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The S&W 59 quest led to actually looking up if there was an "official" definition for "wonder nine".
Sort of?
Wikipedia says, "'Wonder Nine' refers to any semi-automatic pistol that is chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum and has a staggered column magazine, as well as a double-action trigger for at least the first shot"
They list some examples, including the VP-70 and Glock 17. That surprised me, I'd been thinking that to be a wonder nine you had to have a hammer.
This would make the VP-70 the first wonder nine, but I don't recall that the term pre-dating the S&W 59.
I did find this interesting write up about them though.
I did find out who coined the phrase:
"Wondernine: A term coined by gunwriter Robert T. Shimek to denote the modern breed of 9mm Parabellum auto pistols of recent design, usually featuring high magazine capacity and a double-action trigger mechanism or other modern ignition system (e.g., the squeeze-cocker of the Heckler & Kock P7 series or the Safe Action of the Glock)."
J. Libourel
So does this mean that the Hi Power isn't a Wonder Nine?
ReplyDeleteApparently not.
DeleteI would further narrow the classification of "Wonder Nine" to hammer fired DA/SA or DAO with a double stack magazine since to me the striker fired designs like the Glock represent a completely new breed, with the VP70 as a proto Glock and the P7 disqualified by its single action and single stack magazine. This makes a Browning Double Action a Wonder Nine and might allow the Hi-Power as honorable mention since CZ and S&W made competition models with single action lockwork. I would also consider a thumb safety or decocker as a qualifying feature since a signature of the Glock style is the absence of an external safety by default
ReplyDeleteP7M13 is double stack.
Delete