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Exclusive Web Blast Extra: Rarest Of Rare
More Pictures Of The Browning Hammerless And 1910
During our visit, we took hundreds of photos of the guns. Since we only had a limited amount of room in the print edition, I thought it would be good to share many more of the photos. These are the rough pictures, un-edited or photo-shopped, but they will still give you insight into these unique guns. We haven’t captioned them since there are just so darn many, but by comparing images here with those in the magazine you should be able to sort out what-is-what! Enjoy!
By Roy Huntington
>> Click Here << To Read Full Rarest Of Rare Story In The July/August 2012 Issue
WEB BLAST EXTRA
The entrance to the Browning Museum in the Union Station building
is unassuming — but treasures lie inside!
Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Bill Laughridge holds up
the two reasons we were there — the “Hammerless”
(left) and “1910” models.
Had to share this with you since I wanted honest to
gosh documentation that yes, I had my paws on these
two rare guns! It was a wonderful feeling to know that,
almost beyond any shadow of a doubt, John M. Browning
had his hands on these very prototype pistols as he nursed
them into being. It was like shaking hands with the old gent himself.
The museum has a stunning collection of full-auto Browning designs too.
A sort of family photo here. The “Hammerless” followed by
the “1910” and the final result: the iconic 1911. Here, a very
early 1911 is shown, also from the museum.
The “Hammerless” Model
The “1910″ Model
Order Your Copy Of The July/August 2012 Issue Today
Great article. I look forward to hearing more about my hero, John M. Browning. I hope to visit Ogden one day myself. I enjoy your magazine.
Roy,
Thank you so much for bringing us these pictures of the hammerless .45 ACP prototype. I had e-mailed you back in 2009 that these pistols were shown on Page 39 of the Sept/Oct 1977 edition. Aside from this prototype, there was an even earlier hammerless .45 ACP prototype based on the parallel-ruler design used with the M1905 and M1907 trial models.
Even more thanks are due for showing the M1910 prototype. Now can we lay to rest the gunzine guff that the grip safety was the last feature added to the M1911?
Best wishes,
Daniel Watters
D.E.Watters@thegunzone.com
Contributing Author at The Gun Zone (http://www.thegunzone.com)
Another neat thing about the hammerless prototype is that you can see the origins for features that Browning incorporated in his initial prototypes of the High Power. They disassembled in the same fashion. The en bloc breech/extractor/firing pin assembly was rotated and removed from the the rear of the slide. Only then could the slide be pulled forward off of the frame over the barrel.
Perhaps Browning took to heart complaints of what could happen if the slide-lock of the parallel-ruler designs failed or was left out during reassembly.
Best wishes,
Daniel Watters
D.E.Watters@thegunzone.com
Contributing Author at The Gun Zone {http://www.thegunzone.com)
I’ve been looking over these photos so much, I nearly forgot to read the rest of the magazine!
That said, doesn’t it look like JMB was flirting with an en bloc fire control here? The ejector housing is tongue and grooved into the frame, and it looks like it comes around the sides of the hammer. Also, what’s up with the hole on the rear horizontal surface of the frame tang? I wonder if that wasn’t added to allow for the insertion of a pin to hold something in place for assembly/disassembly. There is precedence for this as the M1900 and M1902 parallel-ruler designs had a pin hole underneath the frame dustcover for the insertion of a pin (or bent paperclip) to hold the recoil spring partially compressed during field-stripping. (And you thought that this was just an evil racegun/full-length guide rod kluge!)
I wonder if a flexible fiber optic borescope might be helpful in taking a peek at the guts of the pistol’s fire control parts without requiring further disassembly.
Best wishes,
Daniel Watters
D.E.Watters@thegunzone.com
Contributing Author at The Gun Zone (http://www.thegunzone.com)
Loved the article and pictures. What an opportunity! I was surprised that you didn’t wear nitrile gloves. What does the museum use for a lasting corrosion preventative?