A Blowback 9 mm?

by
posted on November 7, 2011
wiley-clapp.jpg (1)

There are two basic types of automatic pistol mechanisms, known as actions. One is the blowback; while the other is known as recoil operated. Both accomplish the same thing: The breech is held closed until the bullet exits the muzzle before using the residual energy to extract and eject the spent case, load another cartridge and close the breech.

A blowback system is simpler, easier to manufacture and usually more compact. A recoil-operated system uses some form of mechanical lock—over-center toggle, rotating barrel, pivoting block or tilting barrel—to lock the barrel and slide together until the bullet exits the muzzle and pressure drops.

For many years, the blowback type used a rather heavy slide and strong spring to do this, while the recoil-operated guns used one of the mentioned locks. It was customary for pistols of .380 and smaller to be blowback, with guns chambered for 9 mm Luger and larger to be recoil-operated guns. The 9 mm was a de facto dividing line and there were no exceptions. In the interest of building a smaller and more easily concealable gun of greater power, several firms tried to make a blowback 9 mm. Walther tried twice, so did Astra and the most recent effort was the S&W SW9. All of these guns were plain failures. So, is it possible to make a blowback 9 mm?

Of course it is.

And it has been done quite successfully. Consider the innovative Heckler & Koch VP70. Among other distinctions, the gun had a polymer-covered steel receiver, brilliantly designed sights, rugged trigger mechanism and blowback operation. But the resulting gun was so big that it could not realistically fulfill any normal pistol role and fell into some gray area between service pistol and submachine gun. This is true of several other firearms that ended up being oddities and not widely distributed firearms.

The irony of this situation lies in the modern designer's discovery that you can make a very small .380 pistol—if you use a recoil-operated breech locking system.

Latest

Making Remington Shotshells Artv 3
Making Remington Shotshells Artv 3

Making Remington Shotshells

Remington Ammunition loads every kind of cartridge used by today's firearm enthusiasts, but the company is particularly known for its line of shotshells. Here's how they're made.

Preview: Savage Arms AccuCan Suppressors

With the launch of its AccuCan collection of suppressors, Savage Arms enters yet another product category in its continual push for growth.

New For 2023: Glock 49 MOS

The Glock G49, available as a limited edition through TALO Distributors, combines the slide and barrel length of a Glock 17 with the frame height of a Glock 19.

Colt CBX TacHunter: Precision For The Field

With an all-new bolt-action rifle that is likely to prove as versatile and capable as its brand suggests, Colt, the 187-year-old firearm icon, turns over a new leaf with its newly developed CBX line now in production at the company’s historic Hartford, Conn., factory.

InfiRay Outdoor Opens New U.S. Headquarters In Texas

Established in 2020, InfiRay Outdoor (iRayUSA), the United States Distributor of InfiRay Outdoor thermal optics, has opened a new headquarters building in Lewisville, Texas.

Review: Nighthawk Custom Counselor

There are myriad makers of the time-tested M1911 pistol, but very few concentrate solely on “premium” M1911s, and rarer still are those that are successful at doing so.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.