I hate the whole clip and magazine misnaming crap that comes up in gun conversations. A clip and a magazine are not, nor have ever been the same thing.
CLIP: A device for holding a group of cartridges. It is not a synonym for a magazine. It can also mean a separate device for holding and transferring a group of cartridges to a fixed or detachable magazine or as a device inserted with cartridges into the mechanism of a firearm becoming, in effect, part of that mechanism. A clip is usually ejected once the last cartridge has been fired. For example, the M1 Garand used a 8 round clip as did many Mannlicher rifles.
CHARGER: A metal frame in which cartridges are held and loaded into the magazine of the weapon, rifle or pistol. The charger is positioned opposite the magazine and the cartridges are pushed into the magazine via your thumb. This is common on many modern rifles.
MAGAZINE: A spring-loaded container for cartridges that may be an integral part of the gun`s mechanism or may be detachable. Detachable magazines for the same gun may be offered by the gun`s manufacturer or other manufacturers with various capacities. A gun with a five-shot detachable magazine, for instance, may be fitted with a magazine holding 10, 20, or 50 or more rounds. Box magazines are most commonly located under the receiver with the cartridges stacked vertically. Tube or tubular magazines run through the stock or under the barrel with the cartridges lying horizontally. Drum magazines hold their cartridges in a circular mode. A magazine can also mean a secure storage place for ammunition or explosives. (per the NRA)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Webley and Scott self-loading
One of the ugliest semi=auto pistols ever made is the Webley and Scott Self-Loading. This pistol entered service in 1913 with the Royal Navy, and eventually accepted by the Air Corp and other services and ended up staying in service until the early 1950's. It's square receiver and stock and long thin barrel make for an ungainly and uncomfortable looking package. In addition, there is a large, odd looking grip safety about 2/3rd of the way down the grip.However, reports are that this was a reliable pistol.
This single action, locked breech design. It had a "half-cock" type safety. Another unusual feature was the ability to partially push a magazine into a locked position. This allowed the pistol to become a single shot pistol with the ability to hand feed single cartridges into place. Why this would be practical... no clue.
The caliber for this pistol is .455, technically the .455 Webley and Scott Auto, although this is not the same as the revolver round. The cartridge is semi-rimmed and shoots at a measly 750 feet per second. It's a slow, but big bullet that apparently had plenty of stopping power.
The pistol was also made in .38 Service Round, with a 200 grain bullet for the British. Also, export models were made in 38 Super, and a compact version in 32 ACP and 25 ACP.
This single action, locked breech design. It had a "half-cock" type safety. Another unusual feature was the ability to partially push a magazine into a locked position. This allowed the pistol to become a single shot pistol with the ability to hand feed single cartridges into place. Why this would be practical... no clue.
The caliber for this pistol is .455, technically the .455 Webley and Scott Auto, although this is not the same as the revolver round. The cartridge is semi-rimmed and shoots at a measly 750 feet per second. It's a slow, but big bullet that apparently had plenty of stopping power.
The pistol was also made in .38 Service Round, with a 200 grain bullet for the British. Also, export models were made in 38 Super, and a compact version in 32 ACP and 25 ACP.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Another cool one.. Roth-Steyr
The Roth-Steyr M1907 was an early semi-automatic pistol. It was created by Georg Roth who worked at Steyr. The pistol went into production in 1907 and was adopted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire Cavalry and later its Air Force. This was the first semi-auto pistol adopted as a primary side arm by a major world power. There were earlier semi-auto pistols but they weren't adopted offically by any military force in large numbers. Approxmiately 60,000 were built.
This was a very complicated pistol to build. The pistol worked off of an odd recoil system which utilized a rotating bolt. This bolt moved up to 90 degrees every time it was cocked or fired. It was striker fired and was loaded with a clip from the open breech into the integral magazine located in the grip. It held ten rounds of 8 mm Roth-Steyr ammo. The ammo is still manufactured by several European providers. Fiocchi lists this round with a 113 gr bullet at 1080 feet per second. That's about 290 foot pounds of energy (between a 380 ACP and a 9 MM in power). The barrel was just over 5 inches long.
