BERETTA Tomcat & Bobcat Pocket Pistols:

 Beretta have made these small tip up barrel s.a pistols since the 1950s - in three calibers .22 rimfire , .32 acp, and no longer in .25 acp.

Both the 20X & 30X versions for 2025 are 8+1 capacity in either 22 Rimfire and 32 ACP while Beretta obviously are being controlled by puerile marketing executives full of bullshit & stardust-spin. - They are marketing a clever compact Pocket Pistol with the option of High Level Suppresser Sights, Suppressers, AND RED DOT mounts - all of which can add to its already unneccessary bulk caused by a protruding MAGAZINE EXTENSION .. there may be no flush mounted magazine option.

What's The Point?

This Beretta USA outfit likely will next offer a 33 Round stick magazine model with telescoping stocks and rifle sling .. ..

Fortunately Beretta US have retained the Tip-Up barrel feature that eliminates the need to rack the slide to chamber a round 

Look at those ridiculous 'catch all' stick-up sights ..

"Lets offer a tidy wee pocket pistol with FOUR different ways of making it way too big for your pockets" - if the raised sights arent big enough - you can put-on a battery powered optical dot sight.

"It's traditional .."

They've obviously discovered MIM metal injection moulding for the modern style flat trigger

- Despite the crap marketing - these guns remain good options for any american seeking a SMALL self defence carry gun - especially if they are handicapped by athritis or other issue that reduces their strength. 

ISSUES: They have beefed-up the weak frames claiming they now are 100% stronger, which is good - but they are a little heavier and fatter. The ammo used in either .22 r/f or 32acp will need to be tested while practicing with this MOUSEGUN .. 22 is a rimmed cartridge and the 32 is SEMI RIMMED. - Find the brand that works reliably and STICK WITH IT as these blow-back pistol actions without an extractor might be finicky little feckers.

There are plenty of reviews online that quote all of Berettas' bullshit sales speak and weird names .. but the fact is that the basic design continues to be interesting, and available to buy for around u.s.$500 in two low recoiling calibers, that will do the job - provided the shooter does hers/his.

Naturally - NOT AVAILABLE IN NEW ZEALAND.

If our western forbears persist in mass-murder russophobe warfare for the next 45 years there might be a chance that our local leaders could reverse their anti gun sentiments and restore our self defence rights .. but don't hold your breath.

Fit and Proper?

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE.

Marty K.

Old Mobb - Highwayman Hanged 30 May 1690 at Tyburn:

 I used to be a zygote - but now I'm a 81 y.o.

- that hanging may have been 18th September 1691. 

When they perfect Time Travel I will go back and see can I clarify the matter.

Old Mobb is said, more properly, to have the name Thomas Sympson. ref:

https://www.executedtoday.com/2014/05/30/1690-old-mobb-witty-highwayman/

Read the stories of daring-do as he sounds an OK sort of armed socialist ..

I was attracted to this story by the pistol our man is holding in the above illustration .. I have a couple that look similar but I have never been tempted to rob purses from vermin Tory parasites.

Old Mobb is recorded as having a wife and five children - Conversely he is reputed to have ridden his horses SIDESADDLE while dressed and made-up as a woman .. was our man an early member of the LGBTQ+  Rainbow community or did he just dress-up for a laugh?

http://www.britishexecutions.co.uk/execution-content.php?key=1794&termRef=Old%20Mobb

Here next are multiple tales and illustrations of Highwaymen operating around the City of Bath ..

https://historyofbath.org/images/BathHistory/Vol%2013%20-%2002.%20White%20-%20'Stand%20and%20Deliver'%20-%20Bath%20and%20the%20Eighteenth-Century%20Highwayman.pdf

I rather like the stories of these jokers doing their bit to redistribute wealth downwards - Don't you?

"A living cell continuously monitors its surroundings and adjusts its own activities and composition accordingly. - Cells also communicate by deliberately sending signals that can be received and interpreted by other cells .."

A lot of the people I've worked with over the years can't or won't do that.

Explanation: - I bought a large book. 'MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY' .. I'm trying to keep my brain alive by using it to learn new challenging stuff. - Yes I'm getting old and my axons & synapses seem to pause at times.

You have got 36 Trillion cells in your body all working together, destroying parasites, to keep you ticking along - while only 8 billion people on our planet can't seem to do the same to control political parasites ..

Yeah ..

