Q&A Questions?

You're being forced to fight in a 100 man battle royal against your fans. You get to choose any gun to bring with you but if anyone guesses your choice you get stuck with a cobray terminator. Assuming each guess is a different, which would you request?

firetower

My grandfather served in the army and was on Okinawa. He received the Purple Heart. I was told he was gone for 4 years and very few of the guys he left with returned. Other than that I don’t know anything besides a few stories he told my dad. Is there anywhere I can go to find his military records or anything that may give me any more information about what he did? Thanks.

Hi Ian! While visiting Les Invalides, found an old flintlock I don't understand. The musket has two flintlock actions. Could you explain how this works and what the purpose is? Photo here: https://adobe.ly/3sfomg1

Ryan G

If Russia kept the SKS paired with the PPSH as their main Rifle and SMG until the 70s would they have a better infantry rifle today than the AK12?

firetower

I want to ask about the concept of P90. There is definitely a market for a PDW style of weapon, but not in all cases end users required armor penetration. But still because of handiness and overall package appeal they will pick P90 over something else. And at least for me ergonomically P90 is somewhat better than MP7. So if there is a market demand for compact gun why there is no such thing like P90-lookalike for example in 9mm? Maybe not with simple blowback action but delayed action to use +P+ rounds or russian-style 9mm AP rounds to give both AP capability and terminal effectiveness? The magazine as per Hill gun can work in 9mm, you can have straight double stack single-feed high-capacity mag in 9mm, delayed action can fit in polymer frame package (like FAMAS), have the same small length of travel as simple blowback bolt and does not require too much more material in theory.

Old Newbie

Third time asking. Is the Hesitation Lock used on the Remington Model 51 and 53 a true locked breech or a delayed blowback?

Michael A Pickle

Switzerland is known for well-made military rifles, but also a tradition of neutrality. To my knowledge, no modern Swiss small arms have seen use in combat, either through the Swiss military directly, or export/mercenaries/etc (would love to know if I'm mistaken on that). So, of the 20th century Swiss service rifles, are there any, in your opinion, that would have actually performed significantly better or worse than their contemporaries in a real combat scenario?

In Frederick Forsyth's The Day of the Jackal, the titular assassin attempts to kill the President of France with a mercury-filled bullet, the idea being that when the round strikes the target and slows down, the inertia of the mercury keeps it moving forward into the target and makes a big, splashy mess. Is there any truth to this notion? Would the mercury act as a sort of super hollow point, or would having the liquid sloshing around in the bullet ruin any hopes of accuracy? Has anyone ever, to your knowledge, tried this IRL?

LurkyMcLurkerson

Not counting the Alien, are there any other quadruple digit "Gucci" pistols that interest you? Either mechanically or as something you'd want to shoot for the experience?

jtfrogblast

What has been the most disappointing firearm you have shot? Not necessarily the worst; the one that you had high hopes for and it left you with a feeling of "...meh."

Conrad Gachne

Post WW2 France had a lot of small arms from a lot of different sources (French, German, English, American in no particular order). How did that/did that impact their efforts in Indochina and Algeria? The argument of amateurs talk equipment and professionals talk logistics. Surprise bonus question. Other than going red dot, what options would you suggest for those of us with old/bad eyesight? I'm noticing a lot of my iron sights are getting fuzzier and fuzzier.

Craig Wiess

Although these things are small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, What lessons in the use or design of small arms, machine guns, ammunition or AT weaponry etc can be learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine? If there are none then have any preconceptions been shattered or reinforced?

Joe Barrett

The second is too easy.

Seamus Curran

Regarding pocket pistols. You’ve covered many successful pocket pistols that were pushed into military service. Military pistols seem to have all been carried chamber, empty and in some kind of holster. But how are these designs originally designed to be carried by their users? Were they actually intended to be carried cocked and locked? I know our perceptions of safety have changed over time. Most of those pistols have no type of drop safety, and usually only a very small thumb safety. A few don’t even have a thumb safety and only have a grip safety. I would guess that if they were intended to be ready for self-defense, you would have to carry them in condition, one, or they would have a significant disadvantage over competing revolvers. we’re people really running around with those things in condition one, shoved into their waistband or stuck into a pocket?

Troy Janda

As the treacherous Elbonian Defence Minister you celebrate your sabotage of the Elbonian Sniper training programme with a few weeks away in Paris. On your return you find to your horror, your deputy - a true Elbonian patriot - has equipped the Elbonian armed forces with a really good service pistol. So the question is one) what do you consider to be a really good service pistol, and two) how are you going to sabotage the Elboian pistol Training programme?

Fruitbat44

Looking through the Springfield Research Service books, it appears a substantial number of Trapdoor Springfields were donated to the US Navy in World War II. What use did the Navy have with 1884 Springfield rifles in 1943?

Dee

Have you found access to an INSAS variant to examine?

Will Sanders

Thinking about Othais' current obsession with revolvers, assuming a low bore axis is advantageous the same way it is in semi-autos, why aren't there more revolvers that fire from the 6 o'clock position like the Mateba and Rhino?

Erik Schmitz

Was there a reason that the 5.7 Johnson/.22 Spitfire conversion for the M1 Carbine never took off? Were there any similar conversion of military surplus arms that actually saw major success?

Thunderchild

Manhurin M73 seems to have two-dot rear sight with plain front sight. Haven't seen that anywhere else. Why?

Hello. What is the relationship between the number of locking lugs and their location, and the precision of rifles? As an example, many of us from Norway are familiar with KragJørgensen's one locking lug and its shift in impact point in wet weather. A Mauser mechanism with 2 lugs does not have this problem.

I would be interested t in the evolution of thru flint spark ignition mechanism, and how they various designs were produced in quantity. I am particular interested in the relationship, if any, to time keeping mechanisms, which achieved chronometers, in the latter stages of the flintlock era.

I recently learned about the Metro Gun, a shotgun silenced by a barrel of sufficient length. Could there be potential for future development to bring this principle in to practical use with faster burning powder?

firetower

Is there any reason to NOT free float a barrel?

Doug G

You are the Assistant Defense Minister of the small, proud and historically poor country of Rolundia. Recent mineral finds have led to a massive windfall of foreign investments. Good times for your backwater country. Unfortunately, your neighbor Elbionia has taken note of your country’s newfound wealth. Invasion is imminent. You have been tasked with a complete rearmament of the Rolindian army. You have a blank check to supply a small highly motivated army with the absolute best small arms you can find. Something that will give you an edge over the much larger but dubiously armed Elbionian army. You are not constrained by regional loyalties, current ammunition stores, or training on new weapon systems. That will all be covered. You even have an R&D budget for modifying existing weapons for different calibers, optics, etc. How do you arm your countrymen?

Erik Boraas

Also, do the same for the top 5 favorite machine guns, sniper / marksman rifles, pistols, shotguns, and other weapon types too.

Paul Corpuz

What new collections are you looking at visiting next? Is there any firearm that you've missed during previous visits to museums or collections that you're itching to get back to so you can film?

Minion