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52-462: The M1900 was developed from John M. Browning's earlier prototypes in the late 1890s. The United States military tested the design against other semiautomatic pistols by European makers, and adopted some versions for trial use. The M1900 and variants were also offered commercially. Variants included the Model 1902 Sporting, Model 1902 Military , Model 1903 Pocket (only in .38 ACP models; the .32 ACP model

104-457: A barrel and bolt that slid in grooves machined in the frame. In the Browning design, the slide fitted into rails in the frame, and was integral with the bolt. The barrel rode in locking grooves machined into the interior of the slide, but attached to swinging links secured to the frame, one at the front and one at the rear. When the slide is forward (i.e., in battery ), the length of the links holds

156-603: A broken rear link caused the barrel to separate just behind the front link pin. After firing a total of 5,800 rounds through the pistol, the only significant problem found was the weakness of the link pins, which was considered readily fixed by the ordnance board. The board recommended purchasing a number of the Model 1900 Colt pistols for use in field trials. A number of variations of the Model 1900 were produced during 1900–1923. and all 9mm cartridges John Browning John Moses Browning (January 23, 1855 – November 26, 1926)

208-600: A design based on an adaptation of the Italian Renaissance style of architecture. The design includes three wings off a central lobby, the State Library on the left, Memorial Hall in the center and the Supreme Court on the right. Construction began on October 23, 1908, with Marc Eidlitz & Son of New York as the builder and general contractor. On November 28, 1910, State Librarian George Godard and his staff moved into

260-470: A dust chamber and a rust test. Colt's M1900 went second in tests due to a delay in production. Testing began in February 1900. The Colt had a number of initial problems, due to ill fitting parts in the trigger mechanism, which eventually required the attention of a manufacturer's representative, who fitted a new trigger mechanism. Once this was done, the pistol fired the remaining 293 rounds of the 500 allotted for

312-411: A fresh cartridge from the magazine. The barrel is caught, and moved forward with the slide, the camming action of the links lifting it again to lock into the matching grooves. This is identical to the modern style of short recoil action as developed for the later M1911, with the exception of employing both front and rear links, which causes the whole barrel to remain parallel to the slide as it drops out of

364-538: A grip and frame thumb safety at the start of production in 1904. It is possible that Colt found it cheaper to introduce the features into a new model, and the sales of the 1903 Pocket Hammerless were spectacular in comparison to the 1900/1902/1903 large frame automatics. By contrast, Mauser C96 's and Lugers had manual thumb safeties from the outset. The Model 1900s were initially fitted with distinctive "high" spur hammers until approximately serial 2400 when "stub" rounded hammers also began to appear, to avoid pinching of

416-639: A series of rifles and shotguns, most notably the lever action Winchester Model 1887 and the Model 1897 pump shotgun, the falling-block single-shot Model 1885 , and the lever-action Model 1886 , Model 1892 , Model 1894 , Model 1895 rifles. After falling out with Winchester, Browning designed the long recoil operated semi-automatic Remington Model 8 rifle. Many of the models are still in production today in some form; over six million Model 1894s had been produced as of 1983, more than any other sporting rifle in history. Winchester manufactured several popular small arms designed by John M. Browning. For decades in

468-414: A single fee payment. With this new product, Browning and his brother Matthew sought royalties based upon unit sales, rather than a single front-end fee payment. If the new shotgun became highly successful, the Browning company stood to make substantially more income. Winchester management, which had agreed to royalties for an earlier Browning shotgun design that was never manufactured, now refused to accede to

520-559: Is an Executive Branch agency of the State of Connecticut. The State Library Board determines policy for the State Library and provides for the supervision of the State Library by a State Librarian appointed by the Board. The State Library Board is within the Department of Education for administrative purposes only. The State Library Board consists of: The terms of appointed members are coterminous with

