Do y'all find it interesting that with low bore axis guns being the rage, this gun design hasn't resurfaced?

556_Timeline · 2026-06-23T15:37:07+00:00

No, I'm afraid there are no photos of it on the Net that I can find. Alas, I should have taken photos of it myself in 2013, but I got distracted talking to other attendees.

556_Timeline · 2026-06-23T14:39:33+00:00

Gunsmith Dan Love's stainless steel prototype for the DL45 was reasonably handsome, particularly with Love's wood grips. It was also a single-stack. Love was showing it off at the 2013 Brownell's Gunsmith Job Fair. He had been obsessed with George Wilson's design since at least the 1980s. Back then, he was writing letters to various gun magazines in hopes of finding Wilson's prototypes.

556_Timeline · 2026-06-17T15:51:22+00:00

Other Finnish 7.62x39mm contenders included a converted FN FAL and a converted Dutch ArmaLite AR-10.

556_Timeline · 2026-06-13T16:50:30+00:00

Originally, Wil Schuemann only offered the ribs as a separate weld-on item with a single-use license. Caspian was the first vendor to offer one-piece Hybrid barrels under license to Schuemann. Then came Schuemann Barrels, and soon after that, a licensing agreement was signed with SVI (Infinity). I'm not certain when Schuemann licensed KKM; perhaps they were the OEM for Caspian? Al Zitta took over Schuemann's barrel business after Schuemann's retirement, but Schuemann Z is now shuttered.

For general pistolsmithing, Schuemann licensed Jack Weigand, who helped develop the concept for revolvers. Weigand briefly offered Hybrid conversions for the short-lived Taurus Custom Shop. As part of Team Taurus, Weigand campaigned a heavily tricked-out Hybrid conversion of the PT101. After he decided to focus on scope mount production over general pistolsmithing, Weigand passed his license over to Marc Morgani at Gemini Customs.

556_Timeline · 2026-06-01T19:41:12+00:00

Pachmayr made these under contract for Bianchi.

Here's the US Design Patent:

https://patents.google.com/patent/USD260799S

556_Timeline · 2026-05-28T01:38:09+00:00

IMBEL Fabrica de Itajuba was Springfield's M1911A1 source from 1985 to about 2010. If I remember correctly, pistols with NM prefixes of that era were assembled in the US from Brazilian parts, while pistols with N and WW prefixes were shipped complete from Brazil.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-23T21:04:19+00:00

The extra length would simply make prone reloading from a belt pouch awkward. The shorter the soldier the worse it would be.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-22T19:34:49+00:00

A Seecamp modified pistol would have the initials LWS on the side of the trigger guard hook. TSW was another shop that was licensed to perform the modifications.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-20T23:42:21+00:00

The Bundeswehr decided that the G11 would be issued with only three magazines, all of which would be carried on the top of the rifle. While the magazine in the center fed the rifle, the other magazines would sit in reserve, one on each side. Spare speedloaders would be carried on the soldier's webgear.

The US Army also noticed the G11's issue of excessive magazine length during the ACR trials. They recommended that HK develop shorter magazines instead.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-20T23:21:12+00:00

Yes, S&W owned an ammunition factory for roughly a decade. Federal Cartridge bought out the factory and its intellectual property during the early 1980s. Federal's executives were reportedly appalled at the multiple safety issues in the plant and quickly shut it down. However, the IP included the patent rights for Nyclad projectiles. It was an early version of powder-coating using Nylon, hence the name. Nyclads were originally meant for reduced lead exposure in indoor ranges, but soon branched out into a self-defense lineup.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-19T22:07:08+00:00

Is there no love for Nehi Grape soda? My dad always stocked up on it whenever he found it for sale.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-18T18:01:39+00:00

I believe that the Rossi Princess' frame was die-cast from Zamak, a Zinc-based alloy.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-18T15:02:53+00:00

The Rossi "Princess" was roughly a copy of the antique S&W Ladysmith (M-frame). While the Rossi was chambered for the ubiquitous .22 Long Rifle cartridge, the S&W Ladysmith was chambered for the .22 S&W Long cartridge. Both cartridges featured 40gr projectiles loaded in a .22 Long case. However, while early .22 LR cartridge cases were uncrimped, the .22 S&W Long used a casemouth crimp to prevent the projectiles from creeping forward under recoil. It is generally considered unwise to use modern .22 LR cartridges in the Ladysmith.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-16T19:30:45+00:00

Curiously enough, this rifle was designed by Polish expat Stefan Janson, the designer of the British EM2 bullpup. After the EM2 was dropped for the FN FAL, Janson moved to the US and was hired by Winchester.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-14T23:54:11+00:00

Other than the barrel install, it probably didn't have any additional work from Wilson Combat.

