Reference library
Guides to rifles, shotguns, handguns, ammunition, optics and archery, plus hunting know-how by species for the United States and Canada. Every page lists the sources behind it.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
Parkerizing is a phosphate conversion coating on steel. It became closely associated with military firearms because its matte crystalline surface holds oil and helps protect steel from corrosion.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
The RPD was Vasily Degtyaryov’s Soviet light machine gun associated with the transition from earlier full power Soviet light machine guns to later Kalashnikov pattern squad automatic weapons. Its influence spread through foreign copies and Cold War service.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
The vz. 58 is a Czechoslovak 7.62 x 39 rifle that can resemble a Kalashnikov from a distance but uses a distinct domestic design. Its short stroke piston, tilting locking piece, alloy magazine, and Czech service history make it one of the more interesting Warsaw Pact infantry rifles.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
The Browning M1919 family included ground, aircraft, and naval versions. Its A4 and A6 patterns remained important U.S. ground guns until the M60 replaced them in 1957.
Article · Firearms History and Technology
The MG 42 was a German Second World War general purpose machine gun developed for faster, cheaper wartime production than the MG 34. Its stamped steel manufacturing, high rate of fire, roller locked mechanism, and later influence helped make it one of the best known machine gun designs of the 20th century.
Article · Rifles
The Mauser 98 was the 1898 German service rifle and became one of the most influential bolt-action designs. Its controlled-round feed, dual front locking lugs, rear safety lug and three-position safety shaped later military and sporting rifles.
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