Both the Army’s USAMU program and the Marines’ (recently retired) Scout Sniper program seek to have memorials produced.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is holding a special auction of a highly collectible SA M1D Garand sniper rifle (SN 3112737), including all original GI parts such as the original MRT 2-52 leather cheek pad, T37 five-prong flash hider, and correct M84 scope (13712).
The rifle will be available on CMP’s Online Auction site beginning Nov. 18, with bids accepted until Nov. 30, to raise funds toward a U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) Exhibit at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia “in the hopes of contributing to the preservation and legacy of U.S. military marksmanship programs and ensuring future generations learn the significance these units have played in national defense and marksmanship excellence.”
Marine Scout Sniper Monument
The Marine Scout Sniper War Memorial is a planned monument in the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia that will honor the legacy of Marine Scout Snipers.
The memorial will feature a bronze World War I observer with a Brodie helmet and a slung M1903 rifle, assisting a more modern Marine sniper with an M40A6 rifle.
The USMC Scout Sniper Heritage Foundation is raising the cash needed to build the memorial. One way is by selling raffle tickets for an authentic Marine M40 sniper rifle used in the Vietnam War, complete with an original “Greenie” Redfield scope.
While visiting Walther’s state-of-the-art factory in Ulm, Germany earlier this year, I came across my favorite pistol that carries the company’s iconic banner.
Walther has been around in one form or another, and one location or another, to the 1880s. Whenever you say the company’s name in a conversation, the immediate Pavlovian response is typically PPK, PDP, P99, or P-38.
However, my favorite Walther is the seldom-seen, and almost unheard-of, P4 (also seen as “P38 IV”).
A factory cutaway of the P-4 in Walther’s Museum in Ulm, Germany. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
A shortened version of the P1– which itself was an updated P-38– the P4 was adopted by the West German Border Protection (Bundesgrenzschutz) and Customs (Zoll) agencies during the chilliest days of the Cold War.
Official wartime caption: “Lining up for their first target practice. Revolver practice. 1940, naval ratings receiving revolver instruction. They are under the guidance of commissioned gunner, F.E. Bisson, RN, who has been a gunner for over 30 years.”
All photos by the prolific shutterbug, LT Sidney James Beadell, Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve (Sp), one of the official naval photographers.
“This Leading Seaman was a builder before the war and is receiving his first lesson in the handling of a revolver.” Observe the notebook and pencil in Gunner Bisson’s jacket pocket. IWM (A 1196)
IWM (A 1197)
The positions are textbook– right out of the Royal Navy Field Training Handbook, H.M.S.O., 1926:
Plate 43, for reference. Note the Tar in the manual has a larger MK VI Webley and canvas holster.
IWM (A 1198)
The wheelguns are early (likely Mk Vs) bird’s head gripped 3-inch Webley .455s, weapons Gunner Bisson was no doubt well acquainted with as they were first adopted in 1913 and used in the Great War. The leather holsters, for the most part, seem to be for the bigger MK VI.
As most revolver training seems to have been done aboard a ship, the fact that Gunner Bisson is conducting the evolution at a shore establishment may point to the trainees being selected for dockside or armory security duty.
80 years ago this week. Original wartime caption passed as censored: “Moostdijk, Netherlands, 11 November 1944. Sgt. Laughlin, of Motherwell, is the section leader of the advance section of the Royal Scots and is a dead shot with the German revolver he has “collected” for self-defense since his arrival in Holland.”
Photo by Sgt. Laing, No. 5 Army Film and Photo Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit. IWM B 11761
Of course, the “revolver” is a latter production FN (Browning) Hi-Power with a more basic rear sight rather than the adjustable tangent sight. As the typical sidearm for most of the Commonwealth’s foot soldiers was the S&W Victory model, Enfield No. 2, or Webley Mk IV, all of which offered just six rounds of anemic .38/200 lead heads, the 13+1 shot 9mm Hi-Power was an upgrade for sure, especially if it had a couple of extra magazines on hand.
Gratefully for all involved due to the good sergeant’s trigger discipline, the hammer is down so NDs aren’t on the immediate menu.
Walther has reached into the vault to bring back one of its most classic designs, now refined and ready for a new century. Like a spy in from the Cold, the PPK in .32 ACP has returned unexpectedly, and we have the debrief.
