Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America exposes the ATF's fumbled Project Gun Runner, the undercover operation to allow guns to “walk” into Mexico – firearms that were later used to murder a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. But now an internal memo from ATF reveals the agency may be ramping up their assault on mom and pop gun stores as part of a veiled PR campaign in the wake of the scandal.
The Connecticut Legislature was considering a bill that would have outlawed larger-capacity magazines holding ten rounds or better. That bill recently died in committee, and gun owners were a big reason why.
As the Hartford Courant reported, “A handful of states limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds, but the Connecticut bill would have gone further. It would have banned the future sale of large-capacity magazines and required anyone in possession of one or more to turn them over to local or state police within 90 days of the law's taking effect. Failure to do so could have resulted in a felony charge.”
The controversial proposal brought out state gun owners—in force. “Over 200 people from all walks of life came and testified against it, and I think they made their case,” said Sen. John Kissel, the ranking Republican on the judiciary committee. “Several gun owners said such provisions would constitute an illegal taking of their property and likely would have been ruled unconstitutional by the courts,” the Courant noted. “The proposal, they added, would have hurt law-abiding gun owners while doing nothing to deter crime.”
“We're always open to listening to our constituents,” Kissel added. “When over 200 people are willing to spend 12 hours at a public hearing, it has a huge impact.”
Gun Digest is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. Readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews and practical how-to instructions. With your Subscription, you’ll also learn about threats to your Second Amendment rights. Click here to begin your subscription to Gun Digest.
Inside this issue:
* ATF Goes After Shotguns * Gun Review: Mossberg Model 510 * Gun Review: Russian Saiga Shotguns * Shotgun Slugs * Gun shows, auctions, classifieds and more!
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The PPSh-41 rifle, also known as a pa-pa-sha, has been introduced by TNW. The stock is an original Polish part. The barrel, barrel shroud, and receiver are all new.
Semi-automatic versions of sub-machine guns have been on the U.S. market since Auto-Ordnance brought out the Thompson 1927-a1 in the 1970s. Other notable makes include the Uzi Model A which began importation in 1980, and the numerous MAC-10 type guns that began to appear in the early 1980s.
The expiration of the assault weapon ban in 2004 has brought a new generation of semi-automatic versions of classic military weaponry of the world. Many are based on Soviet designs. There are a lot of former East Block guns on the world arms market that can be bought cheap.
Of course functional select-fire guns cannot be imported for the civilian market. So U.S. importers began destroying the receivers of original guns and imported the parts kits. Then gun designers and tinkerers sat down and figured out how to make these things work in semi-automatic.
These semi sub guns (SSG?) are designed to comply with current law. Select-fire open-bolt mechanisms were changed to closed bolt semi-automatic operation. The BATFE must approve any design that skates near the edge of automatic operation.
It must be impossible to readily convert any design to automatic function, either by modification of existing parts or substitution of “readily available” parts. In all truth, these SSG are really new designs that have cosmetic resemblance to the select-fire version. Original stocks, handles, sights, magazines or other parts may be used but significant manufacture of new parts is done.
In addition to semi-auto only function, the new guns must comply with other areas of federal law. A rifle must have a barrel at least 16.1 inches long and have a total length of 26 inches. With most of the existing designs this requires a longer barrel than the original model. Older SMG’s usually had barrels that were six to 14 inches long. The longer barrels on the SSG change the profile quite a bit. Some models, like the British Sten or U.S.M3a1 Grease Gun really look silly with the 16-inch tube.
Handgun versions of guns such as the MAC-10 series can fit the original profile but will lack the collapsible stock. Some of the new designs even have an original folding stock welded in the closed position. This is to give the gun the appearance of the real thing.
In the last few months I have had the opportunity to try out three of the semi-auto sub guns. A Suomi 9mm rifle, PPSh 41 rifle and PPS 43 pistol. The Suomi and PPSh are manufactured by TNW Firearms https://www.tnwfirearms.com. They were ordered for local customers, not to test for this column. That idea occurred to me later.
Finland manufactured about 80,000 Suomi Model 1931 sub-machine guns in 9mm. Production ended in 1944. They were fitted with a 12.25-inch barrel and fire from an open bolt. The TNW semi automatic version fires from a closed bolt. It has a 16-inch barrel and the original barrel shroud was lengthened to cover some of the extra length.
The new gun keeps the unusual operating handle, which is located below the receiver at the back of the action. Magazines were made that hold 30 or 50 rounds as well as a 71-round drum. The Suomi currently retails in the $450 to $550 range.
