A Selection of Chinese Mystery Pistols
China
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22m
During the 1920s and 1930s, a combination of civil wars and international arms embargoes led to a lot of domestic firearms production in China. The size and quality of manufacturing facilities varied widely - everything from massive factories established with European technical assistance to one-man shops only a step or two above being blacksmiths. The weapons produced varied in quality to match. Among other weapons made during this period were handguns mechanically based on several European designs (the Browning 1900, Mauser C96, and Mauser 1910/14, primarily). These handguns show a huge variety of aesthetic designs, gibberish markings, and fake proof marks. They are virtually all single action, simple blowback designs, chambered for .32ACP or 7.63 Mauser. This auction at RIA includes a whole bunch of these pistols, so I picked out a handful of good examples to show some of the elements often seem among them.
Up Next in China
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Shansei .45ACP Broomhandle
During the Chinese civil war in the 1920s and 30s, international arms embargoes made rifles difficult to acquire - which led to a lot of popularity for pistols with shoulder stocks. The C96 "broomhandle" Mauser in particular was popular, and it was copied by a number of Spanish firms for sale in ...
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China's CF-98 Service Pistol
China adopted this pistol in 1998 in a domestic 5.8x21mm cartridge, and also manufactured examples like this one in 9x19mm Parabellum for export. It is a design built around a sheet metal skeleton holding the fire control parts, with a polymer grip assembly that can be changed out. A rotating bar...
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EXTRA VID: How Well Does A Mint 1963 ...
Bloke takes his mint 1963 dated Chinese Type 56 Carbine / SKS out to 300m to see how well it is zeroed, and how well it shoots. The first shot you see here is genuinely his first ever shot with this rifle at any distance.
It is surprisingly well zeroed with S&B 123gn FMJ out the box, and shoot...