Second Shots:

So how many of you excel at "Double Taps"?  - Come on be honest ... moi I can pull the trigger way faster than I can get the recoiling gun back onto target - which means most of the time - the second hurried shot fired is a round into the outer zones.

- Sounds impressive though .. No big deal if it's two-two or re-loads eh - but if it comes out of a factory box with colourful images of the latest wonder expanding projectiles - you're going to get home with a lighter purse or wallet. - Better to take a little more time aiming while you repeat after me "FRONT SIGHT - FRONT SIGHT ..."

The very BEST Way To Make Fast "Double-Tap "Snake Eyes" Is To Load Your Own DUPLEX Rounds Each with TWO Projectiles .. Except Jacinda & NZ Police Have Made That PROHIBITED AMMUNITION:

FIVE Shots .. TEN Magnum Holes - Before Recent NZ Law Changes.

Anyway - The story is "if at first you don't succeed - try - try - & try again"

- So I have actually got my #1 MAB-D slide locking back using the safety switch ... after EIGHT  second attempts involving disassembly and careful work with a fine file on four separate contact faces & re-assembly .. Have you noticed that it's always the last thing that you try that works? 😈

Both of my vintage MAB Model D's NOW lock-back-open to show clear ..

The "SAFETY" switch - which I prefer to call "the danger switch' now manages the useful function of holding the slide open on both firearms.

Treat all guns as loaded at all times. Never point any gun at ANYTHING you don't want to destroy.

I have also file-adjusted the rear sight notches so that I can see the front blade alignment through my specs ... and have also lowered & squared the front blade of #1 and re-blued using Birchwood Casey   Perma Blue  paste.

Note: I see that one U S gunsmith charges $25 to widen your sight notch.

Original Sights on left - Enlarged (& Re-Blued) On Right:

- sorry about 'rubbish photos' But I have limited skills eh.

The first bought gun had three nasty small 'dings' on the worn blue of the front face of the trigger guard .. much improved now by using P1200 emery paper and the bluing paste .. So of-course I'm now thinking that the lightly speckled rust and scratched/worn blue of the slide might be worth a try ?? - Hmm - how good is that perma-blue?

A small aside .. It was interesting to see that the back/hidden face of the safety lever was stamped with the last two digits of the serial number. - But it was also strange(ish) that both of these Banque de France 7.65 mm pistols had the front sight top profile ground or filed under the bluing at an angle 'off-square'. - How often would you reckon that French bank guard pistols might have been fired?

- So next trip to the range involves test firing both post-war .32" pistols again to see just exactly where they now impact on target .. getting closer to the middle I hope.

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Ah, - a second shot at 'Knock-Down Power' .. I was rearranging my Gun Digests in their bookshelf and took a look at my oldest one from 1962 - there on page 57 Warren Page writes KNOCK DOWN NOTHING .. where he points-out that a two ton motorcar WILL knock down most U S animals while a 200 grain bullet can never manage that - whatever it's velocity. - If hit properly .. they fall down under gravity.

They had science way back even then in 1962.

- Have you ever noticed how making rolled-oats porridge shines-up the inside of a stainless steel pan - provided you didn't burn it black by having it on the heat for too long?

- Life is extra good eh.

Marty K.