The Kentucky rifles took this to the extreme, and soon the American frontiersmen using them shot out a place in history with them. During the American Revolution, Daniel Boone shot the renegade slave Pompey at extreme long range during the siege of Boonesboro. Pompey climbed a tree at what should have been safely out of range of return fire and had begun a harassing fire campaign aiming at the general interior of Fort Boonesboro. Eventually, one of those bullets was liable to hit someone. So, Daniel Boone took him out with one carefully aimed long-range shot. The British soon learned that anyone within 200 yards of a frontier rifleman was an easy target, while the British troopers’ Brown Bess musket was, at best, a 100-yard weapon and many were so badly bored that a hit at even that short range was considered lucky.

In the War of 1812, at the battle of New Orleans, one frontiersman systematically picked off the British officers who thought they were out of range thereby destroying the British command and control of their troops. This resulted in them being unable to call their men back when the musket, rifle, and cannon fire from General Jackson’s defensive line began decimating the attacking British formations. By the time they were able to recall their Redcoats, the battle had become a massacre with huge British losses and the Chalmette Battlefield was red with the blood of the dead British.

TRAINING

Why is this history important? Because the same truths hold true today. First, the frontiersmen practiced shooting offhand. Skill at this takes practice and it requires training the muscles to hold steady. I don’t care how strong you are, your muscles are not going to hold that rifle steady naturally. I have a scoped 12-pound rifle that I hold on a mark without firing every day until the rifle gets shaky. I do this several times a day. Even though I have used dumbbells up to 110 pounds for decades, I still have to do this if I am going to get maximum accuracy. It is an old tradition dating back to before the days of the Kentucky rifle that, sadly, seems to have been forgotten in modern times.

These days, far too many hunters sight in their rifle from a rest and then strike out hunting. I have nothing against shooting from a rest. I just wish I had a rest to shoot from when I need one. In my long life, I have never been able find the time or a place to rest a rifle for an important shot. Other folks may have, but perhaps I am just unlucky that way… So, I practice shooting offhand and, preferably, at moving targets because that is the way I always end up shooting in the field. A lot of shots are not taken or if taken they are missed because men do not practice shooting offhand sufficiently, if at all.

Remember, there are only 3 ways to learn to shoot. Shooting, shooting, and more shooting. The need for practice is why I tell people to hunt with common calibers like 308 Winchester and 30-06 which are relatively inexpensive and readily available instead of the latest super expensive magnums. Unless you are very wealthy, you will not be able to practice enough with the expensive ammo to get any benefit out of whatever slight performance advantage it may offer. The difference between an exhibition shooter’s skill and the average shooter’s skill is the mountains of ammunition the exhibition shooter goes through in practice. The average person won’t shoot that much ammo for that long, even if he has the money to do it.

Offhand shooting also requires RECENT practice for best results. Some people think they can hang their gun up at the end of the hunting season and not shoot it again until next hunting season with no loss of ability. Only if that ability is low, my friends, and going hunting with low level shooting skills is inhumane to the game.

RIFLES

With some rare exceptions like the U.S. M1 carbine it is difficult to get the best results with a light rifle. This is taken to the extreme if you are tired. In the old days of African hunting when you had to feed your safari with what you shot it was not uncommon to have to run after your game before shooting it on the Veldt. This is why the older rifles made for African use were often made heavier than they needed to be for recoil mitigation. You just can’t hold a light rifle still when you are sweating and out of breath in Africa’s infernal heat. 10 or 11 pounds is about as light as you can afford to go in that situation, and 12 to 15 pounds is much steadier.

A long barrel like a Kentucky rifle has leverage to give the effect of more weight without weighing more. I have been able to put the first two shots fired offhand in one inch at 100 yards with both a mint, previously unfired, M1873 Trapdoor Springfield 45-70 and a long barreled, unaltered, 6.5 Swedish M96 Mauser with a slightly rough bore. In both cases the long barrel was a major factor in holding the gun steady enough.

After the first two shots, the groups widen with each succeeding shot as almost imperceptible fatigue sets in. I, for one, have no hesitation about hunting with a long-barreled, full-stocked rifle no matter how antiquated. Beauty is as beauty does, and all I care about is results. Why should I care about the latest styles and fads when I am out in the woods trying to put meat on the table? I want results. I want my dinner. I can’t get those results with the latest bolt action magnum sporting rifles, so I don’t hunt with them.

Whatever you shoot at or with if you are serious about bringing home the bacon, you should practice shooting offhand like Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett did. In their day no one was considered a competent shot unless he could shoot offhand accurately. That still holds true.

The Tisas slide and frame are made of 4140 steel forgings and the barrel is cold hammer forged. This fact alone makes this gun superior to most of its competitors, as they tend to use milled parts or investment castings which lack the strength of forgings. If an airplane or a bridge is found to not use forgings in a part where a forged part is specified, the government will condemn that airplane or bridge. That’s how serious a matter this is. When lives depend on a part not failing then you need a forging.

The finish is WWII magnesium phosphate Parkerizing. There are no tool marks, and everything is properly polished before Parkerizing. The fit of the parts is as it should be. Not too tight where it needs room for dust, sand, and mud yet just tight enough where it’s important for accuracy without being too tight. These guns shoot 2-inch groups from a Ransom Rest at 35-40 yards, yet they are loose enough to handle sand and mud without malfunctioning. The trigger pull is a crisp, but heavy, 8 pounds. Thanks to this combination of American know-how and cheap foreign skilled labor, the MSRP is $480… and some dealers offer it for as low as $379. The Civilian Marksmanship Program has also bought these to sell at their outlets. These guns are marked CMP. That’s a hefty stamp of approval.

I had 100 rounds of Black Hills 230-grain FMJ, 100 rounds of Black Hills 230-grain JHP, and 40 rounds of Steinel Ammunition 230-grain SCHP (solid copper hollow point) for a total of 240 rounds to test fire in this pistol. They all ran through the pistol perfectly.

ORIGINAL G.I. VERSION

The M1911A1 I tested is the old faithful G.I. version of the gun. The M1911A1 is a combat gun designed to work in the sand and mud of the battlefield. Attempts to improve it with so-called “combat accuracy jobs” and every bell and whistle a conniving marketer can think of just take it that much further from what it was meant to be. A gun that you can stake your life on in the worst battlefield conditions. A good example of how far a match gun is from the original was a top pistol match shooter who told me that he regarded his National Match .45 as a precision target tool and not as a practical gun for the real world. So-called “combat” matches are very far removed from the realities of brutally intense combat where you and your pistol may end up crawling in the sand and muck while having the same stuff blown onto you at high velocity by exploding shells. This is no place for a gun tricked out for combat matches. This is the real world of combat, and it’s down and dirty. Yet, the G.I. M1911A1 takes it in stride and excels when lesser pistols quit functioning. For 113 years, the M1911 has forged a reputation as the most reliable military pistol there is.

WHY THE M1911A1 IS THE MOST RELIABLE PISTOL IN THE WORLD

A gun made from robust parts it is easily rebuilt when it ages and normally lasts 250,000 rounds. This is in sharp contrast to many of the most famous newer pistols which often are reduced to junk after a tenth of that round count. Plastic and sheet metal guns do not lend themselves to rebuilding easily, as well. It’s often cheaper to buy a new gun than rebuild one of the newer models. If your modern, short-lived gun comes to its end in battle and decides to quit on you, then you are screwed. Normal service testing in WWII was to choose a random 1911 from a new production lot and fire 10,000 to 15,000 rounds through it and expect no malfunctions with all the parts still in good serviceable condition at the conclusion of the firing schedule. It was then cleaned and shipped off for issue with the rest of the lot.

Key to the M1911A1’s reliability is the fact that it’s one of few guns that’s really good at throwing sand and dirt out of the mechanism as it fires. There are also places where dirt can be shoved aside within the gun without causing malfunctions, such as the Browning toggle (where the swinging link accommodates more dirt than the sliding cam of later pistols.) The swinging link toggle also serves as a bridge, keying the separate ramps of the barrel and receiver together and positioning the barrel at the best angle for cartridge feeding during the cycling of the gun.

The 1911A1’s extractor is similar to the famed Mauser 98 extractor, where the cartridge comes up under the extractor instead of having the extractor snap over the rim.

There is only the recoil spring guide and plug with the recoil spring on a M1911A1 instead of the modern guide rod which can bend and jam the gun if dropped.

The receiver is solid on the M1911A1, and broken grips do not disable, it as they do with some guns where the grips form part of the structure.

