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Old and New on display at the Ohio Ordnance Works booth; an original Colt manufactured 1918 and the companies new Heavy Counter Assault Rifle. Let me tell you the amount of weight they managed to drop from the original weapon is astounding. The model with optic, suppressor and bipod is still lighter than the bare bones original and if you strip the HCAR down to just a red dot you have a devastating weapon that is no heavy than most AR-10s.

I want

I’ll take them both.

1920s Maxim silencer next to its mailing tube. It retailed for about $3 and could be shipped directly to the purchaser by mail.

Some history on silencers. American inventor Hiram Percy Maxim, the son of Maxim gun inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim, is usually credited with inventing and selling the first commercially successful models circa 1902 (patented 30 March 1909). Maxim gave his device the trademarked name Maxim Silencer, and they were regularly advertised in sporting goods magazines.

Both the United States Department of Justice and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive) refer to suppressors as “silencers”. Additionally, Hiram Percy Maxim (the original inventor of the device) marketed them as “Maxim Silencers”.

So yes you can actually call them SILENCERS.

MAXIM 08/15

Japan’s Garand

In 1944 the Japanese Navy produced a limited number of semi-automatic rifles, these were heavily based on the US M1 Garand which they had faced in the Pacific for the previous three years. There is some confusion over what this Japanese clone was designated, some describe it as the Type 4 while others have called it the Type 5.

These Japanese Garands used the American rifle’s gas system and rotating bolt but were chambered in Japan’s Type 99 rimless 7.7x58mm cartridge rather than the US’ .30-06 it also had a number of external differences with a different front sight and fitting for a Type 99 sword bayonet, as well as a rear tangent sight instead of the M1′s aperture sight (see image #5), a stripper clip fed 10-round box magazine which protruded from the base of the receiver, and used standard Japanese sling swivels and a slightly different stock profile.

The Japanese Garand’s receiver, note the charger guide for quickly loading the rifle (source)

The Japanese Garand’s action operates in just the same way as the American rifle with the bolt locking back on an empty magazine ready to be reloaded before it snaps back forward - making it possible to get ‘Japanese Garand Thumb’.

The Japanese Navy had experimented with semi-automatic rifles in the early 1930s looking at a rifle based on the Czech ZH-29 as well as a Pedersen toggle-lock design. Several of which were apparently issued and captured by US forces on Okinawa. However, these never progressed beyond evaluation and the Japanese military continued to use its bolt-action rifles. However, when they encountered the firepower of the American semi-automatic Garands a need for a new more modern rifle was seen.

US Ordnance Dept. photo comparing the M1 and the Japanese Garand (source)

The call for the new rifles was made as early as 1943 when the Japanese Navy’s elite naval infantry requested a weapon to increase their firepower. Trials and examination of captured M1s was carried out and it was found that the design could be adapted to chamber Japanese service ammunition and a reverse engineered clone was constructed. Eventually up to ~250 Japanese Garands were built. The rifles were manufactured and stored at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in late 1944 and early 1945. I’ve examined one of the surviving examples and like many of the others such as the one held by the NRA Museum and the example at the Springfield Armory it was in exceptional condition, certainly unissued. The build quality and workmanship of the rifle was excellent, quite unlike the rougher quality standards of the rifles being churned out by workshops across Japan at the same time. The stock was nicely finished and the receiver was well machined with no obvious took marks like those found on late-war Japanese rifles.

Whether or not any of the rifles were actually issued remains unclear John Walter believes that as many as 130 may have seen action, and there have been suggestions of the rifles having problems feeding. However, all of the remaining examples held by museums are clearly in an unissued condition and were found at the Yokosuka Arsenal. It is unlikely that at such a late stage in the war Japan’s war infrastructure could have been able to begin producing a meaningful number of the new rifles. They remain a fascinating anomaly of war and a little known aspect of Japanese small arms design during World War Two.

Sources:

Images Source Rifles of the World, John Walter (1993) M1 Garand, L. Thompson (2012) Examples at the Springfield Armoury #1 & #2 Japanese Type 4, ForgottenwWeapons.com (source) Japanese Type 4 Garand Copy, ForgottenwWeapons.com (source)

beathecase-deactivated20141012

callmejumber

Who wants to name them all? I want that BAR.

cerebralzero

i’m too lazy but the least common one you got here is the 1903 Springfield with a Pedersen Device in the bottom right image.

gunrunnerhell

Custom M1 Garand

From a distance it would be difficult to recognize this as a Garand since they are very rarely customized this heavily. Apparently this rifle appeared in a 1970 issue of Gun World that detailed what went into building it. Back in the day old surplus rifles like Mausers would end up as the platform for either beautifully or terribly crafted hunting rifles. This Garand is a pretty unique and well done piece. (GRH)

gunrunnerhell

Sardius SD9

A subcompact 9x19mm made in Israel, the SD9 was imported into the U.S for a very short time in extremely limited numbers. It has a “Glock-like” appearance but has been described as having a rather complicated take down process. There have been several obscure Israeli pistols over the years, the SD9 is just another example. (GRH)