Category: All About Guns

A decade after the Model 1851, Colt brought out a streamlined version.
Both were mostly just called Colt’s Navy revolvers.

The most famous gunfighter who favored the Colt Navy (actually a brace of matched ones) was James Butler Hickok.

The era of The American gunfighter of fact and legend didn’t begin until 1850. That was when Samuel Colt introduced his first “Belt Pistol” meaning one practical for a man to actually wear on his person in a holster. Prior to that, Colt revolvers came in two types; the big military .44s weighing over four pounds and meant for packing in saddle holsters, or small .31-caliber “pocket pistols” intended for civilian self-defense and concealed carry. Consider this: before about 1850 one of the most famous Old West figures was Jim Bowie, the famous knife fighter. After that time most famous Old West personages were gunfighters.

Today, commonly called Model 1851 Navy, Sam Colt’s belt pistol actually appeared the year before. Its frame was a new medium-sized one. Its .36 caliber was between the .31 and .44 sizes, previously offered by Colt. Worthy of note is in the era of percussion revolvers caliber was denoted by the barrel’s bore size and not its groove diameter. Hence the new Colt was termed .36 caliber when the proper ball size for it was actually .375″.

The “Navy” term didn’t come because the US Navy adopted the model; it came because the roll-engraved scene on its cylinder depicted a naval battle. The scene showed a battle that took place in the Gulf of Mexico on May 16, 1843, between ships of the navies of the Republic of Texas and Mexico. The “Navy” term became so synonymous with the belt pistol it became commonly called “Colt’s Navy” and .36 was often simply referred to as “Navy caliber.”

Sam Colt gladly accepted custom orders so original belt pistols can be found in a wide variety of finishes and barrel lengths. Yet the quintessential Navy Colt had a 7½” octagonal barrel, blued barrel and cylinder, color case-hardened frame, hammer and loading lever and a grip frame of nickel-plated brass. Grips were 1-piece wood, but many Navy Colts wore custom ivory grips.

Early ones had a square back triggerguard. Shortly into production, that was changed to a roomier oval type. Weight was only about 2½ pounds, making it perfectly feasible to wear on a belt and quickly accessible when needed. Of course, the mode of fire was single-action-only.

Modern manufacturers — like this Uberti — make very nice reproduction 1851s. Photo: Jonathan Armand

Pure lead round balls were the most common projectile used in Colt’s revolvers. From left to right they are .31 caliber, .36 caliber and .44 caliber. Pure lead balls for .36 caliber were .375″ in diameter and weighed about 80 grains.

The Colt Model 1851s didn’t get the Navy nickname because of an adoption by naval forces. It came from the naval scene roll-engraved on the cylinder.

This powder flask is marked for the Colt Navy and its spout is adjustable for the proper black powder charges for both conical bullets and round balls.

About the best Duke could do with his 2nd Generation Colt Model
1851 was 4″ to 5″ groups like this at 25 yards.

Stopping Power?

Until the advent of the Colt Navy, personal altercations were settled with knives. The victor was usually the strongest and largest antagonist. Sam Colt helped equal the odds because then quarrelers could stand apart and shoot it out. Large size only made for a bigger target. Reflexes and gun handling ability counted more, with of course eyesight being a factor too. Colt percussion revolvers of all types wore the most basic of sighting equipment though — a notch in the hammer with a bare nub of a front sight.

By today’s standards Navy Colts had rather puny “knock-down” power. Projectiles for them came in two forms, either a round ball or conical bullet, weighing about 80 and 140 grains respectively. From a 7½” barrel, black powder propelled them at about 1,000 fps for the ball and 750 for the bullet.

In terms of foot-pounds of energy (not that it matters) they landed roughly between modern .32 and .380 autos, which is about the right way to think of the .36. Think of firing an 85-grain .380 at around 900 to 1,000 fps and you’ll get an idea of what a Colt Navy had on-board.

