Forgotten Weapons

I frequent the ForgottenWeapons.com YouTube channel. Its 2,700 videos have gained 2.38 million subscribers and many more semi-regular viewers, like me.

Its website and video channel cover antique, rare and historically important firearms. Its creator Ian “Gun Jesus” McCollum (so monikered for his beard and long hair) has presented on YouTube since 2011, plus Full30 and Floatplane.

He also writes articles for Popular Mechanics and books on relevant topics. In 2018, he founded Headstamp Publishing, which releases books crowdfunded by Kickstarter.

Forgotten Weapons’ videos run 5 to 30 minutes. McCollum upgraded their quality through an IndieGogo-funded campaign to buy cameras of higher quality. His episodes are often recorded at Rock Island Auction, where exotic firearms are sold.

McCollum’s videos often feature unusual, obscure, odd and experimental or one-off firearms. He covers such weapons in detail, explaining their significance in technological development and the history of warfare.

A typical example of an obscure, failed firearm development appeared in Popular Mechanics in January 2016, linked to a YouTube video in the online edition. The article reported on the Imperial Japanese Army’s failure to produce a folding-stock rifle for paratroopers. IJA armorers tried sawing Type 38 Arisaka carbines in two behind the trigger guard. They then joined the pieces by screwing a cabinet hinge onto the right side and a latch with a threaded stud and wing nut to the left. This didn’t pan out, as the stock wiggled and wobbled, the stud and nut caught on things and were easily damaged.

McCollum avoids politics, focusing exclusively on technical and mechanical issues. Nevertheless, Google cracked down on him and other firearms content providers in 2018. YouTube’s deletion of his videos led McCollum to move to Full30 and Floatplane, but he returned to parent Alphabet’s platform.

— John Tillman, reporter, East Oregonian