ARE YOU FIT AND PROPER?

they are not

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE.

Marty K.

Mid 19th Century PERCUSSION CAPS:

If the good Lord intended you to shoot caps, He would have spread them out on the ground like he did flint .. 

Just because something is OLD and obsolete - doesn't mean that it no longer WORKS ..

Anyone want to stand and laugh in front of a 300y.o. flintlock .750" calibre Brown Bess?

Poke 'em on These ..

Rev.Forsyth's 'SCENT BOTTLE' rechargeable Percussion Primer System

That 300 year Flintlock Firearm age (from the early 16th century) - was doomed to ending once the advantages of fulminates - that ignited Gunpowder by a hammer blow, were appreciated.

Joshua Shaw in Philadelphia 1822, - Fancois Prelat of France,1818 - and Joseph Egg of London in 1817, all were involved in claims regarding 'inventing' the copper Percussion Cap in the same form that we recognise to this day, when placed onto the nipple of a PERCUSSION PISTOL or REVOLVER. 

Percussion Caps actually made the Revolver - into practical functional 'Equalizer' tools.

We don't know who but the when was the early 1820s, when the small but perfectly formed and convenient ignition system literally sparked an important advance in firearms development that dominated gunmaking by 1830.

When we had CAPS we also had PILLS

Religions consider that GOD created everything so it's obvious that HE created both gunpowder and the percussion cap - for which we gun owners might be thankful.

Augustin Primer TUBES for TUBE-LOCK PERCUSSION Pieces ..

The early PERCUSSION CAPS were made from copper sheet primed with MERCURY FULMINATE that worked very well, except for leaving corrosive residues. - Various other chemical combinations have been used for this percussion of the main charge - notably LEAD STYPHNATE but this compound is currently unpopular for leaving lead pollution that may be ingested.

MAYNARD PAPER CAP ROLL Primers were popular around 1850's

Note: We can make our own Percussion Caps - as have I .. using a kit from SHARPSHOOTER 22LR and their PRIME-ALL chemicals.  Link to my story:

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2023/12/diy-sharpshooter-percussion-cap-primers.html

There used to be choices of which makes and sizes of CAPS to buy for diffent guns - here I have Italian made, German made, and CCI from U S. - Now, after the GUN BANNERS worst efforts so far, it might be prudent to equip your home base with a Cap Maker Tool and the mixtures needed for DIY ignition into the future. Import them while you still may.

That is - IF you are interested in your Sport and Wild Harvesting continuing to SURVIVE for your family's future.

Homemade Aluminum CAPS Ready for Charging

Making your own gunpowder Propellant and Caps - or indeed FLINTS also - may be a sound investment for your future. - If you enjoy reading & learning from friendly folk .. Cast Boolits is the place to go on the Net. - Link:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?103852-My-homemade-black-powder

Home Cooking some 'Granola' ..

There was one HELL OF A LOT going-on mid 19th Century .. The GREAT FAMINE in Ireland 1845-52, - the last recorded fatal duel in UK 1852, - the Crimean War 1853-56, - the American Civil War 1861-65, - and the 1850–1864 Taiping Rebellion - the bloodiest conflict of the century, leading to the deaths of 20 million people in China.

This was the era of the Bessemer Steel Process, the Steam Engine, Traction Engines and the earliest Passenger Trains and the wire Telegraph .. indeed this period has been named The Second Industrial Revolution. - Such rapid manufacturing and technological advances happened, that a mere 30 years passed before the percussion cap morphed into the 'PRIMER' inserted into the base of every self contained METALLIC CARTRIDGE for use in most rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers .. many of which Politicians now restrict us from owning ..

Fit and Proper?

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE.

Marty K.

GUNS & GOLD Rushes

I reckon to being an odd sod because I find some weird stuff interesting .. one such is when I came across a novel link between 'Bully Beef'' - 'Billy Cans' and the Victorian era French 'Canned Boeuf Bouilli'. - Sorry if you always knew this, but when Railroad workers and Gold Rush adventurers found themselves out in the wilderness - the clever ones who planned ahead imported BOILED MEATS IN CANS to feed the hungry who failed in their efforts at living off the land.

BOUILLI meaning 'Boiled' in Napoleonic French ..

Those emptied meat tins were soon fitted with a wire handle

 and recycled as BILLY CANS.