However, only pure lead was used for bullet alloy so wounds were often severe, especially if bones were hit. Furthermore, balls often lodged in a victim’s bodies causing complications such as infection. It has been written that famous outlaw Jesse James took a .36-caliber ball to his body as a guerilla fighter during the Civil War and carried it until his death in 1882.

Although the Colt firm sold “cartridges” — paper ones holding a black powder charge and one of the two types of projectile — they also sold powder flasks and bullet moulds. Powder flasks wore spouts made to measure out the amount of black powder fitting into the 1851’s chambers, leaving enough room to seat the ball or bullet on top.

It was also a good idea to seal the top of the chamber with some sort of soft grease. That kept moisture out and also helped stop flashover, which was when flame from the shot being fired leaked into adjacent chambers so that all let go simultaneously. It happened in the old days, and still happens today with this sort of revolver if you’re not careful.

As a final step the percussion cap goes on the chambers’ nipples, making the revolver ready to fire. Back in the era when men carried percussion handguns into all sorts of weather they sometimes dripped candle wax over the percussion caps so they were sealed from moisture.

Speaking of weather, in the beginning of the pistol-packing era, the most common holster was the military flap type with a piece of leather covering the top of the handgun to protect it from rain, snow, mud, hard knocks and debris. When gunfighting became a factor, pistol-packers cut away the flap so as to make the revolver more accessible.

While all this was evolving, so was the California gold rush of the 1850s. Even today, “boom towns” are rough places so carrying revolvers in California mining camps became standard adornment. Those were mostly Navy Colts with 7½” barrels so their holsters were long and slender. Today those holsters are known as Slim Jim or California holsters.

Shown with a Colt US Model 1911A1 .45 for size comparison is a 2nd Generation Colt Model 1851 “Navy” .36.

Sold as a Colt accouterment, bullet moulds were brass and cut
for both round balls and conical bullets.

During the 1850s, especially in California during the great gold rush,
Colt Navy Model 1851s were holster-carried. Also needed for reloading
were a powder flask, caps and a pouch for lead balls and perhaps a
small screwdriver/nipple wrench.

Sam Colt felt a small notch in the hammer was sufficient for a rear sight on his early revolvers.

The front sight on the Model 1851 Navy was a tiny brass stud set into the barrel. This sight setup didn’t seem to faze gunfighters like Wild Bill Hickok.

There’s a common misconception that whenever a new development was introduced in handguns in the mid-1800s, gunfighter types jumped right on them. For example when Colt’s 1860 Army .44 appeared you might think gun-toters discarded their Navy Colts for the bigger caliber. Some may have, but the .36s stayed popular. They were lighter and didn’t have the exaggerated grip frame of the newer design.

The same reason people carry small autos or revolvers today — because they’re handy, not necessarily because they’re very effective. Besides, immediately after the Model 1860’s advent, Civil War demands took most of the Colt factory’s production. As late as the 1870s, some dedicated gunmen preferred their Colt Navy sixguns even after metallic cartridge handguns were for sale.

Perhaps the most famous of those was Wild Bill Hickok who used his brace of Colt Navy .36s when serving as city marshal for Hays, Kan. in the early 1870s. Wild Bill became the most famous “pistolero” of his era and will forever be identified with Colt’s Navy revolver because he was photographed with a brace of fancy, ivory-stocked ones.

During its 22 years of manufacture about a quarter million Colt Navy revolvers were made, both at the company’s Hartford factory and at a short-lived London plant. Today Model 1851s are either very valuable or in pitiful condition. I’m not going to shoot either type. However, in the 1970s and spilling over briefly into the 1980s, Colt Firearms once again offered Model 1851s made of new steels and usually exhibiting quite good workmanship. There are many rumors of exactly who made these guns but that doesn’t concern us here.

Colt Model 1851 was commonly sold as cased sets with accessories
such as powder flask and bullet moulds.

Original holsters for Colt Navy .36s were full flap military types.
Civilians often just whittled the flap away.

