.44 Magmatic

[Lee Martin]

David Bradshaw and I were talking last night and Jon Power's old 44 Magmatic came up. According to David only 4 - 6 were ever produced in the late 1970's. Pretty neat pistol considering it fired standard .44 Magnum and pre-dated the Desert Eagle. I thought some of you may be interested in seeing a photo of one:



I'll let David provide more detail on the gun itself (he was fortunate to know Jon and also fire one back in the day). I'm also curious to whereabouts of any of these prototypes.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[hairy]

Now, if it was available in .41 Mag. I woould be even more excited.

[Lee Martin]

Powers never chambered a 41 but there was talk of a 45 Colt Magmatic.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[cj3a]

Looks like a high standard. Neat

[bradshaw]

Great find and post of Magmatic photo, Lee. A look at photo shows:
* grip safety
* manual safety above trigger
* Micro sight
* rotating bolt
* gas piston boss below barrel at frame
* standard .44 Remington Magnum

A detail, which Jon Powers explained to me: while the pistol resembles a beefy Colt Woodsman, the hammer/sear arrangement works opposite that of the Woodsman. On the Colt, impact of slide going into battery acts to disengage sear. Powers studied effect and made his sear work opposite, so that slide-into-battery impact acts to reinforce sear engagement.

Powers told me he had built six Magmatics. Machine work is simply superb.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Jon Powers and I teamed up at one of Richard Davis' Second Chance bowling pin matches. Powers brought along a Magmatic, and I had one of two prototypes in the USA of the Beretta 9mm Luger that would soon replace the Browning/Colt 1911. Beretta loaned me the prototype to take to Second Chance.

The other prototype was at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida (site of the joint services procurement tests). Operative word "was," as this pistol also showed up at the Second Chance shoot. Up at the Second Chance match in Michigan, Powers traded use of his Magmatic for various submachine guns and beaucoup ammunition.

I found the Beretta to be much sought after by cops and military, all of whom wanted to try the pistol and be able to tell everyone back home what they'd shot. As Powers was trading his Magmatic for guns and ammunition, I traded use of the prototype Beretta for submachine guns, but mostly thousands of rounds----ammo no doubt looted from armories. Image of mass mayhem as Chief of Police screams, "Where's the ammo?"

A cop with his department's Thompson M1921 falls in love with the .44 Magmatic; he loans Powers the chopper. In exchange, Jon Powers takes the THOMPSON SUBMACHINE GUN. The CHICAGO PIANO is an aesthetic and performance favorite of Powers. And you can see why: the Thompson exudes machine tool brilliance, as do the guns crafted by Jon Powers. This Model 1921 Thompson is restamped "1928" and carries the heavier M-1928 bolt, reducing the rate of fire from 800+ rpm to 500 rpm. Double pistol grips, ventilating rib barrel with Cutts Compensator, interchangeable stick magazines and 50-rd drum. Powers and I soon discover the 50-round drum on full blast runs dry in 4-seconds.

Jon Powers wastes no time putting the Thompson to work. The bowling pins are shot against the clock from 25 feet. Scantily clad----that is, wholesome----high school girls holding stop watches time each individual shooter, or team. Soft body armor inventor Richard Davis sits like a Kevlar Emperor in lifeguard chair and fires a revolver in the air to start each relay. The girl in an economy of cloth hits the stop button as your last pin thumps the ground. The pins are lined up on the front edge of a steel topped table, and must be pushed three feet to fall off the table. Pins often spin on the table, waiting on more lead before flying off to kiss the dirt.

For the 4-man team event, Powers and I are joined by a drug cop fresh from tangling with smugglers in Florida, and by firearms instructor/writer/marksman Massod Ayoob. Powers plays Chicago Piano, Florida cop on long magazine 12 gauge 870, Massod Ayoob on long magazine Remington 1100 automatic shotgun. And me with handgun----make that four handguns----a Jim Clark Colt 1911 borrowed from Colt representative Lew Sharpe; another borrowed Colt 1911 thrust in my belt; my Bo-Mar ribbed 5" Model 29 .44 Mag worked over by Ron Power and Mag-na-Port, with French walnut grips by knifemaker Clay Gault; and, last, my M-29 4" seen recently on this forum.

