifles long before sniper or military rifles, and it got into that in a kind of random, unintentional way. You never laid out how a lack of "civilian gun ownership" in Britain affected the industrial sector, which has died off in fields totally unrelated to firearms. What has killed those sectors off has been jobs moving to India and China. You have mines that were in operation for literally thousands of years that closed because it is cheaper to import metal from the opposite end of the planet than pay someone their proper wage. And British consumers, like American consumers, are more concerned with saving their own money than buying quality products, from shirts to guns, made in Britain for a fair wage. I would also point out that similar industrial problems have occurred in many western nations. In Canada and the United States it is pretty rare to find something made in North America. If it is made on this continent it is probably simply assembled here, or made using cheaper Mexican labour, or both. I do hold our governments partially accountable, but it is capitalists policies that have gotten us here. You want to blame greedy politicians, they were voted for by greedy constituents that want to buy cheap shit from WalMart, Home Depot, CostCo and Tesco. Some of those constituents were rich capitalists, some of them were just you average Joe (or Tom, Dick and Harry), that somehow got duped into thinking that these politicians were for them. That stuff is cheap because it is made overseas where they don't have to pay a fair living wage, which lets them mass produce it cheaper and make more profit for their company. Capitalist trickle-down economics have not worked out for us, the trickle down has allowed China to build up their economy and industrial base on the other hand. And that's not China's fault, it's not China's fault that a lot of that stuff is poorly made either. Those companies have it structured in a way to minimize liability and to keep production costs as low as possible. Some, like Weber, moved production to China without a noticeable drop in quality (I say as someone who sells Weber BBQs and has had the models made in Indiana next to ones made in China). Most companies that move production to China or Indian don't care about quality, I sell a lot of their stuff too. Gonna point out here, most of those politicians were the right wing types. Probably a lot of left wing ones too (I can think of a few certainly), but generally the right wingers have the stronger ties to these companies and the economic policies that favour them more. Eisenhower, who was a right winger and a Republican, did try to warn against the "military-industrial-complex", which has turned into a system where big companies have a disproportionate amount of control of policy and a lack of oversight. That has lead to them being able to leverage the system in their favour and destroy our industry for their personal profit. Trump is a great example because he says one thing, very loudly, that gets the average Joe thinking he will help him. Meanwhile he is cutting the support out from under him. Support the failing coal industry, remove the support for people trying to transition into another, more sustainable industry. Not even talking sustainable in an ecological sense, he has cut funding for programs that helped people get training in the IT market, and other growing fields, to support personal friends who own and run companies in shrinking fields. Even they have said that the industry will not bounce back, his help just keeps it afloat (course it plays to their interests to keep being the underdog). Yay for Nixon (who really started a lot of this mess), Thatcher and Reagan?

[@Lowlandlord]

@@MegaBoilermaker I would argue that greedy and lazy Brits decided that they didn't need to work hard anymore, they could make better money selling each other insurance policies. They also decided that why buy anything made in Britain when they could buy cheap foreign products and save their "hard earned" money. Plays right into your cultural standards, go to work in a business suit and tie, look professional, not like some grimy muckraker (to be clear, I consider muckraking and any kind of physical labour to be the more honourable and preferable profession, merely stating cultural attitudes and pressures regarding social classes). And y'all do have a rather conformist society. Anyways, can't blame it all on politicians, you voted them in.

[@MegaBoilermaker]

@@Lowlandlord As a retired Boilermaker (6th generation) I can only agree with what you say has happened to my country in the last 40 years and in almost 60 years of voting I never once enjoyed being governed by a party that I voted for.

[@a_shuchu_601]

I guess 'Last ditch' analog for WW1 would be emergency purchases made abroad. Spanish Ruby by French, Japanese Arisaka Type 30 by Russians. (i.e. crude quality or outdated)

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Good point - I didn't think about the Ruby, or the other Spanish pistols bought by the British, Italians, etc.

[@JayRaxter]

Arisaka type 30 was actually a handier rifle than the follow on type 38. It was only 'outdated' because it was designed for a round nose smokeless round (the spitzer round came out the next year). The type 30 was a fairly good rifle and the russians bought well over 300,000 of them.