A Cased Set

I just happen to have a brand new unfired sample of that newer Colt series in a cased set, with powder flask and bullet mould, and it’s a wonderful looking kit. Originals were often sold in just such sets. To start with, bullets were cast in the little brass mould that came with the set.

It was cut for both round ball and conical bullet. Molten pure lead was ladled into it, and brothers and sisters I can assure you gloves will be needed with that thing. Only a few pours were made before it got hot, and by the time 60 projectiles were made (30 of each style) I couldn’t hold onto it any longer — even with heavy leatherwork gloves. I can’t imagine Wild Bill casting his own .36 Navy lead balls on some fair damsel’s cook stove.

The powder flask in my cased set is labeled “Colt Navy.” The spout has two settings: one for the longer conical bullets and one for round balls. That latter setting dropped 24 grains of Swiss FFFg black powder. Swiss brand was chosen because it’s the hottest on today’s market. That much powder just allowed the pure lead balls to seat below flush in the chambers. After all six were powdered and balled some lard was spread atop each. Then the percussion caps were seated and the revolver was ready for firing.

Let me add this, my 60-plus-year-old fingers are getting slightly arthritic; all the small motor skills needed to load that thing are far more difficult now than when I got my first cap-and-ball sixgun in 1967! Something else changed are my eyes. The sights on the Navy Colt were just a blur, so the 5-shot groups fired at 25 yards were all 4″ to 5″ in size. My 1851 was centered for windage but impacted about a foot above point-of-aim. That meant it was about “on” at 100 yards. In fact I did manage to hit an Action Target’s PT Torso steel plate twice out of a cylinder-full at that range. The chronograph said the 80-grain balls were going 974 fps on average.

Many handguns favored by fighting men came later: Colt SAAs and New Services, S&W N-frame .44s, the .357 Magnum and perhaps the top dog of all, the many 1911 .45s. But the gunfighter’s beginning was with Colt’s 1851 Navy .36.

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The Smith & Wesson Model 24: A Look Back by DAVE CAMPBELL

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 27, 2024
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In 1905, Smith & Wesson was riding high on its Hand Ejector Series of double-action revolvers featuring a swing-out cylinder, 10 years before the Hand Ejector had been perfected to the point of starting to manufacture these revolvers on the I- (.32 cal.) and K- (.38 cal.) frames. However, plans for a new large .44-cal. frame were coming along.

The first cartridge for this new frame would be an updated version of the .44 Russian round. Smith & Wesson’s engineers lengthened the case by .360″ and added 3 grains of black powder to a 246-gr. round-nose bullet yielding a muzzle velocity of 755 fps from a 6″ barrel. The new cartridge was christened the .44 Smith & Wesson Special. Smith’s new revolver would be called the .44 Hand Ejector First Model.

So concerned was S&W about holding the new revolver together to withstand the rigors of the new and powerful cartridge, that they added a third locking point to the cylinder. Heretofore, Hand Ejectors locked at the rear of the cylinder via an extension of the ejector rod into a hole in the recoil shield, and the other end locked into a spring-loaded pin mounted on a lug on the barrel.

The third locking point was a lug on the yoke that mated into a recess machined into the frame. This third lug was drilled with a hole to accommodate the ejector rod. Shooters would soon deem this model the Triple Lock. Production of the Hand Ejector First Model began in 1907. This was the first Smith & Wesson revolver with an under lug on the barrel shrouding and protecting ejector rod.

It wasn’t until the following year that the new revolver became available. The revolvers were available in either blue or nickel finish, and sights were either fixed or adjustable (target). Barrel lengths were 5″ or 6 1/2″, though a few were made with 4″ barrels. An extremely limited number of these revolvers were produced in .38-40, .44-40 and .45 Colt, as well. The price was $21. Oddly enough the Hand Ejector First Model did not set the world afire. Sales languished at about 2,000 per year.