The TNW gun I tried was built using an as-new stock and other parts. It is finished with a gray Parkerizing.
I fired two 30-round magazines through it. The rifle worked OK using Winchester and Finnish SAKO-made surplus ball ammo. One stovepipe jam and a couple failures to fire old ammo were the only issues. I was just plinking and did not have formal targets beyond a few old cans. Accuracy was to area of aim at my 25-yard range. Both I and the new owner of this gun thought it a bit heavy.
Three weeks after I sold the Suomi, another customer ordered a PPSh-41 rifle, also made by TNW but purchased from another source. This was when I decided these guns might be a good topic for a column.
The Russians used the PPSh model 1941 submachine gun during WWII. More than five million were made from 1941 to 1947. It was chambered for the 7.62x25mm cartridge also used in the Tokarev TT-33 pistol. The Russians sometimes called their PPSh a pa-pa-sha. It fired from an open bolt, has a 10.3-inch barrel and uses 35-round stick or 71-round drum magazines.
The TNW version was built with a Polish marked stock and other original parts. The barrel, barrel shroud and receiver are all new manufacture. It is finished with gray Parkerizing. The gun was shipped with a single stick magazine. I had to find some of the drums. They are what make this model neat. I ordered the drum on line and when it arrived I took the gun out back to try. Yes, my customer had been informed I would be testing his gun. The PPSh-41 currently retails in the $900 to $1000 range.
First, I gotta say this gun is heavy. It weighed in at 12 pounds 7 ounces with a loaded 71-round drum on my shipping scale. I would not want to have to carry this one all day. I wonder if they could make the barrel shroud from thinner steel, to lighten it up a bit? Function was spotty but I will attribute most of it to the ammo I used.
I did not happen to have much of the cheap surplus 7.62×25 on hand to try. My first drum was filled with 25 rounds of 1950s-era Czech surplus and 45 rounds of Norinco 1980s vintage steel-cased commercial ammo. The Czech ammo had hard primers and there were more than a dozen failures to fire in the first 25 rounds, as well as a few jams and failures to eject. Subsequent sessions used other mixed 7.62x25mm surplus I found in my stash. Bulgarian, Selior & Belot, and unknown manufacture.
Several more failures to fire. The most shots I got in one string was about 25 with the Norinco ammo. I am thinking this gun is a bit ammo sensitive. Some surplus ammo will have primers too hard for reliable operation. The factory manual suggests using new production ammo and warns of the poor reliability of surplus ammunition.
The final model I tried was the PPS-43 pistol. I bought this one at a gun show last weekend. The PPS 1943 was adopted in Russia in 1943. It was a re-design of the PPSh-41 made from sheet steel stampings. It used the same 35-round stick magazines. The drums will not fit the stamped magazine housing.
The new pistol is imported to the U.S. by Inter Ordnance https://www.ioinc.us. These currently retail for $450 to $550. It is made in Radom, Poland by Pioneer. This is an all-new gun. The folding metal stock is welded in the closed position. It has a 10-inch barrel and the weight is about 7.5 pounds. Finally, a sub-machine gun look-alike that looks like the real thing. I can grip the magazine and spray from the hip, just like the war movies! My initial range session was satisfactory. It fired 35 rounds of the Norinco commercial ammunition with only two stove pipe stoppages. Now, I’m out of 7.62×25 ammo, so I really need to find some more.
Whether you are a military history buff or just enjoy the look and feel of old submachine guns, these three are fine examples of what’s available for you.
This article appeared in the January 3, 2011 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The U.S. Army, among others, has been using ammunition made from tungsten alloy metals in an attempt to find a “green,” non-lead ammunition.
It looks like the search may just have to continue, based on research recently published in the scientific journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Scientists had thought tungsten was relatively non-toxic, and that, once in the environment (as in an expended bullet) the metal stayed intact and didn’t leach into the surrounding soil. Yet, several years ago researchers found tungsten in groundwater at Camp Edwards, a Massachusetts National Guard base that switched over to tungsten-nylon training ammunition in the 1990s.
In this latest research, as reported by United Press International, “Laboratory mice given drinking water containing small amounts of a tungsten compound were examined to see where in their bodies the tungsten ended up. Researchers found the highest concentrations of tungsten were found in the spleen, one of the main components of the immune system, and in bone marrow, the initial source of all the cells of the immune system.”
