Semiauto pistol
Bulgarian M1911 Luger
Bulgaria bought its first Lugers in 1903; 1000 Old Model guns in 7.65mm. It bought another 1300 New Model Lugers in 1908 (again in 7.65mm), but both of these orders were intended for private purchase […]
Handgun
Semiauto pistol
H&K’s New SP5 – A Civilian Semiauto MP5 Pistol
The MP5 is widely regarded as the best submachine gun ever made, and it has been widely copied. But only now has H&K released a semiauto civilian version of it in pistol form. Prior to […]
Revolver
1884 Tacticool: Silver & Fletcher’s “Expert” Auto-Ejector
In 1884, High Silver and Walther Fletcher patented a system to rapidly unload a gate-style revolver. They negotiated an agreement to have their system integrated into Webley revolvers (specifically the New Model RIC) as an […]
Semiauto pistol
Pillars of Gediminas: The Lithuanian High Power
Between 1935 and 1937, the recently independent nation of Lithuania purchased 5,000 Browning High Power pistols from FN. These were early pattern guns, with 500m tangent rear sights and stock slots, although Lithuania did not […]
Semiauto pistol
Ballester Molina: The Underrated Argentine .45
The Ballester-Molina was designed to be a more economical pistol to produce than the 1911A1, which had been adopted by Argentina as the Pistola Sistema Colt Modelo 1927. It was produced by a company called […]
Revolver
Ludicrously Huge .45-70 and .50-70 Revolvers
Created in 1973 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the .45-70 cartridge by the US military, the Model 100 revolver is a behemoth of a six-shooter. It was made by Earl Keller […]
Semiauto pistol
Czechoslovakia’s First Pistol: Praga Model 1919
Having gained independence after World War One, Czechoslovakia looked to standardize and improve its armaments. Václav Holek went to work for the Zbrojovka Praga factory in Prague in 1918, and they introduced the Model 1919 […]
Percussion
Noël’s 10-Shot Pocket Turret Revolver
Designed by A. Noël in 1865 and manufactured by Gouery, Canat et Cie in Paris, this is a .28 caliber, 10-shot turret revolver. It has a folding double-action trigger, and is actually a remarkably svelte […]
Semiauto pistol
Kommer Models 3 and 4: German Browning Copies
Theodore Emil Kommer was born in 1866, son of a German gunsmith. He took the same profession, and at the age of 23 in 1889 opened his own business making guns. He initially focused on […]
Semiauto pistol
Estonian Home Guard Browning High Power
Estonia purchased several batches of early FN High Power pistols in the 1930s. First in 1936 120 were ordered for the police, and then much larger orders followed in 1937. The military bought 5,338 and […]