In a cost-cutting move, S&W decided to jettison the ejector shroud and third locking lug and reduce the price from $21 to $19. This would be known as the .44 Hand Ejector Second Model and was produced from 1915 until October 1917, due to a demand for large-frame revolvers to support World War I efforts. The factory resumed production of the Hand Ejector Second Model in 1920 and ran until 1940 when the needs of war superseded the civilian market.

It was during this period that a group of aficionados calling themselves the 44 Associates developed. Led by a sawed-off cowboy from Montana, one Elmer Keith, this group learned that by handloading, the .44 Spl. could perform much better than the factory loads of the day. Keith, along with his friend Harold Croft, developed a semi-wadcutter design of cast bullets that performed better than anything of the day for self-defense, as well as hunting. Belding and Mull made the molds to Keith and Croft’s specifications, and they, along with their fellow 44 Associates turned a bunch of hobbyists into a near cult of handgun hunters. Their work would eventually lead to the .44 Rem. Mag. cartridge, but that’s getting ahead of us.

Early on during the production of the Hand Ejector Second Model, a number of customers called for S&W to bring back the shrouded ejector rod. The company at first resisted the change feeling that it wasn’t much of a seller the first time around, and it was expensive to produce. A company in Fort Worth, Texas, Wolf & Klar, placed an order for 3,500 Second Models with a shrouded extractor rod. Harold Wesson was leading the company co-founded by his grandfather in 1926, and he ordered that the shrouded extractor rod be produced.

This became known as the Hand Ejector Third Model or sometimes the Model 1926. The Third Model was a special-order-only revolver and was not cataloged until after 1940. Post-war civilian production found most of the Third Models being made from parts on hand. Sales were a little lackluster, so the company decided to pursue a modernization of its line.

Such features included an integral rib along the top of the barrel, a shorter throw on the hammer—a.k.a. short-action—and a new micrometer-style adjustable sight. This revolver was called the Hand Ejector Fourth Model or Model 1950 Target Model. Initial sales were dismal—a mere 244 copies were sold during its first three years of production. It recoiled too much for the target shooters of the day, and with a 6 1/2″ barrel it was quite a burden for most law enforcement officers.

The only thing that saved the Model 1950 was Elmer Keith and his incessant ranting about his heavy .44 field loads. The .44 Mag. was introduced in 1956, thus putting another nail into the Model 1950’s coffin. In 1957 the model number system took over Smith & Wesson’s product line and the Model 1950 became known as the Model 24. It limped along until 1966 when the Model 24 was dropped from the line.

During its sputtering run, the Model 1950 or 24 had some limited, special-order runs with 4″ and 5″ barrels. But the overshadowing of the .44 Mag. kept these versions checked in terms of sales. A few smart guys glommed onto them, and today a factory 4″ or 5″ .44 Spl. has a lofty premium to its already stratospheric price.

Along came the 1970s, and a gun writer out of New Mexico, along with a few other ne’er-do-well cohorts began touting the virtues of the .44 Spl. cartridge and the Model 24 revolver. Skeeter Skelton was one of those handgun enthusiasts who was smart enough to latch onto a 4-incher. Skelton touted the accuracy and controllability of handloaded .44 Spl. cartridges in a lighter, easier-to-pack revolver than the .44 Mag.

His articles were often spiced up with vignettes of adventure from his law enforcement background—Skeeter was a great storyteller—prompting a lot of handgun enthusiasts, including me, to scrounge about any purveyor of guns for a Model 24 Smith & Wesson. On those rare occasions when one surfaced, the price was usually about 50 percent more than the already outrageous scalper prices for .44 Magnums at that time.

So scarce was the Model 24 that a lot of us, again including me, resorted to getting another N-frame Smith converted to .44 Spl. by a cadre of pistolsmiths. In 1976 I bought a brand new Model 28 Highway Patrolman and with an original 6 1/2″ 1950 Target barrel had it re-chambered and fitted. While my pistolsmith was at it, I had him shorten the barrel to 5″, as I like the balance of that barrel length. It remains in my modest stash of guns and is one of my most accurate revolvers.

