Novelist Seeking Help With Guns

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Union St

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Good morning everyone.
My first post, and I know nothing about guns, so I'm hoping that the good people here might give me a few pointers.
My new book follows a man in 1962 who requires a handgun made in Belgium. I didn't know, but it turns out Belgium makes a lot of guns. For a handy, easy to use gun, I thought perhaps the FN Model 1910 would be appropriate. What do you think?
Also, in the story, I need the gun to jam. Was that at all likely?

Any assistance gratefully appricated.
 
Why does it have to be Belgian....?

Any gun can jam for a variety of reasons. Just make sure it is an auto loading pistol that jams and not a revolver as revolvers are highly unlikely to jam.

Your 1910 model is just as likely as any to jam under the right circumstances as any other. Belgium made some very nice guns during the that era and the time leading up to it so it is a good country of origin for fine classy guns.
 
Both the FN 1910 and the FN 1922 were in common use during WWII by a few countries, and likely were fairly common in Europe (or the U.S. as wartime bring-backs by G.I.s) up into the '60s.

In the U.S., you'd be more like to encounter the 1955, actually just a version of the 1910 made for commercial export to the U.S. These pistols were designed for the 9x17mm Browning (or Kurz or Corto, depending on the language) also known in the U.S. as the .380 ACP (single-stack magazine capacity of 8) with some made for the more anemic 7.65 x 17mm (otherwise known as .32 ACP, mag capacity of 9).

And yeah, especially in the hands of an inexperienced user, or dependent on the age/quality of the magazine being used, or the ammunition, it could jam, and probably did, quite often.
 
Semi auto handguns, especially older ones, are prone to jamming if not held firmly. This is commonly referred to as " limp wristing ". Of course other things can cause jamming as well as mentioned above.

Revolvers don't jam as much but it can happen. The most common malfuntion i see in a revolver is when a primer backs out a little from a cartridge under recoil then gets stuck in the frame as the cylinder tries to rotate. Its not very common, but it happens.
 
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Union St said:
Also, in the story, I need the gun to jam. Was that at all likely?
Click to expand...
Any firearm can malfunction, and it's exponentially more likely to happen if the user is either ignorant of, or prevented from, the required maintenance. The most common cause is failure to correctly lubricate. Cleaning is overated, and lubrication is underated, by many inexperienced users.

earlthegoat2 said:
Just make sure it is an auto loading pistol that jams and not a revolver as revolvers are highly unlikely to jam.
Click to expand...
Certainly revolvers don't experience feeding jams, but in my experience revolvers are not dramatically less likely than semi-autos to need corrective action, especially in inexpert hands. Give a noob a revolver and a box of 50, and he'll likely need your help cleaning crap out from under the star because the cylinder won't close before he gets through the box.
 
KodeFore said:
Semi auto handguns, especially older ones, are prone to jamming if not held firmly. This is commonly referred to as " limp wristing ". Of course other things can cause jamming as well.
Click to expand...
That was going to be my comment precisely. It was an issue then, and it is still an issue now even with modern designs. If you don’t hold it firmly the energy that the gun needs to work properly gets used up by moving in directions it shouldn’t. That’s why the TV thing of a dropped gun emptying a magazine as it spins on the ground is not realistic, it would jam, probably after the first shot.
 
Whatever you do as a writer, DO NOT write that the subject "cocks" his/her 1910. It is a striker-fired pistol (no external hammer). Typically the pistol would be carried in Condition 3 (no round chambered, safety off), requiring the user to "rack the slide" (retract and release the slide) to chamber a round; alternatively, the user would already have a round chambered, and the safety in the on (up) position, thus only having to flick the safety off (down) with his thumb to make the pistol ready to fire..

Oh, and don't ever mention a safety on a revolver, please. Or cocking a Glock pistol.

Gun aficionados who read a lot of fiction absolutely hate firearm inaccuracies... it can ruin a novel for the reader.
 
What will the holder of the gun use it for?

If he or she intends to pocket carry it for some indoor purpose, one of the smaller guns as mentioned would be fine.

If they are outdoors, at a distance, or for some tactical purpose, a larger Belgium made Browning or FN (Fabrique Nationale, same gun) Hi Power in 9mm would be more appropriate. The Hi Power has an external hammer, so can be "cocked".

Good luck with your book, hopefully it does not include anti gun sentiment.
 
Not sure what your character needs in terms of firepower, concealability, etc. Two other options might be the Browning Hi Power or at the other end of the size spectrum, the Baby Browning. Little factoid, Ian Fleming carried a Browning .25 when he worked for the British government during World War II. People assume it was a Beretta 418. 9F7CBC64-13CF-4ECC-BCD0-E35E3D39DE73.jpeg 5F101367-F17C-461B-9E04-325454D99BC8.jpeg
 
FN High Power, what else would be better?

06BFADF7-CA3D-44A4-9FA9-14568A235520.jpeg

This is one I recently acquired. A German occupation gun manufactured in 1943. The extractor had become worn over the 70 years of use, which would cause it to jam as it cycled.

EF8FDC45-498C-4DF6-BAC0-92C8359184AA.jpeg
(BTW, for a self described non-gun-guy, this is what a jam looks like. The extractor grabbed the empty case to eject it but lost its grip. As it went feed the next round they both ended up trying to occupy the same space)

The internal extractor is a known weak link in this pistol’s design.

How’s that?
 
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I don't know much to add except that a new Belgian pistol in 1962 would almost surely be a FN Browning.
The 1910 in either 7.65mm Browning (.32 ACP) or 9mm Browning Short (.380 ACP) is reasonably powerful by European standards and reasonably concealable.
For greater concealability, consider the Baby Browning 6.35mm (.25 ACP), for more power and more "firepower" think of the 9mm Parabellum Browning High Power (P35, HP, GP).

