Ladies' pistols: classic and modern. Models overview

A pistol, called a ladies', only looks like a beautiful toy. In fact, this is a dangerous and even deadly weapon. Consider both the legendary "Walters", "Vestas", "Browning", and their modern alternatives.

What is a ladies' gun?

Ladies ', waistcoat, salon or pocket pistols are small devices, whose purpose is concealed wearing, unlike, for example, from the police officers' weapons. These small-caliber pistols include weapons for the .25 ACP cartridge, whose muzzle energy is 20% of the standard parabellum (9x16 mm).

Pocket weapons are mainly used for two purposes: self-defense of citizens and a spare pistol of law enforcement officers and special services. The second option is the reason that in ladies' small pistols the same types of cartridges are used as for the main service weapon of police and military personnel.

The first pocket pistols appeared in the XIX century - the ancestor of them is "Derringer" (the name came from the name of the creator of this type of weapon - G. Derringer). Because of the short trunk they were given the nickname "Bulldogs". The device quickly became popular in Europe and the US due to its simplicity, reliability, portability and high power. By the way, today silent models of the "Derrings" regularly serve the employees of the Russian special services and intelligence.

Pocket Gun Features

Let's touch on the main distinguishing features of small-caliber pistols:

• Ergonomics. The form of such weapons is always smoothened, lacking protruding elements - the gun will be useless if it gets stuck in your pocket or clings to the clothes. Platoon triggers and levers are replaced with buttons, fuses move to places where they are difficult to accidentally touch, or completely absent - the gun is designed self-cocking.
• Use cartridges of the same caliber as the service weapon. Such an increase in the power of the ladies' pistol does not give any reason to consider it a toy.
• Miniature mechanism. This feature leads to obvious inconveniences - the handle can sometimes be difficult to hold the little finger. Manufacturers solve this problem in different ways - lengthen the store, move it forward and down under the chamber.

Walter

Ladies' pistol "Walter" - a classic of small-caliber weapons. The company "Karl Walter Waffenfabrik", founded in 1886, began to produce similar devices in 1911. And it was pocket pistols that brought the company worldwide fame.

In total five models of mini-revolvers "Walter" were produced:

1. The first was compact and light, had an open casing-hood, impact type of mechanism. The magazine housed 6 cartridges of 6.35 mm.
2. The next version, patented in 1913, had a hidden trigger, and its point was an indicator of the presence of charges in the chamber.
3. The third version of small pistols "Walter" was a rarity (only 3,500 units were produced). It differed in the increase in the caliber to 7.65 mm and had an annoying drawback: the shells ejected through the side window fell into the field of view of the arrow, distracting it.
4. The fourth version was an eight-cartridge analog of the third, differed by a more simplified disassembly and an enlarged barrel.
5. The latest model is an improved version of the second edition, but only with a fixed whole and four cuts in the channel of the pistol barrel.

"Vesta"

The popular small-caliber Spanish pistol "Vesta" refers to the Eibar type (Eibar is a Spanish city that was a real armory capital of the 20th century). This automatic device had a caliber of 6.35 mm or 7.65 mm, a magazine for 6 charges.

The main difference of "Vesta" was the location of the fuse above the trigger, in the middle. In all other things, the gun resembled the legendary Browning, which will be discussed further.

Browning

The construction of the Belgian John Moses Browning was a real breakthrough in the women's arms industry at the beginning of the 20th century. "Browning Baby" was released in 1906. The length of the miniature pistol was 114 mm, the caliber was standard for such a weapon - 6.35 mm. Ladies "Browning" was used until the 1930s by Red Army men, until it was replaced by a similar Soviet "Korovin".

Serial production of revolvers "Browning" ended by the beginning of the Second World War. By that time, about one million copies of weapons were produced. The model has become a prototype for many developments of gunsmiths from the United States, Spain, Germany and other countries.

Modern compact pistols

Consider the top ten most popular handguns of the present time:

1. Ruger LC9s is a little more than 15-centimeter pistol, weighing 487 grams, with a caliber of 9 mm. In his store are placed 7 + 1 cartridges.

2. Glock 42 - a polymeric pocket weapon with a three-point sight for cartridges caliber .380. It is designed for 6 + 1 cartridges.

3. Springfield Range Officer Compact is considered a premium gun. For its production, hydrocarbon steel, aluminum alloy is used. The gun is made of optical fiber. In the pistol, 6 + 1 charges of .45 ACP caliber fit.

4. M & P Bodyguard 380 Crimson Trace is a model of the manufacturer, which has the richest range of pocket pistols - Smith & Wesson. This self-cocking weapon with a 6 + 1 store is considered one of the safest, and its handle with notches for fingers and a fish scales overlay is the most convenient.

5. M & P Bodyguard 38 Revolver Crimson Trace - this self-cocking already with a drum for 5 rounds. Manufacturers assure that this 16.7-centimeter revolver is as powerful as the classic one.

6. Kimber Solo Carry - high-quality pistol for cartridges of caliber 9 mm, capacity 6 + 1 cartridges. The length of the device is only 14 cm. Its distinguishing feature is a body covered with diamond-like spraying, making the pistol virtually invisible.

7. The Taurus 85VTA View is just a nice 5-gun with a transparent side of the frame, a gold-plated trigger and a chrome-plated trigger. For this weapon you need cartridges of .38 Special caliber.

8. Desert Eagle 1911U - the force of descent of his hook is measured only 1,5 kg. The magazine holds 6 + 1 .45 ACP caliber cartridges.

9. Walther CCP - a combination of classics and innovations in a single-color or two-color solution of the case. The capacity of the store of this 16-centimeter pistol is 8 + 1 charges of 9 mm caliber.

10. Sig Sauer P238 Extreme - a model that is quite popular among law enforcement officers. It also differs in the convenient arrangement of the fuse. Length - only 14 cm at the capacity of the store 7 + 1.

Ladies' pistols continue to remain popular today. The reason for this is that modern technologies have endowed them with a number of capabilities that allow these devices to be as powerful as their larger weapons.