Gun Digest 2011. Dan ShidelerЧитать онлайн книгу.
#3 is easily identified by the small alignment pin through top center of the right side metal plate. Its serial numbers are stamped into the bottom of the butt; on right side of the barrel cluster down near the hinge; and under the small “ears” on front of the barrel latch lever along the top of the gun.
NOTE: The full serial number is on butt while the other two stampings may only be the last few digits due to space available, and, these latter two locations can only be seen when the barrel cluster is lowered for loading.
Brownie Variation #3. Note alignment pin, which distinguishes it from Variation #2.
OTHER VARIATIONS?
There is a very good possibility that there are even more variations of this little pistol than the four reported here. Variation #2.5 was discovered only because I had learned to start observing every survivor for the slightest difference from any Brownie heretofore known. I then noticed there was a specimen that had the patent date of one variation but lacked the pinned side plate of that variation. Possibly parts from two different variations joined, I thought? Soon after that a similar survivor became available. The main difference was that the later one was in excellent condition and not likely to be a hodgepodge of parts from different guns.
In the fairly recent past I’ve observed other, more startling types of Brownies but have passed them off as home-made fabrications involving some original factory parts and a lot of imagination, mainly because none of them had their particular unusual feature ever advertised as available from the factory. There is also a possibility they were experimental display pieces to show and learn if there was a demand for their particular feature. However, nothing has ever been noted in print from that era about such experimental items. Now I’m not so sure. I may have erred and passed up a great opportunity to unearth and disclose a fifth variation. The moral of the story is: keep your eyes open and keep looking. Maybe you will be announcing the finding of a new Brownie!
A WORD OF ADVICE
For those who would like to fire one of these old-timers, be advised they were designed in an era before the advent of our modern steels and higher velocity ammunition. Therefore a real danger exists that the gun may be damaged, and/or the shooter injured, when firing one of these guns using modern hi-vel ammo. I have owned one such Brownie which had a large chunk of metal blown out of the area between the chambers! And as always, with all older guns it’s a good idea to have it inspected by a reliable and competent gunsmith before firing it.
Mystery Mossberg?
The 1979 issue of Gun Digest heralded the coming of a Mossberg “Combat Model” .45 pistol which would be ready for delivery “at the end of this year” for just under $350. One stainless steel prototype automatic pistol evidentally was available for display at the NRA show that year. It would be interesting to know at this late date exactly what became of that prototype and why the production of that gun never proceeded.
That same Gun Digest article goes on to state that this was not the only Mossberg entry into the handgun field. It outlines how Security Industries of America had a small-frame 5-shot revolver they’d been developing but to which Mossberg had obtained the rights “and will be producing it soon.” Oh, yeah?
Interesting to note, in that article the author calls our beloved Brownie “anything but a howling success,” and notes that “it soon disappeared from the scene.” The author further says of the Brownie, “Today it’s a lesser collector’s item.”
The author finishes his story with this statement: “This time Mossberg seems to have taken a more likely tack and we expect to see a good shooter response to these two guns.” Hmmmmm.... That was written just 30 years ago. The author obviously did not have access to a crystal ball.
Brownie chamber blowout caused by high-velocity ammunition.
The ARS of Olympic Arms
BY STEVE GASH
Te AR-15 rifle is one of the most popular rifle designs of all time, and for good reason. It is reliable, accurate, durable, and can be had in an almost unbelievable array of configurations. Demand is at an all-time high, and everybody, it seems, is building ARs.
Olympic Arms, Inc., unlike some other AR companies, makes all their major components in-house, rather than getting them from outside sources. Olympic has direct and total control over their manufacturing processes, which results in high-quality end products. Couple that with very competitive prices and you have a recipe for business success. A comprehensive and highly varied product line doesn’t hurt, either, and it would be surprising if Olympic doesn’t make an AR that trips your trigger.
The firm that is now Olympic Arms has been in the gun business since 1956, but it did not start out building ARs. Company founder Robert Schuetz began manufacturing gun barrels as the Schuetzen Gun Works in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1975, the company moved to its current location in Olympia, Washington, and in 1982, changed its name to Olympic Arms.
Olympic is still a family-run business. Robert’s son Brian serves as Vice President and oversees manufacturing. Robert’s daughter, Diane Haupert, handles the administrative side of things as Chief Financial Officer. The company’s 16,000 square-foot plant in Washington employees about sixty people, and their casting facility in Costa Mesa, California, employs another twenty folks.
Olympic’s manufacturing processes utilize state-of-the art CNC machines that finish parts in a single operation and eliminate “tolerance stacking” that can occur when several machines perform operations on a single part. Remember that the AR is an “assembled” gun, not a “fitted” gun. Top-quality component parts are the key to quality.
Upper receivers come either with a carry handle with a rear sight, or a flat top with Picatinny rails. Gas blocks can have an A2 front sight that is compatible with the carry handle rear sight, or can be flat top so as to not interfere with the optics. Heavyweight bull barrels with a crowned muzzle or more slender military weights with an A2 flash suppressor are made in lengths from 16 to 24 inches, and more than one twist rate is available.
The pin-point accuracy of this Olympic K8 target model is enhanced by the superlative Burris 4.5-14x40 Fullfield II Tactical scope. The Ballistic Plex reticle aids in long-range shooting. The Tactical rings of the proper height are also from Burris.
As expected, lowers are pretty much interchangeable with different uppers so that the user can swap out a varmint upper to make a big game rig or vice versa. All of the controls are in the familiar places, and operate like you expect them to. And Olympic AR triggers are some of the best I’ve ever tested.
I count about 23 different models of ARs in the current Olympic line. The exquisite “Ultramatch” (UM) and “Servicematch” (SM) models come with true .223 Remington chambers while virtually all of the other .22-caliber ARs have mil-spec 5.56mm chambers. (Both of my Olympic ARs are 5.56, and shoot all .223 loads with no problems whatsoever.) Standard twist for the UM model is 1:10-inch, but a 1:8-inch is available. This is reversed in the SM rifle, where 1:8-inch is the standard and 1:10 the option. For the majority of the 5.56 models, 1:9-inch is standard.
The “Gamestalker” Rifle is new for 2010 is chambered to the .300 Olympic Super Short Magnum (OSSM). Olympic says it’s designed for North American big game hunting. The efficient little round duplicates .30-06 ballistics out of a 22-inch barrel. You can’t get much more American than that. (Photo courtesy of Olympic Arms.)
An interesting variant