Smith & Wesson—like most gun makers—may be a bit slow to recognize a trend, but it again reintroduced the Model 24 in 1983 with a limited run of 2,625 revolvers with 4″ barrels and 4,875 with 6 1/2-inchers. These are designated as the Model 24-3. Lew Horton, the Massachusetts distributor commissioned a special run of Model 24s with 3″ barrels and a K-frame-sized round butt. I snagged one of them right away when I worked in a Wyoming gun shop.

Later I bought an unfired 4-incher from a collector. Today any of these Model 24-3 revolvers command a premium north of $1,100. Smith & Wesson has done some additional limited runs, deemed the Model 24 Classic, but they are all 6 1/2-inchers. A Model 624 has also been produced having all the features of the Model 24-3 revolvers, but made of stainless steel.

Smith & Wesson has been tortured with competing business parameters. During its revolver heydays of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, the .44 Mag.—renamed the Model 29 and later the stainless steel Model 629—easily outsold its little brother. The American “bigger is always better” mindset kept the production line full of the magnum revolvers. Nonetheless, a cadre of revolver sophisticates kept relentless pressure on the company to maintain the Model 24 in its line.

Yet nearly every time it produces a run of the Model 24 it just barely sells out, and the excitement wanes a while. Today, the company can’t seem to produce enough semi-automatic pistols, even while revolver zealots pine for their favorites. Decisions…decisions…

All About Guns

WWII Collection – Mystery Mauser – WWII Mauser Found Under a House

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 27, 2024
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A Smith & Wesson S&W MODEL 10-7 NICKEL FINISH M&P REVOLVER in caliber .38 SPL

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Post date July 27, 2024
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All About Guns Gun Fearing Wussies Well I thought it was funny!

Guns that would give nightmares to the gun fearing wussies out there

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 27, 2024
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All About Guns Fieldcraft Well I thought it was funny!

TRUE CONFESSIONS THE HORROR AND THE HERESY

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 27, 2024
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WRITTEN BY JOHN CONNOR

It happened again, and I can’t stand it anymore — the muffled whispers and furtive pointing; the sidelong slitty-eyed glances and snide snickering. I have to confess; get it off my chest and out in the open: I don’t shoot by The Book!

I was at another GunWriter Group-Grope — one of those wingdings put on by arms and ammo makers where a buncha real gunwriters and a couple fellow hacks like me are invited to burn up a ton of somebody else’s ordnance and fondle their firearms.

Anyway, I was merrily makin’ mayhem on innocent cardboard targets when, once again, I became aware of weighty stares and rancid repugnance radiatin’ from an assembly of The Anointed. They were horrified at my heresy. See, I don’t worship at any particular Temple of Technique or follow any “School of Shootery” du jour. I have what I call “evolved practices,” born of experience, and they’re still evolving. But in the eyes of the Keepers of The Book, my sins are many and mortal, it seems.

In an attempt to avoid co-pay costs for sessions on a shrink’s sofa, maybe I’ll just spill my guts to you guys …

The Seven Deadly Sins

I don’t do “tactical speed reloads” with pistols or mag-fed rifles. I don’t hit the mag release and kick empty magazines out on the deck with my weapon hand while reaching for a fresh one with the other. I do “sure & certain combat reloads” as fast as I can without fumbling. That means keeping an unchanged granite grip on the weapon, hitting the mag release with my off-hand and assisting that empty mag out if necessary. Then I’ll fetch a fresh mag and shove it in.

Yeah, I know. This might cost you critical points in a match. But in my experience, doing otherwise could cost my life in a fight. Pristine mags should fall free from a clean mag well, but just add mud/blood/beer, sand/sludge/grit, twisted positions or damage to the equation, and “drop-free” mags often don’t. I could practice “tactical speed reloads” just for matches or to “fit in with the boys,” but I won’t, because I know me under fire, and I want just one absolutely reliable reloading drill in my head when somebody’s trying to blast my butt off.

