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Ian McCollum - Forgotten Weapons

"I first found Varusteleka in late 2016, when I was looking for surplus military gear. Here was a shop that actually had inventory, knew what it was, and spoke about it honestly! I had a great time perusing the website and bought more than a few items.

A few months later, I had a chance to meet the Leka Crew at SHOT Show in the US and we quickly became friends. Varusteleka began hosting Finnish Brutality matches to complement the InRangeTV Desert Brutality matches, and I have made several trips to Finland in the years since. I’ve come to consider the Leka crew truly kindred spirits, and also taken a liking to their lines of new outdoors gear in addition to surplus.”

We have the Forgotten Weapons book Chassepot To Famas - French Military Rifles 1866-2016 in stock.

Ian McCollum

This blessed creme is not just a meme picture but we did it for real.

Ian McCollum is a firearms scholar who runs ForgottenWeapons.com and the Forgotten Weapons YouTube channel. He has built an audience of more than 2 million subscribers on YouTube with daily videos on the history, mechanics, and demonstration of interesting and unusual firearms.

This work has taken him around the world, collaborating with museums, military organizations, manufacturers, and private collectors. He is a founding partner of Headstamp Publications, and in 2019 he published his first book, “Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles 1866 - 2016”. This was followed in 2021 by “Pistols of the Warlords: Chinese Domestic Handguns 1911 - 1949”. McCollum is a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors, and has written for a wide variety of firearms publications.

Things got out of hand as mutual fascinations and humor brought Gun Jesus and Varusteleka together. We tried to make Ian and Karl's first visit to Finland memorable. It's documented as a video playlist, you be the judge if we succeeded!

Forgotten Weapons Literature

Forgotten Weapons is not just a website and a YouTube channel but also publishes printed media for fans of tradition and the aesthetic of a proper book. Selected items are also available from us.