Jacob Shaw UnderHammer, Part 2 - Bottom Chamber, Revolver:

Last night here in The Hurunui it was properly "a braw bricht moonlicht nicht" .. and it FROZE.
- there definitely were no brass monkeys around this morning 😙

- Because of ongoing interest in my first post about the Jacob Shaw Under Hammer ..

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2016/01/jacob-shaw-underhammer-percussion.html

.. about this wee gun - I've tried to take a second look - but I can't find any useful news .. these bottom chamber firing guns are going to remain obscure unless someone out there can find another specimen to examine:

Rock Island Auctions records having sold an engraved model of this innovative cap-n-ball revolver for $8,625 on 8th December 2007 (Lot No. 3198). Sadly there are no images posted on the web site.

Link:  https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/42/3198/jacob-shaw-underhammer

However, their lot description is detailed and informative .. if only Ian McCollom had managed to produce one of his superb video reviews!

Here's a Link to a (Russian?) 'Pistols History' site recently found:

http://historypistols.ru/blog/kapsyulnye-pistolety-i-revolvery/kapsyulnyj-revolver-underhammer-jacob-shaw/

Image From Patent No. 17698 Dated 30 June 1857.

These compact percussion revolvers seem to have been "before their time"  & and their many advanced features may have been the cause of them failing to sell - folk tend to stick with the familiar. - Maybe a lack of "Marketing" or perhaps the guns had other failings .. I guess that the cylinder indexing mechanism being exposed to the combustion gasses will have made cleaning a regular chore?

- Sorry but all the images I have found appear to be from one only gun.

Marty K.

Very GREAT Again - Even The Supreme Court:

Donnie 'Superlative' Trump wants to make America GREAT again, as do the UK's Brexiteers - promising to make Britain GREAT again.

 - I think both are hugely deluded morons - and that the old 'Albion' - where giants once dwelt within the white cliffs of Dover - is a much better name for those horribly overcrowded islands that are nearly the 52nd State:

They are all welcome to such GREATNESS.


The GREAT SMOG of London , early December (5th - 9th) 1952 killed some 12,000 people. I REMEMBER IT .. at times you couldn't see your raised hand or your feet when looking down.

THE GREAT WAR needs little introduction with some 16 MILLION Deaths 1914-1918.

In 1851 London held THE GREAT EXHIBITION in Hyde Park - Conservative aristocrats of that era were in panic that the visiting crowds would form a Revolutionary Mob.

In July & August 1858 we had THE GREAT STINK when London's main sewer - the River Thames caused three outbreaks of cholera and eventually lead to Parliament doing something about the crap that was making their lives so unpleasant in Westminster's riverside Houses of Parliament.

Some time earlier (1st May 1707) The Kingdom of GREAT BRITAIN became a sovereign European State - Well they couldn't call those islands "The United Kingdom" because there were so many uprisings & attempted revolts there.

The use of the word "GREAT" with "Britain" actually originates in the French language, which uses Bretagne for both Britain and Brittany. - French therefore distinguishes between the two by calling Britain la Grande Bretagne.

"Let's Take England Out Of Europe." !!

THE GREAT DANE was so called in England because breeders feared that anti-German feelings would prejudice dog owners against Deutsche Dogge or 'German Mastiffe'. They're known as "gentle giants".

THE GREATEST GUN might be Adolf Hitler's GUSTAV GUN - when he specified "a gun able to pierce a meter of steel, seven meters of concrete, or thirty meters of dense earth." - Krupp quickly complied, presenting Hitler with the Gustav Gun—named in honor of family patriarch Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach.

 The biggest gun ever built, it weighed a crushing 1344 tons, including its railway carriage. With its breech block, the entire machine stood 4 stories tall, 20 ft. wide and 140 ft. long. Moving, positioning, loading and maintaining this monster required a 500-man crew commanded by a major general.

The Gustav's 800mm bore accepted either of two giant projectiles: a 10,584-pound high-explosive shell or a 16,540-pound concrete-piercing shell. Though it didn't deliver the range of the Paris Gun, the Gustav could strike targets up to 29 miles away.

THE GUSTAV GUN. (Schwerer Gustav)

- The last of THE GREAT AUKS was killed in the mid 1840s by collectors wanting specimens - before they were all gone - poor little seabirds.

The last British GREAT BUSTARD passed in 1832 - but just to finish on an 'UP' note - these birds are being re-introduced with RUSSIAN chicks.