My slide release ain’t a “slide release,” it’s a “slide STOP.” I don’t thumb that lever to feed first rounds on reloads. I crank the slide back briskly to its limit either overhand or “slingshot style” because I want that slide driven home under full spring-plus-paw power. Again, it’s all about keeping that granite grip, plus absolute certainty the round is fully chambered and the slide is in battery. It ain’t slick and stylish, but it’s survivable. If you can chew gum, whistle and play with your GameBoy whilst shooting for your life, good for you. I can’t.

I don’t “ride the safety” on a 1911, keepin’ it held down with the master thumb to prevent it from bein’ bumped up and engaging unintentionally. I confess I never heard much about it until recently, but I’ve read several experts’ opinions that this practice separates the pros from the poseurs.

I guess I’m a heavily-experienced poseur. Riding it just doesn’t work for me. If I use too high a thumb-over-thumb grip I lose rigidity, and I’m not installing shelf-sized safety levers. Maybe a tad wider than standard, OK. I like my slides slick and “service-issue” for all kinds of clumsy Neanderthal reasons.

Plunging Into Purgatory

I am a profligate expender of ordnance, operating under the premise if anything needs shootin’ once (besides game) could probably benefit from a barrage of bullets until its inherent threat potential is absolute zero. Kinda like the difference between water “kinda-sorta-maybe conditionally” freezing at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, versus complete cessation of quantum activity at minus 459.6 F or zero Kelvin. I’ve seen too many guys who were “technically dead,” but who apparently didn’t receive their termination telegram, so they kept fighting. That kinda thing scares me.

I respect my own Fear Factor. For me, the quicker that dude is deader, the sooner I’m less scareder.

I don’t like feather-light triggers that “break like a thin, glass rod.” Not on firearms for Serious Social Work anyway, so I avoid them entirely. I want to know when I’m “on” that trigger, and it will require deliberate pressure to go bang — not when Adrenaline Overdrive decides to drop the hammer for me. What I want is a clean break after a tad of take-up. So I’m not a connoisseur, so crucify me, OK?

I’m not a straight-up shooter. The Book says a handgun should be held at zero vertical and, as much as possible, zero horizontal. I think this sprang from the days when first, shooting positions were dictated by geometry-driven military martinets, second, when a lot of pistols wouldn’t feed and function when held off-axis, and third, when all training and practice shooting was done on black-ball bull’s-eye targets.

It made for a prettier sight picture — but I’ve never had to fight a bull’s-eye target. Two-handed or single, strong or weak hand, I shoot best when side-canted about 10 to 15 degrees. You might shoot better that way too, but watch out for angry mobs of The Anointed bearing pitchforks, tar and feathers.

I don’t “index” nice, or “UTM” per usual. When you’re not actually “tappin’ the trigger with intent to pop caps,” your index finger is s’posed to be rigidly extended straight along the frame. Mine doesn’t “rigid” very well, and “straight” went off the table with some fractured mitt-bones and nerve damage a while back. The tip of my crooked trigger finger parks on the side of the triggerguard in Condition Orange, and it’s on the trigger in Condition Red. Note: I go Red real easy (another reason for favoring sorta stout service triggers).

Dang, I feel so much better now! And I didn’t have to lay on a couch or pay a guy in Gucci loafers to listen to me!

Connor OUT

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THE KAISER’S SECRET WEAPON

Post author By Grumpy
Post date July 27, 2024
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THE WWI-ERA GERMAN 9MM “ARTILLERY LUGER”
DELIVERED FIREPOWER AHEAD OF ITS TIME.

WRITTEN BY WILL DABBS, MD

The world in 1917 was a hemorrhaging wound. Like toddlers wielding hand grenades, world leaders commanded armies numbered in the millions in a pitiless war of attrition that claimed human life on a magnitude previously unimagined. Countless lives were ruined, and immeasurable blood was spilt. Thus we as a species received our gory introduction to warfare on a truly industrial scale.