572-648: Is the state library for the U.S. state of Connecticut and is also an executive branch agency of the state. It is located in Hartford , Connecticut directly across the street from the Connecticut State Capitol . The State Library provides a variety of library, information, archival, public records, museum, and administrative services to the citizens of Connecticut, as well as the employees and officials of all three branches of state government. Students, researchers, public libraries and town governments throughout

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624-593: The Browning Citori made in Asia, continue to be manufactured into the 21st century and come with varying grades of fine hand engraving and premium quality wood. Throughout his life, Browning designed a vast array of military and civilian small arms for his own company, as well as for Winchester , Colt , Remington , Savage , Stevens , and Fabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium. Browning firearms have been made, both licensed and unlicensed, by hundreds of factories around

676-499: The telescoping bolt , then integrating the bolt and barrel shroud into what is known as the pistol slide . Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern semi-automatic pistol , as well as several modern fully automatic weapons. He also developed the first gas-operated firearm, the Colt–Browning Model 1895 machine gun  – a system that surpassed mechanical recoil operation to become

728-412: The 19th and 20th centuries and a pioneer of modern repeating , semi-automatic , and automatic firearms. Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design, especially the autoloading of ammunition. He invented, or made significant improvements to, single-shot, lever-action , and pump-action rifles and shotguns. He developed the first reliable and compact autoloading pistols by inventing

780-680: The Auto-5 ) and the new Model 1912 pump shotgun, which was based in small part upon design features of the earlier Browning-designed Winchester Model 1897 shotgun. This shift marked the end of an era of Winchester-Browning collaboration. John Browning was known as a dedicated and tireless innovator and experimenter who sought breakthrough consumer-oriented features and performance and reliability improvements in small arms designs. He did not retire in his later years but dedicated his entire adult life – literally to his last day – to these pursuits. On November 26, 1926, while working at

832-544: The Brownings' terms. Remington Arms also was approached but the president of the company died of a heart attack while the Brownings were waiting to offer him the gun. Remington would later produce a copy of the Auto-5 as the Model 11 which was used by the US Military and was also sold to the civilian market. Having recently successfully negotiated firearm licenses with Fabrique Nationale de Herstal of Belgium (FN), Browning took

884-533: The State's original 1662 Royal Charter, the 1639 Fundamental Orders, and the 1818 and 1964 State Constitutions. The focus of the Museum and its collections is Connecticut's government, military, and industrial history. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Connecticut State Library and Supreme Court Building was held on July 29, 1908. Architects Donn Barber of New York and E. T. Hapgood of Hartford envisioned

936-531: The U.S.'s standard military side arm until 1986; a variant is still used by special operations units of the United States Marine Corps and the design remains very popular among civilian shooters and some police departments. The Browning Hi-Power has had a similarly lengthy period of military service outside the United States. The .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun – the enduring "Ma Deuce" –

988-437: The age of seven, where he was taught basic engineering and manufacturing principles, and encouraged to experiment with new concepts. He developed his first rifle, a single-shot falling block action design while he was still his father's apprentice, then, in 1878, in partnership with his younger brother, co-founded John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company, later renamed Browning Arms Company . The company began producing

1040-425: The barrel up, locking it securely into matching grooves in the slide. Upon recoiling, the barrel and slide move backwards a short distance, locked together, until the arc of the links pulls the barrel downwards, disengaging it from the slide and halting its rearward motion. The barrel then stops moving, while the slide continues rearwards, extracting and ejecting the fired cartridge case and then returns forward, loading

1092-524: The bench on a self-loading pistol design for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) in Liège , he died of heart failure in the design shop of his son Val A. Browning . Even the 9 mm semi-automatic pistol he was working on when he died had great design merit and was eventually completed in 1935 by Belgian designer Dieudonné Saive . Released as the Fabrique Nationale GP35, it was more popularly known as

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1144-608: The brothers' designs and other non-military firearms. By 1882, the company employed John and Matthew's half-brothers Jonathan (1859–1939), Thomas (1860–1943), William (1862–1919), and George (1866–1948). Like his father, Browning was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served a two-year mission in Georgia beginning on March 28, 1887. He married Rachel Theresa Child (September 14, 1860 – September 30, 1934) on April 10, 1879, in Ogden, Weber County, Utah Territory, and