- Great eh,

Marty K.

Long Range SNIPER KILL Records:

It surprises me somewhat in this weird "Politically Correct" era - that our Government's Military Leaders still release fascinating but macabre new records of long range enemy kills.

It's a little like a "Rainbow" L G B T (QQ)(I)(AA) group doing a Press Release claiming a new record 'high' for the simultaneous number of same similar-sex "lovers" mating in a public toilet.

UK Underground 'Cottaging' (or 'Tea-Room') Facility.

- Still, our Military from time-to-time continue to post their latest achievements - mostly using .50"BMG caliber and .338" Lapua Magnum caliber specialist cartridges.

McMillan TAC-50 Long Range Rifle.

Wikipedia reports that In mid-2017 an unnamed Canadian special forces operator using a McMillan Tac-50, - based in Iraq, had set a new record kill at 3,540 meters (3,871 yards in Old English) using Hornady A-Max .50" ammunition,

 - extending the record previously held by British Corporal of Horse Craig Harrison at 2,475 meters (2,707 yd) using his .338 Lapua Magnum Accuracy International L115A3..

Accuracy International L115A3 Rifle.

An English mile measured 1,760 yards  - so that current .50 Cal. record is 2.2 MILES - (3.54 kilometers)  - depending on the terrain - this might be a half hours walk away to get to & confirm the targets cadaver status.

Hornady A-Max .50" - MUZZLE Velocity 2,820 feet per second 

- What would the retained velocity be at that 2.2 Miles distance?

(at 500 yards it will have lost 450 ft/per/sec. and have already dropped a full yard)

 ________________________________

LockBase B408  .338 Lapua Magnum Caliber Bullet (250 grains?)

LAPUA are located in Finland, - 

Accuracy International .. who claim to be makers of 'The worlds Best sniper rifles' - are based in Portsmouth England.

- McMillan Firearms are based in Phoenix, ARIZONA USA  and Hornady Manufacturing are based in Grand Island, Nebraska USA.

- In reality - most credit for these phenomenal six to eight seconds flight-duration distant hits must go to laser range-finders - hand-held computers with ballistic prediction &  meteorological software, - and to very still air.

Russian military in Syria are competing for this crown using LOBAEV SVLK-14 Sumrak rifles:

The Russian Lobaev company claimed it builds 

"the most accurate long-range sniper rifle in the world."

Caliber: .408" CHEY-TAC (Cheyenne Tactical).
Long Range 419gn & 305grain Short/Medium Range Projectiles.

Marty K.

.. Also somewhat interesting is how "Good Manners" or 'political correctness' says that we don't often openly talk about dying, bowel movements, smelly bodies, or our useless Government Leaders. - It's that 'Denial' thing again eh.

Australia Deploys Unmanned TRITON Patrol a/c:

It is our coldest period here in NZ - for the next month or so .. The low temperature seems to be pushing our local Harrier Hawks into riskier behavior while scavenging road kills. Beautiful birds eh.

Our Trans-Tasman neighbors have announced their purchase (costing a total AU$6.9 Billion) of six long-range unmanned patrol drone aircraft.

Quoted costs include a Main Operating Base, MOB - and a Forward Operating Base FOB - plus spares etc.

The Northrup Grumman TRITON MQ-4C aircraft will work in close co-operation with the US Navy who plan a fleet of 68+ of these patrol aircraft.

The MQ-4C TRITON is known to be able to stay air-born for 30 hours at speeds up to 610 kph.

.. A New Zealand gender-neutral spokesperson said: "We've bought a big powerful drone from  BunningsWarehouse and plan to hold joint exercises as soon as the batteries are charged." 

Marty K.

Dad's Army - There Was A 'MUMS ARMY" Too:

WORLD WAR II
We are generally told that women who joined the Armed Forces in WWII served in "Supporting Rolls" - but there must have been many exceptions.

On the evening of 14 May 1940 the Secretary of State for War, Anthony Eden, gave a radio broadcast announcing the formation of the Local Defence Volunteers and called for volunteers to join the force by enrolling at the nearest Police Station. - There was quiet a rush of volunteers - including many women - who in some instances were promptly set to work behind desks enrolling the male volunteers.

Winston Churchill, who had assumed the position of prime minister in that May, became involved in the matter after being alerted to a problem of the Local Defence Volunteers being disappointed & unpurposed - with little official function or duty, - obtaining a summary of the current LDV position from the War Office on 22 June.