Desperation inevitably spawns innovation. Nations suddenly shocked by their battlefield losses struggled to improve weapons and equipment in an effort at offering their combatants some tactical advantage on killing fields like Ypres, Verdun and the Somme. The resulting mad dash for the latest military technology brought us armed aircraft, poison gas and the combat submarine. On scales both small and large the world saw unprecedented innovation in military hardware.

In the latter years of the 19th century, the state of the art in military handguns was some variation on Rollin White’s bored-through cylinder. Mr. White worked as a contract gunsmith at Colt in the years preceding the American Civil War, and his revelation that a revolver cylinder could be loaded with cartridges from the rear revolutionized handguns. He subsequently sold his invention to Smith & Wesson in exchange for a 25-cent royalty on each pistol produced. By the late 1800’s, however, it was time for something new.

In 1893 Hugo Borchardt designed the Borchardt-Selbstladepistole while working for the German firm of Ludwig Loewe & Cie of Berlin. Compared to the competition, Herr Borchardt’s magazine-fed repeater was a quantum leap forward. The resulting handgun was bulky and expensive and, remarkable though it was, failed to generate any significant military sales.

Georg Luger, one of Hugo’s fellow engineers, was granted a patent for an improved version of the Borchardt-Selbstladepistole in 1898. Evolutionary improvements resulted in the 1900 pattern pistol sold in quantity to the Swiss military through the newly formed Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM). In 1903 the Imperial German Navy accepted the design and in 1908 the Kaiser’s army followed suit. Hence was birthed the Parabellum P08, arguably the most iconic handgun in human history. Today it is simply called the Luger.

The Artillery Luger Lange Pistole 08 was a specialized adaptation
of the standard P08 Parabellum pistol to better optimize it for close
combat applications. As such, it became one of the world’s first
“personal defense weapons.”

The action of the Parabellum is an inspired adaptation of the
human knee joint. The upper portion of the pistol slides freely
within a track in the frame. A cam milled into the frame geometry
pushes the toggle lock upwards and unlocks the action during recoil.

Human Anatomy Meets Martial Efficiency

The action of Herr Luger’s eponymous pistol reflects an inspired adaptation of the human knee joint. When fully extended the human knee will support a person’s body weight without any significant muscular involvement. This extraordinary design allows us to remain standing throughout tedious political oratory, graduation ceremonies and moving wedding nuptials without having to expend undue metabolic capital. However, once the knee’s angle advances past a certain tipping point the joint breaks, and the associated musculature assumes responsibility for the limb’s structural integrity. Luger and Borchardt envisioned within this phenomenon a gun’s mechanical action.

If you’ve never before appreciated the genius of Luger’s Parabellum, grab up a copy or Google a close-up photograph and follow the action through its cycle. It embodies mechanical elegance. The cam governing the action is machined into the frame of the gun such that the mechanism is fully on display to the outside observer.

The toggle component locks the action closed when fully extended. Newtonian physics dictates the recoil force counteracting the expulsion of the projectile presses the upper half of the gun backwards against counter-pressure exerted through the firer’s arm. The P08’s upper half is designed to slide freely in a linear track along the frame, allowing the central hinge of the toggle to impinge upon the cam defined by the frame and push the joint upwards until it unlocks. Momentum then drives the action up and open against spring pressure so the extractor and ejector can rid the gun of its spent cartridge. The coil-shaped recoil spring in the grip then reverses the process, stripping a round from the gun’s magazine and returning the action to its locked state. The simplicity, sophistication and mechanical grace of the process are — quite literally — inspired.

The trigger is not as crisp as it could be given its single-action design. The externalized nature of the mechanism also leaves the gun susceptible to fouling in the face of grime and filth, something found in abundance in the trenches of the Great War. However, the gun is accurate for its dimensions and in its pedestrian form gives its operator eight rapid fire rounds on tap. With the standard 3.74″ barreled version as a starting point, German engineers redesigned the pistol into something that could better serve as a serious close combat tool.