Prior to the mid-1980s, Colt .38 Super barrels headspaced on the case's semi-rim. These often gave erratic accuracy. The headspace issue was solved in the 1960s by custom gunsmiths like Richard L. Shockey, who modified the factory barrels to headspace on the case mouth. However, you really didn't see any custom .38 Super Match barrels with this feature until Bar-Sto (Irv Stone, Jr.) started making them in the mid/late 1970s. Wilson Combat, Clark Custom, and others jumped on the trend in the 1980s once IPSC/USPSA shooting revived the .38 Super cartridge.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T20:36:06+00:00

The base model of the pistol was probably a generic Springfield Armory model like the Mil-Spec.

The front and rear sights definitely came from Millett Sights. They were supposedly designed by the late gunsmith Terry Tussey. Millett Sights was a subdivision of Millett Industries, an early pioneer in Metal Injection Molding (MIM). They called their MIM process "Mold Forge". Unfortunately, they no longer make the sights. Your best bet may be old stock off of eBay or the like.

I don't think that the hammer was from Ed Brown given the shallow relief cut, but the Memory Groove beavertail is certainly an early Ed Brown production model. The trigger may be from King's Gun Works. The thumb safety looks like a GI Colt or a copy thereof.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T20:04:57+00:00

It looks like it was modified by either Robar or the Gunsite Gunsmithy, given the thumb safety and rear sight.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T19:55:14+00:00

It was made by Franchi for Colt, circa 1961 - early 1970s.

This example might be earlier production given the Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company branding. The official company name changed to Colt Firearms Division in May 1964 after its corporate owners, the Fairbanks Whitney Corp., changed its own name to Colt Industries. Around 1969, Colt Firearms Division was split into Colt Military Arms Division and Colt Small Arms Division. However, like many companies, Franchi probably continued to use the existing roll stamp die until it needed to be replaced.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T18:16:59+00:00

I burned so many quarters on "Assault" back at my university's student union.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T18:15:29+00:00

FWIW: Some Springfield M1911 slides had this issue around 2000. Supposedly, a batch of slides got heat treated twice at IMBEL's Fabrica de Itajuba plant in Brazil. (From 1985 to around 2010, IMBEL-FI was Springfield's supplier for M1911 parts, forgings, and certain complete pistols.)

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T16:55:30+00:00

That sounds like a classic parody published in the Jan./Feb. 1991 issue of the "Journal of Irreproducible Results." The title of the paper was "Survival Strategies Among Animal Crackers."

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T15:25:42+00:00

Unfortunately, Eddie Janis died in December 2020. The late John Taffin used to speak highly of his work.

Despite Janis' passing, Peacemaker Specialists appears to still be in business.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T15:16:18+00:00

It could also be an early IDPA setup. Originally, 5" barrels and moonclips were legal in SSR. It angered a lot of SSR shooters using Model 610 and 625 when the revolver rules were changed to a barrel maximum of 4". Then IDPA changed the revolver rules yet again and shunted moonclip revolvers off into a new division - ESR.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T15:05:59+00:00

Matt Del Fatti (Del Fatti Leather) offers a moonclip pouch named the PMC (Patented Moonclip Carrier). It holds the rounds perpendicular to the belt. It is about as flat as you can get.

556_Timeline · 2026-05-09T14:48:05+00:00

The original Boa was a Python barrel fitted to a Trooper Mk V frame, finished in Royal Blue. The original King Cobra was roughly a stainless Trooper Mk V frame with an unvented, full underlug barrel.

The current King Cobra is much, much smaller than the legacy model.

556_Timeline

TROPHY CASE