The next step was to determine if tungsten may in fact harm a mammal’s immune system. If that was found to be the case? You can remove the word “green” from any discussion of tungsten ammo!
Rock River Arms serves up an AR in .308, and it doesn't disappoint.
The first thing you notice about the Rock River Arms LAR-8 Elite Operator is that you have a stout yet maneuverable rifle in your hands. True it is heavier than a .223 version, but it is well-balanced and easy to handle.
When people start splitting hairs as to what really constitutes a “battle rifle” often times the discussion comes back around to caliber. Was the AR-15 really designed as a battle rifle? Or, by virtue of its smaller cartridge, was the AR-15 some other sort of weapon? Is the AR-15 designed for uses similar to the M-1 Carbine or the German STG-43 than to the M-14 or M-1 Garand?
This is the debate. Sure the AR-15 functions, but with its little bullet, it can’t really be called a battle rifle, can it?
Well, there are lots of rifle makers these days taking caliber out of the debate by building AR-style rifles in .308. This, of course, starts another debate. The .308 AR-rifle is what Eugene Stoner envisioned from the start. So, are we moving ahead with a .308 AR or are we going back to the starting point?
Perhaps these are questions too big for this article, but luckily we don’t have to answer them. Rock River Arms stepped up and gave the world a .308 caliber AR rifle that hits with the power of a battle rifle, but carries like an AR-15. The LAR-8 Elite Operator won’t stop the debate, but will certainly provide the power, accuracy and versatility modern shooters really want.
Rock River Arms LAR 308 Elite Operator.
Out of the Box
The first thing you notice upon assembly is that you have a stout yet maneuverable rifle in your hands. True it is heavier than a .223 version, but it is well balanced and easy to handle. Adjust the buttstock to your liking and the rifle comes up naturally and easily. An especially nice touch is the “half-quad” handguard. Sure, when you say “half-quad” you might think of just two rails, but don’t worry, it has all four.
But the rails simply run half the length of the handguard; from the gas block back. From the magazine well forward the handguard is just that, a handguard… with a knurled aluminum free-float tube that is both comfortable and easy to grip. You don’t often mount accessories that close to the magazine well anyway. That’s where you want to hold when you fire so this half-quad only makes sense.
The flip-up front sight is a well-built unit with stout ears protecting the adjustable front post. Designed and built by RRA, this sight is an example of the great ideas and sound execution in the manufacturing processes. The gas block front sight also serves as the anchor for three different sling attachment points. There is one on each side of the barrel and one below allowing you to mount any sort of sling system you would like.
Beneath the sight is a one-inch section of picatinny rail in case you need it. We mounted a Command Arms bipod on the lower portion of the quad rail and that worked slick. That bipod can stow with the legs pointing forward or aft for even more versatility. I would have liked to see a rear sight on this rifle, but that’s an option, not factory standard. I guess the folks at RRA want to let you choose your own rear sight, but I would prefer to see this rifle ready to rock right out of the box.
And speaking of which… the Rock River hard case is solid, well built and easily identifiable as the container of an RRA product. It is also specifically not what I would like in a hard case. You must disassemble the rifle to place it in the case and you can’t put an upper with optics into the blue box. The good news is that’s the only part of this rifle I could complain about. Meaning this is an outstanding rifle.
The first thing you notice about the Rock River Arms LAR-8 Elite Operator is that you have a stout yet maneuverable rifle in your hands. True it is heavier than a .223 version, but it is well balanced and easy to handle.
Just How Good?
I think it was Ben Franklin who said “The proof of the pudding is determined by how many 165-grain bullets you’re able to put into a bad guy in five seconds.” In this case, let’s say five would be the minimum.
If you have ever handled an AR-style rifle, the controls on the LAR 8 will be almost second nature. I say almost, because there are two small changes on this rifle. The magazine release button is now ambidextrous and can be activated from either side of the rifle and the bolt release is located at the bottom rear of the magazine well. It is an ambidextrous lever you push straight down, with your trigger finger if you like. Gone are the days of slamming a magazine home and slapping the left side of the receiver with your left hand to run the bolt forward. While we are on the topic of magazines, the Elite Operator used FAL metric and L1A1 inch magazines. So there should be no trouble finding 20-round boxes for your reloads.
The Rock River Arms-designed gasblock incorporates a pop-up front sight, sling attachment points on three sides and a short Picatinny rail making the rifle ready for anything.
