Competition
Type 94 Nambu at the Backup Gun Match
The Type 94 Nambu pistol is best known for the exposed sear that allows it to be fired by pressing on the side of the gun. This is actually not really the safety issue it’s […]
Semiauto pistol
Prototype
FN Grand Browning: The European 1911 that Never Happened
When John Browning licensed his handgun patents, the North American rights were granted to Colt, and the Western European rights to FN in Belgium. Browning provided the patents and patent model guns to the companies, […]
Semiauto pistol
“System Mauser” – The Very First C96 Pistols
The very first group of C96 pistols made. -about 200 in total – are called “System Mauser” pistols. They have this hand-engraved on the top of the barrel, and have a number of other very […]
Prototype
SIG 44/16: The Best Service Pistol, But The Road Not Traveled
When SIG was developing the pistol that would ultimately be adopted as the m/49 by the Danish Army and the P49 by the Swiss Army (P210 commercially), they initially experimented with both single stack and […]
Semiauto pistol
Evolution of the Military Mauser HSc Pistol
Mauser had been at the forefront of military self-loading pistol design with its C96 pistol, but by the 1930s it had lost major market share to Sauer and Walther in police and commercial guns. The […]
Gunsmithing
Real, Reworked, or Faked? Authenticating a C96 Mauser
When you get into expensive historical firearms, values begin to diverge significantly for guns in particularly good condition. This, naturally, leads some people to take poor quality guns and make them better. Sometimes this is […]
Presentation
Overview of Danish Schouboe .45 & .32 Caliber Pistols
In 1903, Danish engineer Jens Schouboe began developing an automatic pistol for the Dansk Rekylriffel Syndikat in Copenhagen (later to become the Madsen company). He made the guns in both .32ACP and also in a […]
Semiauto pistol
H&K’s Hydrocephalic P7M10 in .40 S&W
Everyone has an off day eventually, and for H&K one of those off days took the form of the P7M10. Introduced in 1991, the M10 was based on the frame and magazine body of the […]
Semiauto pistol
SS-Contract Walther PP and PPK Pistols
Today, courtesy of Tom from Legacy Collectibles, we are taking a look at Walther PP and PPK pistols made specifically for the SS and RSHA. These guns comprised several special contracts, distinct from general military […]
Ammunition
Comparison: French 1935A vs 1935S Pistols
I finally have a source for top quality reliable 7.65mm French Long, thanks to Steinel! I can’t link to them, but I’m sure anyone who wants some themselves can find them online. Anyway, with ammo […]