There are tons of forgotten weapons out there. In fact, this guy called Ian even created a channel all about Forgotten Weapons—you might have heard of him and his outstanding three million subscribers. I love old, weird, and often forgotten guns. Finding out about, and getting hands-on with, a forgotten gun is like discovering a new species of gun.
As a guy who regularly spends too much money on weird guns, I wanted to bring you five forgotten guns that I love, and think could come back and be at least a little useful. Some less than others, some have hardly ever gone away, but all five are largely forgotten and came from fairly large companies.
Gone But Not Forgotten
Cobray DS410
Cobray isn’t around anymore, but they made the 1980s and early 90s roar! They produced a ton of weird and interesting firearms. They are most famous for MAC clones, the Streetsweeper, the Terminator, and of course, the famed .410 derringers that were wonderfully absurd. The Cobray DS410 isn’t a derringer, but a double-barreled .410 shotgun.
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The DS410 featured smoothbore 18-inch barrels. It was basically the derringer frame with much longer barrels and a stock. The DS410 is a neat gun plagued by the common problems that were problems with all of Cobray’s guns: namely, it broke easily, parts locked up, and hammers broke. I get why it was forgotten.
The thing is, this gun only weighs one pound and 14 ounces. The stock folds, shrinking the length to 21 inches and some change. It’s incredibly handy. I could picture it being a light and handy small game gun or a survival tool. It’s light, and .410 is capable enough!
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I’d love to see someone like Chiappa take a whack at it. Heck, make one barrel .45 Colt and one barrel .410, and we’ve got one helluva firearm.
Taurus CT9
Taurus released its first and only PCC in 2013 and just barely missed the PCC craze, and was quickly forgotten. Their model was based on the SMT-9 submachine gun. It uses large amounts of polymer, and because of 922R, it featured a fixed, thumbhole stock, and only came with ten-round magazines. The CT9 was reliable, accurate, and easy shooting, but Taurus didn’t produce them for very long.
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The design was hamstrung by its large size and short capacity. This was before braces were popular, so the rifle seems so big for such a small caliber like 9mm or .40 S&W. The 10-round magazines were a major turn-off. The gun didn’t get any support from Taurus and faded away.
In the modern era, the CT9 could succeed, especially as a braced large-format pistol. Importing higher-capacity magazines would also be massively beneficial. No one who doesn’t live in California wants to deal with California’s capacity restrictions.
S&W Ladysmith
The Ladysmith name has been applied to J-Frames and semi-autos, but the original Ladysmith was an M Frame revolver. M frames were much smaller than J frames in .32 and .22 calibers. They were extremely small and were still hand ejectors with traditional double-action designs. Their design was meant for concealment.
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I’ve never handled a real Ladysmith or M frame, but I have a Rossi copy, appropriately named the Princess. The small size and seven-round capacity make it a natural pocket rocket. In an age where pocket pistols are making a big comeback, I think a modern M-frame in .22LR with a DAO design and short barrel would be one awesome pocket gun.
Load it with Federal Punch, get a good holster, and you’d have a rule one gun that would be difficult to make excuses not to carry. It’s not much bigger than an NAA, but it’s much more modern and easier to use. Let’s not leave this one in the forgotten weapons realm.
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Mossberg Brownie
The Mossberg Brownie wasn’t a shotgun, but a four-barrel tip-up pistol. Yep, Mossberg made their brand on shotguns, but their first gun was a .22LR pistol. Mossberg’s Brownie offered a semi-auto firing rate thanks to its double-action trigger and rotating firing pin. It competed with guns like the Baby Browning, but was much cheaper than a proper semi-auto design.
The Mossberg Brownie helped create Mossberg and allowed them to be the company that we know and love now. The Brownie series was super neat and very simple guns that proved durable. Mine still fires without a hitch!
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If someone were to make this a polymer frame gun and keep the overall simplicity, we could have a small, fun, and handy gun. It could also be incredibly affordable. The modern Brownie wouldn’t appeal to everyone, but as a fun gun, it would be a success.
S&W SW99
The Smith & Wesson SW99 was a Walther P99 made by both Walther and S&W in a partnership. There are some minor changes, but it’s largely the same gun. S&W produced a .45 ACP variant, which makes this the only P99 clone in .45 ACP I know of. The gun served as a stopgap between the 3rd generation guns and the S&W M&P series of semi-autos.
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The SW99 featured the same DA/SA design as the P99 with the decocker button, the European-centric magazine release, and the various DAO models available. It was a fantastic gun and gave the American market a P99 they were more likely to buy. Since it was a stopgap, the SW99 is often forgotten when discussing S&W semi-autos.
I’d love to see Walther or S&W bring us a more modern P99. Namely, an optics-ready design that relocates the decocker to make it less of a problem. I love the P99 inside and out, but the lack of an optic makes it tough to appreciate in a modern era and tough to carry. A micro-compact design with this DA/SA setup that’s optics-ready would be my go-to gun.
Forgotten By Everyone But Me
These are five guns I’d love to see a comeback. I want them a bit more modernized, and I think they could succeed. At least one person would buy them, and that’s me. I’m sure there are lots of other forgotten weapons that deserve a comeback, so this might become a series. Keep your eyes peeled.
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