Now, on to the shooting. For the day’s festivities I quickly mounted a Trijicon Reflex on top of the Elite Operator. Quickly, as in, I set the sight on the top rail, flipped the ARMS locks and started shooting. It was dead on. I started plinking at 25 yards. Then still shooting offhand, I engaged the targets at 50 and 75 yards. Finally, I braced the rifle on the post and started dropping rounds on the 100-yard target. Combat accuracy was outstanding, scoring minute-of-bad guy hits on everything I pointed at.
This prompted me to drop a few sandbags on the bench and drop some rounds downrange in an effort to see where they would fall if I was really trying to shoot a nice group. With the zero-power magnification Reflex sight aligned on the dead of the Dirty Bird target I rolled through the trigger press, firing as quickly as I could get the dot back on the group. On a grid target, accuracy lives up to the Rock River Arms’ claim of 1.5 MOA at 100 yards. The two-stage trigger allows for perfect control and a clean break.
The Smith flash hider worked very well and the 1:10 twist ratio seemed perfect for the 165-grain Hornady TAP ammo. Another feature I really liked was the sealed battery storage area behind the rubber buttplate. Push the button on the left side of the buttplate and it slides down exposing a storage area for several of the CR123 batteries. Each battery tube is also spring-loaded to make sure your batteries come out as easy as they go in.
If there is one thing to note about the .308 caliber AR-style rifles on the market, it is that parts are not universally interchangeable. Where as most AR-15 rifle parts from most makers will drop in and function, the same is not true of the bigger guns. Each maker has apparently come up with what they consider to be the best idea for some part or another. As stated on the RRA website, the LAR-8 uses a unique receiver thread and barrel nut.
No barrel nut (either separate or as part of a tubular handguard or quad rail handguard) except those made specifically for the RRA LAR-8 should ever be used on an RRA LAR-8 or upper half. Although some other barrel nuts may thread onto the LAR-8 upper receiver, the depth of thread is incorrect. Use of incorrect parts may cause injury or death. So, now you know that. The parts don’t interchange with other .308 AR parts out there. Don’t try it.
The Rock River Arms LAR-8 Elite Operator gives you a rifle and a platform that offers power and versatility. In a law enforcement capacity you will get greater range if you need it and more penetration around buildings and vehicles. If you want to use this as a Modern Sporting Rifle, the Elite Operator will have no trouble taking deer-sized game at any range you feel comfortable shooting. With the Elite Operator you can hit hard and fast with no debate.
This article appeared in the January 3, 2011 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Gun Digest the Magazine has reported, more than once, on warnings from firearms optics manufacturers that consumers needed to watch out for faked copies of their products. Recently, U.S. Customers snagged a shipment of these fakes, in this case counterfeit holographic sights, with a potential retail value of nearly a half million dollars.
State law enforcement in California, according to the Los Angeles Times, filed criminal charges against three men for allegedly selling the fake optics on the Internet via a company called Field Sport, Inc.
The charges stem from an investigation that began in early March after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers were conducting a routine mail inspection at an Alaska sorting center and found 700 counterfeit rifle sights and 200 magnifier systems in a shipment sent from China to Field Sports headquarters, the Times noted.
According to the criminal complaint, the three men advertised for sale online about 700 counterfeit EOTech gun sights and 200 magnifier systems. They said the equipment had a retail value of about $475,000. Based in Michigan, EOTech has a copyright on the manufacture and sale of the holographic rifle sights sold by the defendants. The brand is popular with law enforcement and the military.
“Your request is granted in part.” Photo: ATF Disclosure Division
“This is in reference to your Freedom of Information Act request for access to information maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” the response letter from Marilyn R. LaBrie, Team Leader, Disclosure Division begins.
“Your request is granted in part,” LaBrie continues. “We are releasing the disclosable portions of the documents and withholding portions for the reasons shown on the cover sheet that accompanies the documents.”
And no, I don’t expect anything earth-shaking, but I do expect anything I get will be telling in terms of what it doesn’t say.
What it doesn’t say is anything at all having to do with the primary request for “all documents, to include agendas, presentations and handouts containing information” related to the briefing itself. None were included in the response, nor was any acknowledgment even made that these were omitted.
Nor was there any apparent attempt to comply with the secondary request for “any memorandum, report, summary or other communication that describes what happened at the meeting, including a description of any oral briefing and what was said by both sides, and…copies of any such documents filed or stored, or designated for filing and storage, at the Office of Public and Government Affairs.” Read more
Starting this April 1, Pennsylvania shooters who want to use a public shooting range on State Game Lands must have a $30 range use permit, unless they already hold a Pennsylvania hunting or trapping license.
