Firearms for Formulators of Fiction—Semiautomatics Part 1

Today’s blog entry is a continuation of a series I began on Monday—a look at what fiction writers need to know about handguns.  First, we discussed revolvers, and today we begin a two-part look at semiautomatics.

But first, in continuing with Monday’s numbers theme, how many Californians does it take to change a lightbulb?  Six:  One to actually change the bulb, two to share in the experience, another to bring the tofu, and two more to present the award for best technical achievement in lighting.

So, how many kinds of semiautomatic handguns are there?  A lot:  Single- action only; double-action only (DAO); single/double-action; partially cocked striker.  And that’s just triggering systems.  Then there’s the traditional metal-framed pistols and the newer polymer frames, traditional hammer pistols and newer striker types, semiautomatics with manually operated external safeties and the recent trend popularized by Glock to eliminate such safeties.

Let’s start with single-action (SA) semiautomatics.  Just as with single-action revolvers, single-action semiautomatics require the hammer to be cocked before the weapon can be fired.  On subsequent shots, the hammer is cocked by the action of the slide moving back to eject the spent cartridge, after which a new cartridge is stripped off the top of the magazine and fed into the firing chamber as the slide returns forward.  But, unlike the single-action revolver, this type weapon is usually designed to be safely carried with the hammer in the cocked position because it comes equipped with a manual safety that prevents the weapon from firing unless the safety is disengaged.  This is what is described as, “Cocked and locked.”  So, now you know the origination of this famous phrase.  Most single-action only weapons are designed to do this.

The most famous example of this type weapon is John Browning’s century-old design, the .45 caliber Colt M1911.  You would be hard pressed to watch an action movie or television show in which at least one character doesn’t produce one of these weapons.  The 1911 was the weapon of choice for fictional heroes from Mike Hammer to Magnum, P.I., and it’s still manufactured today.

Just as revolvers evolved from straight single-action to combination double-action/single-action, semiautomatics did as well.  With a double-action/single-action pistol, the hammer can either be manually cocked (single-action), or the pulling the trigger will cause the hammer to pull back into firing position (double-action).  The most famous of these is probably the Walther PP-series.  Indeed, this pistol is one of the most copied designs ever produced, probably coming in second only to the Model 1911 described above.

Who in literature used a PP-series pistol?  Bond . . . James Bond—also known in some circles as agent OO7 of Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  James Bond made the switch to the smallest version of the PP-series, the PPK, after his original carry piece, the Beretta 418, nearly costs him his life at the conclusion of the novel From Russia with Love.  In television, the PPK was used by Magnum, P.I., as a backup piece, and the slightly larger PPK/S was used by Robert McCall in The Equalizer, Sgt. Dee Dee McCall in Hunter, and more recently by Fiona Glenanne in Burn Notice.

In 1979 an Austrian company set out to revolutionize the modern semiautomatic pistol, and in 1982 they launched the Glock 17.  The Glock series of pistols were pretty unique.  The frames were made of light-weight polymer, reducing the weight of the gun considerably.  Gone was the hammer, replaced by an internal striker (basically a spring-loaded firing pin) that was less likely to snag on clothing when drawn.  Also missing from the Glock design were any manually operated external safeties.

And then there was the Glock trigger action—not single-action and not double-action, it held a sort of middle ground between the two in that the striker was partially cocked.  Pulling the trigger would complete the cocking of the striker until the trigger reached the trip point, at which time the internal striker would move forward under spring tension, striking the primer of the bullet.  This Glock-style trigger is not as stiff and long as a double-action trigger, but neither is it as short and light as a single-action trigger.

Friday: Firearms for Formulators of Fiction—Semiautomatics Part 2