1196-547: The couple had 10 children, two of whom died in infancy. Production examples of the Browning Model 1878 Single Shot Rifle caught the attention of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company , who dispatched a representative to evaluate the competition. Winchester bought the design for $ 8,000 and moved production to their Connecticut factory. From 1883, Browning worked in partnership with Winchester and designed

1248-431: The dust test. After accelerated rusting with sal ammoniac , the pistol was frozen so that the slide would not move. A sharp blow on the edge of a table with the slide freed it enough to allow the slide to operate, and a round to be chambered. After firing the first round, the slide failed to return to battery, but was readily closed, and the remaining rounds functioned without malfunction. All remaining ammunition, 23 rounds,

1300-538: The endurance test, plus an additional 150 rounds with no malfunctions. Another supply of ammunition, consisting of 350 rounds of low velocity .38 ACP ammunition (935 ft/s (285 m/s)) was also tested, with no adjustments to the recoil spring. This was done to test the repaired trigger mechanism, and while it was not expected to function with the pistol tuned for the 1,200 ft/s (370 m/s) ammunition, only four failures were experienced with this ammunition. The pistol fired all ten rounds with no malfunctions during

1352-406: The introduction of the .357 Magnum in the mid-1930s). This was a larger caliber bullet than used by other contemporary designs, which were predominantly 7.6 mm, or .308 caliber (i.e., 7.62×25mm Tokarev / 7.63×25mm Mauser , .32 ACP , etc.), yet fired at similar velocities, giving more power. The .38 ACP was also a much faster cartridge than the .38 Long Colt revolver cartridge in service at

1404-515: The late 19th century-early 20th century, Browning designs and Winchester firearms were synonymous and the collaboration was highly successful. This came to an end when Browning proposed a new long recoil operated semi-automatic shotgun design, a prototype finished in 1898, to Winchester management, which ultimately became the Browning Auto-5 shotgun. As was the custom of the time, Browning's earlier designs had been sold exclusively to Winchester for

1456-421: The locking grooves. The M1911, and most other pistols since, found that it was only necessary to use a single rear link and locking grooves in the rear. When the slide retracts, only the rear of the barrel is dropped, causing it to tilt relative to the slide, while a fixed barrel bushing holds the front of the barrel in place when the slide is in battery, yet allows for movement of the slide and barrel. This approach

1508-668: The most copied firearms in the world. Browning's father Jonathan —who was among the thousands of pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who made an exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois , to Utah —established a gunsmith shop in Ogden in 1852. As was common in the Latter-day Saint community at the time, Jonathan Browning was a polygamist , having taken three wives. He fathered 22 children, including John Moses, and raised two stepdaughters with his wife Elizabeth Caroline Clark. Browning worked in his father's Ogden shop from

1560-529: The new building. An addition to the East Wing in 1969 was designed by Architects Jeter & Cook. Bartlett-Brainard & Eacott, Inc. was the general contractor. The addition featured Museum exhibition space, an extensive stack area, and administrative office space. The library building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, recognizing both its architecture and its significance as

1612-507: The new fixed sight. Although Colt considered a new firing pin safety mounted on the left side of the slide with one prototype, it did not produce such a model. This was possibly a mistake as the lack of safety features probably affected sales – the recommended way to carry a safety-less Colt automatic was with an empty chamber, requiring the user the rack the slide to chamber a round before firing – which made it slower to get in action and required two hands, as well as making it impossible to render

Colt M1900 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1664-478: The new shotgun design to FN; the offer was accepted and FN manufactured the new shotgun, honoring its inventor, as the Browning Auto-5. The Browning Auto-5 was continuously manufactured as a highly popular shotgun throughout the 20th century. In response, Winchester shifted reliance away from John Browning designs when it adopted a shotgun design of Thomas Crossley Johnson for the new Winchester Model 1911 SL, (Johnson had to work around Browning's patents of what became