[@msh5215]

I would say the French F.M. Mle 1915 "Chauchat" light machine gun and the RSC 1917 self-loading rifle somewhat touch this cathegory as well, even though their purpose was a bit shifted - from "We must equip the military quickly and cheaply with any guns" to "We must equip the military quickly and cheaply with automatic guns". One can still find similar design traits in them, though - reduced amount of expensive and time-consuming machining, repurposing of parts from existing firearms, lowered quality standards, especially when it comes to finish, and somewhat crude-looking construction. Automatic and self-loading conversions, like the Huot and Howell (and the later Charlton) also skip into mind...

[@sethlance8009]

@@msh5215 actually the Mac 1917 was complex and far far from a let ditch wepon. But the chouchat would and could be considered (kind of)a last ditch wepon

[@rmsymes]

Ÿ​@@JayRaxter r

[@tomw.6511]

10:25 C96s are very pleasant to shoot with stocks. The stability of the stock allows for more accurate shooting and reliable cycling.

[@theoneandonlypirate]

I found stocked C96s to be quite comfortable and surprisingly nice handling guns. The stocks on both the guns I've handled lock pretty tight. The stock turns a sort of mediocre handgun into a sweet little carbine. I'm surprised Ian does not like them.

[@littlegrabbiZZ9PZA]

My wife says to tell you that your hair is glorious. That is all.

[@DonDiesel885]

littlegrabbiZZ9PZA suspect

[@Clay3613]

His current look is much more akin to Custer, Jesus never had a goatee.

[@SilentRazor1uk]

we never will know if he/Iasu, did have a pet goat or not, or a beard of some type, nor if he got far with some shepherds goat.

[@jimmac7037]

I immensely respect his knowledge and ability in presenting his show although I suspect maybe I’m a little jealous of the fact he has hair I hope he doesn’t hit 50 and lose it all like some of us do it’s all good fun and a little bit of rib tickling

[@dwightehowell8179]

@ Buffalo Bill's wild west show. He doesn't seem to have the hat for that though.

[@Harmon1ca]

Thumbs up not only for the great content - but the timestamp questions in the comments. That's outstanding.

[@blitz0447]

All those Lebels and Berthiers in the background are making me envious...

[@brancaleone8895]

some german will smell all those labels and berthiers and try to occupy ian´s house

[@stephengloor8451]

I think I have been watching too much as I can identify most of them now. Is that a bad thing?

[@littlegrabbiZZ9PZA]

Remium Qualit I mean I'm German, and that wall certainly is attractive... Urge. To. Raise. Right. Hand... Rising...

[@dylankornberg4892]

Great to hear you talk about the CMP. They are a fantastic organization, were really great when they certified me to run a rifle range at summer camp.

[@johnnelson5503]

FYI, when the British purchased the US stocks of Model of 1917 rifles to arm the Local Defense Volunteers/ Home Guard early in WW2 they officially referred to it as the Pattern 1917, even going so far as to have a footnote in their training manuals explaining that the US called it by a different name. Thus, if a Model 0f 1917 has British acceptance stamps and in particular a red band and/ or ".300" painted on the stock, it was officially called a P17 at one point.

[@BoneyBobsTreasure]

Always thoughtful, insightful and coherent. Ian covers an awful lot of material in an hour and a 1/4

[@AS-Val-Gijinka]

With regards to a good non-mauser milsurp, I can very strongly recommend a Steyr M95. If you're fine with the recoil, the 34 variant is a great cheap and unique gun that's really fun to shoot.

[@andrewhetchler3670]

I think he just pissed off all the glock fan boys when he said "there is no perfection "lol

[@nindger4270]

Well I would hope that even the most die-hard fans of any handgun would concede that it makes for a pisspoor heavy machine gun.

[@juziustheone]

there is a full auto glock...

[@imbored742]

Robin Schuhmacher What are you taking about, the G29 is CLEARLY the GREATEST heavy machine gun EVER DESIGNED! /s

[@footbalr074]

He certainly 'triggered' me I'll leave now

[@bobbysantore7839]

Funny story, first time I ever shot a glock, we had a high point with us as well, and jokingly did a side by side... the high point won in accuracy by a lot, but it had to be manually cycled.

[@IanCaine4728]

I love these Q&As as much as the reviews, always good times.

[@chronosthevnwierdo6461]

That feeling when he unexpectedly answers one of your specific questions you asked him while this is playing as background audio - Almost spit out my coffee. Thanks Ian!

[@farmall1951c]

Merry Christmas Ian and all Forgotten Weapons fans.

