Expert for the French Department of Justice, former technical manager of the Ministry of the Interior, co-founder of the site LAI Publications, Arnaud is a specialist in small arms of war. Author of many articles, he wishes through this site to share his passion and knowledge for these subjects.

Emergency doctor in duty within Emergency and SMUR, medical referent for Khimaira Strategy Tactics, former Doctor in the French Forces, 11th Brigade Parachutiste, Dr. Ambroise is also a shooting sport enthusiast since 2002. Rapid fire and Field Shooting competitor, his interest about small arms is centered on military weapon of all ages.

Graduated gunsmith from the Saint-Étienne Gunsmithing School, Gilles has a strong passion for history, weapons and militaria. Self-employed gunsmith for more than 30 years, Expert for the French Department of Justice in antique weapons, he has appraised numerous collections for auction all over France.

Self-taught gunsmith from the Aeronautical industry, Jean-Paul put his knowledge at the service of his passion to create SDS, a gunshop specializing in the repair, restoration, creation and modification of weapons and accessories for military and civilian use. Co-founder of the LAI Publications site, his passion drives his every actions.

Born in 1957, Jean-Pierre Bastié got his first weapon at the age of 12. It was a Diana air rifle with which he fired his first rounds. Since then his interest in guns has not dwindled. He was a hunter, a shooter, a competitor with ancient weapons and then a collector before he founded the Académie des Armes Anciennes (Antique Weapons Academy in France) in 1987.
For more than thirty years, he has been collaborating with the editors of various French and foreign magazines specializing in weapons. A tireless researcher, he has been scouring the archives (like those of Châtellerault, visible on his profile picture) for ages in search of unpublished sources.

Jean-Pierre Bastié is also President of the “Union Française des amateurs d’Armes” (UFA) and Expert for the French Department of Justice about antique weapons.

http://www.academie-des-armes-anciennes.com/

https://www.armes-ufa.com/

Julien Lucot is an enlightened gun lover and a French shooter who has written numerous articles in the French firearms magazines. Enthusiastic and open-minded, his thirst for discovery is matched only by his joy of sharing.

Luc Guillou, 67, served until 2011 as a doctor in the French Navy where he specialized in diving medicine. Now retired, he is the author of numerous books and articles mainly devoted to the weapons of WWI and WWII. He regularly practices sports shooting with antique weapons and was vice-president of the French Union of weapons’ Amateurs (UFA) until 2020.

Marc Barret is a weapons and history enthusiast. He is the author of numerous articles in French specialized magazines. His interest is mostly focused on 19th century’s weapons, John Moses Browning’s inventions and FN Herstal’s productions.

Michael Heidler is researching military history and weapons technology for more than thirty years, especially the development of automatic weapons and their ammunition. He has written more than 150 articles for arms magazines in various countries as long as ten books, of which ‘German Secret Armament Codes until 1945’ became a standard work on German manufacturer markings.

On the picture, Michael Heidler holds a rare German EMP36 at the Praque military museum.

Shooter. Collector. Military training. Now retired after 22 years of service. Reservist of the French Gendarmerie Nationale (all smallarms Shooting Instructor).