MILITARY AUTOMATIC PISTOLS

It is the military use of pistols which has doomed the revolver.

During the war, England was the only country which still retained the revolver as regulation. Every other country had adopted the automatic pistol in its place.

There are two opinions as to the proper calibre for a military pistol. England, having to fight savage tribes, had always preferred a large bore pistol with stopping power. Fanatics who do not value their lives can do a lot of mischief, even if wounded fatally, by a small calibre bullet, before they die.

On the Continent a much smaller calibre is deemed sufficient; a .32 or .38 or a 7 millimetre, whereas England and the United States consider .45 or .455 the best size.

In my opinion the United States .45 Regulation Colt Automatic pistol is the best of all army pistols. (See Plates 13 and 14.) The way it was chosen should guarantee this.

It was first chosen because it passed all the military tests such as sand, rust, and freedom from jamming under rough usage. Then it was put into the hands of all the best pistol shots in the United States and their reports examined. It has, therefore, not only passed military but expert shooters’ tests, and alterations were made in accordance with their reports.

It may seem a great presumption on my part therefore to suggest an improvement, but I have been a big-game shot all my life and used ivory front sights, and I think a black front sight is a mistake.

I am sure a white or silver front sight is the only practical one.

This morning I went out before daylight after deer. It was very misty and I saw a stag eighty yards off, hardly distinguishable in the mist and darkness. My white front sight shone like a star on his shoulder when I took aim and I had no difficulty in taking the shot.

A black front sight would have been so indistinct that I should have missed or rather not fired at all, as I do not like making a mess of a shot and letting an animal go off wounded.

It is self-evident that if you want anything to be as visible as possible you paint it white.

White reflects light better than any colour. If you distribute twenty white, thirty yellow, fifty red, and eighty blue spots over a piece of black paper they look to the eye as being of equal numbers, owing to the blue being so inconspicuous compared with the red, the red compared with yellow, and the yellow compared with the white.

PLATE 13. UNITED STATES ARMY REGULATION .45 COLT AUTOMATIC PISTOL

Capacity of magazine, 7 shots. Length of barrel, 5 inches only. Length over all, 8½ inches. Weight, 39 ounces. Finish, full blued, checked walnut stocks.

Cartridges. Calibre .45 U. S. Government, 230 grain bullet. Calibre .45 Colt Automatic, 200 grain bullet. (Both rimless; smokeless powder; full jacketed bullet.)

White being the most conspicuous of all it takes fewer spots of white to dominate. As these spots are on a black sheet of paper very few spots of white would draw attention from all the colours.As ivory is fragile, a big silver or plated bead front sight is better for a military automatic pistol or rifle.

The first thing I did when I got my United States .45 Colt Automatic pistol was to put on it a white silver bead front sight, first removing the regulation black knife edge front sight.

I then made the U in the hind sight very big. This pistol has been carried through the war by my chauffeur, W. Francis, who entered the Russian Army as a volunteer and has gained the St. George’s cross for bravery and he is delighted with the sighting of the pistol, and can do very rapid shooting with it.

For practical use of the pistol in war, self-defence, or duelling, what is needed is a strong set of sights which can hardly be injured under the roughest usage; sights which can be seen instantly in a very dim, as well as strong light.

The best sights for such purpose are those which are used on duelling pistols.

It is most extraordinary that all pistol sights except the French duelling ones are so very unsuitable.

The military front sight consists of an upright narrow rod as seen when aiming. This is very thin and high and is black, with the top, when it has been used for any time, polished a dull grey, from use.

The hind sight has a very minute notch in it. The result in aiming is as follows: You faintly see a very thin black rod with a hazy top against the dark object you are trying to shoot.

By searching for it very carefully you see a microscopic notch in the hind sight, much too small to enclose this rod when aiming.

You cannot keep your elevation in shooting. As soon as you try to take the top of this front sight in your minute notch you lose sight of it altogether.

The rod so blocks the notch that you do not know if you have the front sight centrally in the notch or at one side.

In fact if I was asked to devise a set of sights to prevent a man being able to shoot well, the regulation military sights are what I would choose.

If strong enough the ivory ball would be the ideal colour for a front sight, as it is a dull white, instead of the reflection which sometimes comes from silver highly polished.

What is called “frosted” silver would be a good surface for the silver front sight if it did not tarnish.

The back sight should be just high enough above the barrel to avoid blur when the barrel gets hot, but otherwise the lower it is the better, having a big U-shaped notch large enough to enable the white front sight to be seen in the notch when showing a slight ring of daylight all round it; both sights as low on the barrel and as far apart as possible.

This combination of sights is seen instantly without any searching or eye strain. All you have to do is to look at the object you want to hit, paying no attention to sights, till your fully-outstretched arm, coming up by sense of direction, points the pistol at the object, and you see before your eyes this silver ball in the middle of the U of the back sight.

Snap-shooting is made more difficult with military sights on a pistol and accounts for many men being blamed for being bad pistol shots, whereas, it is really the fault of the sights. I cannot make good shooting even at a stationary target with such sights and for rapid firing or at moving targets my shooting is much inferior to that with the same pistol, when fitted with duelling sights.

I can understand the English-speaking nations not using duelling sights, as very few ever shoot a duelling pistol, but that the Continental nations, with their knowledge of duelling, have not adopted duelling sights is to me very strange.

The same remark applies to military rifle sights which are such as no big-game shooter would dream of using.

METHOD OF OPERATION

A loaded magazine is placed in the handle, and the slide drawn fully back and released, thus bringing the first cartridge into the chamber, leaving the hammer cocked and the pistol ready for firing.

If it is desired to carry the pistol fully cocked, the safety lock may be pressed upward, thus positively locking hammer and slide. The safety lock is located within easy reach of the thumb of the hand holding the pistol and may be instantly pressed down when raising the pistol to the firing position.

PLATE 14. UNITED STATES ARMY REGULATION
.45 COLT AUTOMATIC PISTOL. SECTIONAL VIEW

To lower the cocked hammer, draw it back with the thumb until it forces the grip safety in flush with the frame; at the same time pull the trigger, then lower the hammer with thumb.

SAFETY DEVICES

It is impossible for the firing pin to discharge or even touch the primer, except on receiving the full blow of the hammer.

The pistol is provided with two automatic safety devices:The automatic disconnector which positively prevents the release of the hammer unless the slide and barrel are in the forward position and safely interlocked; this device also controls the firing and prevents more than one shot from following each pull of the trigger.

The automatic grip safety which at all times locks the trigger unless the handle is firmly grasped and the grip safety pressed in.

The pistol is in addition provided with a safety lock by which the closed slide and the cocked hammer may be at will positively locked in position.