1716-478: The re-adoption of the .45 Colt , and eventually led the War Department to specify a minimum caliber of .45 for the new handgun. The prototype .41 caliber Colt automatic cartridge was never produced in production quantity, but the concept anticipated the development of the .40 S&W by over 90 years. Colt did produce a few "Model 1903" .41 cal. pistols, conversions of Model 1902 Military Models (the 1902 Military

1768-404: The safety blocked the firing pin , when pushed up it performed as the rear sight. This gave an immediate visual indicator of whether the safety was on or off when one went to aim the pistol, without resorting to feeling for the safety lever. The first 1900s were equipped with rear milled slide grooves but when it was found that this could interfere with the sight safety (one could inadvertently flip

1820-422: The safety on or off while manipulating the slide) the milled slide grooves were moved to the front. This safety was used in about the first 3,000 production pistols. Colt then installed a conventional rear sight and eliminated the sight safety although the cut in the slide remained but was plugged. The grooves, remained in the front of the slide. There are earlier sight safety M1900s that were factory retrofitted with

1872-786: The standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide. He also made significant contributions to automatic cannon development. Browning's most successful designs include the M1911 pistol , the water-cooled M1917 , the air-cooled M1919 , and heavy M2 machine guns, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle , and the Browning Auto-5  – the first semi-automatic shotgun . Some of these arms are still manufactured, often with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics to those assembled by Browning or his licensees. The Browning-designed M1911 and Hi-Power are some of

1924-481: The state are also served by the State Library. In addition, the State Library directs a program of statewide library development and administers the Library Services Technology Act state grant. "The mission of the Connecticut State Library is to preserve and make accessible Connecticut's history and heritage and to advance the development of library services statewide." The Connecticut State Library

1976-555: The state publication depository library system; the retention, destruction, and transfer of documents; the "borrowIT CT" (formerly known as Connecticard) program; and statewide library programs. The Division of Library Development administers many programs to support public libraries in the state: The Museum of Connecticut History consists of Memorial Hall, a magnificently restored Beaux-Arts style gallery, and three adjoining exhibit areas. On permanent display are portraits of Connecticut Governors as well as historical documents, including

2028-507: The successful Browning Hi-Power pistol, a favorite of sportsmen and gun collectors as well as many military and law enforcement agencies around the world. The premium-priced Browning Superposed shotgun, an over-under shotgun design, was his last completed firearm design. It was marketed originally with twin triggers; a single trigger modification was later completed by his son, Val Browning. Commercially introduced in 1931 by FN, Browning Superposed shotguns, and their more affordable cousins,

2080-648: The term of their appointing authority. The State Librarian, who serves as the chief administrative officer of the Board, is appointed by the Board. Section 11-1 of the Connecticut General Statutes assigns to the Board the responsibility for: Under the direction of the State Library Board, the State Librarian is responsible for developing and directing a public records management program. The State Library Board approves rules and regulations for

2132-576: The time, which fired a 130-grain (8.4 g) bullet at 770 ft/s (230 m/s) (albeit 130 grains being a heavier bullet). Colt was also experimenting with a .41 caliber cartridge for use in the Model 1900, as reported to the Ordnance Department during testing. Like the .41 Long Colt , this probably used a .400 inch bullet. The poor performance of the .38 Long Colt in combat in the Philippine–American War of 1899–1902 resulted in

Colt M1900 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2184-532: The unusual "blow-forward" action Steyr Mannlicher M1894 , and the Browning-designed Colt M1900, which was not ready until after testing started. Testing consisted of accuracy, penetration , and reliability tests, ergonomics (or ease-of-use) testing, and torture tests . Ergonomics were considered very important, as the pistol was intended for use by cavalry, which meant it had to be readily operated and reloaded from horseback. Torture tests included