The cycling energy of the 45 ACP is much higher than the 9mm round so popular today and it does this with a mere 12,000 PSI chamber pressure instead of the 32,000 PSI of the 9mm. If a 9mm bullet gets forced back in its case, that pressure can skyrocket to 40,000 PSI or more. Some guns can’t take that. The 45 ACP’s straight-walled case pushes dirt ahead of it instead of giving it a chance to jam in the chamber like the tapered case of the 9mm. The 9mm cannot function reliably with a rough or dirty chamber but the .45 ACP can. That straight case also delivers a consistent recoil impulse where, in the tapered case of the 9mm, the bullet is smaller than the base and results in a tendency to push the gun forward which can produce an uneven recoil impulse instead of the steady push of the 45 ACP. This can cause problems with reliable functioning.

The locking system of the M1911A1 is far stronger than most would make one. When some of the hot 9mm SMG ammo was used in pistols in South America, the only ones that stood up to this were the M1911A1’s that had been made in 9mm.

The single stack magazine works reliably, even in sand. The double-stack single-position feed magazines so popular today have inherent flaws that can get you killed in a gunfight. When a partially empty magazine is dropped, the cartridges can be jarred out of position and jam in the tube, resulting in a failure to feed. The magazine spring needs to be stronger for the double-column magazines, but that makes them hard to load so they are generally left weaker than is desirable for reliable functioning in all conditions. While the magazines for the M1911A1 can be left loaded indefinitely, you cannot leave the double-column magazines loaded like that without risking problems.

The M1911A1 has few parts, and those are heavy duty. When it comes to maintenance, the 1911A1 is very easy to field strip or even to detail strip.

ERGONOMICS

Unlike many of the current pistols, which look like an obese hippopotamus, the M1911A1 is the optimum size for the round fired. Any bigger or heavier and it would be hard to carry open or concealed. Any smaller and recoil would start to be a problem, eliminating the possibility of true rapid fire.

The safety is in the best possible position for quick use. It’s worth noting that while the gun was intended to be carried cocked-and-locked, the designer, John Browning, thought the grip safety was all that was needed — only adding the manual safety at Army Ordnance’s insistence. His belief was proven true by the Shanghai Police Department before WWII when they pinned the safety in the off position on their hammerless Colt pocket automatics.

The grip angle suits most people and the gun points accurately and easily. Recoil is more of the gun bouncing in your hand than kick. The gun’s size and weight are more than sufficient to tame any recoil forces that might be objectionable.

HOLSTERS

A pistol needs its holster and the M1916 holster issued with the M1911A1 is as perfect as an open carry holster can get. It’s comfortable, protects the gun, and nothing is faster to draw from. There is a leather-covered wood block spacer to position the grip of the gun out where the hand can grab it quickly. To draw quickly, take your thumb and flip the cover flap up then start wrapping your fingers around the grip as you draw, starting with the little finger. When the gun is at the halfway point between the holster and the target, wipe the safety off. It is important to have the tie down thongs fastened before doing this.

For drawing while driving a vehicle or from a seated position, the military M1942 Tanker holster works well, holding the gun securely while still permitting a fast draw.

For civilian open or concealed carry, the pancake holster can’t be beat. It carries the gun tightly against the body with a quick release thumb-break snap for security. This holster is so comfortable that you can sleep with a M1911A1 in it and even roll over on it without waking. There are times when this is vital.

All of the above holsters can be had from El Paso Saddlery in El Paso, Texas.

POWER AND UTILITY

The 45 ACP cartridge has been a proven threat-stopper on the most fanatical foes on the planet for 113 years. It worked on the Moros in the Philippines and when the mercenaries in the Congo discovered that they could not reliably stop a panga-wielding native with a whole magazine from their 9mm Browning Hi Power pistols, they found that one 45 ACP round would do the job. I have a WWII army training manual that states flatly that the 45 ACP has more power than the 30-06. As for game shooting the old 44-40 killed more game of all types in North America than any other cartridge thanks to the timing of its appearance. The 45ACP is a better killer than the 44-40. Just remember to use FMJ ammo on big bear and moose. You already have a big enough hole, and you need the penetration of a FMJ bullet. The M1911A1 will do any normal job required of a handgun.

CONCLUSION

The Tisas M1911 A1 “ASF” U.S. Army 45 is a fine current production M1911A1 that delivers an impressive amount of quality for a very low price. It’s the best post-war .45 I’ve seen since the Norinco 1911A1 (which the government banned when they forbade Norinco guns being imported so many years ago due to import law violations.) I highly recommend the Tisas, and I prefer it to its higher priced competitors. Not only is it made of forgings that are properly fitted and finished, but it’s also patterned more truly to the original WWII guns which established the G.I. 45’s reputation. This is a contrast to the many modern variations of that design that often look increasingly bizarre. Many of the current crop are also too tightly fitted to be trusted in the gritty world of combat. The M1911A1 is the ultimate handgun, and if I could only have one gun it would be the M1911A1 because unlike a rifle or shotgun, I can always have the pistol on me.

SPECIFICATIONS

The most successful way to bridge the gap between pistol and carbine is the shoulder-stocked pistol, and Mauser lit the path, presaging the development of the sub-guns genre which saw the development of the legendary M3 Grease Gun, the BSA Sten, the HK MP5, and many others. Although the concept of a personal defense weapon went unnamed at the dawn of the 20^th Century, its value was recognized, and the new Mauser pistol became a worldwide best seller. Like Mauser rifles, it loaded from a stripper clip and the bolt could also be held open by an empty stripper clip, allowing the cartridges to be loaded individually by hand.

The ability to hit targets easily with a reliable weapon was the virtue that sold most people on the new pistol. Despite appearing clumsy in the hand, the pistol is easy to handle. Since most folks aren’t dedicated pistol shooters, having a pistol that makes up for some of their lack of expertise is a blessing. Firing with the C96 one-handed easily produces a ¾-inch group at 25 yards. A lot of revolvers won’t even do that from a Ransom Rest fixture. Due to its forward position of the magazine, those who want to use a two-handed grip should put the second hand around the front of the magazine. This gun is shaped differently than other guns and that becomes an advantage for precision shooting.

The pistol also came with a shoulder stock that doubled as a holster. Most small, light, guns are hard to hit with. Not this one. In addition to being about the smallest and lightest gun practical, the stocked Mauser Military Pistol locks-in solidly for accurate firing. Put your second hand around the front of the magazine well and it becomes rock steady. Hits at ong-range (200 meters and beyond) are easily attained. Exactly why this gun is so easy to shoot (both with and without its holster stock) is a mystery. Everyone has a pat answer, but none of them hold up under intense scrutiny. It just is.

Due to its compact size, you could effectively use the stocked Mauser pistol with one hand while still holding the reins of a galloping horse with the other. Of course, steadiness on a galloping horse is relative, but some cavalrymen of the day used it that way while others used it just as a pistol. The ability to go back and forth between being a pistol and a compact carbine sets the stocked Mauser Military Pistol ahead of the “modern” PDWs that are too big to fill the role of a pistol.

The stocked Mauser Military Pistol was very compact. Fitted with a holster harness, it was often worn on the belt and, sometimes, a sling was used. The rig also fits nicely in a briefcase. Without the stock, you have a very thin pistol that lends itself to concealment. In one instance between WWI and WWII, when it was common for Europeans to carry pistols, a group of men sharing a train compartment decided to compare pistols to help pass the time. The first three produced various .25 automatics but the fourth pulled out a full-size Mauser Military Pistol. There was a surprised silence as they beheld this comparative behemoth then one of the men said, “you’re in the military, aren’t you?” The fourth man smiled and nodded as he holstered his Mauser pistol.

Easy handling and concealability weren’t the new automatic pistol’s only virtues. In all its long history, no one has ever been able to fault its reliability under the worst combat conditions. When you drew this pistol, you could be sure that it would work. Screws are often a source of trouble in pistols as they loosen and back out. The only screw in this pistol is the one holding the grips on. Power was another virtue. The pistol was originally chambered for the flat-shooting .30 Mauser cartridge which launched an 86-grain bullet at 1410 FPS, easily penetrating 11 standard 7/8-inch boards and equaling the penetration of a .357 magnum armor piercing round. Penetration on the battlefield (where the enemy is constantly trying to hide behind cover) is paramount. Due to the light bullet weight, there was very little recoil, and this came to the forefront between the wars when the select-fire Mauser Military Pistol Model 711 came out. Despite a very high cyclic rate, the pistol was controllable in full-auto, so long as the holster stock was attached. If a close-range emergency dictated full-auto fire without the stock, you would turn the pistol on its right side and let it arc to the right without climbing. In WWII, German dispatch riders often carried this pistol, as did some members of the Nazi SS.

While less common than the original .30 Mauser chambering, the pistol was also made in the powerful 9mm Mauser. It fired a 128-grain bullet at 1362 FPS. In China, they made a copy in .45 ACP.

For those wanting the most compact survival rifle practical, the stocked Mauser Military Pistol has no competitors. Certainly not the current Air Force “survival” rifles”. These skeletonized abominations are glorified zip guns and the hardest things to shoot accurately that I have ever encountered. Not to mention, they also lack the power to deal with large game or to stop a determined attack by man or beast.