During one string of 40 pins----we were having too much fun----Powers empties the Chicago Piano, splattering pins, the drug agent shucks out a torrent of buckshot from his 870, Massod Ayoob empties his drainpipe-magazine Rem 1100. And your humble writer blasts 8-rounds apiece from two Colt 1911's----shooting the .45's one-at-a-time, naturally, followed by six .44's from the 5-inch 29. the boys reload feverishly as one orphan pin spins on the the table. Two .45's lay at this shooter's feet, the 5" 29 which swingss by lanyard from his neck as the M29 4-inch is drawn; its first shot spins the spinning pin off the table. Elapsed time 9 seconds, laughter and all.

A few beers one night in "town"----a street with a saloon. Drive back to hayfield camp site, pitched full of contestants tents. Powers sits crosslegged in his tent, cleaning the beautiful Thompson. Powers reassembles the chopper, studying it closely. Winds the magazine spring of the 50-round drum, loads in a box of GI ball, fastens cover.

Roar of two motorcycles, throttling down as they turn onto our hayfield campground. Tell by the sound it's the two LEO been with at the bar. Bikes rumble over a tent. Shouting inside the canvas.

BR-R-RAP... BR-R-R-R-A-A-APP----burst of M16. People in underwear, probably naked, firing at the stars. Jon Powers leaps out tent, muzzle erect, sliding drum into receiver. Wipes actuator. DUDDA DUDDA DUDDA----sky stitched full of bullet holes----DUDDA DUDDA... BA-BOOM BA-BOOM of shotguns... KA-POW POW POW of pistols... Smoke drifts across flashlight beams. The firing dies down. A murmur of satisfaction sweeps the tents. Hundreds of grinning faces go to sleep.

David Bradshaw

[Doc Barranti]

Great story, David! Thanks for sharing!

[mbogo]

David, you have a gift for telling stories. Thanks for sharing. Still holding one back though....

[jonwpowers]

Thanks for the story Dave. Hazel & I got a few good laughs from it.

[bradshaw]

Jon,
Sufferin' baglapper!
Happy New Year
with best in Health to
Hazel & you...

...now if I can possibly find a few photos of your beautiful falling block single shot .50 BMG rifle,
David

[sheriff]

Great story, David!

[bradshaw]

Folk who weren't around them days should know what we mean by long magazine shotgun----30 or 32" barrel with magazine out to the muzzle loaded with buckshot. Think it was the gunsmith with handlebar mustache from Cylinder & Slide had a left-hand 1100 bolted to a right-hand 1100, with the long barrels, single pistol grip and trigger, a double blast of buckshot for each pull. Double barrel automatic shotgun.
David Bradshaw

[Deleted]

I grew up around the Hauserman family from Kansas. Both brothers hit Second Chance annually, shot well enough to be made "Master Blaster". I never made it up there, but the stories were grand.

[bagdadjoe]

Sorry I missed that party...

[jonwpowers]

  Uhhh, what's with the 41 stuff?  A 44 can do everything a 41 can do, and do it even better. A 45 Colt in a Magmatic can do way more than a 44 in same. A Magmatic is so easy to shoot that recoil is never a problem. My 110 Lb wife Hazel could shoot these easily. Now about noise; even a 357 Mag is too hard on the ears, but a Magmatic is less noisy that a revolver, more like a contender, because no cylinder/barrel gap, and about 200/250 FPS faster with any load, comparing Magmatic barrel to revolver barrel plus cylinder length.

  Try 45 Colt R-P cases, 40 grains WW296, CCI magnum pistol primer, 225 grain Speer HP, seated to crimp in cannilur. This load is highly compressed and actually bulges the case some, but not enough to prevent chambering. This load is more powerful than the same bullet in a 454 Casull (which loaded 36 Gr WW 296 in a longer case)and not recommended in ANY revolver I know of. Shot in a Magmatic 8.5" barrel in 45 LC, 2050 FPS @ 2100 Ft Lbs.  Marlin 1894 Cowboy 24" barrel, 2450 FPS @ 3000 Ft Lbs. Kent Lomont pressure tested this load, when he was in Indiana and in my presents, at about 72,000 PSI, so this load is not for anything but experimenting and head removals (sic).

  I enertia pulled a bullet and the powder stayed in the case, caked.
 
  The same compression in a 44 Mag case (bulging). 200 grain Speer, 36 Gr WW296. and  240 Speer SP, 32 Gr WW 296. I forgot velocities.

  These loads have absolutely no flash, even at night you have to stand aside the muzzle and look into it to see any (very dim) light at all.
  With a 44 and 240 Speer, flash cuts off completely at 28 Gr WW 296. With 25 grAIns there is lots of flash. No flash = no unburned powder left in chamber or barrel.

Jon William Powers