Now .. I am assured that Bully beef/corned beef in cans helped end cannibalism in Fiji and the other Pacific nations - by providing a convenient alternative tasty meal - that is known in the islands as "BULLAMACOW" .. it being made from both bulls & cows. I reckon that it's also bloody fascinating that Bullamacow is nowadays very often  CANNED MUTTON from New Zealand.

Kiwi 'BULLAMACOW'

While trying to research 'DownUnder' history about gold & guns - I've found regular references to the aussie gold miners having a "MAD MINUTE" every night when they'd come out of their holes, humpies and sly-grog tents to fire their weapons into the dusk as a warning - that their camp was well defended by armed and brave men.

Mid 19th Century Gold Rush Era was also a 

Transition Time from FLINT to CAPLOCK to 'Cartridge'

Gold Rushes Starting California 1848, Australia 1851, New Zealand 1860's maybe?

Not being there at the time, I'd guessed that this may be at least partly fact based - as the many pioneers (including the gunslingers in the American Frontiers) all depended on their weapons for both food and protection - and would unload and freshen their gunpowder charges regularly, even daily, - as who knows how damp, greasy, compacted or depleted the gunpowder and Lead charge had become after a long hard day shoveling dirt and 'panning' in a icy riverbed or down a muddy hole.

A wise habit - if done deliberately and safely .. it would serve as TARGET PRACTICE - MAINTENANCE - & a warning to the neighbours that you were armed and ready - at least you might be - once you'd reloaded .. Best managed by having a second firearm to hand while servicing the first.

"The Australian diggings were certainly wild places. Note this comment from a Mrs Clancy, who describes a typical night on one of the fields in Victoria:
Imagine some hundreds of revolvers almost fired simultaneously. There was murder here, murder there, revolvers cracking, blunderbusses bombing, rifles going off, balls whistling, a man groaning with a broken leg, another shouting because he couldn’t find the way to his hole, and a third equally vociferous because he has tumbled into one.

Now, the reason so many diggers fired off their weapons late at night, was so they could reload with fresh powder. If the firearms were left loaded for several nights or so, the damp air was liable to seep into the chambers, etc and then when needed the revolver could have suffered a misfire."

Our modern anti-gunners seem to believe that every gun is a laser guided murder machine that automatically slaughters all it's innocent victims - causing evil, sickness and slavery to plague the world. - I predict that media images will be ever more fantastic when they advance to use AI to generate their dramatics & headline narratives.

Who needs the facts - all we want is NEWS  infotainment

You know, I suspect that even spiders and cockroaches can take offence - and have issues such as 'identity crisis', ignorance and 'beliefs'.

Fact: CRIMINALS commit CRIME and need controling.

8 out of 10 cats prefer bollocks to reality ..

The Australian gold rush led to the promotion of the 19 man Burke & Wills Expedition of 1860 to explore the interior regions .. (They died)

Burke & Wills - The actual Colt Revolver:

https://paulineconolly.com/2022/burke-and-the-revolver/

But this next outfit claims that flintlocks were "wildly inaccurate" and that British Gun Maker TRANTER made revolvers in Melbourne ..

https://www.goldgemtreasure.com.au/articles/history-through-the-barrel-of-a-gun

You NEED to be a critical thinker to survive all the bullshit and bollocks.

1852 - Man in COVID Mask Gives THUMBS-UP 

.. ah nah/yeah, maybe he is having a drink

NZ Police Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming has resigned with immediate effect amid an investigation into his conduct.

ARE YOU A FIT AND PROPER PERSON?

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE.

Marty K.

CARE REQUIRED: GENUINE, ANTIQUES, or NOT.

 “It is easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.“ Mark Twain.

Beautiful 20th Century Engraved 'Colts' - Made In BELGIUM 

"Model 1860s" made in the 1960s

These are lovely guns - well made in Belgium, perhaps superior to the Italian made replicas, and I'd be very happy to own one or more.

-Samuel Colt is said to have licensed Belgian companies in 1851 for 10 francs per gun .. check that with departed douchebag R L Wilson - but these are fine replicas - NOT Colts, nor Brevete Colts. They certainly are not antiques.

link: 

https://littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20e%20f/a%20fab%20armes%20unies%20de%20liege%20gb.htm

In New Zealand, an antique firearm is defined as a firearm manufactured before 1899 that is held solely as an antique (not a copy or replica) and is not designed or capable of firing rimfire or centrefire ammunition. Additionally, any firearm declared by regulations made under the Arms Act 1983 to be an antique firearm also falls under this definition. 