 - Churchill wrote to Eden stating that, in his opinion, one of the main causes of disciplinary and morale problems stemmed from the uninspiring title of the LDV and suggesting that it be renamed as the 'Home Guard' - And despite opposition - on 22 July 1940 the LDV was officially renamed the Home Guard.

Churchill's Home Guard - "Dad's Army" was a real force with a number of secret roles. This included sabotage units who would disable factories and petrol storage following invasion.

 Members were also recruited into the commando teams of the Auxiliary Units, an extremely secretive force of more highly trained guerrilla units who would act in support of the regular army during any military campaign to resist invasion, operating from secret underground bases dug in woods, in caves, and concealed in all sorts of interesting ways. More than 600 of these secret bases were hidden to support units ranging in size from squads to companies. - This was to be the core of THE RESISTANCE if invaded by Hitler's Forces:

LINK to excellent Daily Mail history of these RESISTANCE hideouts:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2066415/The-British-Resistance-The-true-story-secret-guerilla-army-shopkeepers-farmworkers-trained-defy-Nazis-suicidal-stand.html

- Back in the previous war - The Women's Defence Relief Corps was founded by Mrs Dawson Scott in September 1914 to induce women to undertake any work which would free men for the fighting line. In the Spring of 1915 the members started working on the land, and in 1916, 465 women were organised in squads for land work.

The WWII Home Guard would not officially admit women to its ranks. Some women formed their own groups like the Amazon Defence Corps. But in December 1941, a more organised but still unofficial Women's Home Defence (WHD) was formed by Dr Edith Summerskill, a Labour MP.

 WHD members were taught weapons training and basic military training. Limited female involvement was officially permitted in the Home Guard on the understanding that these would be in traditional female support roles and not in any way seen as combatants.

Many fought against this unofficial arrangement. - Chief among them was Edith Summerskill who sought a combatant role for women in the force. But she was only partially successful.

 In April 1943 it was formally announced that women could be officially enrolled in the Home Guard. But they would be issued only with a small, plastic brooch badge, and would not be permitted to carry weapons, let alone train with them, despite the fact that from the start of the war women had trained with weapons.

 The largest organisation was the privately organised Women’s Home Defence Corps. The women of the WHD, which claimed 30,000 members in April 1943, undertook rifle training, and often practiced on shooting ranges with local Home Guard units.

Women in the Home Guard were, at first, given the rather unflattering title of “nominated women”, but this was later changed to Women’s Home Guard Auxiliaries along with a better badge. The government set a ceiling of 80,000 women in the Home Guard in early 1943. But a year later only 30,000 women had enrolled - many of whom had already been unofficial members.

Home Guard Badge.

Another small Local Defence Unit which formally recruited women from the outset was the Upper Thames Patrol. Established in June 1940, they provided waterborne and shore patrols along the River Thames up to Oxford. Unable to recruit enough male drivers, the commanding officer recruited women instead. This photograph shows a woman piloting a motor boat on the Thames.

Of the 1.5 Million members of The HOME GUARD - a small but very significant number were women.

Marty K.

P.S. Have any of you young folk signed-up to be a Trump Space Cadet Marine  yet? .. it's the best, biggest, greatest American future eh.

Protector Palm Pistol - New Model Needed?:

Back in 1882 in France - Jacques Turbiaux patented and made his ("8mm Turbiaux" caliber) double-action 'TURBIAUX LE PROTECTOR' - and the very next year an American version called "The Minneapolis Firearms Co. PROTECTOR' was underway .. the US story of these 'palm pistols' is involved .. with wasteful court cases and delays that interfered with their manufacture & sales .. but total production appears to have eventually reached around 150,000 units.

.. Soon to be followed by the Chicago Protector Palm Pistol:

These guns were forms of a "turret revolver".

Cut-Away Sectioned Chicago Protector.

- Made in both rim-fire & center-fire small .22" and .32" calibers, - the second and third versions each became slightly larger than the previous model and perhaps less finely made .. BUT this "handy !" wee design was a properly functional repeater that worked using a simple squeeze grip rather than a precise trigger press .. this seems to me to be superior to the recent single shot Constitution Arms model meant to give an option to amputees and handicapped:

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2018/05/self-defense-for-disabled-constitution.html

Surely a modern D/A Stainless-Steel version of the old repeater PROTECTOR Palm Pistol would be a good seller? - The first obvious caliber choice would be a .22" Long Rifle and then further models in perhaps center-fire 32" and .38" would be natural.