[@user-dv4bu6jq4n]

I like that he recommends a .22 for first guns, I jumped straight to a Finnish 28/30, a 7.62x53R

[@toolthoughts]

Merry christmas, Ian

[@streamylc]

What your doing will become history (you know what i mean).... most informative gun channel ever.... based in pure fact and history itself

[@bloodyconstraint920]

"The barrels all rusted up, the hammers broke, and besides, they haven't made ammunition for one of those things in ten years." Nevada Smith.

[@josephmelzer275]

In 2003 my squad deployed with M4s w&wo M203, M249, M240, 3 AT4s & 2 javelin Rockets. lol overkill... The M4/M16 does not put out substantial suppressive fire. The 249 does do that job but still lacks "accurate" suppressive fire. But it does exell when mobility is a priority. The M240 is a laser gun that shoots lead bricks. It puts out extreamly accurate high volumes of fire at long distance. If short on ammo it is also capable of squeezing off single shots, becoming quite effective with issued magnified optic. It just weighs... a lot. Hope that helps.

[@LuvBorderCollies]

Thanks for reminding people of CMP's one and only mission. Also don't expect 1911A1's still in the box but rather expect a rattling, beat up, ugly mismatched and abused by military guys for decades. I've seen many hundreds/thousands in various base armories and I'm not standing in line for one. But the dreamers will hope their fantasies come true.

[@JohnJohnson-wu7vg]

@36:03 in video I realized, thank you for making videos like this. Not that @36:03 in video was interesting, but rather it was when i realized you are a completely professional historian. I've watch you're vids for awhile now and have come to the conclusion that you make sure to let people know when something is your opinion and when something is fact. Not many people on this Earth make an effort like that.

[@michaelhorning6014]

Light infantry squad we had two four-man fire teams, each with one M249 and one M203. Three squads made up a platoon, plus a weapons squad with two M60 MG teams

[@anonymous-ll9dz]

...George A. Custer and an English Springer Spaniel walk into a bar...

[@pricklydingus8604]

An hour and fifteen minutes of some guy with great hair. Oh!! he talks! I didn’t notice.

[@WitchyWagonReal]

Eric Brown -- Winner.

[@Thrashgu]

And a mighty goatee.

[@alexanderlarsen6412]

Ian is obviously a reincarnated Jack Crawford en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wallace_Crawford

[@emceeunderdogrising]

It's goddamn majestic.

[@christopherdenton7290]

Lol on point. Ian would get along with so many of us so well.

[@thekoolaidkid337]

Ian, in regards to the shoulder stocked pistol question, in all of your videos the most comfortable one seemed to be the collapsing hinge stock Luger. Unfortunately I am sure it is unobtanium, but it seemed like the correct length of pull.

[@SgtKOnyx]

Maybe, I was thinking of it when watching.

[@gokuss15]

Metal folding stocks are never comfortable though.

[@rustyshacklfort9508]

A marlin model 60 was the first gun I ever bought too . Great minds and all that .

[@104thDIVTimberwolf]

My first, as well!

[@R281]

Same here

[@philllax1719]

Not the first gun I bought, but it was my first gun. Love the name

[@baronvonfaust]

Grew up on an Armalite... AR-5 I think? The weird little .22 survival rifle that came with all its components stored in the stock. Then graduated to Enfield SMLEs, as per usual in country Australia. But it was the 6.5mm Mauser that captured my heart!

[@alexanderm3504]

Ian, looking forward to a future video with that FAMAS (assault rifle of Saint Etienne)of yours :)

[@denysbeecher5629]

I second the Swiss recommendation. I love to shoot them and I love the issue data tags under the butt plate. Makes a fantastic personal connection for the collector

[@farmerdave33]

"Logo is based on Nothing" What does the OSS flying dragon think about that????

[@AndrewB_M.D.]

Definitely second the Schmidt rubin. Last year I got a K1911 and G1911, a brick of GP11, 4 clips, muzzle caps, and the respective bayonets for each rifle. Very happy with both of them. Straight pull is a very fun action to shoot.

[@maxsmodels]

I have always called my M-17 a P-17 and even did a video about it as such. Now I feel so silly. Oh well, I do love my Eddystone.

[@johnnelson5503]

FYI, when the British purchased the US stocks of Model of 1917 to arm the Local Defense Volunteers/ Home Guard early in WW2 they officially referred to it as the Pattern 1917, even going so far to have a footnote in their training manuals explaining that the US called it by a different name. Thus, if your rifle has British acceptance stamps and in particular had a red band and/ or ".300" painted on the stock, it was officially called a P17 at one point.