Previously, “hunting license fees were used to keep these ranges open to the public, even for those shooters who did not have licenses,” the Centre Daily Times reported. “This new permit ends the fee-free method of operation.”
“Over the past few years, the Game Commission has made large investments into its 29 State Game Land shooting ranges across this Commonwealth,” said Carl Roe, Game Commission executive director. “These investments have taken the form of lead remediation, safety barrier reconstruction, shooting range redesign and other related projects. These investments came at a high cost, but kept many shooting ranges open and available to the public.”
Now, it was time for the public to also ante up. The new permit requirement helped the Game Commission accomplish two goals: “having unlicensed persons contribute toward the cost of maintaining the ranges, and better quantifying and controlling the use of shooting ranges,” the Centre Daily noted. “The regulation also prohibits all other target shooting from taking place on State Game Lands, except at designated ranges.”
According to the Game Commission’s website, there are currently 29 shooting ranges operating on state game lands.
Sen. Patrick Leahy and other "Pro-Gun Democrats" are stonewalling efforts to uncover facts about ATF Project Gunwalker.
“[T]his is not a political issue, but a corrupt bureaucracy issue,” the ATF employee posting under the screen name “Zorro” wrote in the CleanUpATF forum on Mar. 27. “There were problems throughout administrations and political party rule. This monster was fostered by both parties and multiple presidential administrations through lack of oversight and accountability.”
True enough.
Just like it’s not an issue of being pro- or anti-gun. It’s an issue of out-of-control government corruption resulting in murder, which all Americans should want to get to the bottom of.
Not that the Brady Campaign and their camp followers can be bothered with such distinctions. Rather than concern themselves with stopping “gun deaths” caused by the criminal actions of those helping promote the meme that it’s all the fault of weak U.S. laws and greedy gun shops, their primary focus has been to call for even more restrictions on American gun owners and even more power for an agency and administration that resorts to stonewalling and deception in the face of congressional inquiries.
Where the hell are the Democrats?
In fact, Sen. Grassley is hamstrung by the fact he is only the ranking Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrat Patrick Leahy chairs the committee, and he has shown zero interest in uncovering the truth. None of the “gun control” Democrats are interested in doing anything other than circling the wagons, protecting the administration, and seeing if advancing more restrictions might distract attention from the whole sordid mess.
So then where the hell are the supposedly “pro-gun Democrats”?
Why has not one stepped forward and demanded full and open investigative hearings in both the House and Senate?
Where the hell are all those NRA-endorsed Democrats? Max Baucus and Jon Tester would sure be nice allies to have, as the Senate is really where pressure on Leahy needs to come from. Where the hell are they? And while he wasn’t “endorsed” last time out due to gun owner outrage (only financed), where the hell is that “true champion of the Second Amendment” Harry Reid? Read more
“Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform today announced the issuance of a subpoena to the Department of Justices' Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for documents related to the highly controversial ‘Project Gunrunner,’” the Committee announced in an April 1 press release.
The unwillingness of this Administration – most specifically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms – to answer questions about this deadly serious matter is deeply troubling,” said Chairman Issa. “Allegations surrounding this program are serious and the ability of the Justice Department to conduct an impartial investigation is in question. Congressional oversight is necessary to get the truth about what is really happening.
Gun Digest is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. Readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews and practical how-to instructions. With your Subscription, you’ll also learn about threats to your Second Amendment rights. Click here to begin your subscription to Gun Digest.
Inside this issue:
* High Cap Mag Ban * Gun Review: T/C System 1 * Gunsmithing: Tuning Up The Beretta 92 * Care and feeding of Precision Rifles * Gun shows, auctions, classifieds and more!
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Last night, a reporter from Univision asked President Obama about the subject of a CBS News investigation: allegations that ATF allowed traffickers to send weapons to Mexican drug cartels in an operation called “Fast and Furious.” Insiders call the strategy letting guns “walk.”
In response, the president said neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder approved the operation.
In Mascoutah, Illinois, the Caseyville Rifle and Pistol Club has been in a six-year legal battle with St. Clair County, which was determined to close the range and appropriate the land.
Recently, the Club had a big win, when the 5th District Appellate Court in Mount Vernon ruled that the County must pay $42,221 to the Club for its legal fees.
