Historical – Page 16 – Scattered Shots

Retaining the M1911A1 – The Final DOD Holdouts

After the adoption of the 9mm M9 in 1985, some special units within the DOD were loath to give up their .45 M1911A1 pistols.

History: Bill Brophy

A follow up post on a man I have talked about in the past a bit. The most significant man at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in 1941, was General Julian Hatcher. Hatcher was one of the most prominent members of the nation’s shooting fraternity. He was also the Commanding General of the Ordnance Training Center. PerhapsContinue reading “History: Bill Brophy”

Colt Law Enforcement Pistol

For Missed Opportunity Monday, we have yet another abandoned Colt design: the .40 caliber Law Enforcement Pistol. It also served as the platform for their Smart Gun tech. Here are some of the Smart Gun patents, which show bits of the pistol’s design as well. While the exterior profile looks a bit like the “AllContinue reading “Colt Law Enforcement Pistol”

Ross Seyfried’s Swenson Combat Commander

In 1981, Ross Seyfried was the last man to win the IPSC World Shoot using a non-compensated pistol in open competition. While that feat was accomplished with a Pachmayr Combat Special built on a full-sized Colt Government Model, Seyfried cut his teeth in IPSC shooting with today’s featured pistol. This is the pistol he usedContinue reading “Ross Seyfried’s Swenson Combat Commander”

Silent Weapon System – Alpha

Here’s a data dump on the Silent Weapon System – Alpha and related captive piston cartridges. Sadly there is more known about the ammunition than the actual firearms designed to use them. First, we have the patent for the Alpha cartridge’s predecessor, the Cal. .30 XM76. The XM76 was intended for legacy .30-06 firearms. However,Continue reading “Silent Weapon System – Alpha”

The Long Road to the M9 Pistol

It took roughly forty years, dozens of competitors, a variety of tests, and a ton of bureaucratic wrangling to replace the M1911A1 after WW2.

M16A1 Still In The Jungle Fighting

I ran across these photos of a Hmong fighter in Laos. Still with the M16A1 the US gave him. Still killing commies after all these years. With considerable less finish than it left the factory with. Funny how only the much overrated AK47/Type56 is supposedly the only rifle that could hold up under tropical jungleContinue reading “M16A1 Still In The Jungle Fighting”

Colt R0633DC upper receiver

In this image is a Colt R0633DC upper receiver conversion kit from around late 1998 (based on analysis of packing materials). The Colt model R0933 was a 9mm submachine gun (SMG) design that was provided to the Department Of Energy for security use. The model R0633 is more commonly referred to as the “DOE SMG”Continue reading “Colt R0633DC upper receiver”

Knight’s Armament Co.’s “Revolver Rifle” and “Revolver Pistol”

While we are on the subject of sneaky, silent weapons, the .30/.44 Magnum rifle variant shown in Trey Knight’s hands was based upon the Ruger Super Redhawk. The .22/.38 Special GP100 variant was a handgun only. The ammunition for the KAC suppressed revolvers used a captive sabot. The large caliber sabot stopped against the forcingContinue reading “Knight’s Armament Co.’s “Revolver Rifle” and “Revolver Pistol””

De Simone (10X – 30X) scope

De Simone scope with variable power. These were produced in California the ’60 or ’70s, and were of the highest quality. On the left side there is a movable slide that would change the power.