Vintage Firearm to order? Or resources on exact specs?

[mottleyfool]

I am trying to pick out a period and character-appropriate firearm for my MC 1930's detective (1932 to be precise). I was all set to give him a Colt M1911 .45. Easy to come by, reliable, more "modern" than a revolver. Setting is England but MC is wealthy and well-travelled, so origin/price is no obstacle

Comments

[rokeon]

Seconding the above- give him something he can tuck in his pocket or an ankle holster, even a man is going to have times when a big .45 isn't right for the occasion.

A Colt Model 1903 could work- .32 caliber (there's also the model 1908, which is .380), popular with civilians and gangsters in that era. Supposedly carried by both Al Capone and Bonnie Parker, so definitely qualifies as unisex.

[landrews]

Seconding both ideas. My immediate thought was the Colt. It was/is reliable, common, and smaller than the 1911. For knock down, the 1908 would be best, but for a private detective, I'd think the 1903 would be fine as any gun usage would be more likely to be threatening rather than actual and for actual use, he'd probably be firing it within feet of his target, rather than taking anything into public or the streets.

[paintitblack]

Agreed about the Colt 1903/1908. My grandfather(who worked for the OSS during WW2; shame I never found out exactly what he did) carried a 1903 and was pretty disappointed when he found out he couldn't buy it after he left the service. They were also, as previously mentioned, pretty popular concealed carry pistols during that period.

I have concealed(note: I do this within my local laws) an M1911 on many occasions and it is doable(I'm a guy, about 5'10 and 200lb), but 'ol Slabsides is a pretty big, heavy chunk of steel to be hauling around all day. The weight and size is the primary reason I switched to a smaller, polymer-framed pistol, although those definitely weren't around at that time.

[mottleyfool]

Thanks, I will check out those earlier colts.

I am not too worried about kick, as the FC will only be using it once point-blank and once to threaten. If it kicks/hurts her hand, that is actually something I can use for red herrings.

[alivion]

Another thing to remember is that a smaller gun is going to have a LOT of kick and be more difficult for less-than-strong person to use. If the concern is only the character's ability to use the gun, a great big one shouldn't pose a problem at all. If we're more worried about her fitting it in her purse or hiding it in the folds of her dress, though, that's another matter (but I guess she could carry a largish purse for the era). The problem with a lot of "purse guns" is that they have so much kick that the typical person who would want to carry one isn't able to hold it steady enough to get off a good shot.

[stickmaker]

I don't think anyone would describe the .32 ACP as having a strong kick, regardless of gun weight. :-) On paper it is a pipsqueak, barely an improvement over the puny .25 ACP. However, in practice, for some reason it often punches above its weight class. Still not a good choice for stopping an assailant

[spartakos]

Some options, other than those mentioned

[mottleyfool]

Wow! Thanks! That 10-round Savage is also very slick looking.
Some great sites and easy to read, thanks very much.

[spartakos]

You're very welcome...always happy to help.

Something else I should have mentioned; since your character is European rather than American, he would probably refer to a .32 ACP as a 7.65mm Browning. Might call the .380 a 9mm Browning, or a 9mm Short.

[vivaine3]

Not a gun enthusiast here but I've known a few. A female friend of mine used to promote the Walther PPK as a good sidearm for women since it's small and reliable, with more stopping power than a .22 cal, and, in her view, it had less kickback than other models. It was developed as a police sidearm in the early 30's and marketed to the public.

This site has more details than I really understand, but it has a good comparison picture for size. If your MC is based in England this early 1930's this model would be a state-of-the-art upgrade from the 1910's models.

And now the experts can skewer me ;D

[spartakos]

Not at all...and in fact, I'm a trifle embarrassed. I didn't mention the Walther guns because I thought they weren't produced until after 1932 (I saw them as more "WWII" arms, and in fact they weren't issued to the German military until 1935, if wikipedia can be believed).

But as it happens, the Walther PP came out in 1929 and the PPK in 1931. So they'd be cutting-edge, but available (in Germany at least; not sure about foreign sales).

Also, thanks for that website...nice resource. :)

[vivaine3]

The Google-fu is strong with this one. Hah, yeah. I Googled it by name on a hunch and hit paydirt on the first site that wasn't Wiki. Although the Wiki site does give a host of good data on specific dates and cultural references (James Bond's favorite gun? Good to know that).

The dates are problematic since the OP did specify 1932, but the MC is also "wealthy and well traveled" so he might have a connection, either legitimate or black market. Even into the first years of the war there was still quite a bit of travel and commerce between Germany and the not-yet-combatant European countries.

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