The background of the gun is well established. In a nutshell, Fritz Walter, the heir to the famed Carl Walther rifle works, moved in the early 1900s to expand the company into handguns with a line of simple blowback pocket pistols to compete with models like the Colt Vest Pocket and Pieper Bayard. Moving to more advanced designs using a workable single-action/double-action trigger system by the 1920s, the Polizei Pistole, or PP series, soon became a smash hit, despite it being twice as much as the company’s earlier models.
While not the first DA/SA handgun on the market, the PP was much more successful, and soon an abbreviated version pitched as a detective’s gun, the Polizei Pistole Kriminal, hit the catalog in 1930. With a 3.25-inch barrel and offerings in not only .32 ACP (the original PP’s bread and butter) but also spicier .380 ACP, which was then and still is seen as big medicine for European LE types, the sleek, almost Art Deco, PPK soon filled holsters and desk drawers.
The Walther PP/PPK has some serious history to it. (All Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
A huge driver for the gun came from pop culture. While the Walther PP series appeared on screen in films as early as 1938, it was the James Bond film franchise that kicked the pistol into the stratosphere. Sean Connery’s Agent 007 was first issued a Walther in 1962’s “Dr. No” to replace his favored .25 ACP Beretta.
It would continue as his standard through his six-film run and go on to be picked up off and on by successive generations of Bonds.
The pistol is iconic, and in many cases can be a work of art, as shown here at the Walther factory in Ulm, Germany.
By 2013, with the market demand for the .32 waning in favor of the .380, Walther put the models chambered in the smaller caliber to bed.
Now, with improvements in bullet and propellant design leading to the resurgence of 9mm over .40 caliber, and .380 seen as the new 9mm, and .32 seen as the new .380, the stubby little round is much more popular these days.
So, it should be no surprise that Walther is bringing the “old” caliber back for both the PPK and the PPK/S, in stainless and black variants. We have been testing one for the past couple of months.
John Moses Browning was the Leonardo da Vinci of American gun making and his long relationship with Winchester, Colt, and FN changed the entire industry. The inventor of numerous “pocket pistols” of the 1900s (FN M1899, Colt 1903/1908 Pocket Hammerless, FN 1906 Vest Pocket, FN 1910) as well as the calibers they were chambered in (.25, .32, and .380 ACP), he probably did more for early 20th Century concealed carry than any other man.
One of his longest-lived designs was the well-liked FN Model 1910. A striker-fired, blowback action, single-stack .32 ACP (7+1 capacity) or .380 ACP (6+1 capacity) semi-auto with a 3.16-inch barrel, it remained in production for a solid 73 years, including military and police use in dozens of countries. Many of its traits such as the grip safety were familiar to past Browning designs. Other hallmarks, like its recoil-spring-wrapped barrel, were borrowed by later designs of the period such as the Walther PP/PPK and Makarov PM.
The M1910 proved so popular that FN produced it in a lengthened version (the M1922, which had a 4.46-inch barrel) and eventually managed to import it to the U.S. consumer market via the Browning Arms Company of St. Louis and Montreal starting in the 1950s.
The Browning Model 1955 was just a re-branded FN Model 1910. Made in Belgium, they began importation to the U.S. and Canada in the mid-1950s, hence the model number. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Then came the Gun Control Act of 1968, which, among other restrictions, placed an arbitrary list of requirements on imported firearms into the U.S. to meet a “sporting purposes” test. This included mandatory length and height requirements that left pistols such as the Walther PPK and Browning Model 1955 coming up short.
FN’s answer? Stretch the Model 1910, err, Model 1955.
This led to what is known as the Model 10 of 1971, or the 10/71.
Surplus M1911 Sales: As many of you just saw, we recently provided a detailed update on the status of this operation via social media and the CMP Forum. In summary, we assess that the CMP is still several months from resuming the sale and transfer of M1911 Pistols. Throughout this process, CMP staff members worked tirelessly implementing strengthened M1911 operations – with an increased workforce dedicated to the distribution of these pistols, all while CMP armorers continue to inspect and prepare pistols for sale.
Round four orders will be fulfilled once sales resume; followed by new orders. We have a large quantity of pistols on hand and can fulfill all round four orders and many thousands more once we resume sales. As we indicated in the previous update, after round four we will proceed with an open and continuous order process (no more rounds) and fulfill orders on a first received-first fulfilled basis.
But, don’t send in new orders in yet. We will promulgate guidance once we have a better sense of when sales will resume. We also expect the two pistols/person per lifetime limit to remain in effect for the next year. While this restriction is not codified in the law, it is guidance from the Department of the Army. The CMP will review options with the Army later in FY25. Again, we apologize for the unexpected delays within our M1911 program and are eager to once again distribute these exceptional firearms.