“In addition,” reported the Belleville News Democrat, “the three-judge appellate panel ruled the county must re-file its eminent domain lawsuit against the gun club if it plans to seize the shooting range south of Scott Air Force Base.”
That panel also ruled that, “a county lawsuit seeking to shut down the shooting range must go to trial to determine if the range poses a hazard to low-flying aircraft at Scott.”
“On the eminent domain suit we won,” said Randy Seper, Caseyville Club president. “We won the money case. They did reduce the award, but we won the money case.”
“Seper also predicted the gun club would prevail in a hearing on whether to shutter the shooting range. The gun range opened in February 2007; since then, there have been zero reports of problems, Seper said.”
“We think we'll win the injunction hearing,” he added. “Even if we don't, even if they beat us in the injunction … the law says it's inverse condemnation. You have to pay me just like it's eminent domain.”
Translation: St. Clair County would have to pay the gun club $1.5 million to buy out the site.
The grip angle had been changed from that of the the M-1900-1905 series, to one more in keeping with the shooter’s wrist angle.
The ergonomics of the pistol were exemplary, especially when you consider that the field of ergonomics was still in its infancy. The grip angle had been changed from that of the the M-1900-1905 series, to one more in keeping with the shooter’s wrist angle. The combined thumb and grip safeties were well-positioned, easy to use, and natural in movement.
In 1911, Colt only knew one way to make handguns: the right way. Their handguns were objects of art, the pinnacle of the craftsman’s skill. Each military 1911 pistol was given the same care their commercial pistols would have received.
The parts were made from forgings, machined with care and hand-fitted. Once fitted, they were turned over to the polishing crew, who took great care to buff each of them to a mirror finish, without blurring rollmarks or knocking off edges. Then the pistols went off for blueing. In 1936 Colt wrote a book, A Century of Progress, that extolled their products. Not much had changed between 1911 and 1936. Their blueing procedure had changed, but not much.
Before the final tests, this is what a big-bore combat pistol looked like. This, a pristine M-1907 Field Trials Colt, has led a protected life in the ensuing century-plus.
Once buffed, each pistol was dunked in oil to protect the finish. Once a rack of pistols was ready, they were degreased and placed in the blueing ovens. Yes, ovens. But wait, it gets better. The degreasing process consisted of vats of boiling gasoline. The ovens were charcoal-fired for a while, then changed to gas ovens during WWI. They ran at a temperature between 610° and 670° F. The base of the ovens had a layer of bone charcoal and oil, to provide a small amount of carbon to the process.
The pistols rotated in the oven for five hours, slowing blueing as they spun. The result is a finish that cannot be duplicated by modern processes. The surface polish is so unmarred that the finish seems to have depth. The blueing has a color and clarity unmatched by modern hot chemical dip blueing. The finish is so deep, nearly three-dimensional, that it’s difficult to reproduce in photographs.
It also was not as durable as the Army liked. The bright polish showed scratches, and the blueing wore too easily. Remember, in 1911-12 the US army was not just a barracks force, they had units in the jungle in the Philippines and Cuba; the Marines had units on naval vessels; and the Navy was buying pistols for their own use. So, at about serial number 2400, Colt changed the polishing process. They had the crews stop a polishing grit sooner, and the duller finish (which is still a high-gloss finish by today’s standards) was “good enough.”
The pistols were marked on the slide “Model of 1911 US Army” except for those sent to the Navy, after Naval adoption in 1913; these had “Model of 1911 US Navy” markings instead. There were plans to mark the ones meant for the Marine Corps with “Model of 1911 USMC” but none were ever so marked. The Army simply issued the pistols and did not mark them with the unit of record, a habit beloved by European armies. Collectors of Lugers, for instance, go to great lengths to find unit-marked pistols, and track down just what the sometimes-cryptic markings mean. The US Navy, however, marked the pistols that went to ships, at least those that went to battleships. A 1911 with “BB” and a number indicates which battleship it went to, for example; this sort of thing provides a hot area for collectors.
Springfield, as a government arsenal, had its own markings. Here you see the American Eagle on the slide of a Springfield 1911.
Along with the pistols made by Colt, the government required Colt to provide the government arsenal, Springfield, with drawings, tooling and assistance to provide pistols as well. In today’s logistical environment, where as much as possible is commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) product, the idea that the government would have its own plant, to make its own pistols, is interesting. The accountants figured that they could make pistols there for about two-thirds the cost of the Colt pistols, and since they weren’t getting as much money as they needed from Congress (some things never change) the Army could get more pistols for less money, which was considered a good thing.
