Semiauto pistol
H&K Mk23 SOCOM Development
The H&K Mk 23 pistol was developed in the 1990s for the US Special Operations Command and US Navy. The goal was to produce an “offensive handgun” that could serve as a primary armament for […]
Semiauto pistol
Semiauto pistol
Armaguerra Last-Ditch M35 Pistol
When Italy signed an armistice with the Allied powers in 1944, the German military took over control of several Italian arms factories still in their geographic control. These included Beretta and Armaguerra, in Cremona. The […]
Prototype
Smith & Beecham Prototype Polymer High Power
The South African company Smith and Beecham was not a large operation, and their most notable product was a .380 caliber compact pistol, of which not more than 2000 were ever made (it was not […]
Book review
Book Review: P38 Pistol – Spreewerk Production
I initially put off getting a copy of Jan Balcar and Ron Clarin’s book on the Spreewerk P38 because, well, I assumed it was just about Spreewerk. Upon finally reading it, I discovered that it […]
Semiauto pistol
Charola Y Anitua: Tiny Spanish Broomhandles
Manufactured from 1899 until 1905, the Charola y Anitua pistols (later becoming just the Charola pistols) were basically scaled down C96 Mauser designs chambered for the 5mm Clement and 7mm Charola cartridges. They were briefly […]
Semiauto pistol
Swiss 1929 Simplified Luger (Yes, Swiss and Simplified)
Switzerland was the First Nation to adopt the Luger as a service pistol, and they purchased them DWM in Germany from 1900 until 1914. World War One stopped deliveries, of course, and after the war […]
Conversion
Erma/Glaser Luger .22 Rimfire Conversion
This conversion kit is lot #1713 in the upcoming Rock Island May 2019 auction. In 1927, a Berlin resident named Richard Kulisch patented a .22 rimfire conversion kit for the Luger pistol. Kulisch’s conversion used […]
Semiauto pistol
Engraved Glock 19 Pistols – Yes, That’s a Thing
These three Glocks are lots 1731 (simplest), 1732 (intermediate), and 1733 (best) in the upcoming May 2019 Rock Island auction. Would you believe it? Factory engraved Glocks are actually a thing! They have not made […]
Semiauto pistol
Finnish m/44 Prototype Blowback 9mm Pistol
The m/44 pistol was intended to be a lower-cost replacement for the Lahti L35 pistol for the Finnish Defense Forces, but production delays resulted in the first batch of 25 examples not being completed until […]
Semiauto pistol
S&W 3566: An IPSC Game-Changer that Didn’t
This pistol (and its ammunition) is lot #2401 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction. In 1994, Smith & Wesson began shipping the Model 3566, a double-stack, single action pistols tuned for high-level USPSA competition. It was […]