AMC classes restarting
The Advanced Maintenance Class (AMC) is a three-day course in Anniston, Ala., for those who wish to take their passion for the timeless M1 Garand rifle to the next level. Set within CMP’s Custom Shop, the AMC offers participants the chance to receive unparalleled, one-on-one training from experienced CMP armorers on headspace, barrel installation, component function, maintenance, and more – all absorbed as students construct personal rifles from CMP’s arsenal of authentic M1 Garand parts.
Additionally, students will receive a guided visit to the CMP South Store and Talladega Marksmanship Park to view the grounds and fire their newly crafted rifles from the course.
Due to the popularity of the classes, registration for the AMC will be based on a random drawing. Registration for the random drawing will be open from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. Registering for multiple classes is permitted, but no applicant will be selected for more than one slot. Former AMC participants are welcome to sign up for 2025.
The terms “silencer” and “suppressor” are used interchangeably in the firearms community, and we are here (hear?) to tell you the story of how this came about and which term is more correct.
Going back to the 19th century, “devices for the lessening the noise of firearms” were patented as far back as 1894. However, it wasn’t until Hiram Percy Maxim, a man uniquely obsessed with making loud things quiet for the sake of hearing protection, that the first trademarked “Silencer” (big S) came about in 1909.
Dr. Shush
Why was Maxim interested in hearing protection? A big part of this was because his father, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, generally regarded as the inventor of the modern belt-fed machine gun, went quite deaf after long periods of exhibiting his guns for interested clients sans ear protection.
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim seen showing Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII, around his gun, and depicted in a 1904 caricature.
The junior Maxim began working on his acoustical mufflers in 1902 and by 1909 started securing a series of patents on “Silencer” and “Silent firearm” devices. His Connecticut-based company first was branded as the Maxim Silent Firearms Company, and later the Maxim Silencer Co.
Maxim, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, even marketed himself as “Dr. Shush.” Following in his father’s footsteps, he was his own best spokesman for his products and stressed how they made shooting safer and more enjoyable.
Maxim was a showman. (Photos: SilencerCo)
He successfully landed a series of large newspaper interviews in 1909.
The allure of a “noiseless gun” was sure to draw headlines. (Photos: Library of Congress, Chronicling America newspaper archive)
The company sold not only a series of Silencers but also couplings to attach them to barrels and instructions for gunsmiths and hardware shops to thread barrels for the screw-on devices, interestingly advocating a rather fat (by today’s standards) 20-thread pattern. Silencers could be purchased by mail order for $5, about $160 in today’s inflated dollars.
Were Maxim’s designs truly silent? Not at all, but it was great branding, especially when he had to fight for market share against a crowded field of contemporary competitors. Matthew Moss, writing for Small Arms Review, notes at least nine inventors at the time (Harry Craven, Anthony Fiala, Charles H. Kenney, Herbert Moore, Robert A. Moore, Eugene Thurle, R.M. Towson, Andy Shipley, James Stinson, et. al) were seeking patents for similar devices, with several ultimately going on to market them with mixed success.
There are few period tests between these 1910s-era firearm mufflers. The Army’s Ordnance Bureau, which ordered 100 of Maxim’s devices and 100 from Robert A. Moore’s firm for tests on the M1903 Springfield, preferred the former, noting that “it was possible to give perfectly audible instructions when the Silencer was used.” It was estimated to have reduced noise by as much as two-thirds. Given the technology of the era, that had to be what could best be described as a wild guess.
World War I era cutting edge: M1903 Springfield with the M1913 Warner & Swasey Musket Sight mounted. It also mounts a Maxim Model 15 “Government Silencer,” October 1918. The Army maintained its stocks of Silencers until 1925. (U.S. Army photo via National Archives)
Common Vernacular
In the end, Maxim’s Silencer (which wasn’t silent), won the marketing war and emerged as the Dr. Pepper among a crowd of Mr. Pibbs. Teddy Roosevelt used one to quietly zap tin cans around the yard without disturbing the neighbors and exchanged personal correspondence with the inventor. Period cartoons even gagged about noisy diners being offered “Maxim Soup Silencers.”
Maxim’s company went on to market Silencers for motorboats and automobiles on much the same principle.
Maxim upsized his Silencers for other applications.