Alas, the project was nothing but a source of headaches. Colt sent the drawings, but drawings (especially back then) were only part of the story. It takes an experienced machine operator to produce parts and not scrap. And once a product is being made, the interplay between departments, supervisors and machine operators is the make-or-break difference. In the end, Springfield could not make 1911 pistols as fast or as economically as Colt.
The 1911 was also not available commercially early on, and when it became available, it wasn’t in sufficient quantity. Having gone to the trouble of testing, developing, and co-designing the pistol, the Army expected to be first in line for production.
An early Colt, made for the Navy (the serial number gives it away) and showing the level of polish. Photo by Kevin Williams.
There was a small problem with the magazines. Today, we take sheet-metal pressings or stampings for granted. Heck, we make automobiles in their entirety from stampings. Except for things like engine blocks, transmissions and heavy structures (which are in most cases castings) your entire car can be an assembly of sheet metal stampings that are bent, folded, creased and welded. But in 1911, sheet metal pressings were a new thing. Magazines were a new thing. Magazine-fed rifles used machined rails as integral parts of their receivers, to guide each cartridge in turn to the chamber.
The magazine of a pistol could not be so built. It would be cost-prohibitive to make a near-disposable item like a magazine from machined parts. So they were stamped, folded and welded. (It would be a long time before impact extrusion was advanced enough, and cheap enough, to be used to form magazine tubes.)
If the magazine lips were too soft, they would bend under use. If they were too hard, they would crack. They had to be just right. Unfortunately, that wasn’t easy. Early on, the magazines were the weak link. A method of cyanide-hardening the lips of the magazine was developed, which produced a magazine that was two-tone.
The hardened part of it would stay bright and not take blueing. But the corners of the folds would be stress points, and the tubes would crack. So Colt designed magazines for a while that are known as “keyhole” mags. To give the lips enough flex to feed, but hardness enough to not bend, the spine of the magazine was punched, and a slot also stamped out from the hole upwards. That, combined with a radius on the clearance slot to reduce stress, produced a magazine that was hard but had flex.
Here is the right side of a Navy-batch pistol, showing the markings. Photo courtesy Rock Island Auctions
With a real problem on their hands and an interim solution in place, the engineers went to work and finally figured out which alloy, which stamping and which heat-treatment it took to produce reliable magazines without the keyhole. Once the new magazines had been tested, production shifted to the new design, abandoning the keyhole.
The 1911, in its first combat uses, comported itself well. Some arrived in the Philippines before the end of the Philippine Insurrection. In fact, an Army-commissioned painting of the last battle in the Philippines, the Battle of Bud Bagsak, shows a 1911 in use.
Led by Brigadier General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, the 8th Infantry and Philippine Scouts assaulted a fort at Bud Bagask that was defended by hundreds of Moros, and spent four days in combat. Pershing, in a letter to his wife, recounted that “The fighting was the fiercest I have ever seen. They are absolutely fearless, and once committed to combat they count death as a mere incident.” The Moros fought to the last.
A close-up of the roll marking. If you find an “old pistol” in the attic and it has this marking on it, you’re looking at a pistol a century old. Photo courtesy Rock Island Auctions
The 1911 pistol was also a hot item to have if you were assigned to the Punitive Expedition of 1916, down Mexico way. Officially known as the Mexican Expedition, and unofficially as the Pancho Villa Expedition, back then they were a lot less squishy about some uses of the language. While a woman’s legs might be called “limbs,” when it came time to kick butt and take names, it was the “Punitive Expedition,” or expedition of punishment. Pancho Villa was the hombre they were out to punish.
Mexico was at the time in turmoil. The Mexican revolution of 1911 had been a mess, and to the disappointment of Pancho Villa (one of the contenders) the US government sided with the Carranza contingent. Villa, having assumed the assurances he’d been receiving would mean he’d be backed as president, was understandably put out. He began attacking American interests along the border, but staying south of the line. On March 6, 1916, he attacked Columbus, New Mexico, and tangled with the 13th US Cavalry. He got his butt royally kicked, losing sixty-seven dead on the scene, and another thirteen who would die later of their wounds.
