Topic: a haunting sense of familiarity

Retrieved: 12/07/2013

The Grant-Hammond autoloader was submitted to the US Army in the trials that led to the adoption of the Colt 1911.

These pictures are excerpted from Horst Held's web page: http://www.horstheld.com/0-Hammond.htm

Held says the gun was made in 1917, but I have a 1935 book saying it was 1908. Either way, it's a long time ago.

Internally the Grant-Hammond used some kind of wedge lock for the bolt instead of a turning bolt with lugs. But for some reason, the gun looks vaguely familiar, somehow... I just can't put my finger on it...

TRX302
Oct 23 2012

Skipping entirely over the 20th century and going back to 1898, we have the Schwarzlose. It doesn't look quite so familiar on the outside, but inside it has a short-recoil action, rotary bolt and other familiar features. Note that it is striker fired instead of hammer fired.

The book (Textbook of Automatic Pistols by R.K. Wilson, 1935) has some pictures and drawings of both the Schwarzlose and Grant-Hammond, but the images are old-timey dot grayscale and small. I snagged these images from the 'net.

Both pistols are close together in the book, which just enhances that haunting sense of familiarity...

TRX302
Nov 17 2012

Hmm. I got a copy of Hogg's "Pistols of the World." It says that after the Grant-Hammond was passed over by the Army, High Standard bought the rights to it.

Not only does the Grant-Hammond look kind of familiar, but the story rings a bell too...