The gun was a pain in the butt to manufacture and all literature states that it shouldn't be dismantled without professional help. The Roth-Steyr was obsolete by the time it was withdrawn from services in Austria in the late 1930's but a few soldiered on in Hungary and the Italian military until the end of World War 2 (Italy obtained some as reparations after World War 1).
This weapon was not sold commercially, only to the military. It's just another odd gun on my list of weird. It's ugly as sin, but it was reported to robust and reliable.
This was a very complicated pistol to build. The pistol worked off of an odd recoil system which utilized a rotating bolt. This bolt moved up to 90 degrees every time it was cocked or fired. It was striker fired and was loaded with a clip from the open breech into the integral magazine located in the grip. It held ten rounds of 8 mm Roth-Steyr ammo. The ammo is still manufactured by several European providers. Fiocchi lists this round with a 113 gr bullet at 1080 feet per second. That's about 290 foot pounds of energy (between a 380 ACP and a 9 MM in power). The barrel was just over 5 inches long.
The gun was a pain in the butt to manufacture and all literature states that it shouldn't be dismantled without professional help. The Roth-Steyr was obsolete by the time it was withdrawn from services in Austria in the late 1930's but a few soldiered on in Hungary and the Italian military until the end of World War 2 (Italy obtained some as reparations after World War 1).
This weapon was not sold commercially, only to the military. It's just another odd gun on my list of weird. It's ugly as sin, but it was reported to robust and reliable.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Calico M950
I think I am going to continue posts on weird weapons.
The Calico M950 was a cool looking 9mm pistol with a 6 inch barrel that came with either a 50 round or 100 round helical magazine that sat on top of the pistol. Obviously, when fully loaded with ammo, this "pistol" could weigh in at almost ten pounds... it was 4 pounds with a 50 round magazine that was empty.
The pistol was made by Calico Light Weapons Weapons Systems. The pistol ejects empty cases from a hole in the bottom of the gun. This pistol used a roller delayed blowback system, similar to the HK Mp5 submachine gun and CZ-52 pistol. It was fully ambidextrous.
Calico also made variants in 22 Long Rifle, as well as carbines and submachine guns in both calibers. The submachine gun is supposed to be able to shoot 750 rounds per minute in full auto. Calico is still making these guns.
The Calico M950 was a cool looking 9mm pistol with a 6 inch barrel that came with either a 50 round or 100 round helical magazine that sat on top of the pistol. Obviously, when fully loaded with ammo, this "pistol" could weigh in at almost ten pounds... it was 4 pounds with a 50 round magazine that was empty.
The pistol was made by Calico Light Weapons Weapons Systems. The pistol ejects empty cases from a hole in the bottom of the gun. This pistol used a roller delayed blowback system, similar to the HK Mp5 submachine gun and CZ-52 pistol. It was fully ambidextrous.
Calico also made variants in 22 Long Rifle, as well as carbines and submachine guns in both calibers. The submachine gun is supposed to be able to shoot 750 rounds per minute in full auto. Calico is still making these guns.
The Worlds Worst Machine Gun
This particular machine gun is universally condemned as the worst machine gun ever designedm let alone built. In fact, it may have the distinction of being the worst firearm ever developed. If it isn't, then it is darned close second.
The French Modele 1915 Chauchat, also known as the CSRG (after the 4 person commission that designed it).It was a bad design made of even worse materials. It was an early usage of stamped parts production when the machinery and the metals were not as good as they should have been to produce a machine gun that needed close tolerances. It was the "jam-o-matic" of jam-o-matics. It was designed for use with the French8x50R "Lebel" cartridge, which has a large rim. As such, the magazine was a half-moon looking device. Since it was a long recoil design, there was a lot of movement during cycling. So, IF you can get a sustained rate of fire, then the point of aim was always changing as the whole barrel and bolt moved together.