THE STORY OF TWO PISTOLS

There are two different Mauser Military Pistols shown in the photos. The near mint example was brought back as a war trophy by an officer in the 24^th Infantry Division in the Philippine Campaign of WWII which saw some of the hardest and most intense fighting of the war. He was issued a M1911A1 pistol and an M1 carbine, but used the pistol for most of the fighting, and using the carbine only for long range shots. He had grown up using his father’s pistols killing snakes and was quite adept with them. Whether the Japanese who had originally owned this Mauser Pistol had gotten it as a private purchase pistol, which was common, or had taken it as a war trophy in China is unknown.

The second pistol in the photos is a stocked Mauser Military Pistol that was loaned to me by Hunter’s Lodge in Ethridge, Tennessee. They have a number of them in inventory. This one is a well-worn WWI 9mm version but without the red “9” on the grips that these models are known for. It functioned flawlessly and despite the well-worn barrel, it still shot accurately. The holster stock was a bit longer than normal, which suited me as I take a 15 9/16-inch length of pull if a stock is being made to fit me. One of the photos shows the now rare stock sling for this gun.

TIPS FOR USERS

The Mauser Military Pistol has a heavy metal bolt stop to prevent the slide from coming out of the gun. It’s a good idea to check this part for cracks and replace it if need be.

If you want to be sure that the locking lugs are working properly, there is a simple test for that. Knowing that the barrel must recoil slightly to initiate the unlocking process, hold the pistol by the barrel and try to pull the bolt back. If the locking lugs won’t let it move, the test is passed.

This pistol is very fast and easy to take apart and put back together, but one thing that none of the manuals tell you is that these guns usually need a sharp tap from a block of wood to snap together in the last assembly step. Just make sure that the lug on the right side is aligned with the notch on the frame.

The number of pristine condition Mauser Military Pistols is small, and their collector value is high. Do not despair, though, if all you can get is a worn out, beat up one. Eugene Golubstov at Lugerman.com is one of the few total restoration gunsmiths in the world. He can take any junk Mauser pistol and refurbish it, inside and out, so that it’s indistinguishable from one that has just left the Mauser Factory 100 years ago. He can also do major and minor repairs and re-barreling on these guns.

CONCLUSION

It is a testimony to the genius that went into this pistol that, today, 128 years since it first came out, there is still no other weapon that precisely fills the niche of the Mauser Military Pistol.

John Flanagan of Sabot Designs, a manufacturer known for his flechette-loaded shotgun shells, pointed out that the usual culprit was solvent in the powder doing what solvents do, reacting with other chemical compounds, in this case the primer, rendering the round a dud. As a contractor making ammunition for the government, Flanagan is well aware of this problem and how to deal with it. Flanagan also helped me get the relevant government documents I’ll reference in this story.

THE SOLVENT ISSUE

To begin with, nitrocellulose powders require a solvent to gelatinize them so that they can be formed into balls, flakes, cylinders, or strips. Single base powders are typically an ether-alcohol colloid of nitrocellulose. Double base powders are made from nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine and use ether, ethyl acetate, or isooctanol, as processing solvents. Much of this solvent is lost in processing. The solvent must remain at the minimum level to keep the propellant from becoming brittle and losing plasticization causing the powder grains to turn to dust which will raise pressure dangerously as the smaller the fuel the faster it burns. Just look at how much faster a pile of wood shavings burns than a big log does. Without a certain amount of solvent, you cannot keep the dimensional stability of the powder grains.

This solvent will also act on primer compounds, rendering them incapable of detonation. Because of this, the mil-spec limit for residual solvent in the dried powder is 0.25 weight-% (0.25% of the powder weight). If this limit is exceeded, the life of the primer will be shortened accordingly. These solvents off-gas from the powder and are what you smell when you open a powder can. Back in the days of the Army Coast Artillery, the powder magazines contained so much ether that many thought it was put there deliberately to somehow preserve the powder when, in reality, it was just massive amounts of off-gassing in a confined area.

STUDIES HAVE BEEN DONE

To give you an idea of how much gas can come out of the powder, here is the results of a U.S. military test. A 75-liter drum was filled with 150 pounds of propellant powder containing residual solvent content of 0.25 weight-% (the mil-spec limit for dried propellant). There were approximately 70 grams of solvent. 12 grams of solvent were in the vapor phase and of these, 7 grams were in the space above the propellant and 5 grams occupied the space between the powder grains. The remaining 158 grams of solvent were trapped in the propellant grains.

The 12 grams in the vapor phase were in the form that can act as a solvent on the primer compound. When you add a solvent to primer compound you interfere with its performance, as you’re breaking down the explosive mixture.

This information came from a several government studies I found including:

• 1951, Great Britain’s Ministry of Defense study, Interior Ballistics authored by F.R.W. Hunt (pages 1-7)
• 1966, Julian S. Hatcher, Hatchers Notebook (pages 353-360)
• 1970, E.R. Lake’s Percussion Primer Design Requirements. (pages 2-5)
• 1994, U.S. Army Research Laboratory LOVA Propellant Aging: Effects of Residual Solvent study (pages 1-2, 6, 11, 13)
• 1980, U.S. Army Armament Research and Development Command study titled A Compilation of Hazard and Test Data for Pyrotechnic Compositions (pages 57, 62, 63.)
• 2019, Joint Ordnance Test Procedure (JOPT)-022 Safety and Suitability for Service Assessment Testing for Small Caliber Ammunition Less Than 20MM (appendix A.1-A.5)

WHY IT HAPPENS

Everyone knows not to store ammo at high temperatures, but few know the real reason why. High temperatures drive the solvent into the vapor phase and the solvent vapor kills the primers.

Nitrocellulose itself deteriorates over time yielding acidic byproducts such as nitric acid which can also attack primers. Some powders contain calcium carbonate to neutralize these acids. To absorb the decomposition products of nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine-based powders and prevent their buildup and catalyzing the decomposition stabilizers are added such as diphenylamine, mineral jelly, carbamite, pictrite, and calcium carbonate. These may also act as cooling agents and gelatinizers. These stabilizers can be a health hazard in large quantities and the military has been doing studies on their effect on artillerymen who encounter massive amounts of smoke and chemical residue when firing their artillery.

The combination of all these solvents, acids, and chemicals reacting together results in a complicated combination of solvent gasses with multiple compounds present to interact with your primers. Even the oxidation of lead bullets can spread to the primer and result in a dead primer.

Among the escaping solvent gasses are ether, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, oxalic acid, nitric acid, carboxlic acid, isocatanol, and isoctanoic acid. Ingredients may vary due to the different chemicals initially present in the powder.

All of this volatile chemical cocktail residing in a cartridge case is injurious to primers and over time, when stored improperly, can turn them into duds. If the powder contains more residual solvent content than the mil-spec previously alluded to then the primer will go bad much faster. This seems to be the case with some of the recent lots of commercial ammo that has quickly gone bad in 10 years or less.

From a manufacturing perspective, it’s clear that too much solvent will kill the primer. J. J. Reich of Federal Ammunition says that this is, indeed, why high heat will cause ammunition to go bad. The heat drives the solvent out of the powder and sets it loose to attack the primer. Reich also pointed out that some of the current powders (not those used by Federal) are so hydroscopic that they will absorb enough water in a normal humidity house for the powder fail to ignite.

Joel Hogdon of Remington Ammunition says his company avoids this issue by storing its powder where ventilation can prevent the buildup of gasses coming off the powder and spoiling it by sticking around. He advised that any powder that is discolored, causing a powder can to bulge, or producing a bad smell, should be discarded. Primers, he said, should not be unboxed and left out to absorb moisture before loading into cartridges.

Interestingly, some bullets are now made of porous, powdered metal that can admit moisture to the powder within the cartridge case. The solution to this is a liquid sealant, says Jonathan Langenfeld, the head of R&D engineering at Remington Ammunition. But some types of modern primers must be able to breathe, so you apply the sealant to one side of the primer on some and both sides on others… as well as the bullet. Vacuum seal-finished ammo is another a surefire way to beat moisture absorption by certain hydroscopic gun powders and primer compounds.

OTHER CAUSES

There is one other compound that can sometimes attack primers. Years ago, I had some lead-bullet 38 S&W ammo go bad while the Winchester Lubaloy-coated bullets of the same vintage all fired. The Montana state chemist at the time, John Buchanan, told me that sometimes lead oxide from old lead bullets can react with primers and kill them.

Another thing to consider is that primers require a fast, hard strike penetrating a minimum of 0.017-inch depth to go off. Seth Swerczek at Hornady Ammunitionpoints out that if improper headspace puts the primer out of reach, or there is a slow lock time as can occur with dirt or with congealed lubricant in cold weather, then the primer may not be indented fast enough to fire. He also said that it was sometimes possible for 1-3 primers out of a million produced to be incomplete, lacking anvil or primer compound and thus incapable of firing, though he stressed this was very rare.