[@kfeltenberger]

Regarding the IAR @ about the 1:00:00 mark, another reason the Marines are adopting the concept is that because it is closed bolt, it is more reliable firing the first cartridge (both in actually firing it as well as accuracy) which had become an issue with the open bolt M-249 during CQB. Because of the deficiencies of the M249, it was often held outside or further back in the stack when performing CQB (something the Marines learned circa 2002-2008ish).

[@kenhelmers2603]

Thanks Ian! Your time, opinions and knowledge are appreciated!

[@arisukak]

7.62 CETME isn't exactly a reduced powder charge, but used flake powder instead of extruded powder like 7.62NATO. It also had a lighter bullet. Basically it's pistol powder in a rifle cartridge case to build up pressure quickly to spit the bullet out fast but it won't go that far as the pressure doesn't last as it would with rifle powder. And no, no Spanish Mauser was ever intended to fire the CETME cartridge as idiots repeat online. It's only a lower recoiling round, not a lower pressure round. It has the same amount of pressure as the NATO cartridge. They did have conversion tables in the manuals for using that cartridge, but they were always designed for the NATO cartridge.

[@33skippy]

French 11mm73 cartridge was "modernized" in 1890, it is known as the 11mm73/90. The 73/90 bullet is slightly lighter (10,6 grammes vs 11,7 g) and more pointed, while the powder charge was raised from 0,65 grammes to 0.80g. Also the brass cartridge was reinforced. The result was a cartridge twice more powerful (which remained rather weak, and still weaker than the older 12mm Marine) .

[@AldanFerrox]

Their is actually a very good and innovative firearms company in Britain. Sniper rifles made by Accuracy International are still in high-demand all over the world.

[@wierdalien1]

Graeme no but it is a weapons system that has a good number of the longest confirmed kills

[@wierdalien1]

Graeme oh yes but the work of Accuracy international shows thats british arms manufacture isnt as dead as Ian was making out i think was OPs point

[@AldanFerrox]

The biggest innovation of AI was the use of an aluminium chassis with a polymer shell. Nobody really did that before AI (at least when it came to sniper rifles). Everybody used wood or maybe composites made from wood and plastic. The bolt mechanism itself is pretty standard, as you noted yourself.

[@wierdalien1]

Graeme yeah i agree with that, and i agree with Ian about the reasons, though after the troubles it can hardly be surprising.

[@fdsdh1]

Graeme the innovation is in the magic chassis system in the stocks

[@davekrab3363]

Forgotten Weapons; Thanx for your effort, Mr McCollum (or is that yer Dad?), wishing you & yours a safe & most jovial silly-season, from the antipodaes. (Aus)

[@nstied]

On the first question: there are many examples of what we now consider commonplace modern innovations which existed for quite some time before seeing widespread adoption. All of the components for an assault rifle existed before the STG-44, for instance. It was the first to adopt them all in a specific combination, though, and it revolutionized modern combat rifles. Early cartridge-firing revolvers also come to mind. Other individual innovations which existed for quite some time include detachable magazines, piston gas systems, various locking mechanisms, etc. I personally think there are several such innovations which already exist today which have yet to be combined in a potentially revolutionary fashion. Take, for example, the magazine of the P90 or Bizon, the unique action of the AEK-971, the idea of the polymer casing, hydraulic buffers, etc. Often times the future already exists in the present, you just don't know it yet.

[@darthhodges]

Another point about being a registered machine gun dealer who also collects, if you let your license lapse or you go out of business or your license is revoked the law requires you to sell any "dealer sample" guns to another dealer or authorized possessor (like a police department). Retaining posession of said weapons without a current dealer license carries the same legal penalties as if you never had the license in the first place.

[@234jari234]

Twice a year there is a Militaria fair in Belgium near Ciney where you can always find the fiber chargers for the Swiss Schmidt-Rubin rifles, though they are €15-€20,- a piece they are great collectables.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

I have been there, actually...

[@LordStarbeard]

Another great L'Oréal commercial, good work Ian.

[@peterparsons7141]

Really good video, and response to questions. Thanks Ian

[@elen5871]

i know this is really old but i have been thinking about the first question you got a lot and like... with modern materials and machining, how do we know that older methods of recoil operation aren't worth reinvestigating? maybe certain kinds of delayed blowback systems weren't worth looking into for 5.56 back in 1960, but they're more than worth looking into now, with carbon fibre buffers and the higher quality metals that we have for relatively cheap.