The public had so associated the Silencer with firearm report moderators by 1934 that the National Firearms Act hearings – which largely started as an effort to ban most guns in the country, including all common pistols and revolvers – used the term no less than eight times. While handguns escaped the government regulation, silencers (little “s”) did not. Never being banned outright on the federal level, they were instead hit with a $200 tax, which adjusts out to $4,800 in today’s terms. The silencer term, enshrined in 1934, is still on the books in the U.S. Code, retained in the 1968 Gun Control Act, and used by the ATF today – an organization that was only established in 1972.
In the meantime, the repressive tax largely killed the American suppressor industry until the 1970s, when companies like Mitch Wer-Bell’s SIONICS and Dr. Phil Dater’s AWC (now Gemtech) began quietly (see what we did there?) operating. By then the stifling NFA tax, frozen at $200 since the Depression, had been whittled down to a more manageable outlay thanks to the federal government’s habit of printing fiat currency in an economic pinch after Nixon ended the gold standard.
What About the Term Suppressor?
In today’s terms, “suppressor” has largely supplanted and replaced “silencer” in use, starting with patents filed in the 1980s. The term is more correct as, while the devices moderate and reduce the sound signature of a muzzle report, they do not remove it. In most cases, despite what Hollywood would lead us to believe, while suppressors paired with subsonic ammunition that removes the “crack” of a projectile breaking the sound barrier can be made hearing safe, you can still hear the gunshot, albeit muted.
As detailed by the American Suppressor Association, suppressors typically “reduce the noise of a gunshot by an average of 20 to 35 decibels, which is roughly the same as earplugs or earmuffs.”
Even the most effective suppressors, on the smallest and quietest calibers (.22 LR), reduce the peak sound level of a gunshot to between 110-120 dB. To put that in perspective, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), that is as loud as a jackhammer (110 dB) or an ambulance siren (120 dB). For normal caliber handguns and rifles, suppressed sound levels routinely exceed 130 dB, just shy of OSHA’s “hearing safe” threshold of 140 dB.
For reference, check out this Taurus TX22 with a SilencerCo Switchback, one of the better rimfire cans on the market, firing standard velocity .22 LR ammunition.
It’s quieter, but you can still hear it.
In addition to noise abatement and hearing protection, the use of a suppressor can also help with firearms training, especially as it curbs the traditional “crack” to a more manageable “pop.”
Is it a “silencer?” Not really.
Is it a “Silencer?” Only if made by Mr. Hiram Percey Maxim’s Silencer Company.
Is it a suppressor? Yup.
So in other words, to turn a phrase, a Silencer is a suppressor but a suppressor is not a silencer, despite what the media says about potatoes.
Much like the long-discontinued Taurus Model 80 and Rossi Model 68, guns now some 30 years out of production, the Heritage Roscoe is a simple and rugged .38 revolver that looks good and doesn’t break the bank.
It has the look and feel of a vintage S&W J-frame but without the cost – and, unlike a classic Smith or Colt Dick, you can take it to the range and beat on it without losing any collector value. Plus, it has some modern features you didn’t find in those guns such as the transfer bar and heavy barrel profile.
The 3-inch variant runs an inch or so longer than a snub gun, giving a longer (4.97-inch) sight radius while wringing more velocity from the ammo used – all while being very concealable.
You can always get one and turn it into a budget Fitz Special, which seems like a great choice if looking for that.
Is it the best .38 for concealed carry or personal defense compared to more modern designs with shrouded hammers, better triggers, options for adding optics, and weight savings via the inclusion of aluminum and polymer? Not even close, but it can still clock in when needed.
It is no slouch in terms of practical accuracy and is rated to run .38 +P on occasion.
It’s nice to see the Heritage time travel with the Roscoe, which is a bit of fresh air, albeit with a twinge of cigar smoke to it.
Dark Mountain Arms may be a new firearms maker, but they come with a history of innovation, and their first product, the Stowaway, keeps that track record intact.
We’ve been following this incredibly light takedown rifle since it popped up on the radar earlier this year and actively testing one for the past couple of months.
A simple new platform from Fletcher, North Carolina’s veteran-owned Dark Mountain Arms, the Stowaway system is a single-shot, bolt-action takedown firearm initially being offered in 5.7 NATO, but as it is multi-caliber via an easy swap of a bolt face and barrel, future options on the table include 9mm, 4.6×30, .22 LR, .22 WMR, .17 Mach2, and .17 HMR.
An easily packable design with a weight of less than 3 pounds (2.8 pounds for the 16-inch threaded barreled rifle and 2 pounds flat for the 5-inch barreled pistol), the gun can be stowed in two primary pieces and then easily reassembled.