- How about a laser aim-pointer activated by the "safety catch" (#17 above).

Modern 'lost-wax' casting and metal injection molding combined with molded polymer parts and coil-springs would surely make production feasible. If you can make & sell "Derringers" a modernized repeater Palm Pistol must be easy and obvious.

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons reviews and describes all three iterations of the antique guns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv4ekzpWdFk

- And here is an excellent series of animations showing the general functioning and assembly of those early Palm Pistols:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMYYvjmnTsM

- And here is a series of good 3D parts images:

https://grabcad.com/library/le-protector-8mm-palm-pistol-ca-1890-1

What more do you need to start planning production? - Plenty of scope to develop within the minimum weight of 105 grams required by the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 (3.7oz of steel - half the weight of the steel in a Glock 17)( Yes it is all bullshit!)

How about it - anyone in Texas?

Marty K.

Squeezer - Palm Pistols. Antique & Modern:

Squeeze-Cocker & Palm-Pistols were made & used from the late 1800s right up till recent times - and while their sighting systems  limit their accuracy at distance - the squeeze-firing process hugely eases their use for manually handicapped shooters and amputees.

- Certainly their 'different' profiles and shapes might help hide their function .. but it's the squeeze operation that would make life easier for the disadvantaged if needed as an "Equalizer".

 Renovator 1889 (France) - 6 Shot 6mm.

 Brun Latrige 1894 (Manufrance) Several Iterations In 5mm (10 shot)& 8mm.

Le Vainqueur

..engraved "bte BDSG" means "without government guarantee".

French 5 Shot ROUCHOUSE & LE MERVEILLEUX 6mm & 8(7)mm? (1897)

____________

 Manufrance Gaulois Palm Pistol -1890s - 5 Shot 8mm.

 BAYLE 1879 - 6 Barrels.
____________

 Tribuzion (Turin, Italy) 1890? - 7mm.

______________

- Shooters Could use two fingers (or a thumb) to squeeze fire the 'UNIQUE'

UNIQUE Squeeze-action as Sold By C.S Shattuck in US (WRONG Spelling on guns!) - Was Designed & Patented by Oscar Mossburg in 1906 - Who Called It 'The Invisible Defender'

And there was a further UNIQUE version detail-modified & patented by C Vanderbilt in 1915.

History Here Linked:

http://historypistols.ru/blog/pistolety-pod-unitarnyj-patron-nesamozariydnie/pistolet-unique/

And ... https://www.forgottenweapons.com/shattuck-unique-hideout-squeeze-pistol/

____________

Chicago Palm Pistol.

 Bondhus CL380 Double Barrel -  USA Introduced 2014.

Constitution Arms Palm Pistol - Single Shot Prototype - Developed 2008.

____________________

George S Webber SQUEEZER (Chicago ) 1905

Patent No. 788866

.32" Rimmed Center-fire - 3 7/8" O/A Length

Striker fired.

http://www.waynedriskillminiatures.com/miniature-firearms/full-size-webber-palm-or-squeezer-pistol/

________________________ 

This Modern PRESSIN Squeeze-Cocker - Shaped Like An Office Stapler 
gets TWO Images - To Enforce Which End Is The Muzzle ..

Llama , Gabilono y Chia - Spain.  'PRESSIN' 7.65x15mm (.32"acp Short) 1977-1995

- Squeeze it like a Stapler. Patent Nº 463,479

Gentle squeeze for one barrel .. forceful-press fires BOTH barrels.

Known 'Pressin' Owners are King Juan Carlos I, President Ronald Reagan, & Charles, Prince of Wales.

Alloy Frame 120mm, - Barrels 80mm.

1,000 units made.

http://www.littlegun.info/arme%20espagnole/llama/a%20llama%20pressin%20gb.htm

All these unusual squeeze-cockers would give choices to disabled shooters.

Marty K.

Montiahus Palm Pistol.

After researching & writing 1,036 blogs I've got something NEW to try .. I've signed-up to Patreon. - In over five years I've not made one cent from this .. NOW you can send me a wee support $ - starting from $1. to get all this stuff from New Zealand - over a year that's nearly the price of one Shooting magazine. - Am I worth it?


https://www.patreon.com/posts/24075745