Gun Works of Art: Emperor Franz Ferdinand's over-under flintlock pistol

 

This pistol was produced by gunmaker Bernard Wilhelm Ohligs in 1862-1863 as a gift for Emperor Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and ruler of the Hapsburg Monarchy.

This exquisite pistol is going up for auction by the Rock Island Auction Company, if you are interested, see more here.

Rather than describe this piece of art, I will just provide the pictures.

The PPSh-41: Soviet Submachine Gun from WWII

I want to apologize in advance for the formatting, the geniuses at Google still don't know how many eggs are in a dozen, thus they don't understand the concept of copy and paste from Word, the World's most popular word processing program. 

The PPSh-41: Soviet Submachine Gun from WWII - Randy Chanberlain

The PPSh‑41 (Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina model) was one of the most common infantry weapons of World War II. Designed by Soviet engineer Georgy S. Shpagin, it became famous for its solid construction, rapid rate of fire, and the distinctive drum magazine often seen in photographs from WWII.  By the end of the war, millions had been produced, making it one of the most widely manufactured submachine guns in history and an important weapon of the Soviet Red Army.

 

In the late 1930s, the Soviet Union realized the importance of automatic weapons for close-quarters combat. Earlier submachine guns, such as the PPD‑40, were effective but expensive and slow to manufacture because they required significant machining.  When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet Army needed a weapon that could be produced rapidly in massive quantities. Georgy Shpagin redesigned the concept around the stamped metal components, drastically reducing manufacturing time and cost.  The result was the PPSh-41, officially adopted in 1941.

The PPSh-41 operates on a blowback mechanism and fires from an open bolt.  It has a 10-inch chrome-lined barrel inside a wooden stock.  This design uses the rearward force of the cartridge firing to cycle the bolt, ejecting the spent casing and loading the next round.  The design included a switch in front of the trigger to toggle between semi-auto and auto firing, which was considered a valuable option.  The advantages gained by this design included mechanical simplicity, fewer precision parts and a reliable weapon in harsh conditions.  This made the PPSh-41 the perfect weapons for the Soviets to mass produce for the war.

This weapon uses the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge, originally from the 7.63×25mm Mauser cartridge used in Mauser pistols, which is comparable to .38 Super. This round offered high velocity (around 480 m/s or ~1,575 ft/s) and made good penetration for a pistol-class cartridge. It also fired at a relatively flat trajectory at short ranges.  One of the PPSh-41’s most important characteristics was how fast it could fire off rounds.  A typical rate of fire was 900 rounds per minute.  This allowed Soviet soldiers to deliver intense bursts of fire in urban fighting, which was important in places like Battle of Stalingrad.

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Two magazine styles were used with the PPSh-41.  The 71-round drum magazine, with its recognizable circular design and high ammunition capacity, although it was heavy and sometimes difficult to reload.  It also used a 35-round box magazine, that was introduced later in the war with more reliability and a lighter weight.  The early drums often had to be individually fitted to specific guns, which created logistical challenges.  The gun weighed 12 pounds when it was loaded with the 71-round drum and 9.5 pounds with the 35-round box magazine.  When the weapon was fired slowly, the accuracy was more controllable but at a higher speed of fire, the gun bounced and was less accurate and relied more on the volume of bullets and sweeping, than intentionally targeting.
 
The PPSh-41 was designed specifically for mass wartime production.  The key to its high production was stamped steel parts, minimal machining, simplified assembly and its wooden stock.  Because of its simple design, Soviet factories were able to produce over 6 million units during the war.
 

The PPSh-41 became a standard weapon for many Soviet troops, particularly: assault troops, tank crews, recon units and urban combat forces.  Its combination of high capacity and rapid fire made it especially effective in close-quarters combat, such as fighting inside buildings, trenches, and forests.

German soldiers sometimes captured and reused PPSh-41s because of their firepower. Some were even converted to fire 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition for use by German soldiers.

