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Quintessential 9mm gun thread

15K views 135 replies 28 participants last post by  moeman 
#1 · (Edited)
I am a huge fan of 9mm semi-automatic guns. I have enjoyed this forum quite a bit, and have learned a lot from some of the members here, LSP and BAC in particular, so I decided to share some of the guns in my collection. I am no expert and my iPhone camera in my dark basement has obvious limitations, so please forgive the pedestrian dialogue and pictures. Please add to the thread if you have interesting or rare 9mm guns.

I will start with a family of Sphinx semi-automatics. Sphinx got in to the firearm business by reworking the AT84 which is essentially an CZ75 clone built by ITM. In the Sphinx lineage, this gun was well built, reliable, and stout, but not that refined. The Swiss, not at all being ok with building anything but engineered art, hired the best gunsmiths in the world and reengineered the AT84 into what is now known as the AT2000, one of the most refined semi-automatic guns ever built. I have the AT 2000 H model, which is certainly not as desirable as the AT2000 S (sport), but this is what I could find and it's in 100% LNIB condition. The newer SDP guns are certainly not built like the old 2000 and 3000 series, but they are truly amazing in and of themselves. Here is grandfather, son, and grandson.
 
#107 ·
Canoe2. If you have a gunbroker account contact this seller.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/574773363
Merkle tuning in Germany are old friends of mine, I can ask and have some HK tuning weights imported!

wolf.
I gave up on the Merkle and went for the one on Gunbroker. It is not an identical reproduction (the Merkle contours a more closely to the slide) but it attaches to the gun very positively, machining is high quality and it is certainly effective at minimizing recoil. Thanks for the tip Alpina.

 
#45 · (Edited)
MAB PA-15

The PA-15 was designed by the Manufacture d'armes de Bayonne. When introduced in 1966 it was the first pistol holding a greater number of rounds than the 13-round Browning Hi-Power. The pistols were proofed at the St Etienne and many were exported in blued form with the later ones being parkerized. There was a competition version (longer slide and barrel) called the PAP F1, which is incredibly rare and very hard to find. I am hoping someone will post a picture of the F1. The PA-15 is a delayed blowback operated, semi-automatic pistol. It features a rotating barrel. I bought this gun years ago NIB/unfired and fell in love with it almost immediately after shooting it. While there are certainly more accurate and functional combat guns, the MAB has something more intangible and hard to find in modern day guns—soulfulness. That’s the only way I can describe the allure of this gun. There is just something about the lines, the feel, and the fit & finish of this gun that make it what it is. I liked it so much that I sent it to Glenrock Blue and had them polish out the coarse tool marks (inherent to production guns made in the 60s) and re-blue it with a high grade finish. I have friends that say, I ruined the gun's value by shooting it and re-bluing it. To them I say this: Not shooting a gun is like not making love to your wife so that you can keep her nice for her next husband. So did I decrease the gun's value? We will never know--cause I am never selling it.




 
#49 · (Edited)
Walther P88

The P88 was developed by Carl Walther in 1988, as a high capacity, military and law enforcement pistol. Production ceased in 1996, largely because it was expensive and this didn't sell that well. It was replaced with the P88 Compact, which was both lighter and smaller. The P88 is by no means rare and can usually be obtained at any given time on Gunbroker. This pistol is one of my favorites to shoot, because it runs flawlessly and feels overtly "mechanical" in it's function. By that I mean it feels like an over-engineered sewing machine when it cycles, sort of like it was built to run in life and death situations, which of course it was.


 
#53 · (Edited)
Walther P5

The P5 is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed in the mid-1970s by Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. Manufactured in West Germany the P5 was a further development of the famous Walther P38 and P1 series. Development began following requests by German police and federal agencies for a new sidearm. Walther engineers decided to use the P1 model as the basis of the P5 and gave it a similar locking system, reinforced frame, and dual recoil springs. In addition, the Walther improved the extractor, shortened the barrel, and increased the slide length. While this gun will not keep pace at the range with modern day combat or target 9mm guns, I think it is one of the best carry guns ever made. Safety was enhanced by utilizing an innovative pivoting firing pin that can move forward only when the trigger is pulled. In addition, the P1's slide-mounted de-cocker was moved to a frame mounted de-cocker. Unlike most modern semi-automatic pistols, the P5 ejects spent casings to the left. This may make it a more attractive firearm for left-handed shooters. Most importantly, Jason Bourne and James Bond carried Walther P5s, so there's that.