By March 15, President Wilson had ordered General Pershing to take care of things, and Pershing was already crossing the border. (Today, the first round of press conferences would not have even ended in that period of time.) Taking 4,800 men, Pershing advanced into Mexico without the agreement of the Carranza government, meaning no railway travel. So the US Army used trucks as well as horses and mules for transport and airplanes for reconnaissance. And they packed the new 1911 pistol with them. Well, some did; many old hands still stuck with the Colt SAA.
As a military effort, the expedition did not succeed. The Army did not capture Villa, although in a daring raid, a force led by Lieutenant George S. Patton drove their vehicles right into a small village where Villistas were and captured many, Patton personally killing Julio Cardena, a Villa commander. As a means of stopping the raids, the expedition wasn’t much use. It put the US on temporarily bad terms with the Mexican government, it failed to capture Villa, and it pointed out shortcomings in procedures and equipment in the U.S. Army. But as a live-fire training exercise, it was just what the Army needed before turning toward Europe just a year later.
The Battle of Bud Bagsak, where the new 1911 pistol reportedly served well.
The 1911 was definitely a harbinger of things to come, and the US Army wasn’t the only service that adopted a big-bore autoloader. Webley & Scott offered the British Army a self-loading pistol in 1913, the Webley & Scott Pistol Self-Loading .455 Mark I. It fired a proprietary cartridge, the .455 Webley Automatic. The .455 WA had a semi-rimmed case, and while slightly larger than a .45 ACP, it could be wrestled into a 1911, a feat Colt quickly accomplished.
The British Army was underwhelmed, but the Royal Air Corps, in need of firearms, adopted it and used it throughout the war. Among its other odd features (an oddly-angled grip and seriously ugly looks) the recoil spring was a massive “V” spring under the right grip panel. Should you ever have and shoot one, and the spring breaks, you are done.
An FN M-1910 pistol of the type used to assassinate Arch-Duke Ferdinand. On display in an excellent little arms museum in Tournai, Belgium
Also, the Webley pistol did not use the magazine follower to lock open when empty. It just knows. Considering the beautiful balance of a British shotgun, and the great feel (if odd looks) of the Webley revolvers, you had to wonder of the designers really had their hearts in the self-loading pistol project.
At the end of June of 1914, the old world came to a screeching halt, and the new world was ushered in by blood. The Europe of today was not the Europe of then. There were France, Germany, and squeezed off to the side, Switzerland. Between them, buffering them from the empires to the West (Russia and Turkey) and Italy, was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was a crazy-quilt of nations and nationalities, and sectarian violence was common.
On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand – the Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungaria, and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and the presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne – was visiting Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina on an official function.
Unbeknownst to him, there was a conspiracy to assassinate him as he traveled in his motorcade. The conspirators, armed with hand grenades and pistols, lined the route. Two of the assassins selected that day failed to act, but one – Gavrilo Princep – did, throwing a grenade that missed the Archduke’s car, an enormous Graf & Stift convertible with its top down, but wound ed the passengers of a trailing car.
Princip, having missed his opportunity, went into a local shop. The Archduke, upon finding out one of his party had been injured, wished to pay his respects to the victim at the hospital. The drivers, however, did not get the word of the new destination and drove back along the same path they had taken just before.
The Webley self-loading .455 pistol. It is not as awkward as it appears, but it certainly is not a paragon of simple design
Princep looked up to see the missed opportunity coming right at him, again, so he rushed out of the shop. The eye-witness accounts are a mess, and apparently everyone saw something entirely different. Some say he ran to the car; others, that he jumped on the running board of the car. In any case, Princep fired two shots. The Archduke and his wife Sophie were both mortally wounded, and Franz died within a minute. The car sped to the Governor’s residence while the mob beat Princep nearly to death. The Archduke’s wife died ten minutes after arriving at the residence.
All of Europe was spoiling for a fight, and the mass of interlocking treaties almost ensured that everyone would be dragged into it. Most rushed willingly to the conflict. The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, the Russians stepped up to defend Serbia, and when the Russians mobilized, Germany did so too.
What pistol touched off the first World War? For a long time here in the US it was commonly held that the pistol Gavrilo Princep used was an FN M-1900, in .32 ACP. It was not. It was an FN M-1910, in .380 Auto. The pistol he used is in a Jesuit church in Austria, along with the police reports, transcripts of the trial, and other items associated with the truly history-making incident.
Thus the Model 1911, which played an important role in ending WWI, was created by the same man who designed the pistol that started it: John Moses Browning.
This article is an excerpt from Patrick Sweeney's 1911: The First 100 Years.
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Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
The Standard Catalog of Military Firearms