THE SOLUTION

The solution is two-fold, depending on how you get your ammo.

For handloaders, use powder that does not exceed the mil-spec limit for solvent in dried propellant. Then, when making your cartridges, shield the primer from the solvents and acids. This was done in the past by the military as shown in the Army’s production drawings of the .45 ACP and 30-06 ammo. Note the part labeled “Seal, case vent” between the primer and the powder charge. That seal is a ten thousandth of an inch thick celluloid plug. It was installed by inserting a strip of ten thousandth of an inch thick celluloid over the primer pocket before seating the primer. The primer punches out the celluloid plug when it is installed, and it stays in place. Ammo thus sealed does not go bad. This is a very cheap and simple solution that anyone loading ammunition can employ regardless of whether you have a big factory with giant plate loaders turning out millions of rounds or a simple Lyman tong tool for reloading.

Handloaders can source these celluloid strips from Flannigan at Sabot Designs LLC, who I previously mentioned above. Flannigan has agreed to sell these strips to any individual handloader or ammunition manufacturer that wants them. Once in place, the primer is protected from the solvents and acids from the propellant powder, so things always go bang when they are supposed to.

For those buying commercially loaded ammunition, look for fresh ammunition lots and store your ammunition away from heat, humidity, and gun cleaning solvents, as these solvents can also attack and kill primers, especially those solvents with an ammonium base.

In the past people blamed the primers but blaming the primer after chemically attacking it is not right. You must put the blame where it belongs. On the chemicals that neutralized the primer.

Family heirlooms that had been through a house fire, as well as rare and historic guns are the usual recipients of this treatment. It’s not cheap as it often entails welding up pits or adding missing metal, reheat treating fire damaged parts, relining barrels, restoring original markings that have been buffed or worn mostly away, and producing the exact finish the gun had when it left a specific factory. It’s not cheap but the results are identical to a new gun. This can determine the long-term survival of a particular piece, as pristine guns are treasured by museums and individuals while those in poor condition are the first to be culled and discarded. When Golubstov set out to make a duplicate of the original M1907 Test Trials Luger, he made sure to meet the manufacturing standards used by the Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken (DWM), the original manufacturer of the Luger.

RECREATING THE M1907 LUGER

Golubstov started by obtaining a set of the blueprints of the M1907 Luger that Army Ordnance had drawn up at the time of its 1907 tests. At this time the .45 caliber round had not been standardized and the ammunition at the tests was variable and of poor quality, resulting in Georg Luger making the perfectly reasonable demand (under the circumstances) of being able to provide his own ammo. U.S. Army Ordnance found fault with him and not their ammo over that. As a result, the blueprints did not reflect a gun made for today’s standardized 45 ACP ammo and it was up to Golubstov to make the necessary modifications a century later. Spring tension had to be worked out and the feed ramp had to be adjusted. All of this took time. One thing you will notice is that Luger had made the grip angle slightly less steep to work best with the .45 cartridge.

When Golubstov had fired 10,000 rounds through his prototype, he brought it to my farm where we shot a one-inch group at 50 yards with it. While the current generation of pistols often has a lifespan of 5000 to 10,000 rounds, the Luger never seems to wear out just—like the toggle lock Maxim machinegun that inspired it. He also brought a cut down Baby Luger version inspired by Luger’s personal carry pistol. I liked this one a lot. Finally, there was a target version machined to closer tolerances than the regular Lugers.

All of these were made to DWM commercial standards. Finished in the traditional rust blue that takes about 20 hours of labor to produce, this finish is very durable and rust resistant. Golubstov warns customers that some modern lubricants (like WD-40) attack rust, and, over time, can degrade a rust-blue finish. The solution is Ballistol oil which is available now in the U.S. Developed in Germany as the one oil for all the soldier’s equipment, whether it be steel, wood, or leather, Ballistol does not harm a rust-blue finish. The Germans used this oil in both World Wars, and it is still in use in NATO today. When it contacts water, it forms an emulsion and as long as the emulsion is at least 5% Ballistol, the water will evaporate without causing rust while the Ballistol remains. This is the oil we needed in Vietnam.

MADE TO BE USED

Many of Golubstov’s customers buy these guns for personal protection, wanting the natural-pointing, easy-to-hit-with, super accurate Luger but also wanting the perceived stopping power of a 45 ACP. When it’s your life and the lives of your family are at stake, price ceases to be a hindrance. Each gun is function tested with 150 rounds of eight types of ammo to ensure total reliability. Prices are high compared to the mass-produced guns of Colt or Smith & Wesson because these are largely hand-made in a relatively small shop. You get what you pay for, though.

THE 1907 TEST TRIALS

By now you are probably wondering how the Luger did in the 1907 Army Test trials. Actually, it did quite well. Too well to suit Army Ordnance who were still reeling from the backlash that came when they had adopted the Norwegian Krag rifle instead of an American design. They sure didn’t want a repeat of that which was sure to come if a foreign weapon was adopted again.

Before the tests even began, they had already decided that the Browning-designed Colt 45 Auto was what they wanted, but not in its original 1905 form. They were confident that their old pistol supplier, Colt, could iron the wrinkles out of the design if given enough time. Indeed, the final M1911 version has only a passing resemblance to the M1905 that it began as. Revolvers were included in the tests, as Ordnance figured they might need a stopgap handgun if this dragged on too long. The M1909 Colt New Service revolver was the result of these trials.

To give the M1905 Colt .45 automatic a rival to race against, they chose the Savage automatic. This gun utilizes the Searles locking system which does work, but it works so fast that it might as well be a straight blow back design, as it has all the attendant recoil of a straight blow back gun. However, its simple design promised enough reliability to task the Colt gun in competition… even if its excessive recoil when paired with the powerful .45 cartridge made it forever unsuitable for issue. Scaled down to .32 and .380, it sold well commercially as a pocket pistol, though.

REAL COMPETITION

Other guns were there just to give the impression of an open competition and they were to be gotten rid of as soon as possible, but there was one pistol that they had reason to fear. The Bergman pistol was designed by Louis Schmeisser, who was regarded by some of his contemporaries as a better designer than John Browning. It featured the strongest locking system of all automatic pistols and was exceptionally steady in the hand for precision shooting. When the Bergman needed to replace a defective hammer spring, that was used as a reason to discontinue testing it. However, Ordnance had no problem letting the Savage entry replace its bad main spring in the middle of its test. The Bergman went on to be adopted by Denmark and widely used elsewhere.

A much higher profile gun was the Luger which had been adopted by Switzerland in 1900 and the German Navy in 1904 (Designated the M1906) and was rapidly being adopted by militaries around the world. The Luger gave no excuse to dismiss it though as it was performing well against the Colt and Savage pistols. During the endurance test the Luger had 8 jams in 506 rounds, all of which were cleared by simply slapping the toggle. The M1905 Colt had 24 jams in 500 rounds while the Savage had 18 misfires, 8 failures to eject, and 6 other malfunctions in 500 rounds plus it had to have a new recoil spring after round 151. Malfunctions in the Colt and Savage could not be cleared by a simple slap on the toggle like the Luger but were longer and harder to clear.

SAND, DUST, RUST

The sand box test went to the Colt. The barrels were corked tightly, and the magazines were empty as a blast of fine sand in a specially prepared box hit the pistols for one minute. Excess sand was removed from the gun by blowing, jarring, and wiping with the bare hand. The Colt had no jams, the Luger had two, and the Savage only was able to fire three rounds.

The dust box test was the same as the sand box test, except that fine dust was used. The Luger had four jams, all of which were quickly cleared by striking the toggle. At Luger’s request, a second magazine was fired resulting in only one jam as the pistol was throwing the dust out of itself as it fired. The Colt had no jams, while the Savage had three misfires and one jam.

The rust test was clearly won by the Luger as it was the easiest to put back in action. In this test the bore was plugged, and the guns were soaked for 5 minutes in a saturated solution of salammoniac for 5 minutes then hanging it up indoors to rust for 22 hours. The Luger had to be manually cocked and the toggle closed by hand to fire. Only the application of oil was required to make it work. No rust removal or tools were required. In sharp contrast, the Colt needed a wooden rod to manipulate the mainspring and release the slide catch. The slide was worked back and forth, and the hammer snapped several times before the test was deemed started. The Savage had to have its parts operated by striking it on a bench and manipulating them by hand before firing. The magazine spring had to be repeatedly forced back and forth by a metal rod before it would work, and the gun could be fired.

Significantly, there was no test with wet sticky mud. This is where the German P08 Luger earned its reputation in the trenches of WWI as the most reliable pistol used in that conflict. Drop the Luger in the mud of the Western front and it comes up firing, throwing the mud off. Drop a pistol with an exposed hammer in the same mud and it jams the hammer so it can’t fire, as the mud goes inside the gun there. If the barrel is blocked with mud and you fire it, the barrel will bulge. The exposed barrel of the Luger bulges and keeps firing whereas any pistol with a slide has the slide jammed by the bulge so that it cannot work until the barrel is replaced. In WWI if you didn’t end up crawling through the mud, the exploding artillery shells would cover you and your gun with mud.