 
#65 ·
Walther P5

The P5 is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed in the mid-1970s by the German small arms manufacturer Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. Manufactured in Ulm, West Germany the P5 was a further development of the famous Walther P38 and P1 series. Development began following requests by German police and federal agencies for a new sidearm. Walther engineers decided to use the P1 model as the basis of the P5 and gave it a similar locking system, reinforced frame, and dual recoil springs. In addition, the Walther improved the extractor, shortened the barrel, and increased the slide length. While this gun will not keep pace at the range with modern day combat or target 9mm guns, I think it is one of the best carry guns ever made. Safety was enhanced by utilizing an innovative pivoting firing pin that can move forward only when the trigger is pulled. In addition, the P1's slide-mounted de-cocker was moved to a frame mounted de-cocker. Unlike most modern semi-automatic pistols, the P5 ejects spent casings to the left. This may make it a more attractive firearm for left-handed shooters. Most importantly, Jason Bourne and James Bond carried Walther P5s, so there's that.




I had once a P5 Compact and foolishly sold it to get something more modern for carry....
One of the ones I let get away I truly regret! :brickwall:
 
#55 ·
Nice to see guns that know nothing about/never seen before. Truly beautiful firearms! Thanks to all for the nice pics.

My one rare(?) pistol is a Walther PP in .22LR. Double action takes two men and a boy to fire. Got it in late '70s. Not sure why. Have yet to see another one;but,I don't get out much anymore to look at guns.
 
#57 · (Edited)
Steyr GB

Around1969 the Austrian military decided they needed to replace the aging P-38s and Hi-Powers, so they requested that Steyr develop a new and innovate pistol. Steyr began developing what is now the GB, a large double-action pistol with an 18 shot, double-column magazine. It became known as the "Gas Bremse” which is German for gas brake. The result was a large gun, measuring 9 inches with a 5 inch barrel, and weighing in at 35 ounces. The gas delay mechanism was even by today's standards ingenious. It allowed the pistol to be fired without the need for a breech-locking mechanism or recoil spring. Basically, the GB uses the expanding gases from a fired round to form a counter-pressure that delays the opening of the slide until the bullet exits the barrel. The gases used to lock the slide come from two holes drilled at the midpoint of the barrel, and vented into a chamber sealed by the barrel bushing. Once chamber pressures decrease, the slide cycles to the rear ejecting the spent cartridge. This system was lauded as being simpler and more efficient than comparable mechanism used by the H&K P7s because it required no pistons or moving parts. The fixed barrel is attached to the frame and uses polygonal rifling, both innovations that portend amazing accuracy. Steyr failed to land two huge military contracts, one with Austrian military, and one with the US military, because they were beaten out by the Glock 17 and Beretta 92 respectfully.
Following the devastating loss these two contracts, Steyr turned its efforts to the civilian market, and from 1983-1986 they advertised heavily in the United States and Europe. Over the next few years, the GB became a very popular pistol among civilian shooters. Because the gun was so expensive, it was cost prohibitive for most, sold poorly, and thus production predictively stopped in 1986. While the gun failed commercially, it received unanimous praise from some very discriminating shooters. Wiley Clapp, J.B. Wood, Massad Ayoob and many others spoke highly of the GB's features, performance, and quality of workmanship. The commercial guns have a black epoxy crinkled finish on the steel frame, giving it a rough "badass weapon of war" look. Juxtaposed on that is a slide with a high-polish blue flats and matte rounds, giving it a refined (almost custom 1911) flavor. For its build quality, performance, and ingenuity, I think this 9mm is a bargain at current pricing. Get one ya'll--they only made 20,000 of them and they aren’t making any more. Plus the frame will match the rhino-liner on your pickup truck.