A while back, on trademe, there was listed an original Colt 1851 with a Colt .38 Conversion Cylinder. 

This antique revolver was in great condition - BUT was not an "antique" as defined by NZ Police as it 

used cartridges - and it disappeared off the site before closing.

______________

CENTAURE LIEGE BELGIUM: mark deposited by the “Fabrique d’armes unies de Liège” from LIEGE street Trappé, 22, registered with the proofhouse of Liege since 1920.

It manufactured counterparts of old weapons until 1976 and the sale continued until 1992.

I saw these on trademe ..

The Description:  

2x Antique pistols. The large one is marked Centaure liege belgium. Made in Belgium looks completely but would restore well. The small one is a Muff/pocket pistol no maker's marks. No license required as Antique.

The  small 'pocket pistol' looks right to me, - but NOT the Centaure .. but what do I know 😎.

- seller said ..my arms officer said the pistol is a true antique so no license required

I am very clear that these restrictive police imposed "antique" date rules are stupid, prohibitive nonsense having no value in controlling or preventing crime - but them's the rules 

Our police are all trained experts and know what they are doing ..

ARE YOU A FIT AND PROPER PERSON?

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE.

Marty K.

Licence Regulation. - Different Guns - Same Source?

Two pics to make a point ..

They both have a knife - One threatens deadly violence, while the other poses NO risk.

 - in fact the womans knife is LARGER and - she likely has several more knives close at hand.

IT IS NOT THE TOOLS .. GUN or KNIFE that is the PROBLEM. It is the unrestrained CRIMINAL

Here's two more pics ..

OR

Point made? - It's NOT the guns that are the issue.

____________

Here's two old Pocket Pistols that, - on the face of it, are completely unconnected:

- A Flintlock from HARCOURT of IPSWICH  .. very late 18th or early 19th Century - and

A Percussion Pistol engraved H NOCK of LONDON dating later around 1830-1840.

Both antique carry guns are 'Turn-off Barrel' Breech Loading, Boxlock Pistols, - both 'smoothbore' and both have a sliding 'SAFETY' behind their Cock & Hammer, - but the Flinter's barrel is .475 inch bore and 13/4 inch long while the Cap-Gun is .45" Bore and 3inchs.

Both are from fine English Gun Makers of high repute, supplying arms to their Monarchs - but, when the flinter arrived I noticed that the join-interface of the ACTION to STOCK was similar on each, - as also were the shapes of the Triggers and Trigger Guards.

Rolling them over onto their backs and ..

and there's that screw (centre) holding the action side-plate, intersected by the engraved line and each gun has the same three decorative 'slashes' cut into both sides of the tang .. 

And then there are the BIRMINGHAM  PROOF MARKS stamped into the underside of both powder chambers and barrels.

Seriously - I don't think either of these pistols was actually made by the named Gunsmiths engraved on the locks.

I reckon these common self-defence tools were routinely once made for The Trade by the outworkers of the Birminghams' industrial complex, where a well practiced group of contracters each conducted his speciality craft .. forging, filing, drilling, boring, polishing, woodworking, fitting, assembling, engraving, etc.

This contracting-out must have been standard practice for retail Gunshops then, as now. This loads their shelves with standard sales product while retaining the skills of their Master Craftsmen selectively to service the wealthy elites. 

They had their names engraved onto the locks and no doubt would stand-by their guarantees - but this ordinary stuff for ordinary users was the 'stock in trade' - much like modern 'Swiss Made' watches assembled using Chinese made parts. - Naturally their respective 'topline' products were built almost entirely in house.

"You gets no bread with one meatball"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po5rUasUWIg

Another common feature here is that both valued collectables are in rough condition having aquired corrosion and damage over the last two hundred years they've been used and abused, in well travelled lives.

__________

I was chatting to a neighbor - a retired Headmaster, nice guy, licensed,-  telling me he was going off Duck Shooting at the week-end .. 

- He did not know that our police are NOT required to have GUN LICENCES as he is ..

How would I fix our gun laws? - Well I'd make all Muzzleloading blackpowder pistols and long arms 'off licence' to all fit and proper citizens. - I'd require all owners of cartridge guns to be properly trained in SAFETY and checked and certified as Fit & Proper before issuance of a LIFETIME LICENCE updated with new photo ID for a nominal fee perhaps every 10 years by an INDEPENDENT AUTHORITY. - Collectors, Pistols and High Capacity magazines requiring Endorsed Licences and Registration. - Any Violent Crime history or Mental Health problems disqualifying from licence issue unless appealed and exempted. 

