Ethiopian Oddities: Strange Smallbore Gewehr 71 Carbine

This video provides an expert-level overview of the Imperial Gewehr 71, the first rifle from the Mauser brothers. Ian McCollum, demonstrating high authority, details its historical context post-Franco-Prussian War, its design as a single-shot black powder bolt-action rifle, and compares it to contemporaries. Key technical features like the innovative Mauser wing safety and gas venting system are highlighted, alongside meticulous serialization and arsenal markings.

The Gewehr 71/84 represents Germany's crucial transition to a magazine-fed repeating rifle in the 1880s, adopting Paul Mauser's design. Despite its 8-round tubular magazine and 11mm Mauser caliber, it featured an asymmetrical bolt locking mechanism causing a slight rightward shot deviation. Notably, it lacked a wooden handguard to discourage overheating during rapid fire, a design choice influenced by the limitations of black powder ammunition.

This review details a rare Gewehr 71 rifle equipped with an experimental horseshoe-shaped magazine from the early 1880s. The Gewehr 71 was the first Mauser adopted by the German military, and this variant showcases early attempts at magazine feeding following the Russo-Turkish War. The unique external magazine design, developed by Ludwig Loewe, allowed for approximately 8 rounds and featured a cutoff for single-shot use.

This video provides a recap of hammer prices from the Rock Island December 2015 Premiere auction, focusing on firearms previously featured by the creator. It's a post-auction analysis, detailing the final sale prices before the buyer's premium. The creator notes that the Gewehr 71 with an experimental magazine was withdrawn from the auction for unspecified reasons, likely related to pricing disagreements between the seller and Rock Island Auction. The video aims to inform viewers about the market value of specific collectible firearms.

This video details the unique 'French Finger Trap' issue with the MAS-36 rifle's bayonet, where two rifles can become unintentionally locked together. A 1951 French arsenal memorandum identified this problem, proposing a simple modification to the bayonet handle. Drilling a small hole allows a tool, like a firing pin, to depress the internal spring, enabling the separation of locked rifles.

The M134 Minigun is a scaled-down 7.62 NATO rotary cannon, requiring 24V DC power and consuming 1.5 kW. Its high rate of fire (3,000+ RPM) is essential for aircraft engagement windows. The complex delinker mechanism is critical for feeding ammunition, and practical hand-held use is impossible due to weight and recoil. Live fire demonstrates rapid ammunition consumption and the need for indirect aiming.

The H&K G11 is a revolutionary prototype assault rifle designed in the late 20th century, notable for its caseless ammunition and unique rotating drum bolt mechanism. Despite advanced features like a 2000 RPM burst fire rate and integrated optics, its development was ultimately halted by geopolitical shifts and cost concerns.

This video demonstrates the assembly and live-fire of the German 1936 pattern light mortar (L.Gr.W.36). It highlights the mortar's leveling mechanism for accuracy and the difficulty in visually tracking its 50mm projectiles after firing. The content showcases historical military hardware and its operational use.