Which WWII-era handgun?

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Drail said:
...and carry a swagger stick..... maybe a nice briar pipe......
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I busted out laughing the instant I saw your post!


Better yet...a black umbrella. "Had to prove I was an Englishman. No Jerry would carry one." I think I'll go watch A Bridge Too Far now!
 
D.B.
I almost hate to bring this up, but us gun poor folk love company. This is the kind of query that'll end up with all the above as the answer.
 
I love the idea, but I'm a couple decades earlier. The Garand just wouldnt fit. Look at the Zoot Shooters competitions which is exactly where I want to be. 1927a1 or 03a3 as a long gun (depends on the stage and range) with a 1911 or BHP, and a Remington m10. The guns open for that competition would fit your setup as well.

Another interesting option for ww2 would be a "personal piece" in a safety hammerless revolver which is a top break auto eject design. Certainly several of those got carried across the pond. I would absolutely look at the pistols the allies used as options if you don't like the 1911. Not sure about competing, but there are several "field mods" that could be nice in competition like a filed down hammer spur.
 
Drail said:
...and carry a swagger stick..... maybe a nice briar pipe......
Click to expand...
............and a pair of ivory grip 4¾".45 SAAs
iu
 
I've run a lot of rounds through my 1917 Colt. Full moon clips would not be 'period correct' but half moon clips would be. You can get a surplus FN highpower at a reasonable price right now, or FEG clone for cheap. I've used an FEG for years as my go to competition and defensive pistol.

Most 'themed' pairings fail when it comes to the shotgun. I've found pics of GI's using them in Europe, but they were relatively rare compared to use in the Pacific. Can't think of another country that issued shotguns as combat arms in WW2.

Ian and Karl over at InRangeTV solved that by ditching the shotgun for 2 gun challenge matches.

If you want to run your Garand, run it and have fun.
 
West Kentucky,

Actually the M1903A3 was adopted AFTER the M-1 Garand Rifle. Pre WWII the Springfield rifles had ladder sights on the barrel rather than the aperature on the receiver.

Given that some 1911s came out of stores or National Guard and Reserve armories for WWII I would not think the mainspring housing to be much of an issue.

Once met a man at the VA hospital that was a Marine version of a Combat Engineer that claimed to have gone ashore at Iwo Jima with but a Victory model and a total of 12 rounds of ammo.

-kBob
 
kBob said:
Once met a man at the VA hospital that was a Marine version of a Combat Engineer that claimed to have gone ashore at Iwo Jima with but a Victory model and a total of 12 rounds of ammo.

-kBob
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HOLY CRAP!, and here I thought I got short shift when they assigned me a 30 yr old truck.
 
Dr.Rob said:
I've run a lot of rounds through my 1917 Colt. Full moon clips would not be 'period correct' but half moon clips would be. You can get a surplus FN highpower at a reasonable price right now, or FEG clone for cheap. I've used an FEG for years as my go to competition and defensive pistol.

Most 'themed' pairings fail when it comes to the shotgun. I've found pics of GI's using them in Europe, but they were relatively rare compared to use in the Pacific. Can't think of another country that issued shotguns as combat arms in WW2.

Ian and Karl over at InRangeTV solved that by ditching the shotgun for 2 gun challenge matches.

If you want to run your Garand, run it and have fun.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comment. Yeah the shotgun is the lowest priority item at this point, in large part due to relative rarity and the subsequent pricing models.

However, I'm not bothered by the "Pacific only" issue, as I teach WWII in the Pacific-not that I can bring any of this stuff to school with me LOL.
 
So here now is probably the biggest roll your eyes question. Given me very limited experience with a 1911....

It seems that the common way of carrying these is "locked and coked" hammer up, safety on, round in chamber. This scares the hell out of me.

Is there some other inherent safety risk to carrying a 1911 with the hammer down on a loaded chamber.

Any idea on what the standard carry configuration would have been during the war?
 
D.B. Cooper said:
never even heard of that one
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It is not unlike 9mm Colt 1911. While some variations are rare these are quite common with large numbers made by Fabryka Broni in Radom Poland and later during war at Steyr in Austria.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
SO, I have this idea I'm working on. Thinking about getting in to some kid of "3-gun" or "run-n-gun" type competition where I would compete with all WWII-era guns. This is mostly driven by my wanting to shoot my M1 Garand more.

Soooo...as I see it, my options are 1911, M1917 revolver, or a Victory Revolver (Model 10).

I don't particularly like the grip safety on the 1911.

M1917 = moon clips = pain in the neck. Or reload 45 AutoRim = pain in the neck.

Victory Model 10....not really a battlefield gun. (Aviators mostly.)

I dunno. Kinda torn. Prefer revolvers in general. Don't really want to pay close to a grand for a Colt Series 70 (I actually should just start a whole other discussion on that issue). 1917's are hard to come by and not cheap either. Victory Model is not what I would consider "historically correct" alongside an M1.

Or should I just say stuff it, and just shoot a modern handgun along side my M1?
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While there are number of good choices from practical point of view the Walther P-38 from any of wartime factories (I think Spandau machine gun factory aka Spreewerke made the most) would probably the the best choice. While quite heavy due to double action capability it would still make very good defensive pistol.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
So here now is probably the biggest roll your eyes question. Given me very limited experience with a 1911....

It seems that the common way of carrying these is "locked and coked" hammer up, safety on, round in chamber. This scares the hell out of me.

Is there some other inherent safety risk to carrying a 1911 with the hammer down on a loaded chamber.

Any idea on what the standard carry configuration would have been during the war?
Click to expand...


That has been the mode of carry for over a hundred years. As long as the thumb safety (and the grip safety) are functioning correctly - not an issue.

Why doesn't a revolver - with no safety - scare you?
 
And my fear is that safeties are mechanical devices, subject to possible failure. (Albeit highly improbably, especially on a well maintained and cared for gun). So my concern is that a dropped gun or some other mishandling may cause the hammer to fall.
 
D.B. Cooper said:
So here now is probably the biggest roll your eyes question. Given me very limited experience with a 1911....

It seems that the common way of carrying these is "locked and coked" hammer up, safety on, round in chamber. This scares the hell out of me.

Is there some other inherent safety risk to carrying a 1911 with the hammer down on a loaded chamber.

Any idea on what the standard carry configuration would have been during the war?
Click to expand...
Empty chamber, hammer down, safety off. I'm sure more than a few carried hammer down, chamber loaded. As long as you let the hammer down without setting the round off, it's not very risky-it has a spring keeping it from hitting the primer unless the hammer falls on it.
 
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