The long recoil system had been around for about 15 years. In fact John Browning patented the concept in 1900. Browning used the concept in his designs for the Browning Auto-5 and the Remington Model 11. The long recoil concept worked, well, until the French got to it. The French Army wanted a light machine gun that soldiers could walk and fire with. The Chauchat was about 20 pounds, which was, for the time, pretty light.
The French were involved in World War 1 at the time and took any weapon they could get and this pig was one of those weapons. To show you how bad it was, with a desperate need for machine guns, they stopped using this one even with no other options. Fortunately, the Americans came across the pond following "Blackjack" Pershing and the French saw an easy out. They dumped this hunk of junk on the Yanks in the thousands. The were converted to 30-06 and were given a straight magazine. This thing was not built for 30-06 pressures to start with, and this caused even more issues with an already worthless gun. According to Ian Hogg, one of the foremost arms experts, the 30-06 just shook the gun into pieces. The main issue was failure to eject spent rounds.
In theory, the gun had a cyclic rate of 250 rounds per minute. Obviously, this is very slow for a machine gun but the rate of fire was slowed by the long recoil system. Not that this mattered as it is said that you could never finish a 20 shot magazine without a stoppage, let alone try for 250 rounds straight through. At the end of World War 1, only 63,000 Chauchats were left in the French arsenal, of the 260,000 made. About 30,000 were dumped on the Americans.
Per Mr. Hogg, "It's service career was an unending tale of malfunctions and jams."
The French Modele 1915 Chauchat, also known as the CSRG (after the 4 person commission that designed it).It was a bad design made of even worse materials. It was an early usage of stamped parts production when the machinery and the metals were not as good as they should have been to produce a machine gun that needed close tolerances. It was the "jam-o-matic" of jam-o-matics. It was designed for use with the French8x50R "Lebel" cartridge, which has a large rim. As such, the magazine was a half-moon looking device. Since it was a long recoil design, there was a lot of movement during cycling. So, IF you can get a sustained rate of fire, then the point of aim was always changing as the whole barrel and bolt moved together.
The long recoil system had been around for about 15 years. In fact John Browning patented the concept in 1900. Browning used the concept in his designs for the Browning Auto-5 and the Remington Model 11. The long recoil concept worked, well, until the French got to it. The French Army wanted a light machine gun that soldiers could walk and fire with. The Chauchat was about 20 pounds, which was, for the time, pretty light.
The French were involved in World War 1 at the time and took any weapon they could get and this pig was one of those weapons. To show you how bad it was, with a desperate need for machine guns, they stopped using this one even with no other options. Fortunately, the Americans came across the pond following "Blackjack" Pershing and the French saw an easy out. They dumped this hunk of junk on the Yanks in the thousands. The were converted to 30-06 and were given a straight magazine. This thing was not built for 30-06 pressures to start with, and this caused even more issues with an already worthless gun. According to Ian Hogg, one of the foremost arms experts, the 30-06 just shook the gun into pieces. The main issue was failure to eject spent rounds.
In theory, the gun had a cyclic rate of 250 rounds per minute. Obviously, this is very slow for a machine gun but the rate of fire was slowed by the long recoil system. Not that this mattered as it is said that you could never finish a 20 shot magazine without a stoppage, let alone try for 250 rounds straight through. At the end of World War 1, only 63,000 Chauchats were left in the French arsenal, of the 260,000 made. About 30,000 were dumped on the Americans.
Per Mr. Hogg, "It's service career was an unending tale of malfunctions and jams."
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
It's just sad....
Regardless of what the article states (http://www.click2houston.com/news/16417710/detail.html), the worst part of the article is the following quote:
Andy Kahan, the crime victim's advocate for Houston's mayor, said of the gun ad, "It's just sad that we have to live in a society where you think that you have to have a firearm just to keep you and your family safe."
