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The Steyr is of the "basculant" style, which means the barrel does tip. There is no extractor, so this is like the great-grand daddy of the Beretta Jet-Fire.
A neat, and odd, feature is you can set it to single load. The magazine has two latch grooves in it, so you can insert the magazine partially in the well and the gun will not grab a round from it, allowing you to tip the barrel up and load one round at a time keeping the magazine in reserve.
No, I don't know why either.
If you're saying to yourself, "Didn't you do this one already, Angus?"
I kinda did! This is an Österreichische Waffenfabrik Gesellschaft, Steyr Model 1909; the previous write up was a Fabrique d'armes automatiques Nicolas Pieper 1909 Model D "demontant" which means the barrel doesn't tip up.
They're very much alike (Pieper on left, Steyr on right).
That tip-up barrel would make it the perfect carry gun for my wife, who shoots like an expert, but doesn't have the grip strength to hand-cycle a slide.
ReplyDeleteShame we have arcane and draconian laws that limit ownership of semi-auto pistols to those with a barrel length of 120 mm (~ 5 inches) or more.
Could it be similar to magazine cut off of early bolt action rifles? The idea was that troops would waste ammo if it was magazine fed. The idea was that you loaded lose rounds but if you really need it fast you could disable the magazine cutoff and blast away.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same idea. It's not a great idea, but it was common in the days before we settled on what a semi-automatic pistol would look like.
DeleteHey Angus;
ReplyDeleteThe 1909 was made in Austria, I still know my German, lol Don't know if that adds to the value or not. But the little pistol does look unique and the name means that the company was reputable or at least known.
The proofs are Austrian. Austria didn't hardly proof mark compared to Belgium.
DeleteThe little Steyr is worth a bit more than Willard paid for it. The Pieper is too, but it's value is in association with the Steyrs.