Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

327 страница из 495

By the beginning of the 21st century, even companies that were making pistols with more modern features decided to get on the gravy train and began making their own 1911 pistols. Companies such as Smith & Wesson, SIG-Sauer and Taurus introduced 1911s.

The 1911 design, now a century old, seems to be at a peak of popularity.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In the 1890s, the semiautomatic pistol was successfully introduced to the firearms world in Europe. In 1893, the Borchardt became the first commercially-successful autoloader, followed by designs of Mauser, Bergmann, Mannlicher and Luger. To these European developments was added one with an American name — Browning. John M. Browning’s 32-caliber pocket pistol was introduced in 1899 by Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Belgium. Early developments were relatively small in bore size, ranging from less than 30-caliber to an upper limit of 9mm. Around the turn of the 20th century, the concept of a larger-caliber semiautomatic pistol had been experimented with in several countries, including Great Britain. However, it took a design of American inventor John M. Browning to bring a truly successful big-bore pistol into being. Browning, along with his handgun work for FN, had provided designs to Colt. Colt saw promise in military sales and introduced a Browning-designed 38-caliber automatic in 1900. This caliber appeared to be a favorable one, as the US military was by then using 38-caliber revolvers.