Semiauto pistol
Bergmann Simplex
Theodor Bergmann was tenacious in his pursuit of a military pistol contract, but the sales of the 1896 and 1897 model Bergmann pistols showed him that a single design could not effectively suit to both […]
Handgun
Semiauto pistol
Bergmann 1899 Pistol
This is going to be a short post, as the 1899 Bergmann is the most difficult variant to find information on. In fact, the 1899 designation is really a catch-all for the experimental pistols Bergmann […]
Patent drawings
Bergmann No.5 / 1897 Pistol
With the failure of the No.4 Bergmann 1896 to attract military interest (which couldn’t have been too difficult to predict), Bergmann and Schmeisser realized that the straight blowback mechanism of the 1896 model pistol would […]
Semiauto pistol
Bergmann No. 4 / 1896 Pistol
With the Bergmann No.3 proving to be a popular pistol and commercial success, Bergmann and Louis Schmeisser made another attempt to break into the military market. This was done by adapting the No.3 to use […]
Semiauto pistol
Bergmann No. 3 / 1896 Pistol
Of the three calibers available in the 1896 model Bergmann pistol, the 6.5mm No.3 was the most popular. Approximately 4,000 of these guns were produced, and they found a worldwide following. We have examples below […]
Revolver
Streetsweeper Shotgun (Video)
It may seem sometimes that I’ve never met a gun I didn’t like…but I can assure you that isn’t the case. The Streetsweeper, for example, is a pretty terrible gun. Originally designed in 1980 by […]
Semiauto pistol
Vintage Saturday: Rifles? What Rifles?
US World War I doughboys with M1911 pistols on display. Trigger discipline wasn’t what it is today.
Semiauto pistol
Bergmann No. 2 / 1896 Pistol
After several years of work and at least two Swiss military trials, Louis Schmeisser’s design of the Bergmann self-loading pistol was still not quite good enough to become a commercial success. Only a few pistols […]
Patent drawings
Bergmann 1894 – No.1 Pistol
As Theodore Bergmann and Louis Schmeisser embarked on the process of perfecting and improving their production pistols, they used a numbering system to identify the different models that were made. There are also model years […]
Patent drawings
Bergmann-Schmeisser 1893 Pistol
Today we are starting the story of the Bergmann automatic pistol – one of the early successful self-loading handguns, and one which led to a less prominent firearms dynasty than some other big names of […]