When it came time for troop trials, Ordnance declined to let the Luger be tested. They said that it didn’t have an inline mainspring. The real reason was that in the earlier 1900 troop trials with the famed American Eagle .30 caliber Luger pistols, a lot of the troops fell in love with the accurate and easy-shooting Luger. Still, everyone knew by now that you couldn’t stop a charging cavalry horse or Philippine Moro with anything less than a .45. The 1907 Luger was a .45. Old Ordnance veterans told me of all the flack Ordnance got over adopting the Norwegian Krag rifle instead of an American design and how they did not ever want to go through that again. Ordnance could not afford the troops favoring a foreign gun, so they didn’t let it go on the troop trials. Luger knew that there was no hope of his pistol being adopted without them, so he went back to Germany to concentrate on getting his 9mm version adopted by the German government. This became the famed P08 of both World Wars.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Golubstov has also made a new version called the P2020 Luger 45 which incorporates two changes to the original design. First, the ejector was changed to a fixed position. The original ejector design is spring-loaded and needs to flex in and out of the slide to allow the breechblock to move. This isn’t good because it creates additional resistance to the gun cycling. Small changes were made to the breechblock and ejector to eliminate the need for the ejector to flex when the breechblock moves, making the gun more reliable.

The original Luger hold-open spring is a flat spring in front of the bolt hold-open and was delicate and unreliable. Golubstov moved the spring to the back of the hold open to make it more reliable.

The grip safety is available as an option on the 2020 version, whereas it’s standard on the M1907 version.

All these guns are also available in stainless steel. For an additional $2500, any of these can be turned into a Baby Luger. Existing 9mm Lugers can also be converted to Baby Lugers for the same price. LugerMan also makes any style of holster you may desire to carry them in.

Golubstov can also furnish these guns as target versions for match shooting for $1500 extra. The conversion consists of adjustable Partridge sights, a tighter toggle assembly, and a 6.5-inch target barrel. The Luger is one of the most accurate pistols ever made, so a target version is logical. If speed of firing figures into the match, the Luger wins, hands down, as it’s the fastest cycling of all semi-automatics. Its light toggle is extremely fast and travels only a very short distance. You can fire off a magazine and have all the empty cases in the air at the same time.

For those who want the easiest .45 to hit with in a gun that’s built to the highest quality standards, high enough to stake their life on, the .45 Lugers from LugerMan are the answer.

SPECIFICATIONS

As long as you keep water in the water jacket and keep the loaded belts coming, it will keep on working as steadily as a sewing machine, only requiring a new barrel every 15,000 rounds; a change that can easily be done in 15 seconds. If a part does break, the Maxim is a modular design that allows the swapping out of the bolt or feed block with a spare to keep on firing. When faced with swarming infantry, this is a life-or-death matter. When the Russians attacked the Ukrainian Bakhmut meat grinder in waves, reminiscent of a WWI-style assault, the Maxim really came into its own, cutting down lines of attackers like wheat before a McCormac reaper.

There have been other ingenious applications of the Maxim, such as mounting telescopic sights and grouping four or six guns together in one mount. This enables 2000 to 3000 rounds per minute to be fired at attacking aircraft. When a modern jet comes in low with all the electronic warfare devices to hide it from sophisticated ground-to-air missiles, it’s still quite vulnerable to a low-tech anti-aircraft position that can raise a curtain of lead with a row of linked Maxims.

As the war drags on, the costs keep mounting and the Ukrainians are hard pressed to get enough ammunition, as they have drained the NATO stockpiles. Only Russia has kept all its WWII production lines intact and modernized and, while they are well-supplied, the cost of artillery shells necessary to deny continuous passage through an area is astronomical. A steady rain of indirect machine gun fire does the same job for a fraction of the cost. This requires a water-cooled gun that does not wear out quickly.

This is a job for a Maxim. Its toggle action spreads out the shock of operation so there is less wear and breakage of parts. When it does wear out, the bearing surfaces on the receiver are riveted on and can simply be changed for new ones while the modular parts are sent back to the ordnance depot for rebuilding. Being recoil operated, it does not have a gas system to foul and jam as the number of rounds fired adds up. The Germans were well aware of this issue with gas operated guns and stated that the gas operated systems had inherent problems. They kept designing recoil operated guns as a result.

TACTICAL USE OF THE MAXIM IN 2024

To get the best use of the Maxim today, you would want the WWI German 08-15 version with the optional Lafitte 34 mount. No one today seems to remember that the 08-15 with its shoulder stock and bipod was just intended as a more mobile heavy machine gun that storm troopers could emplace as they infiltrated the enemy lines and then dominate that sector with sustained machine gun fire. The mobility of the 08-15 eliminated the weakness of the emplaced heavy machine gun under artillery fire as the 08-15 machine gunner could move about like a rifleman, changing firing positions. Even though the weight was 50 pounds with a full water jacket and a 100-round belt in a drum magazine, the weight was so well distributed that many men could fire it from the shoulder like a rifle. This was something almost no one could do with the barrel-heavy Lewis gun, which was a true light machine gun and weighed considerably less. The ability to use a heavy, sustained-fire, water-cooled machine gun in the light machine gun role was a testament to the Maxim’s versatility.

For accurate fire in the heavy machine gun role, many of the remaining 08-15 Maxims were mounted in the Lafette 34 mount in the 1930’s. This ultimate machine gun mount features recoil absorption, telescopic sight, automatic traverse (if desired), and enabled accurate fire out to 3500 meters converting any machine gun mounted in it to a miniature artillery piece. We see these today with MG34’s and MG42’s primarily mounted on them, but they cannot deliver the sustained fire of a water-cooled gun in the Lafette 34.

HISTORICAL PRECEDENCE

The abandonment of the sustained fire machine gun and its replacement with air cooled guns had disastrous consequences. The air-cooled machine gun is a wonderful weapon in its place, but it can never do the job of a sustained fire machine gun. In WWII, the Germans found that the Russian human wave assaults kept coming until the air-cooled guns overheated allowing the Russians to overrun them. The Normandy invasion was admittedly a close-run affair and water-cooled Maxims fully deployed for both direct and indirect fire would have been more than enough to dip the balance in the German defender’s favor.

During WWII, in Burma, the British managed to sucker the Japanese into Banzai charges against WWI-style barbed wire backed by their Vickers machine guns (a Maxim variation) resulting in the annihilation of the attacking Japanese troops.

No machine gun is as reliable or able to fire as long as a Maxim. When John Basilone got his medal of honor defending Henderson Airfield at Guadalcanal with the two machine gun sections he commanded, his commendation stated, “he went from machine gun to machine gun repairing them and keeping them firing.” They weren’t supposed to need repairing! If they had Maxim guns, there would not have been any stopping for repairs. And if there was a problem, the gunner could have swapped out the modular part in a few seconds and kept firing without needing his commander’s help. It seems clear that water-cooled guns would have been a powerful help against Japanese Banzai attacks throughout the war as they could keep on coming long after an air-cooled gun overheated.

In the Korean War, the Chicom human wave assaults pushed back the American troops just as the Russian human wave assaults had done against the Germans in the preceding war. Water-cooled guns properly employed for direct and indirect fire would have foiled these assaults, but they were scarce, and the U.S. military has never wanted to invest the training time and equipment needed for effective indirect machine gun fire.

During the Vietnam War, American fire bases were overrun largely because of inadequate machine guns of modern design and the improper use of them. No one wants to learn the lessons of history if it involves using old ways. Newer is always supposed to be better and anything from the past tends to be dismissed out of hand if not ridiculed as anachronistic and obsolete. What could be more obsolete than the world’s first machine gun? A weapon designed back in 1884! The problem with that line of reasoning is that the inventor got it right and the design was perfected. Once you get to the top of the mountain of machine gun design, all roads go downhill… and the Maxim is the pinnacle. No gun made since has come near its longevity and reliability.

MORE THAN GUNS

Maxim was one of the great geniuses of all time. He patented the electric light bulb and Edison was only able to steal the design when Maxim went out of town and told his plant director to renew the patents… which he failed to do. The patents lapsed and Edison was able to grab the invention and run with it.

Maxim also flew the first airplane in front of England’s elite and the English press. When investors were not forthcoming, he wisely dropped the project. The airplane industry didn’t take off until many years later in WWI. When the Wright brothers wanted to build an airplane, they went to Maxim, and he gave them his notes, enabling them to build an airplane, as well.

When you look up and see an automatic fire sprinkler system in a building you are looking at another of Maxim’s inventions that has remained unchanged, defying improvement.

