Jake Holman Jr.'s Article – April 2012 Archive (4)

Mauser's Pocket Pistols

The pocket pistol to some evokes images of cheap, dangerous handguns that often are more deadly to their handlers than opponents. However, well made pocket pistols was one of the strong suits of the firearms giant Mauser during the first decades of the 20th century.

Mauser produced a series of pocket…

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Added by Jake Holman Jr. on April 25, 2012 at 2:00pm — 3 Comments

The Chinese Broomhandle .45

In the world of pistols the .45 ACP still hold sway over all other semi-automatic handgun calibers. Sure there is .357 Desert Eagle. And 10mm from Glock burned a few hundred pages of gun magazines in the 1990s. But outlasting them all is the .45 ACP. Designed in the first decade of the 20th century, the .45 ACP round…

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Added by Jake Holman Jr. on April 18, 2012 at 2:00pm — 4 Comments

The Rifle of Lawmen, Gangsters and Aviators

It may not look like much to our modern "black rifle" eye, but the Winchester Model 1907 is a carbine with punch and a unique place in small arms history as a favorite of cops, robbers, soldiers and flyers.

The Winchester Model 1907 carbine is a simple direct blowback rifle. Without a gas system to channel…

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Added by Jake Holman Jr. on April 11, 2012 at 2:00pm — 5 Comments

The First Assault Rifle Caliber...of World War 1

I've often written here about firearm "firsts." First semi-automatic pistol, first truly suppressed weapon and the Holy Grail of weapon firsts, the first assault rifle. The Russians and Germans claim ownership to this title. A few other obscure weapons designers from around the world also vie for the title. Yet, in France, at the close of World War I, there was a little rifle that…