First of all, Andy, since before this country was founded, a firearm was required for survival. It served as protection and as a way to put dinner on the table. Funny to think that in the 500+ years since the Europeans stepped foot on this continent (again), with all the history classes we are required to take, Andy hasn't come to the realization that guns in America have history and will be around long after he is gone.
Let's be fair, Houston has never been the safest town in the U.S., but they were the worst, either. Then Hurricane Katrina hit According to the news media, Houston's crime rate went ballistic once the refugees from Katrina moved in (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/05/AR2006020500884.html or http://www.wdsu.com/news/8445395/detail.html).
I quote, here: Since Sept. 1, when an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Louisianans resettled in Houston after Hurricane Katrina, evacuees are believed to have been involved in 26 slayings, or nearly 17 percent of all homicides. The cases, according to Houston police, involved 34 evacuees -- 19 of them victims and 15 of them suspects.
Late last month, investigators in the Houston Police Department's Gang Murder Squad announced the arrests of eight of 11 suspects believed linked to nine homicides in the city's southwest side and two others in nearby Pasadena, Tex. The slayings occurred since November, and all the suspects are displaced New Orleanians who landed in Houston after the hurricane.
The third article links above states that crime rates increased over 30% following the arrive of the Katrina refugees, 35 ex-New Orleans residents were arrested for murder.
Sounds to me like a firearm may be just the thing to keep you safe, Andy.
Andy Kahan, the crime victim's advocate for Houston's mayor, said of the gun ad, "It's just sad that we have to live in a society where you think that you have to have a firearm just to keep you and your family safe."
First of all, Andy, since before this country was founded, a firearm was required for survival. It served as protection and as a way to put dinner on the table. Funny to think that in the 500+ years since the Europeans stepped foot on this continent (again), with all the history classes we are required to take, Andy hasn't come to the realization that guns in America have history and will be around long after he is gone.
Let's be fair, Houston has never been the safest town in the U.S., but they were the worst, either. Then Hurricane Katrina hit According to the news media, Houston's crime rate went ballistic once the refugees from Katrina moved in (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/05/AR2006020500884.html or http://www.wdsu.com/news/8445395/detail.html).
I quote, here: Since Sept. 1, when an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Louisianans resettled in Houston after Hurricane Katrina, evacuees are believed to have been involved in 26 slayings, or nearly 17 percent of all homicides. The cases, according to Houston police, involved 34 evacuees -- 19 of them victims and 15 of them suspects.
Late last month, investigators in the Houston Police Department's Gang Murder Squad announced the arrests of eight of 11 suspects believed linked to nine homicides in the city's southwest side and two others in nearby Pasadena, Tex. The slayings occurred since November, and all the suspects are displaced New Orleanians who landed in Houston after the hurricane.
The third article links above states that crime rates increased over 30% following the arrive of the Katrina refugees, 35 ex-New Orleans residents were arrested for murder.
Sounds to me like a firearm may be just the thing to keep you safe, Andy.
Monday, May 26, 2008
More crap on the 5.56
I have never been a fan of the 5.56 round as a combat cartridge for out military, especially in an urban combat zone. While the light, fast bullet is great for target shooting and the rifle is plenty accurate, it is just too small to cause severe, one stop damage. Now the debate for a more effective cartridge has hit the mainstream.
1 out of 5 soldiers surveyed wanted a bigger caliber. Well, umm duh. If someone was shooting at me, I would want a .50 Cal. The 5.56 round currently in use is the M855, which is designed to defeat light body armor at 200 yards. It was not designed for unarmored people at 10 feet or for shooting through walls, ceilings, or cars to hit the jihadist on the other side.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/battling_over_bullets
1 out of 5 soldiers surveyed wanted a bigger caliber. Well, umm duh. If someone was shooting at me, I would want a .50 Cal. The 5.56 round currently in use is the M855, which is designed to defeat light body armor at 200 yards. It was not designed for unarmored people at 10 feet or for shooting through walls, ceilings, or cars to hit the jihadist on the other side.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/battling_over_bullets
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