[@terminusest5902]

Pistol carbine conversion kits look like a better option than pistol stocks. Simple conversion with well-developed features. Including rails for accessories. Many kits for Glocks. Roni seems to be a popular brand. If they are legal in your location. Many developed for excellent ergonomics, which is a really significant strength.

[@TylerMcL3more]

I’m really happy to know that both me and Gun Jesus started on a Marlin Model 60! I had to sell mine to make rent one month sadly, bit I definitely plan to buy another one day.

[@JeKramxel]

Had a great time watching this, and hearing you. Thanks Ian!

[@scheisseaufpasswort]

Love ya videos. Greetings from germany. Talking about guns and owning guns in germany is a weird thing.

[@richarddixon7276]

Merry Christmas , Ian & All those who assist in these excellent educational shows. and here's wishing You All , An Even Better New Year.

[@hamm6035]

K31, best rifle, great ammo, it's a drilling machine! My fav, out shoots them all. ;)

[@jacobstaten2366]

One detachable box mage and a bunch of stripper clips is practically the same as just having stripper clips. I want to make a belt or drum fed bolt action just to confuse people.

[@sethlance8009]

Yes if I carried a gun with a magazine in ww2 I would do everything I could to get a few extra magazines.

[@dualsportrider3221]

Great videos Ian and better than great info. I first shot my grandfather's bolt action tube fed marlin and quickly upgraded to the m60. I still have both thank god.

[@barrandilltanathlas1177]

Have I considered designing the perfect gun? :Phased plasma rifle in the 40watt range.

[@dermotrooney9584]

Barrandill T'Anathlas - You'll be back.

[@SuperBob478]

Could the lack of WWI last-ditch guns perhaps be a consequence of the relatively sedentary style of warfare prevalent? In WWII, a loss of an infantryman likely meant a loss of his equipment as well for the failing powers, as they were in full retreat in a maneuver war. In WWI, most casualties were to artillery and suffered in relatively fixed positions. Perhaps more equipment was recoverable?

[@sawyernorthrop4078]

I think it's more that it was an armistice rather than a fight to the end

[@happyhaunter_5546]

Honestly quite excited for CMP 1911's. Needed a good excuse to get a 1911 and want one for historical appreciation, not a new production one trying to compete with modern (and far superior, imo) pistols. It will go to my daughter. Thanks Ian.

[@nicholasbruns6914]

I love when the Jesus of the gun world has a new video! Ian videos has the best information on forgotten weapons and general information as well!

[@mirycreek]

Holy crap Ian your going to have to get a bigger wall or start investing in Kolibri's cause that's all that's going to fit, awesome to see, love your channel, you have a way of getting across sometimes highly technical content and still keep it interesting to watch, thankyou

[@bwcmakro]

On the topic of SAWs - the Russian military is moving away from the concept of a SAW, replacing most RPKs with PK machine guns in infantry squads. It was deemed that a basically larger rifle was unnecessary and the MMG fulfilled the extra firepower niche. Kalashnikov Concern is trying to reintroduce the concept with the new RPK-16 but it's kinda up in the air right now.

[@dannyhanny1191]

Some damned good questions in this, and even better answers. Nice work Ian & Ian-fans.

[@Q_7169]

The first question I ask, and it gets answered. Thank you Ian!

[@eukaryon]

fundamental improvements possible in 2021: Sighting systems that do not expose the user. Self-correcting aiming systems, to some extent.

[@oso1165]

its crazy how we are at the point in time where so many industries are suffering from the same "plateau" effect you described about firearms technology. cars, engines, firearms, construction, cameras and film, medicine, computers, etc etc , every year any update is just an incremental improvement. its like everything is waiting for the big next "step" like 100 years ago.

[@12jazion]

The correct answer to the last question is obviously the Mosin Nagant. Relatively cheap, easy to find, ammo is readily available, very powerful, relatively accurate, and built with top quality Russian engineering. If the rifle does not work properly, whack it with a hammer and it will fix it. If the rifle is dirty, throw it in a river and it will be cleaned. With the bayonet it also doubles as a spear and the spike bayonet even works as a screwdriver so what more could you want?

[@XFourty7]

Dangerous things are dangerous should be a mandatory watch for people getting into shooting, amazing stuff there!

[@neilbodwell9172]

Spot on regarding the way Military Officers thought about combat and their sidearms. Unfortunately that idea is still around a bit even in the US. I get it as an officer above the rank of captain a rifle seems like just extra weight but, stuff happens.