 
#61 · (Edited)
Fusion Firearms Melonite Officer 1911 chambered in 9mm

Last year I set out to find the perfect 1911 carry gun. I wanted it chambered in 9mm and wanted it to be a work gun, one that I could holster, carry in my work briefcase, throw in my gym bag, or glove box. I wanted it to wear well and resist corrosion so I thought about getting one and having Robar apply NP3 to it. After a great deal of research, I decided that while NP3 was awesome, it was after all, just another applied finish. I researched melonite and discovered that it is not a finish per se, but rather a chemical change to the steel itself. The process takes untreated steel and dips it into two molton salt baths—the first being sodium nitrogen and second being sodium carbon. These chemicals penetrate and fuse with the steel, making it 200% stronger than before treatment! The result is steel that is exponentially more heat resistant, corrosion resistant, lowly reflective, with a lower coefficient of friction. Sound like the perfect metal for a carry gun? Exactly. So the next mission was to find a smith that was willing and able. There weren't many, but my research led me to Bob Serva at Fusion Firearms. For those of you who have never dealt with Bob, he is the NICEST dude on the planet. He returned all of my emails within hours, talked to me on the phone for what seemed to be 30 minutes, and in the end, he created this gun, which I think is inherently beautiful and will last multiple lifetimes. In terms of melonite, it’s kinda like Henry Ford said: “you can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.” There is no picking colors or finishes, because the chemical change to the steel is what gives it the black matte finish. This is exactly why it is damn near impossible to scratch it.

Here is a cool video on how the melonite process works:





 
#62 ·
Ok I own 9mm guns that I paid around 10x for...

But one of my favorites is. star ultra star , they went under , one of their last guns... Excellent glass reinforced Tupperware, single stack, slide rides the frame like a Sig inside, adjustable rear sight... Great CCW format...

If you see one buy it. Rare cause they as with all the decent Spanish gun manufacturers went down. Bummer.



Yeah and I have a p7m8 jubilee and a 1939 Luger ... And many 9's but this is my pick to check out
 
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#136 ·
Sig Sauer X5

I was reading my previous posts and it occurred to me that nobody (but me) likely gives a rats ass about these old 9s, so here is a picture of a more modern 9mm that I shot pretty good today.


I really like them... Just don't own anything as rare as you post... And really enjoy the posts. Between you, BAC and others, I get a nice education.
 
#68 ·
Sig X6 Supermatch
This is a hand built (Mastershop in Germany) high end target version of the P226 made out of stainless steel and weighing in at 55oz stripped and 70oz fully loaded with the x-weight. Thats 4.3 pounds! The barrel weight was the hardest thing to procure--I actually bought the weight 6 months before I found the gun. I made sure I had the weight first because I had no interest in owning this gun with an empty rail. This beast isn't really a combat gun, so one would unlikely mount a flashlight or a laser on it, so without the weight, I think it looks 1/2 finished. Obviously since this is a target gun, it is SAO with no de-cocker. The fit and finish are on par with most custom 1911s. I'm thinking about carrying it for backup as soon as I find an ankle holster for it.


 
#69 ·
Smith and Wesson PPC-9

This highly accurized S&W 9mm was hand fit and finished by the Performance Center, when those words actually meant something. Like the 952 it has a hand fit with a titanium spherical barrel bushing, which to me gives it that "Colt Python bank vault" feel. At the time of it's production (five years prior to the 952, circa 1998) it was sold only to law enforcement for PPC shooting. Because they weren't available to the public, they aren't very easy to find. This particular example is in mint condition and fitted with Nills grips. They came stock with black plastic grips, which I felt didn't do this firearm justice. The front site looks like the world trade center sticking up in a desert, which I suspect was designed to get on target quickly in competition. How does it shoot? LIGHTS OUT!



 
#72 ·
EAA Witness Limited 9mm

For the money, I do not think one can buy a finer pistol. They cost around $1200 brand new and feature a competition frame, coned barrel lock-up; checkered front/back strap; extended ambi safety; extended beaver tail; extended mag release; competition extended mag well; full dust cover; hart shaped hammer; polygonal rifling; single action trigger with over-travel stop & take-up adjust; drilled & tapped for scope mount; super sight, and walnut grips over hard chrome! The fit and finish are amazing, the trigger is like butter, and the performance is un-refuted. Here's the real upsetting part--I believe in my heart, it will keep pace with any high end, high cost target 9mm, past or present. BAC will be along in a minute to ya'll that I'm crazy.


 
#78 · (Edited)
Very cool thread!

The guns above are foreplay to my wallet ... I don't like specialized target guns, and there have been many both ways. I guess I don't want quintessential (or simply can't buy them here).

That Fusion firearms 1911 is just right for the likes of me!
 
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