 

In 1944, there was an attempt made by Chief A.V Nadashkevich and engineer S. Saveliev to add a series of PPSh-41’s to the bottom of a Tu-2 bomber plane for mass fire power.  The Tu-2 bomber had a large bomb bay door in which they designed a skid with 11 rows of 8 PPSh-41 submachine guns to attach.  The guns were pointed downward for fire, and the cockpit was set up with a special sight so the Pilot could aim the weapons at a target.  When the pilot fired the weapon, all 88 guns would fire simultaneously. Each gun on the skid could fire 900 rounds per minute, however they only had a 71-round drum each, which only allowed a little over 4 seconds of fire power.  That was still 1,320 rounds per second for those 4 seconds, while flying 250 miles per hour.  The target range was around 1800 feet long and about 4 feet wide. The plane earned the nickname of the Fire Hedgehog. 

There was only one experimental plane that carried Saveliev’s skid.    The concept was great, but the execution proved to be a failure.  It took around 100 man hours to load all of the magazines, which wasn’t practical for fast missions and when the rapid fire would eject the casing, they would potentially get into the plane’s engine or create jams in other guns mounted on the Tu-2.  The problems were enough to prevent the Fire Hedgehog from ever making it to combat.

After the war, the PPSh-41 continued to appear in numerous conflicts around the World. Many countries produced their own copies or variants of the weapon. In North Korea, they were known as the type 59 and the Type 50 in Communist China. Vietnam modified the Chinese versions and named them the K-50M.

The PPSh-41 was eventually replaced in Soviet service by more compact designs like the PPS-43. The PPS-43 used even simpler stamped construction and a folding metal stock, which made it more portable and cheaper to manufacture. 

The story is very similar to the M1928A1 (Tommy Gun) being replaced by the M3 (Grease Gun) in the U.S. Military during the second World War. 

 

The legacy of the PPSh-41 became a long-lasting symbol of Soviet infantry during World War II. Its drum magazine, perforated barrel shroud, and wooden stock made it visually distinctive and widely recognizable.  Today it remains an important artifact of military history and industrial wartime engineering.  It demonstrates how weapon design can be shaped by the demands of mass production, reliability, and battlefield practicality. These factors helped make it one of the most influential submachine guns of the 20th century.
 

References:

·         www.WarHistoryOnline.com, Yes The Tu-2 ‘Hedgehog’ Could Fire 79,200 Rounds Per Minute – Like Carpet Bombing But With Lead, by Jack Beckeet, 3/20/2018

·         www.YouTube.com, The Iconic “Burp Gun” shooting the PPSh-41, @Forgotten Weapons, 12/16/2017

·         www.wikipedia,com, PPSh-41 Soviet-made World War II Era Submachine Gun

·         www.YouTube.com, Shpain’s Simplified Subgun: The PPSh-41, @Forgotten Weapons, 12/15/2017

·         WW2db.com, PPSh-41 Submachine Gun, by C. Pete Chen, 12/2007

·         www.thevintagenews.com, The Tu-2 ‘hedgehog’ could fire 79,200 rounds per minute, by Ian Harvey, 5/16/2016

 

About the author:
Randy has been a decades long member of the NRA, the Civilian Marksmanship Program and Washington Arms Collectors; he began collecting weapons in the 70's and has owned more than 500 weapons including the subject gun above. He will continue to contribute his vast knowledge of surplus and collector weapons.

Interesting Firearm Photos #96

 

Towns with Gun Names

 By Bobby Thurman 

Most states have names that come from native American or Spanish settler names. I was born and raised in Oregon, most of Oregon cities are named for other American cities in the East. For instance, we have a Portland, Dallas, Springfield, Arlington, Milwaukee, Detroit, Florence, Glendale, Jacksonville and Lake Oswego.

Below I have assembled a list of city/town names that are related to the gun World.

Colt's Neck, New Jersey: This township in central New Jersey is not named for Samuel Colt, it was originally called "Coltsneek" which I have read is a native American word.

Coltsville, Connecticut: This area along the Connecticut River in Hartford, was named for Samuel Colt as it encompasses his factory and home.

Colt, Arkansas: This small town in eastern Arkansas was not named after Sam Colt, but rather a railroad contractor

Cut and Shoot, Texas: A small city outside of Houston, it was named for a statement made by a small boy during a church argument?? No one remembers for sure what the argument was about, but they remembered the statement and named the town for it.