[@stanfordwillis4841]

One thing about France though, it is very easy to gain firearm ownership here and we have a lot of hunters (not nearly as many as the US do but smaller population too), the gun laws have been made less strict in the past few years so collecters and range shooters are making a come back, so I'd say the culture here is much more gun friendly than in the UK, where I used to live and my love for guns wasn't well regarded unlike here. That being said, the arsenals were indeed shut down so I don't see us designing french militray light weapons in the future indeed, too bad, but nothing to complain about, the HK416 s an excellent rifle and nothing says we could have made a better one anyway.

[@Z09SS]

The CMP spends less than 4% of their budget on promoting shooting. They spend 96% of their budget on overhead. They're nearly completely funded by Federal Grants.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Do they get any money at all? becuse if there not being run on a shoestring thats anamazing waste of funds.

[@thegreenman2030]

All federal funding was cut off in 1996 when the program was transferred from the gov to private civilian hands. www.nraila.org/articles/20040803/the-civilian-marksmanship-program

[@SuperFunkmachine]

Thanks for that detail. Now i know there getting nect to nothing in the way of funds there overhead takeing up so much makes sense.

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

26:20 It's important to consider, too, that the infantry rifle calibre is not just the infantry rifle calibre but also in some cases an aircraft machine gun calibre (particularly for the British and the Japanese), so there are major and wide-ranging logistic considerations extending way back to the very top of the supply chain when it comes to bullet, cartridge case, barrel etc. research, design and manufacture. Japan used nominal 7.7mm in many aircraft machine guns; going over to this calibre for its infantry rifle would have made good logistical sense. Britain, of course, had had .303 from the beginning of the aircraft era, and at least some of its aircraft (e.g. bombers) maintained a .303 armament till the end of WW2, even if its new-build fighters were shifting towards mixed 20mm/.50 cal or all-20mm.

[@kunicross]

I think a big point in Britain and France is that they never really had private companies produce military arms in modern times - they still have sporting arms producers but those are just not as big into the spotlight (actually if you really want to buy luxury hunting guns UK is the place to go). Is there still any state own big gun producing facility around somewhere in the world?

[@uhavedied12334557]

Kalashnikov Concern, Circle 10 of Bulgaria and FB Radom of Poland are some that spring to mind.

[@OriginalBongoliath]

Arsenal and FB are both privatized now. The government is on the brink of giving up some more ownership of Kalashnikov Concern. They are a private company with stock shares and stock holders with the government holding a large share. South America, Africa, and Asia, however, still have state-run arsenals: IMBEL (Brazil), FAMAE (Chile), Diseños Casanave S.A.(Peru), CAVIM (Venezuela), Indumil (Colombia), FM (Argentina), China, North Korea, Vietnam, India, and a few others.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

We had state owned and run arms factorys, these got sold off and then quicky ran out of money. A state run factory can be unprofitabe and just keep makeing a few thousand guns year for ages. But a private companie has to turn a profit and that means sales andd growth. The bad new is guns are the ultimate in long life products and no state millatry has rearmed latey or looks to do so. Theres a really a limted market for new guns, every one just buys replacements for the old broken ones.

[@nicholasbruns6914]

norinco and polytech from China.

[@TotalRookie_LV]

Since you mentioned it, some of the items in our armed forces (Latvian) arsenal are large calibre French made sniper rifles. So, I guess both French and British firearms manufacturers are into hunting shotguns and bolt action rifles (after all, "Holland & Holland" and other really, really expensive ones are still around), those are semi-auto rifles, pistols and machineguns they can't make domestically, they demand a different kind of expertise.

[@VetteguyC6]

In your comments about the CMP and selling .45 colts. In the Mid '70's I was in the Navy and found out our base had a program for you to train on the Colt and receive your pistol marksmanship ribbon. The guns did not get used much but when you shook them the whole gun rattled. My understanding was they were WWII era and because the general Navy uses few sidearms our base ended up with what ever there was sitting around. I believe the era of the guns is accurate because some of the ammo we shot believe or not was stamped from the "30s I would be suspect of the quality of the CMP guns as my experience says it most likely will be all over the board depending on which service is the source.