2236-426: The weapon safe after firing a partial magazine, without dropping the magazine and extracting the chambered round, itself a dangerous operation in a gun without a safety. This was a major complaint of the military when they tested it, something Colt was for some reason loath to fix in the 1900-1902-1903 series of pistols. The only exception was the new small-sized Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless , a completely new design with

2288-959: The web of the thumb and snagging on clothing while drawing. As approximately 1,450 of the M1900 "high" hammers were left over when the M1900 merged into the M1902 sporting model, (the 1902 sporting model being a continuation with some internal modifications of the M1900) starting at serial 4275, it might be surmised that perhaps approximately 3,000 "high" hammer (mostly early) and about 1274 "stub" hammer M1900s were produced. Stub hammers may also possibly show up in some retrofitted earlier pistols. Numbers at this time can only be considered approximate. Collectors need to continue to post and communicate observations of surviving pistols. The United States War Department solicited designs of semiautomatic pistols in 1899, and chose three samples to test; recoil-operated Mauser C96 "Broomhandle",

2340-700: The world. Browning Arms Company was established in 1927, the year after Browning's death on November 26, 1926, in Liège, Belgium. In 1977, FN Herstal acquired the company. The M1895 Machine Gun saw action in the Spanish–American War with the United States Marine Corps. The Colt M1911 , Browning 1917/19 , and the BAR saw action with US forces in World War I , World War II , and the Korean War . The M1911 went on to serve as

2392-440: Was a different design), and the Model 1905, which introduced the .45 ACP cartridge. Starting in 1909, new designs removed the front barrel link, which was replaced with a simple bushing. These designs evolved into the related M1911 pistol . Unlike the designs of other early semi-automatic pistols , Browning's design used a full-length slide that covered the full length of the barrel , as opposed to other designs which utilized

2444-402: Was an American firearm designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges , and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world. He made his first firearm at age 13 in his father's gun shop and was awarded the first of his 128 firearm patents on October 7, 1879, at the age of 24. He is regarded as one of the most successful firearms designers of

2496-489: Was an improved M1900/02), for the cartridge before the development of the cartridge ended. One of the .41 pistols is on display in the Connecticut State Library , Hartford , Connecticut (the birthplace of Colt's Manufacturing Co.) The most prominent feature of the Model 1900 was the sight safety , which while a good idea in theory, did not work out well in execution, and proved to be unpopular. When pushed down

2548-590: Was developed in 1918, entered service with the US Armed Forces in 1921, and has remained in active service for over a century with militaries across the world in a variety of roles. The 37mm M4 autocannon was initially designed by Browning in 1921 and entered service in 1938; it was used both in aircraft and on U.S. Navy PT boats during World War II. Several of Browning's designs are still in production today. Some of his most notable designs include: Connecticut State Library The Connecticut State Library

2600-673: Was established by an act of the Connecticut General Assembly in May 1854. James Hammond Trumbull was appointed the first State Librarian. There have been only eleven State Librarians. The collections were first kept in the State Houses in Hartford and New Haven and then in the present day Capitol. In 1910 they were relocated to the State Library and Supreme Court building in Hartford where they are housed today. The Connecticut State Library

2652-565: Was found to work perfectly well, and saved in complexity, cost of manufacture, as well as simplicity of assembly and disassembly. The new design also featured a new cartridge, the .38 Automatic Colt Pistol . Despite the name, this cartridge used a .357 caliber bullet weighing 107 grains (6.9 g), at a muzzle velocity of 1,259 feet per second (384 m/s), a tradition born when the earlier .38 Special switched from heeled bullets to smaller-diameter inside-lubricated bullets, yet retained its original ".38" designation (and only broken upon

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2704-433: Was then fired through the rusted gun with no malfunction. The Colt performed well enough during the first round of testing that the board subjected it to additional endurance testing. A 900-round trial resulted in only two failures, both misfires due to defective primers. Additional ammunition was procured, and testing continued. During this testing, a number of link pins were also broken, and in one case continued firing with

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