How many types of magazine-before-trigger handguns are there?

[Saakee]

I know of only two off the top of my head and one of those is an AR-15 pistolized so it doesn't really count to me. I've googled it before but my search cues haven't been the best: my latest "Magazine before/ahead of trigger" doesn't really find me what I'm looking for.

 

[maskedman504]

Broomhandle Mauser

And...uh...pretty much any revolver or derringer...

/ninja

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

There certainly have been in the past, the most famous being the Mauser C96 aka "Broomhandle." But produced today? Very few. A magazine in front of the grip makes the gun large, unwieldy and poorly balanced. The only feature of the C96 that became widely adopted was its magazine-activated bolt/slide hold-open.

 

[JRH6856]

Intratec AB 10 / TEC 9

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Intratec AB 10. Used to be the TEC 9

Whoops! That is absolutely right. But it is still large and unwieldy.

 

[MachIVshooter]

In contemporary designs, it's pretty much limited to rifle-based handguns, like AR-15/AK pistols, Kel-Tec PLR-16, etc. It's a very inefficient design for any gun chambering a cartridge that can fit in a magazine within the grip.

The only other one I can think of is the Hammerli 280, which is built that way for a good reason

 

[JohnBiltz]

Scorpion.

 

[Saakee]

The mauser was the only one i could think of, should've remembered the hammerli and its ilk. Forgot about the SMG class too. Thanks all.

 

[mackg]

There's at least one target auto in 22 or 32WC, by Hammerli I think (Where are my Gun Digests when I finally need them...?).

The chinese produce(d?) one in 7.62 for their military, based on the C96 (http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg/ch/type-0-e.html).

The pistol version of the AR-7 survival carbine.

On a more historical point of view, the Bergman Simplex, Mars and Bayard (M1910/21 in Denmark), the Astra 900-901-903 and the Azul.

 

[Saakee]

That 1896 just begs to be remade as a killer scifi gun.

 

[kozak6]

That 1896 just begs to be remade as a killer scifi gun.

George Lucas thought so too.

 

[Saakee]

George Lucas thought so too.

Oh? Which film? Do you mean the reskinned Mauser C96 to make Han Solo's blaster?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Magazine-before trigger

^ C96 Mausers (short 6 shot mag, painted gold) were carried by astronauts in "Queen of Outer Space" 1958.

In honest to gosh pistols, I can recall:
o C96 Mauser
o Olympic style target pistols, like the Hammerli shown in a previous post.
o Pistolet Bergmann, contemporaneous with the C96.
In pistol versions of long guns I have seen:
o Charter Arms Explorer II .22 pistol, based on the AR7 Explorer survival rifle.
o Thompson 1927A5 semi-auto replica pistols by Numrich (1973-1999) and Kahr (1999-) under the AutoOrdnance brand.
o Mare's laig lever actions (in TV shows Wanted Dead or Alive, Briscoe County, Firefly)

Pistols with magazines in front of the grip are a minority, as are rifles and submachineguns with the magazine in the grip (Czech CZ25, IMI Uzi, Kel Tec folding pistol-caliber carbine).

Handguns are intended to be shot with one hand, and putting the magazine in front of the grip is unhandy.

 

[Boanerges57]

there was a smith and wesson designed lever action pistol that gave rise to the winchester repeater.
the KRiSS.
there are tons of target pistols built that way.
I cant think of anything other than the KRiSS that is modern and it is realy just a terribly small sub machine gun

 

[Owen]

lots and lots of target pistols by walther, hammerli, morini, benelli, etc.

 

[MCgunner]

I have an old Charter Arms Explorer II "survival .22" built on the AR7 action and a 6" and 8" barrel to go with it. It is reliable and is actually pretty accurate if you can get used to the less than perfect (trying to be nice) trigger, but I bought it because it was 70 bucks and, well, why the hell not? I don't shoot it much, but it will shoot. I have much better .22s. It sorta has the "Mauser" look to it, not real pretty (still trying to be nice).

 

[Centurion75]

There was a 9mm pistol in the late 80's called the Spectre that had forward magazines

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Yeah, Charter Arms Explorer II is challenged in the good looks department.

 

[56hawk]

I don't think anyone has mentioned the HK SP89 yet.

 

[TonyT]

A fair number of Olympic style semi auto pistols in 22 and 32 have the magazine in front of the trigger. I personally shoot Walther GSP's and Pardini Sp's and HP's which are so configured.

 

[west.22]

kel tec plr series.

 

[GONRA]

GONRA's additions to Carl N. Brown's list:
* 5mm CyA and 7mm CyA caliber Charola y Anitua pistols
* believe there is a .25 ACP Mann pistol too but I don't have one

 

[chicharrones]

Scorpion.

I'd love to have one of those, just for the heck of it.

http://www.houstongunblog.com/archives/1856

 

[pockets]

Intratec Tec-22 was another front magazine Intratec product. It had a Ramline produced 30-round 10/22 magazine (with the Intratec logo on it).


Oooohhhh.......'Queen Of Outer Space' ! I love that flick. Gold spray-painted Mausers......oooohhhhh....
Lots of recycled props in the movie too.
The girls carried leftover prop guns from 'The Forbidden Planet' (and our shipwrecked space heroes wore 'The Forbidden Planet' uniforms..along with some funky rubber blue gloves).
The ship was the old MARS1 rocket from 'Flight To Mars' (reused for many other flicks like 'World Without End', 'Q.O.O.S.', and with added portholes 'It: The Terror From Beyond Space').
I won't even go into all the bits of bazooka rockets from 'World Without End' which are the control levers in the ray projector building.

I've always wondered why they carried sidearms and backpacks on a ship which was only meant to travel from Earth to the space station and back again?


.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Did anyone mention the Ruger 10/22 Charger?