[@darthhodges]

If you want an idea of the sustained fire limit of an AR15 watch a "meltdown" video by IraqVeteran8888. He puts a selected upper on a machine gun lower and just mag dumps as fast as he can until the gun stops working or blows up. Most ARs go between 500 to 800 rounds and the most common failure mode is the gas tube literally melting away. In one case he had an out of battery detonation (presumably a cook off, in some videos he has a thermal camera set up to show the heat buildup) that rendered the gun inoperable and in another the barrel blew out before the gas tube failed. Relevant to Ian's comments here is that by the time IV8888 got through 200 rounds in almost every case the cyclic rate and sound signature of the gun had changed dramatically indicating significant wear if not damage to the operating components of the gun (gas port, chamber, bolt, etc).

[@bigghoss762]

With regards to pistol with stocks, I have a gen 3 Glock 17 with an adapter designed for AR15 stocks, I have a pistol brace on mine to avoid getting a tax stamp. It's fun to shoot and solid but it doesn't attack or detach quickly or easily so it detracts a lot from any possible practical use. I only bought it for fun and it serves that role very well. I believe at SHOT a company announced a pistol designed for law enforcement that had a side folding stock. It looked fairly bulky for a pistol but probably still small enough to be carried in a holster and the stock deployed quickly if you needed a more precise shot. Something like that I can see the utility of. Who knows what we might have if not for the dang NFA?

[@Not_Sure_81]

I hope someday you review or mention pre 64 winchester model 70s. I realize that's a bit off topic for the channel, maybe way off topic, but I'm very interested in them since i inherited a like new featherweight (mine was born in 1955) in 270win from my great grandfather. Would be awesome to see you review one. Love these q&a vids. Thumbs up 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@l00t3R]

Miniaturization of rail gun tech over the next couple of decades could be interesting to watch?

[@Tiger351]

If battery technology keeps pace with it, definitely.

[@dermotrooney9584]

My bet is 42yrs for man-portable railguns, and that's with exoskeleton. Start the clock.

[@Tiger351]

Dermot Rooney I like your optimism.

[@dermotrooney9584]

Robert Leitch - note that I didn't say hoq big the exoskeleton would be. Something Transformer sized should do it.

[@RocketHarry865]

There is one problem trying to find material durable enough that actually make rail guns viable for long term usage. There are several reason why several so called innovations never really took off is because the technogly of the time just wasn't aviable to make them viable. Even if we can make miniaturized rail guns viable I would consider them more to be anti-material weapons rather than as standard issue infantry weapons.

[@herrcobblermachen]

28:06 Himmelstoss: Standup! Lie down! I would be stoked to have a 762x25 modern handgun :) the new 5.7/10mm craze ;). If there were tins and tins and tins of x25 still around for cheap..

[@patrickvedder2623]

The M249 is a glorious weapon. If patrolling by foot, a collapsible stock, some 100 round "nut sacks", and a spare barrel make it a very capable weapon with a very high rate of fire that is easily carried. Thinking you can lay down the same amount of fire with a rifle is foolish. Thinking you can hump a 240B all over the place is also foolish... if you are mounted....yeah 240B all day. Separately, the 249 is a BLAST to shoot. Almost no recoil, and lots of lead! At 800 meters, I never had a problem knocking down the targets with iron sights. CCOs made it even better. Swarm of angry bees....on steroids (yes referencing another video).

[@kcys34]

Can someone put a link to some free info about 7.92x41 cetme? It is hard for me to find anything technical

[@aries_9130]

Great questions and great answers! Thank you very much and happy holidays as well as a happy, healthy and successful year!

[@drmachinewerke1]

Pre may dealer sample is what you can keep . Post may sample is what you sell on the cheap side

[@NoGufff]

Love your work Ian. Thank you, and Happy Birthday for Wednesday.

[@skaboodlydoodle]

All new assault rifle/carbine style weapons essentially just try to be a simpler/cheaper/better ACR. Ambidex features, lightweight, M-lock for accessories, accepts multiple mags and calibers etc. We've gotten to the point where we know what core mechanisms work and which ones don't. Which styles of barrels work for what conditions and contexts. Now all firearms development is just extra features and ergonomics which are steadily all converging to wanting what is effectively a remmington ACR but better and cheaper. Development has become so stagnated that some companies just make new iterations of AR15s to LOOK cool. The platform is so firmly established that the only thing left to iterate on is decorations.

[@alohm]

Browning and FN got real close with the Hi-Power and the FN-FAL ;)

[@alandoesstuff.1254]

At some point I know you explained why you didn't really dig the M1903A3, but I guess I've never seen it. Having one, it seems like a great rifle, and of all the bolt actions it seems to me to have the best sights of all. I think its because you are talking about WWI rifles which would be prior to the A3, and without the aperture site and without the type C stock which really woke the rifle up.