Earp, California: This unincorporated town across the Colorado river from Parker, Arizona was actually named after Wyatt Earp, he and his wife had a house nearby and when he died in 1929 the area was renamed after him.

Gun Barrel City, Texas: Sitting on the banks of the Cedar Creek Reservoir in northeast Texas, Gun Barrel City got its name from a road known as Gun Barrel Lane, a road which was said to be frequented by a depression era gangsters including Bonnie & Clyde.

Gunlock, Utah: This unincorporated area 15 miles from St. George was named for its first settler, William "Gunlock Will" Hamblin. He got the name as he was an amateur gunsmith and was good at repairing the locks of early flint lock rifles.

Gunsight, Texas: Now a ghost town, the former boom town is located due west of Fort Worth, it was named for the Gunsight mountains, which have a notch resembling a gunsight.

Guntown, Mississippi: A small town north of Tupelo, Mississippi, it was named after James G. Gunn who moved there in exile during the Revolutionary War. I guess lost one of the n's at some point.

Pistol River, Oregon: A small, unincorporated town on the southern Oregon coast, it was named for an incident during the Rogue River Wars in which militiaman James Mace lost a pistol in the river.

Point Blank, Texas: This town in east Texas (due north of Houston) was named blanc point by a French woman working as a governess for a local family, the word means white dot, white spot or white point in French, the town's name was later changed to the English version.

Remington, Virginia: a tiny, and I mean tiny town in Virginia, no one really knows who the town was named after, legend is that it was named after a conductor of the railroad that the town owed its existence too, probably not named after the New York gun making family.

Rifle, Colorado: Rifle Colorado was named for the Rifle creek that runs through it, the creek was named by early settlers when a rifle was found on its bank.

Two Guns, Arizona: Sitting 25 miles west of Winslow, it was originally named Canyon Lodge, it was renamed when the railroad came through. It was basically a railroad stop, that morphed into a tourist trap when Route 66 was built. Interstate 40 bypassed the town, and it is now just a mark on a map.

Whitneyville, Connecticut: An area in town of Hamden, Connecticut, it was named after the gun maker and inventor of the Cotton Gin Eli Whitney Jr.

Whitneyville, Maine: Named after Col. Joseph Whitney, who may have been related to gun maker Eli Whitney.

Winchester, Virginia: Not named after Oliver Winchester, the gun maker nor his company, it was named after Winchester, England.

Winchester Wisconsin: Not named after Oliver Winchester, the gun maker nor his company, it was named after Winchester, England.

Winchester, New Hampshire: Not named after Oliver Winchester, the gun maker nor his company, it was named after Charles Paulet (Powlett) the 8th Marques of Winchester (in England)

Winchester, Oregon: Not named after Oliver Winchester, the gun maker nor his company, this unincorporated area along the southern Oregon coast was named after two brothers (named Winchester) who assisted with the exploring expedition which mapped the area in 1850.

Winchester, Texas: This Texas prairie town, 25 miles from La Grange, was named in 1866 for the Winchester rifle model of 1866.

Winchester, Massachusetts: Not named after Oliver Winchester, the gun maker nor his company, it was named after Col. William P. Winchester, a wealthy businessman and member of the First Corps of Cadets.

About the Author:

Bobby Thurman grew up in the wilds of southern Oregon and has been around guns all his life, a navy veteran and SEALs applicant, he has participated in IDPA and other handgun competitions. His latest endeavor is to hit a human sized target at one mile with his Savage rifle in .338 Lapua.

Of Magazines, Folding Stocks and Bill Ruger

 It is National Buy A Gun Day again.....

Every April 15th, Americans use their tax refund to buy something, make that something a gun....

Let's just say, Bill Ruger was a dichotomy. He was a brilliant gun maker and businessman, but he didn't understand or perhaps comprehend what the anti-gun leftists wanted.

In 1989 he came out in support of magazine capacity limits, even going on mainstream media stating: "I never meant for simple civilians to have my 20 or 30 round magazines or my folding stock, and I see nothing wrong with waiting periods".

