All three of the above pictures are from icollector.com. The top photo is the Broomhandle Mauser. The second pistol is an Interarms Mauser Luger. The bottom picture is Stoeger's take on their .22 version of the Luger.
Well, in this age where almost every cool gun is being made into a .22 version, I wish one of the makers would realize the market for a .22 that looked like a broomhandled Mauser. There have been previous attempts by Stoeger and Erma, and probably others, to make a decent .22 luger. I've shot several of the Stoeger versions, and both had a propensity to jam. A LOT.
But if you are so inclined, either now or in the near future, you can by any number of .22 1911's that range from crappy to very cool. You can get a .22 that looks like an HK submachinegun with a fake barrel extension/suppressor. Smith and Wesson and Colt/Umarex and many others are making .22 versions of the venerable AR-15 or M4 or whatever the designation is these days in numerous configurations.
Of course, for many decades you've been able to buy multiple .22 versions of the Single Action Colt Peacemaker and the Winchester lever action rifle. And more brands and models come out every year.
If you like, you can get a AK-47 in .22 and a Beretta M9 (or whatever it's called) in .22 as well. ISSC has version of .22's that look like Glock pistols as well as a copy of the FN Scar rifle. Very soon, the Umarex Uzi rifle and pistol will be for sale at your local dealers. If you wanna play like you're Steve McQueen doing his bounty hunter thing, you can get the Henry Mare's Leg for a very reasonable price, under three smackers.
So where, I say, is the decent Luger copy chambered in .22? As I mentioned, the Stoegers that I shot did not impress me enough to buy one of the guns, although they were a bit largish for a Luger copy. I've never seen any Erma's in person, and I could be wrong about whether they had a toggle or not, but it seems like they fell short in some way of really resembling a Luger.
Surely, with the space age metals and plastics currently being used in the firearms industry, some really talented R&D folks could design a great copy of the Luger that would reliably fire the .22 cartridge. I've handled and even shot a few real lugers, and ever since I saw that deeply blued Interarms Mauser 9mm Luger in the early seventies at the Post Oak branch of Oshman Sporting Goods in Houston, Texas, literally in the shadow of the Galleria. It was the seventies, and my dad was thinking seriously about buying that pistol. Back then, Interarms imported Walther and Mauser Lugers and they had some nice ones in stock at that store. My dad ended up not buying that pistol, but I recall it's excellent construction and overall good feel
Although I've shot a few Lugers, I've never owned one, but would like to. And I'd really rather have a very nice .22 version that shined like that Interarms Mauser I saw that day in the 1970's. Although out of the centerfire pistol ammo catagories, the 9mm is probably the cheapest to shoot by far, it'd be nice to be able to shoot a Luger A LOT with some real cheap ammo, like the good ole' .22.
Likewise, since childhood, I've been fascinated with the Broomhandle Mauser pistol. I had a biography of Winston Churchill as a young man, and the cover photo on the book (not W.C. but a model), was shown as a late teen holding a broomhandle Mauser. Over the years, I've seen a few at gun shows and at places like Collector's Firearms in Houston, but I've never had the chance to shoot one. If I could find one in a halfway decent caliber for a halfway decent price, I'd snatch it up.
But nonetheless, it would be another great historical gun to make into a .22. Or even better, chamber it for some real interesting calibers. How about the 5.7 x 28? Or maybe even some larger calibers, and the skies really the limit here because the magazine goes in front of the shooting hand, so you're not limited in size as in a grip magazine gun.
A Mauser Broomhandle replica pistol shooting 5.7 x 28 or perhaps the 5.45 x 39mm would be extremely cool. Just think. A double stack mag on a Broomhandle in a very decent caliber. BAM!
And the list of .22 imitations goes on and on...
Hmmmmmm....
ReplyDeleteMy old Bolo is "shot out" and not worthy of a full restoration, but it sure would be cool to have the barrel line and chambered for .22 LR. Somewhat more problematic is a magazine insert, but that does not look to be impossible.
I think that would be possible. You'd have to get a firing pin set up for rimfire but that ought not be too big a taask for a real gunsmithy.
ReplyDeleteI shoulda figured you'd have one of those, my friend!
the problem is, there is not enough recoil energy in a .22- to remotely operate the action!
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