[@henryhennigan2122]

We have the same first gun. It's like being Eskimo brothers

[@AsbestosMuffins]

Another question to the first one, where do we go from here? Today it seems like everybody has exactly what they want, guns are rapid fire, extremely reliable, historically light weight, and can be exactly as lethal as the user wants. Sure caseless is a general direction but that adds several layers of complexity itself but rate of fire isnt really an issue and the weight of weapons and ammo are not where soldiers are putting on weight these days.

[@jango9534]

Plastic cased ammo, computer assistance in targeting, armor piercing pistol ammo, and improved overall reliability in adverse conditions seem to be the main focuses for the industry

[@mossbergmaniac1947]

The Marine Corps is only replacing the SAW at the fire team level. At least that was the idea when I still was in.

[@The_Brozilla]

5.7 will have widespread use before 7.62x25 makes a come back

[@tamlandipper29]

This was a particularly interesting set of questions, at least to me.

[@jeffthebaptist3602]

They are not replacing all the SAWs with M27 IARs. The USMC is trying to figure out the force mix currently as belt fed is necessary for volume of fire and suppression.

[@509Gman]

Jeff Acheson this right here. The headache with the M249 is that they've been trying to put a belt fed machine gun into an automatic rifle role. It sucks ass trying to performs rifleman tasks like clearing a room with one. It does work fine when used as a machine gun (put on the local support by fire position). I think the 249 does need an upgrade as a machine gun tho (pretty poor accuracy, and the "emergency magwell" is a joke that just adds weight).

[@dermotrooney9584]

The link to Full Circle on Amazon looks to have spotted Ian's endorsement and the price is close to $700. It's much less on Abe books. I just got a copy for £70. It's lovely.

[@rondobrondo]

That whole SETME Ammo development story made me so sad :( All that amazing work and achievement just to be yanked around by specification insistence lol

[@genericpersonx333]

With regards the the Last Ditch Weapons of WW1 topic, it seems to me that the answer is that there really was no need for such weapons as the standard rifles of most all the major powers were already proven weapons made for mass-production. Combined with most powers having substantial reserve stocks that carried them through the crisis of 1915, inventing new emergency firearms strikes me as more trouble than just getting the arsenals burning the midnight oil.

[@thomasbernecky2078]

@00;36: Very profound and good advice, Ian. that said i'd sill sell my soul for the repro FG-42.

[@malgremor85]

Wibble wobbles. Thanks Ian, I'm always looking to expand my vocabulary...

[@Operator_Joe]

I’m blessed to hear your voice again

[@jcarter855]

Ian, you may better remember this one. I read an article years ago (15 or more yrs now) about a little 22lr cloth belt fed machine gun developed by a guy around the 40's-50's(?). It looked like a shiny capusual with a pistol grip & a forward grip as I recall. The fellow came up with the idea in the slammer I think (maybe Carbine Williams?). The writer took it out into the field with the inventor of said "Forgotten Weapon" - might be worth looking into.......

[@LeninPolimorfed]

josh carter pretty sure it's the one mentioned here - www.dieselpunks.org/m/blogpost?id=3366493%3ABlogPost%3A53738. It says there is only a mockup though

[@jcarter855]

Thanks, I had seen that mockup when I did a quick search. I'll see If I can find the article in the book, it's packed up here somewhere...

[@01Bouwhuis]

Was it .22 in thompson style , with a drum magazine?

[@jcarter855]

01Bouwhuis nope, it looked like a large stainless steel football with a pistol grip and forward grip. It was fed by a cloth belt in 22 long rifle. I'm sure I put the article in storage around the time I read it. I'll see if I can dig it up and get more info. The guy built it as a prototype trying to sell it to the military as I recall. He & the reporter took it out and used it in his backyard/ field. There were a couple of black and white photos of them putting the weapon through its paces.

[@alecthomas33]

Great video. For the second question, I just wanted to add that in a sense, there is a company called Ohio Ordinance Works that, in addition to selling original machine guns, they also make replicas of guns that would normally be very difficult to get your hands on. They are well known for making a replica of the BAR. Given that you have the correct licensing and all that good stuff. They're a really cool company if you've got the cash to drop on something like that because they definitely aren't cheap. I hope this was relevant to the question the person was asking.