In addition, Ruger stated that:"no honest man needs more than 10 rounds in a gun". 

I don't think that Bill understood that the antigun leftists didn't want a magazine capacity limit or an assault weapons ban, what they sought (and still seek) is control, they want total control and must seize private weapons in order to get that.

Some say he supported the limits because it would hurt his competitors more than him, although plausible, I am not sure that is true. 

While I don't want to put words into Bill's mouth, but if you look at his choice of words we may discover something else: elitism. He used the phrase "simple civilians" as if Joe the plumber's rights are not as important as say a politician or wealthy business owner. Regular people don't use that phrase and "no honest man"?? WTF, how is it honorable to die when you didn't have enough rounds to dispatch the hoard coming after your family?

Until his death Sturm, Ruger & Co. did not sell magazines for the Mini-14, Mini-30 or 10/22 that were greater than 10 rounds to us "simple civilians". This, of course opened the door for aftermarket companies to produce magazines for those platforms, few of which actually performed as expected.

They also did not sell the folding stocks for the Mini platform rifles to the general public, only law enforcement and military customers were allowed these options.

All of that changed when Bill Ruger passed away on July 6th, 2002.

In September of 2009 Ruger introduced a "Tacticool" version of the 10/22 dubbed the SR22. It used an aluminum chassis that allowed the use of AR stocks, grips and floating handguards. Read more about the SR22 here.

That same year Ruger began selling 20 and 30 round Mini-14 & Mini-30 magazines to the general public. For several years the magazines retained the stamp that read "law enforcement and military use only".

Then in 2011 Ruger finally began offering a factory 25 round magazine for the 10/22

In 2019 Ruger introduced a new stock for their updated PC Carbine (re-introduced two years prior), this one came with a pistol grip.

Buyers can now have the option of a pistol grip, folding stock and a take down option.

Then in 2020 Ruger, working with Samson, brought back the factory folding stock for the Mini-14, dubbed the "A-TM" stock (they couldn't freely use the term "A-Team").

In short order they had them available for blued models and some for the 10/22, called the "B-TM" stock.

Now here we are in 2026 and Ruger is offering factory Short Barreled Rifles, 4 different models, two 10/22s, one PC Carbine and one American Rifle (bolt action).

While I am glad that Bill Ruger lived and started the great company that he did, but I am also glad that Bill is no longer running the show. 

I think many of us have learned that no amount of capitulation to the left, no amount of compromise will ever be enough. It seems ridiculous to even consider surrendering your rights to people who want to put their boots on your neck.

We saw their true nature during COVID, when the left wanted us to be fired, banned from society and put in concentration camps for not getting an experimental vaccine.

Marlin Model 60 rebuild part 2

 If you missed part 1, click here

The parts gun I purchased were from a mid-80's gun that included the Last Shot Hold Open (LSHO). I decided to use the action from this rifle (1981 vintage) on another project (soon to be posted) this is possible because the actions were close enough in vintage (1981 vs 1985 or so). The method of attaching the action is different, but to convert the older style using plastic "chicago style" bolts to the newer style, you just find the appropriate size roll pin for the front and the factory split plastic pin for the rear

The old method, on the 1981 rifle

and the same receiver with the 1985 vintage action

I did this for two reasons, one was that the parts gun came with the LSHO and I didn't have another stock that had the provisions for it.

The second reason is that I needed to use the 1981 action on the 1974 receiver which was going into an older walnut stock that lacked the LSHO provision. See the picture below, the botton stock is an early style (pre-'77) the middle one is from the 1981 vintage, and the top stock is the 1985 vintage rifle.

I took the 1985 action and gave it a quick once over with some Hoppes #9, it was surprisingly clean.

After attaching the action to the receiver, I dug up the newer style trigger guards that I had. I used the one on the bottom as it fit the stock better.

If you didn't know the first step is to attach the trigger guard to the stock using the short screw and a T-nut

Next install the rear trigger guard and the front take down screw, don't tighten either one until both are started. I happened to a have a factory take down screw that I rebuled a while back and the trigger guard screws are the ones I sell on ebay.

The rifle is now complete and ready for test firing