When you look more closely at the man behind the Maxim machine gun you realize why it has also defied improvement and still reigns supreme as the all-time greatest in its field.

The U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS) used flechettes in mini crossbows and handgun spigot launchers. Spigot launchers were a device that went on the muzzle of the M1911A1 pistol, rather like a rifle grenade launcher. A rod acted as the firing pin extension to transfer the blow to the primer in the device. The cartridge was self-contained, as ignition drove a piston which did not leave the cartridge case, thereby containing the expanding powder gasses so that the cartridge produced little noise. The piston drove a big flechette ahead of it, which shot from the launcher as a projectile dragging the cartridge case with it.

The big flechette had enormous killing power due to its size, which was important when only one shot can be made. The large flechette was more deadly than a small caliber handgun but produced similar or audible less report. This made the spigot launcher a single-shot weapon of great value for covert assassinations where the sound of a gun firing could alert the enemy forces and hinder escape.

This system was used in Vietnam with Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum revolvers bored out to accept this sort of cartridge except that in these, the piston drove a conventional bullet out ahead of it. In these, the case stayed in the gun. These were well appreciated by the “tunnel rats” who had to fire in tightly confined spaces where the noise of a normal gun was greatly magnified to a permanently deafening level. A silent weapon was a necessity if you wanted to avoid deafness. The U.S. Navy also had a revolver firing one large flechette on this principle for underwater use. The Russians copied this design to work with smaller cartridges in a compact automatic pistol also adapted the design for use in an underwater gun.

The need for an improved cannister round for tank guns led to research in flechettes loaded in artillery shells as an alternative. This research bore much fruit during the Vietnam War when flechettes were used in 12-gauge shotguns, 40 mm grenade launchers, 2.75-inch and 5-inch aircraft rockets, 81 mm riverine mortars, 90 mm and 106 mm recoilless rifles, 105 mm howitzers, 120 mm cannon, and in 90 mm, 105 mm, and 152 mm tank guns.

Anti-war protestors, championing the communist side in the Vietnam War, attacked the use of flechettes vehemently as these munitions were devastating to the communist forces attacking American soldiers. The political pressure they brought to bear resulted in a decline in the fielding of flechette systems, which left American forces more vulnerable to communist human wave assaults.

Today, Israel makes a copy of the U.S. 105 mm tank flechette round and both Russia and China reportedly maintaining large inventories of flechette ammunition for their major caliber artillery.

Current U.S. fielded flechette munitions include the 70 mm Hydra rocket (a modernized version of the 2.75-inch rocket), 84 mm Carl Gustov recoilless rifle munitions, and classified defense systems. Both the 70 mm Hydra rocket and the 84 mm Carl Gustov recoilless rifle flechette loads have been used in the Global War on Terror that began in 2001.

FLECHETTE SHOTGUN SHELLS

The use of flechettes in shotgun shells is the most common small arms employment of flechettes and the application of most interest to civilians. Credit for being the first to apply this concept to small arms goes to Irwin R. Barr of Aircraft Armament Co. in the early 1950’s. Originally, the idea was for one flechette per round and this led to the Army’s SPIW program. The first shotgun shells were loaded in 1953. These 32 flechettes-per-round loads were of a smaller size than those of today.

During the Vietnam War, flechette-loaded shotgun shells made kills out to 100 yards, proving their worth as a military weapon. Whirlpool Corporation had done development work on them, also loading many shells. Federal Ammunition made them, loading 25 flechettes per round while Western Cartridge Company’s load held 20 flechettes per round. Both of these rounds had their flechettes in a plastic cup buffered with granulated white polyurethane powder to maintain bore alignment. There was a metal disk at the rear of the cup the prevented the wad from being driven through the sharp tail fins of the flechettes. The tips of the flechettes were exposed and were visible at the mouth of the cartridge case These rounds would ruin a choke if fired through one, and they were only used in cylinder bore riot guns.

SPECIFICATIONS

Sometimes at gun shows, I have seen shotgun shells loaded with surplus artillery flechettes. Typically, some are loaded forwards and some backwards. Do not fire these in anything. They will tear up the inside of a shotgun barrel, as the hard steel of the flechettes will plow furrows in the bore and destroy any choke that gets in their way.

Properly loaded flechette shotgun shells are available from Sabot Designs LLC. The current loads are safe to use in any shotgun and will not hurt even a full choke, as the bore and choke are protected from the hard steel flechettes by a patented sabot that prevents any metal-on-metal contact. This was the invention of the firm’s oner, John Flannigan, and enables them to be used in any shotgun, not just cylinder bored riot guns.

Considered by many to be the greatest expert in flechette design and manufacture, much of Flannigan’s work remains classified, but what we can divulge is impressive. He made experimental tantalum flechettes for the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Cargo Round. He designed and manufactured tungsten flechettes for the NSWC EMRG electro-magnetic rail gun sub-munition. His collaboration with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems on the development and testing of the “High Density Packing” (HDP) cannister for the M1 Abrams tank resulted in his patent for the HDP Cannister round. Lockheed-Martin engaged him as a consultant for the fin design of the flechette projectiles for the Hydra-7 mine clearing system. The Marines Corps had him develop a flechette round for shooting down drones. That’s about all that we are free to talk about though.

FLECHETTES COMPARED TO BUCKSHOT

Comparing flechettes to the old standard, buckshot, reveals the strengths and weaknesses of both. Buckshot depends on its size, weight, and momentum to produce casualties. Of all projectiles, buckshot’s round ball deflects the least when hitting foliage and twigs. For this reason, it was often favored in jungle encounters.

Flechettes have 211% more projectiles per shell than buckshot which greatly increases the chance of a hit at longer ranges. They have 19 projectiles compared to just nine in the military buckshot load. Flechettes are a near perfect aerodynamic shape, whereas the round ball is the least aerodynamic. Furthermore, lead balls tend to deform when fired so they are not even perfectly round anymore. At longer ranges this becomes more of a factor. Additionally, flechette loads weigh about half as much as an equivalent buckshot load, so combatants can carry more ammo into the fight.

The stopping power of flechettes is a result of their velocity, penetration, and energy. Each flechette has the same energy signature as a 9 mm Parabellum round. It will shoot through a car door and produce a casualty on the other side, or it will go through over 20 inches of ballistic gelatin. Its energy is transmitted to a casualty by creating a supersonic cavitation wound channel. It will yaw off course as it penetrates, creating a wound channel approximately 800% larger than the flechette. This averages about .58 caliber for each flechette. Flechettes may also bend or break, creating secondary wound channels. They also typically shatter bones on contact.

ENGAGEMENT RANGES

* This being the longest range that a single flechette will produce a casualty.

CIVILIAN USE

12-gauge shotgun flechette loads are extremely useful to civilians. I’ve heard of a person taking out the heart and lungs of a wild hog at seven yards that was chasing and about to overtake his friend. Flechettes will penetrate the thick skull of an enraged bull or a 1000-pound hog when buckshot may fail. Flechettes have proven effective on deer, turkey, wild hog, and bear and are earning a devoted following among hunters. People depending on a shotgun for home defense are looking to flechette rounds for increased effectiveness.

Ever since the American Derringer Co. first invented the pistol chambering both the .45 Colt and the 2.5-inch .410 shotgun shell in 1980, there have been more companies making pistols that chamber these rounds interchangeably. Sabot designs makes a 2.5-inch .410 flechette load with seven flechettes for these.

Standard flechette rounds may not function reliably in automatic shotguns. Rounds that will reliably function a semi-auto are available under special order from Sabot Designs LLC.

Like birdshot, slugs, and buckshot, the flechette shotgun load has taken its place among the standard loads available for shotguns today.

Robert Saunders was a Texan who appreciated the value of a back-up pistol, but he also realized the only ones small enough to end up being carried for that purpose were chambered for small calibers known for their ineffectiveness as manstoppers. Since a back-up pistol is something used at arms-length range against an armed attacker, this meant that you were likely to get shot or stabbed before your fire could take effect. That prospect didn’t appeal to Saunders. He set out to make the perfect back-up pistol – and he succeeded. He chose the 45 Colt for a cartridge; a round with a design criterion that included killing a cavalry horse at 100 yards. For a gun to chamber it, you could not get two shots in a smaller package than a double Derringer.

Saunders didn’t stop there, though. He realized he could be the first to have a pistol that chambered both the 45 Colt and the 2.5-inch .410 shotgun shell. In 1980, he founded the American Derringer Corporation in Waco, Texas to make his new design out of the best stainless steel available. After all, a back-up pistol deals with more sweat than an open carry pistol.

The M1 Double Derringer is extremely small, just 4.82 inches overall with two 3-inch barrels. It stands 3.35 inches high and has a frame width of 0.9 inches and a grip width of 1.2 inches. Weight is just an ounce shy of a pound at 15 ounces.