The only actual Belgian of my acquaintance is absolutely devoted to the GP.

Before WWII, there were a lot of independent Belgian gunmakers. If your character required something unusual made in Belgium, left over from earlier times, I am sure we could think of something. A Clement, maybe.

In 1962, the world was still awash in WWII surplus weapons. You could be IN Belgium and have a pistol made about anywhere. Maybe a Luger; Americans consider them prone to malfunction.

In general, don't overthink your weapons. Be correct, but your book should not read like a Guns and Ammo Buyer's Guide.
 
Union St,

I just want to express my appreciation to you for coming here and asking questions. I have stopped reading novels before because it was obvious that when it came to firearms, the writer had no idea what he was talking about. Thanks for taking the effort to learn.

Don't get me started on Hollywood!

If at all possible, you might contact a NRA Instructor in your area to take you out to the range for some firearms familiarization and training. You might find yourself having a really fun and educational time. If you were in northern Michigan, I'd do it for free.
 
First off, greetings @Union St welcome to our kaffeklatch.

If I wanted a character to have, in 1962, an imported arm that might jam, I would probably turn to one of the Spanish makers, and like as not in .32acp--a number of the small companies in Eibar marketed their wares through Liege. Some of those Belgian sources also added their own rollmarks, as Belgium had a slightly better reputation than Eibar.

It might be better, dramatically, to gloss over weapon specifics. In the 60s, people would go to a pawn shop or hardware store and often buy on price rather than name or model. Five bucks was a bit of change in the early 60s, a "no name" auto at $20 was going to be "good enough" if the alternative was a $25 Belgian "Browning." Maybe, perhaps, Your Mileage May Vary.

I'd select the .32acp as it was common in inexpensive arms. It is a "semi rimmed" cartridge, too. This means the case head has a rebate, but the actual rim diameter is a bit larger than the case diameter. This was middling common when the cartridge was developed. It's also something that can lead to failure to feed or failure to extract; e.g. "jams."
 
First of all: WOW! Thank you so much for all the speedy and intelligent answers. Quite overwhelming and I'm obviously in the right place. I should have been more precise in my concept as you all are in your comments. I have just begun research on this book, but I envisage a man 'comfortable' with handguns being handed a weapon for his use. It should be easily concealable for use inside in good light over a range of, say, 10-15 feet. So, the FN1910 would be OK? This part of the story takes place in Belgium. Maybe he would have been offered a choice from two. But the gun needs to malfunction on the second, or more usefully for my purposes, on the first shot. Forgive my incorrect use of terminology; I will get it right in the book. There is no excuse for not using the correct terms when there is so much expert help readily available. In my previous book, there was a chapter on a train and the UKForum guys practically gave me a lesson in how to drive a steam loco. That's a good idea of going to try a handgun one day, because I have never done that. And don't worry, I will not be making any statements on the correctness or otherwise of the character's intentions, or guns in general. And I promise I won't 'cock' the gun. Thank you for all your comments and the excellent pictures - very helpful. If you think of anything with my added details, just let me know.
 
Well, you make a good point. I did that with the train chapter I mentioned and a few were good enough to read it and comment. I might do that in precis (sp) form to see what you guys think, but I'm some ways off writing yet. And I don't want to drill too deep into the details for the reader. It's a challenge to be authentic without becoming boring (for non-gun enthusiasts). Thank you.
 
Jam on the first round?
Perhaps when racking the slide(pulling the slide back and releasing it to “charge” the weapon) our hero has a weak magazine spring that causes the round to get caught and not feed correctly. OR Worn or expanded magazine lips cause the round to tip up and stovepipe (stand upright) jamming the gun.

Jam on the first round when firing?
Use @Nature Boy example above of a worn extractor.
 
I heard about one guy that didn't realize that his constant application of WD40 to his loaded revolver had penetrated and thus deactivated his primers making the ammo useless.
Story goes he got mugged on the subway but he pulled out his roscoe and tried to kill the mugger but the revolver just clicked.
I don't know if I believe it, but the tale goes that the mugger fainted!

If you want a sidearm to fail then bad or compromised ammo can do it for you.
I bought a case of Chinese 9mm and the primers kept popping out of the fired cases jamming the gun. It was a PITA until I realized that I had special ammo for practicing the clearing of jams. I save them for educational purposes.
 
Union St said:
But the gun needs to malfunction on the second, or more usefully for my purposes, on the first shot.
Click to expand...
Easy choice then. Mauser 1914 would have been available in 7.65 browning. The way that the gun works is odd compared to most more modern designs. The way that the safety works would be very strange to someone not very familiar with that particular model of gun and would take some effort to figure it out. Essentially all other designs you simply undo what you did to put the gun on safe. The mauser 1914 however you flip a lever to put the safety on, then push a button to take the safety off. It would be quite easy for crud to get inside of the action and make it difficult to take the safety off in which case the gun is a big paperweight. The guns were used by Germany in WW1 and by police forces afterwards, so they would be readily available.
 
For us to give you the best advice, a specific gun should be chosen. It seems you have chosen the FN1910 so go with it.

Many many firearms have come out of Liege, Belgium; some legitimate and well crafted and some cheap imitations. Liege is instrumental to the world history of firearms. Knowing this, maybe what he receives in the story would be a cheap copy. Legitimate firearms in Europe are proofed by firing an overpressured round at a Proof House. In America, its done at the manufacturer. They are then stamped on the barrel or receiver with a special proof stamp and certified for sale. Perhaps that could be worked in for a reason.

Best of luck in you endeavors
 
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