Recognition from police that Firearms Licence holders ARE Fit and Proper Persons and, as such, are qualified to serve as Auxiliary Police Constables.

- ALL sworn POLICE required to obtain and MAINTAIN the exact same civilian NZ Firearms Licence (Endorsed) and conditions, but with extra, thorough enforcement law and marksmanship training/certification.

ARE YOU A FIT AND PROPER PERSON?

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE.

Marty K.

Getting into HOT Water with RUST:

A man's rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.  Frederick Douglass

CLEANING:

This is how I do it .. I'm not telling anyone how to do anything - especially if you should be excluded from any working kitchen with sharp knives, hot plates, and smoking cooking oils.

For years I've used boiling water to flush-out corrosive residue from my shotgun barrels and Black Powder Muzzle loaders - and I'm pretty confident that doing this works very well to prevent corrosion. 

Yes, I have lightly scalded myself.

- Conversely, I have to confess that I did, once, totally neglect to take any cleaning action after a range day and when I next examined that particular piece it was disgustingly RUSTY down the bore - meaning I then had to spend hours working on it doing my best to fix it.

Working with boiling water and hot steel components has a risk of serious scalding burns .. YOU NEED to be very careful to work in an organised manner to eliminate all possibility of that roiling water splashing any body part - especially your LOWER regions when that liquid runs out with gravity. If you work with your social parts separated from the dirty bits that are contained inside a sink, you are getting there.

The beauty of this cleansing method is that the metal bits that have been flushed and hot scrubbed are hot and will self-dry, evaporating all moisture ready for oiling and servicing ( I use cheap 'canola oil' from the Supermarket ..

Warning: Hot things may be Hot.

________________

Old guns and genuine ANTIQUES will have damage, wear, and the dreaded RUST pitting.

'Experts' widely claim that RED RUST - which likely is Fe₂O₃, may be neutralised by boiling in pure water and, this active rust is converted into Black Iron Oxide Fe₃O₄ - stated to be more stable.

Hmm - I'm not too sure about this as I've tried it multiple times and the steel tool parts come out of the boiling fluid, looking to me, somewhat less gungy but still rusty.

Maybe my half-hour boil ups have been too short and I need to move to one hour plus (good times take time eh). - I'm still learning this stuff and I'm not denying the SCIENCE .. it's just that my results to date have been less than convincing.

This is crappy photography from my cell phone and the torch I'm shining into the hole seems to 'wash-out' the colour - but rest assured that there is STILL reddish-brown RUST in that corroded area at the inner end of the thread and this is after it being boiled twice and oiled.

Seriously - I'm not expecting the boiling to repair the centurys old damage - but it says 'on the box' that it will convert the bloody rust.

STOP PRESS: Mark Novak just posted a 9 minute, very useful video on RUST, PITTING, CARDING and Restoration work - Link ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qch-7pSmwOU

- I think there is some useful info in the 'comments' posted under the video. - Perhaps that's the trick .. boil and scratch .. boil and excoriate - repeat and treat ..

Now this last image (I promise) still shows brownish RUST pitting after a 4th boiling.

I'd call that 'A FAIL' - however the repeated boiling did darken/blacken & improve the outside surface of the barrel

- So I'm not convinced. - Well I'm not a natural "believer" anyway - so I've scraped-out all the brownish pitted areas with a steel pick .. the loose dust was blackish, and I have applied some CRC Rust Converter liquid with an artists bristle paintbrush all over the internal bore.

I'm informed that EVAPO-RUST type chemical mixes may be tri-ethanol-amine phosphate together with other miracle ingredients like water ..

This stuff HAS blackened the corroded internals and I will relax some after oiling it all over and giving the assembled antique gun a nice cuddle.

Warning: When boiling anything in the kitchen - You really do need to set a TIMER, if you leave the 'hood and are not going to stand there supervising. Time flies when you're having fun and, - you don't want to burn the house down or ruin your saucepan eh.

I DO Like Pretty Things (Birmingham Proof Marked)

Life, in general, is great,

Fit and Proper?

FIREARMS LICENCES FOR NZ POLICE

Marty K