The new (at the time) gun had (and still has) an innovative safety that comes off automatically when the gun is cocked. You don’t get any better than that. People have been killed trying to deal with a safety in emergencies where there simply is no time. Some people are so flustered that they forget to take a safety off in a fight, which can lead to their demise. I knew a man who put his safety on instead of taking it off in a gunfight, resulting in his being shot.

Wide, hand-filling grips make the petit pistol easy to control with a firm grip. Despite its small size, recoil is not a problem with full power 45 Colt loads. There are a good set of sights even though this type of pistol is normally just drawn, pointed, and fired at just-off-the-muzzle ranges.

When loading, it’s important to put this pistol on half cock – otherwise, the firing pin cannot retract and closing the gun hard can fire one of the cartridges.

Carrying options are extremely varied with a pistol this compact, but there is one caution that should be made. Either a thumb-break safety snap or a conventional safety strap is mandatory on holsters for this gun, as it’s grip heavy, not muzzle heavy – so it’ll ride up and fall out of a holster, eventually, without a safety strap.

This gun is extremely fast to draw and fire from concealment just as the original .41 rimfire Remington double Derringer was. Unlike the 41 Rimfire Remington, while the American Derringer Model 1 in 45 Colt makes an excellent urban back-up pistol, a better option for those in the backcountry is the American Derringer M4 Alaskan Survival with its 4.1-inch barrel. It’s a longer-barreled version, still chambered in 45 Colt. This caliber has a long history of successfully putting down grizzly bears. While a long gun is the normal grizzly hunting weapon the handgun is statistically more successful in defending against surprise bear attacks because, in a close-range surprise attack, the long gun may be knocked aside; but a handgun can be drawn and fired even if the bear has you down. Again, this is intended as a back-up to a regular pistol and not a primary pistol. When Betty and I had Alaskan trapper’s licenses and were living in a one room log trapper’s cabin deep in the Alaskan interior, we ended up using World War II army surplus M1911A1 pistols and surplus 45 ACP FMJ ammo on everything. The 45 ACP is simply the automatic pistol version of the 45 Colt cartridge.

It must be remembered that the American Derringer 45 Colt/.410 is intended as a short-range belly gun, not intended for use at long range like a full-size pistol. Bob Saunders liked to carry a 2.5-inch .410 loaded with buckshot in the upper chamber for a shot spread and a 45 Colt in the lower barrel for maximum stopping power. Of course, you may use either or and you can make any combination you like.

Federal makes a 2.5-inch .410 loaded with four .36 caliber 000 buckshot for a total weight of 280 grains and a total frontal area of 1.44 inches as they spread out to 4.5 inches at 10 feet.

For a slightly larger dispersion pattern, I prefer the Sabot Designs LLC flechette load. This has seven flechettes safely packed in a sabot so that they cannot harm your barrel. Each flechette dumps as much energy into the target as a 9mm Luger cartridge as they yaw inside the target, and they spread to 5.5 inches at 10 feet. For stopping power on bear, I trust the 250-grain 45 Colt load.

Bob Saunders developed pancreatic cancer and died in 1993. His widow, Elizabeth, was determined not to let his gun making dream die. She went back to school and got her degree in mechanical engineering. There she met John Price, a Vietnam veteran getting his own mechanical engineering degree. John went to work for her and has been there ever since.

In 1994, they cut out their distributors, as they demanded a price that would entail a cut in quality. Employee theft problems grew so bad that eventually she had to let everyone but John Price go. They would rather make quality than quantity, and these two hands make every pistol to the highest American standards today. These are all steel, except for the wood grips, with no plastic parts. They are the only affordable handmade guns that I know of. Elizabeth and John take great pride in their work and the result is a truly handmade gun that the owner can depend on. For a back-up pistol there is none better.

SPECIFICATIONS

After designing the M1941 semi-automatic rifle, Melvin Johnson set his sights on a light machine gun version of his design. While making it accept the already issued M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle magazines seemed a logical choice, that was not an option due to Johnson’s prior experience submitting his M1941 rifle to the Army. When the U.S. Army Ordnance Department first tested the Johnson rifle, it had a detachable box magazine. According to Bruce Canfield in his authoritative work on Johnson’s firearms, “Johnson Rifles and Machine Guns: The Story of Melvin Maynard Johnson, Jr. and His Guns”, soldiers testing the rifle loaded the cartridges in the detachable BAR magazine used in the M1941 backwards. This had the effect of bending the feed lips, rendering the magazine’s operation unreliable. Johnson saw this and demanded new magazines before the test started. Ordnance refused and, adding insult to injury, counted each of the resulting magazine-induced stoppages as “malfunctions”, tanking the gun’s performance in testing on paper. Years later, Johnson’s son, Edward Johnson, suggested to me in a conversation that this was a blatant attempt to influence the outcome of the test in favor of the competing incumbent M1 Garand rifle.

Faced with such brazen dishonesty, Johnson responded by developing a rotary magazine that could not be sabotaged in this way and that offered the benefit of being able to be topped off in use with stripper clips so that soldiers would never be caught changing magazines when an enemy suddenly appeared wanting to shoot you. For his light machine gun, Johnson added a detachable magazine to one side. He could not use a double column magazine for fear Ordnance would sabotage them and count the resulting failure of the magazines to work as the gun malfunctioning, so he developed a 20-round single-column feed magazine that was immune to such tampering. That, plus the five rounds held in the rotary magazine, gave the soldier 25 rounds at their disposal.

Johnson was well aware of the Browning Automatic Rifle’s faults. The M1918A2 was a heavy, 21 pounds and very clumsy to handle. It was gas operated with all the attendant powder fouling and jamming that goes with that kind of system. It lacked a quick-change barrel, so sustained full-auto fire was out of the question. The exposed barrel would burn you sooner or later, disassembly and reassembly was a nightmare, and most damning of all, the gun wore heavily under heavy usage, necessitating constant Ordnance rebuilds. These rebuilds, while straightforward, were often poorly done by Ordnance resulting in the troops getting weapons that did not work reliably.

Johnson set out to make a light machine gun that had none of these faults… and he succeeded. At 12.5 pounds, the weapon was still within the upper limits of what a rifle could weigh. It handled fast and sure with no hint of clumsiness. There was a ventilated barrel shroud and a quick-change barrel just like the Johnson M1941 rifle had. This was a light machine gun that could maintain sustained fire like any other air-cooled machine gun with a quick-change barrel The short recoil system of the Johnson rifle eliminated all the problems inherent in a gas-operated machine gun. It was extremely rugged and didn’t fall apart under heavy use like the BAR did. Like the Johnson rifle, it was totally reliable. Accuracy in full-auto was superior to the BAR, but unlike other weapons, the M1941 LMG fired open-bolt when in full-auto (benefitting from the 50% recoil reduction that offers) but it fired from a closed bolt when the selector was set on semi-auto for sniper rifle accuracy.

The M1941 LMG shared many components of the M1941 Johnson rifle and was actually a rifle designed to fill the LMG role. As such, it and its successor, the M1944 Johnson, remain the only rifles in history to succeed in this role. The increased speed of mobility that a lighter LMG delivers was amply demonstrated by one of Johnson’s favorite tricks, firing the M1941 LMG one-handed with his arm fully extended, as shown in the photograph. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone firing an M1918A2 BAR with one hand like that. The speed of deployment of a weapon in combat is the difference between hitting the enemy and being hit by the enemy. As a LMG is supposed to be part of a mobile squad, its mobility is a decisive factor in its effectiveness in many situations.

Since the M1941 didn’t come from Army Ordnance’s tight little clique, they immediately hated the Johnson guns — even going so far as to deny export licenses for the M1941 LMG to America’s WWII ally, Holland, in the early days of the war. However, the Marine paratroopers liked the way the quick-change barrel of the Johnson rifle and the Johnson LMG could be removed and stowed alongside the rest of the weapon making for a more compact package during parachute jumps, and they were able to get a quantity. Both the rifle and the LMG were already in production for a Dutch order. When Holland fell, these guns became available to both the Army and the Marines where they were widely loved by their users.

U.S. troops weren’t the only ones impressed with the Johnson. In Germany, Louis Stanga took it as his inspiration for the famous FG42 which was intended to replace the 98 Mauser when production permitted. Not having a hostile Ordnance Board to deal with Louis used a conventional 20-round, double column box magazine. The action was based on an improved version of the WWI Lewis Light Machine Gun and a muzzle brake was fitted. It lacked a quick-change barrel and for all its virtues, it was still inferior to the M1941 Johnson.

There were also six light carbine versions made as semi-auto rifles with a standard 10-shot rotary magazine and no bipod. Dubbed “Daisy Mae”, one of these was carried into WWII by U.S. Marine officer Harry Torgerson.

