Lugers...Why?

At certain times in history, there is a confluence of events which result in the emergence of a work of art. One such time was in 1846/47 when the merging of the Mexican war with the need of commander Sam Walker for a powerful, accurate repeater, with Sam Colt who had the original design for a single action, cylinder locking, revolver mechanism and with Eli Whitney Jr. who had the means to manufacture the U.S. Government's first and heaviest repeating .44 for the Texas Rangers. This work of art was the Whitneyville-Walker Colt. The original design needed modifying so as to conform to the realities of battle, but the basic design was manufactured up until the Model 1873 Single Action Army which was the standard U.S. sidearm until the turn of the 20th Century.


Another confluence of events was the advent of smokeless powder, the need for a truely repeating firearm, and the joint effort of an unwilling Hugo Borchardt and Georg Luger to produce an elegant solution to the problem of the first commercially successful semiautomatic firearm. The Borchardt was a work of art in itself, utilizing the

toggle design seen as early as the 1850s in Smith & Wesson's iron frame Volcanic. But when Georg Luger modified the Borchardt, a work of art was elevated to a masterpiece and add the fit, beautiful machining and finish, and large diversity of models, is it a wonder why firearm enthusiasts everywhere are attracted to this time proven jewel. Add the history of two world wars and the depravity of Nazism and one can see why the appeal of the Luger will continue with ever rising prices.


Ciao,


Bill S. ([email protected])