Posted on 08/14/2018 4:44:34 AM PDT by w1n1
The most dangerous pistol ever made.
Back in World War Two Japananese forces used the Nambu Type 94 Pistol as their service pistol.
The Nambu Type 94 Pistol was chambered for the weak 8mm Nambu cartridge.
The magazine capacity was 6 rounds, a bottle-necked cartridge that only delivers about as much energy as 380.
The pistols are locked by means of a short falling-block that is mechanically interesting. Sights are comically bad, but to be honest there isn't a whole bunch about this gun that isn't.
Putting some lead downrange isn't bad, but the problem is you don't have to pull the trigger to shoot it.
So the type-94 has an exposed Sear bar - in theory, if you holstered it, that could rub something and go off into your leg.
There's all kinds of rumors and stuff that the Japanese would surrender to Americans like this [holding the pistol sideways, fingers on the sear bar] not sure if thats true or not. Read and see the video footage of the Nambu pistol here.
A young serviceman named Bill Ruger took one home and took it apart. He then proceeded to make the MK 1 .22lr Pistol based on its design. He was funded by young Alexander Sturm and Sturm Ruger was born.
Way different pistol.
Perhaps. I knew it was a Nambu. I knew of the daddy Nambu and the baby Nambu. The numbers escape me. Thanks for the info
I’m just happy they Founded S & R no matter what gun they started with.
I really miss My old P85MK-II. 9mm Double Stack 15 Round Mags, Triple Safety, fit My hand perfectly, nicely balanced and on Target every time. Never had any trouble with it. No Stovepipes or Feed problem with any Ammo be it inexpensive Aluminum Case or Brass. Round Nosed Lead, Ball or JHP, Factory or Custom Hand Loads All hundreds at a time for a grand total of thousands over the years. Even had some 35 Round Mags that worked flawlessly.
The weapon was apparently good enough to be used from a standing position on a human head at ground level or on a person in kneeling position.
Or, on their own temple inches away.
This pistol was originally intended for export (to what market is anybody’s guess), and only wartime needs pressed it into military service.
I tried that “press the sear bar” trick on one of these. It can be done...but you had to find the right spot, and it took quite a push.
Jack had fought in WWII and would tell me, the young history major, stories from time to time. The 1st one was about the Nambu he took off a Japanese soldier he had killed. He brought it and the holster into work one day.
I was cleaning my Ruger the othe day and I was thinking about this. I would have preferred he went to the European theater.
I thought Bill Ruger’s Mk I was based on the Finnish Lahti pistol.
My Father-in-Law gave me a type 14 he brought back from the war. It was an early model and surprisingly well made and finished.
It had the smoothest trigger I have ever seen. Also had the original holster and two mags. At the time I could not get ammo anywhere.
Very cool- you’re fortunate to have met.
P85 Ruger,,,
.
Boating Accident?
One of the curses of being a collector: we tend to be “know-it-alls”
Until we run into a higher-level collector!
The Type 14 Nambu is an attractive design (reminiscent of the Luger P08) and a great shooter when you can find the ammo.
Stolen:(
Crap.
All the newer models are hammer-less. I Like to see what’s going on Myself. Found a really ruff looking one on GunBroker a while back. I’ll just have to keep on the lookout.
I really liked the Safety on them. Flip the Safety and it disconnects the Trigger Linkage, blocks the Hammer from reaching the Firing Pin and Decocks it. Also has Ambidextrous on the Safety and the Mag Release.
I could Field Strip it in the dark or with eyes closed and reassemble it. I still remember the Serial #
I collect American military arms mostly. I do believe the LAST foreign weapons I’d own would be WW2 Japan with or without chrysanthemum.
Love to get a correct German Luger and P38. A 1917 S&W revolver would be good too.
I did recently pick up a Philippine Constabulary Krag Jorgenson. Is it Norwegian, is it filipino , is it American?. Oh it’s American designed by Norwegians. I don’t think it was ever fired much. It shot 2-3 feet high at 100 yards with any Ammo I tried. Replaced the front sight with a much taller sight. Any constable who did target practice with it could only hit targets at 20 yards or 400 yards.
The Nambu type 94 was quite possibly the single worst piece of crap inflicted on the armed forces of any country. You could get the damn things to fire without pulling the trigger by pressing down on the sear. Japanese sometimes tried this little trick when faking a surrender. Marines soon got very leery of the defective little pistols and just shot anybody who didn’t drop it immediately.
The Japanese were trying to save resources by switching from the much better Nambu type 14 - which is a pretty cool pistol. I have one.
The ammo’s not so hard to find these days. I’ve got a bunch for my type 14 with the early rounded trigger guard rather than the later flared out trigger guard.
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