Always trying to improve his guns, Melvin Johnson determined to make the most controllable light machine gun of all time and he succeeded with his M1944 Johnson LMG. The weight went up to 14.7 pounds and the bipod and wood forend were replaced with a 1.7-pound folding monopod that served as either a vertical or a horizontal fore grip, depending on its position. This monopod proved much faster to engage and more effective than the traditional bipod. The wooden buttstock was replaced with two tubes. The top tube enabled the mainspring to have more room while the bottom tube could store a cleaning kit. There was a substantial metal buttplate that was hinged and could be flipped up to access the two tubes for maintenance. Depending on the ammunition type, the cyclic rate was anywhere from 450 -750 rounds per minute. This could also be adjusted by changing the recoil spring.

As previously stated, the M1944 Johnson LMG is totally controllable in full auto fire. By the time the 22-inch barrel has moved back a half-inch and the bolt has been cammed back 20 degrees to allow unlocking, the bullet is four or five feet from the muzzle. This also reduces the amount of powder and gas left in the barrel that typically fouls the action once the breech is unlocked. The bolt has a long throw and a long recoil spring to spread out and absorb the recoil, this is in addition to the weight of the gun doing its part to absorb recoil. The weight of the bolt and the barrel for the half-inch of unlocking travel also counts as bolt weight during that time. The result is a steady straight rearward push instead of the normal jack hammer effect of recoil in a full-auto gun that jerks the muzzle up with each shot. Fired from the prone in full-auto with the monopod deployed, the recoil from each shot is just 1.33 pounds. By way of comparison, the M16 has seven pounds of recoil per shot. Fired from the shoulder, the M1944 is still controllable. Plus, it achieves this controllability without the use of a muzzle brake that would likely cause permanent damage to the shooter’s hearing. Combining its controllable nature, its ability to fire semi-auto from a closed bolt for precise shots, and its unsurpassed reliability, Johnson may have produced the most effective one-person operated firearm of all time in his M1944 LMG.

With the selector set at semi-auto, the cycling of the action begins when the cartridge is fired. The bolt and barrel remain locked together as the barrel recoils a half-inch back into the receiver. During this travel time, the multi-lugged bolt is rotated 20 degrees to unlock by the camming arm of the bolt sliding against the camming face of the receiver. Once the bolt is unlocked, the rearward travel of the barrel is halted while the bolt continues to the rear, compressing the long recoil spring, cocking the hammer, extracting, and then ejecting the spent cartridge case. The recoil spring now drives the bolt forward, where it locks into the barrel, and the gun is ready to fire semi-auto again. This action is just like the M1941 rifle.

When the selector is set for full-auto, the cycle begins with the bolt catch holding the bolt in the open position until it’s released by pulling the trigger. It then chambers a cartridge, closes, and locks into the barrel. At this point the automatic sear is tripped, firing the round. The gun continues to fire full-auto until it is out of ammo or the trigger is released (catching the bolt in the open position.) When the last round is fired, the bolt remains closed in either the semi-auto or full-auto setting.

While the Marine Corps wanted to replace the BAR with the M1944 Johnson, this was not approved as the Marine Corps was considered a client of the Army in weapons procurement.

After the war, Johnson continued trying to get his guns adopted, even going so far as to add gas assisted operation to the guns to please Ordnance, even though this negated one of the principal advantages of his design. These efforts were unsuccessful, and it appears Ordnance was just stringing him along to offset the criticism of their scandalous behavior on this matter. The M1944 remains the high-water mark of the Johnson LMG. There has never been another non-crew-operated firearm approaching its effectiveness.

In World War I, the U.S. discovered that some of the low numbered M1903 Springfield receivers had burst because the metal had been burned by overheating it in manufacture. It was heated to the point that it was white hot with sparks coming out and held at that temperature long enough to burn most all the carbon out of the steel, leaving it porous where the carbon had burned out, very fragile, and brittle. When reading the description of this event in Hatcher’s Notebook, and the Army’s solution of going to temperature-controlled furnaces, one could get the impression that this problem was caused by judging the temperature by eye. Neither General Hatcher nor the Army Ordnance Department were experienced blacksmiths, though. As an experienced blacksmith of many years, I would like to set the record straight.

BURNING METAL

You harden metal at a cherry red heat. You burn metal at a white-hot heat with sparks coming off the metal as the carbon is burned out. It takes a little bit of time for it to burn out, also. There is a big heat difference between cherry red and white-hot, just as there is a big difference between the color of cherry red and white with sparks coming out. I would trust a careful apprentice to quench metal at cherry red. For an experienced blacksmith to burn metal is almost unheard of, and for him not to know that he had done it is not possible. To do this on multiple receivers is nothing but deliberate sabotage. Somebody was mad about something and taking it out on the work. There is just no other possibility.

It’s likely that Ordnance realized this while also recognizing a public scandal might ensue if news of failure were reported in the newspapers. It would be a scandal that could hurt the careers of all the men in charge of Ordnance, as well as destroying a lot of the confidence that the Army (and the public) had in the Ordnance Department. Better to quietly correct the problem and get temperature controls on the furnaces so they could blame the lack of them for the problem instead of causing a scandal.

Then again, it’s also possible that Ordnance never understood this, as their heat treatment of the receivers was the same as hardening a file. They wanted the glass smooth action of the Krag rifle and touted the great strength of file-hardened metal under a load but ignored the extreme brittleness of said metal under a sudden shock. Any good blacksmith could have told them this was a very bad idea.

Except for files, I’ve never hardened anything without tempering it, which is reheating it to anything from a straw yellow to a blue, the latter color being used for springs, knives, razors, and axes. Some folks have complained that the receivers of Mauser rifles were too soft. Well, they didn’t break or give trouble in over 100 years of hard service, and they have successfully been re-barreled for every cartridge that will fit through the action. Softer is better for sudden shock loads, such as those you get with a ruptured cartridge case… which will burst the file hardened receivers of the low numbered Springfield rifles.

BURSTING SPRINGFIELDS

The problem surfaced with the poor-quality ammunition that came out in WWI when Ordnance reported that their ammunition was getting worse. Soft brass and erratic loading of powder (with some loads that exceeding the 70,000 PSI army proof load) coupled with the fact that the last part of a cartridge case projects out over an eight of an inch (specifically 0.147 to 0.1485-inch) on a Springfield or M98 Mauser rifle is a formula for ruptured cartridge cases. When that happens, the brittle, file-hard receivers of the low number Springfield rifles burst. If the steel was burnt, it had very little strength; it burst even quicker.

THE FIX

Between 1917 and 1929, there were 61 cases of receivers blowing up. Attempts to reheat treat the receivers met with inconsistent results because often the steel used did not meet the specifications for composition. Ordnance finally gave up trying to repair the faulty receivers. They pivoted and made some good receivers that were hardened AND tempered, calling them double heat treated, and then went to nickel steel. During this time, some low numbered receivers got mixed in with the new, safe receivers… the cut-off date for manufacturing the old glass-hard receivers was not exactly recorded. How many ways can they screw up!? After thoroughly investigating the problem, Ordnance wanted to scrap ALL of the old receivers and replace them with updated, safe ones, but the money for this was never appropriated.

In their attempt to copy the M98 Mauser and call it an American invention (so that they wouldn’t catch the flak they had caught over previously adopting the Norwegian Krag rifle) Ordnance succeeded in making the only M98 variant that had its receivers blow up!

SAFETY, STOCK, AND SIGHT ISSUES

Ordnance also apparently didn’t appreciate that the thumb notch cutout on the left side of the M98 receiver was there as a last line of defense to protect the shooter’s eyes by diverting the gas from a pierced primer or ruptured cartridge case. They coupled the cocking knob from the Krag rifle with a 13-inch length-of-pull stock that resulted in some soldiers seriously injuring their eye on the cocking piece when rapidly working the bolt. Most soldiers learned to either move their head way back or drop the rifle from their shoulder when working the bolt.

In the British gun trade, rifle stocks are custom fitted to the shooter’s individual measurements to a sixteenth of an inch in all directions. A 13-inch length-of-pull is for people 4-and-a-half feet tall and shorter. That’s the average height of a 10-year-old. To make a soldier’s rifle stock that short is insane. The M1928A1 Thompson submachine gun had a 15-inch length-of-pull and was universally lauded for its extraordinary handling qualities.

Mauser rifles came with a “V” rear sight and an inverted “V” front sight. This front sight has a broad base that easily catches the eye in low light and a narrow top enabling minute-of-angle groups. It’s a rugged arrangement and can stand alone with no protection. In the U.S., Ordnance had long favored a narrow blade that needed a hood or side-mounted wings to protect it. A blade hood cuts down light on the sight, making it hard to see in low light. As a result, later rifles with protective side wings on the front sight sometimes had soldiers sighting on the wing instead of the blade in the hurried stress of combat.

Despite these shortcomings, the M1903 Springfield rifle series became one of the most respected and loved rifles in U.S. military history, even serving iron-sighted snipers in the Vietnam War some 70 years after the rifle’s introduction. It’s just a shame that it had to go through these unnecessary problems.