David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. XXVI

[curmudgeon]

I'll certainly concur on the Thompson....

[akray]

David, the thing I appreciate most about these pictures of your guns is that it's easy to tell that you use them. They get carried and fired.

That's also one thing I used to like about Mike Venturino's articles. I still like it. His guns look like some of mine. The blue on his guns is worn, they don't all have the factory wood, etcetera. They're used. Don't get me wrong, I take care of my guns but sometimes they get a drop of blood on them, or bluing wear from being carried in a pocket or holster or slung on my back. I use mine too and when you're out hunting or in the field it's hard to keep them looking unmarred.

[alukban]

Hey David,

Any chance you got to fondle or shoot Mr. Ruger's Savage 99 that he had converted to semi-auto? Pictures?

[bradshaw]

akray.... takes considerable leather time to polish brushed stainless. Brushed stainless enjoys the virtues of reflecting less light than polished stainless, and hiding minor scuffs, which in turn are easily brushed out with a Scotchbright pad. The ability of blue to resist wear depends on high polish and particularly fine bluing, such as seen on some older Smiths. The holster plays a part, too, with snug, properly maintained (cleaned & treated) hide far less abrasive than loose, dirty leather. Leather treatment, such as neatsfoot oil or mink oil mixed with graphite, and rubbed into the sight track and contact areas, helps protect blue.

alukban.... as you infer, William Ruger, Sr., esteemed the Savage Model 1899 lever action for its compactness, strength, and smoothness----especially with spool magazine. In his initial attempt at a machine gun.

John Moses Browning first experiment bled gas at the muzzle to power a tappet or flapper, linked to the lever via a connecting rod. I believe Browning started with an Winchester Model 1873. Browning may have used his 1892 Winchester. The machine gun was, of course, invented by former Maine farm boy Hiram Maxim.

I listened to Ruger, Sr., on Browning one evening. "To appreciate the brilliance of John Moses Browning, said Ruger, "it is important to understand that he designed his machine gun AROUND Maxim's patents, a nearly impossible task."

No, I never laid eyes on, let alone handled, Ruger's experimental machine guns.

A note on full auto fire: the M16 beat the Mini 14 in NATO desert trials----as long as the ejection port cover was kept closed at all times except while firing. When the port cover was left open, the Mini 14 passed the M16.

I have fired the machine gun variant----AC 556----of the Mini 14, stainless and chrome moly versions, until the gun was too hot to hold. The trigger would burn your finger. Flash hider eroding. Lubed or dry, they kept firing. I noticed that stainless takes longer to heat up and then longer to cool down. "Dark convects heat; light reflects heat," said Bill Ruger, Jr. "That is why you don't chrome plate or paint white the cylinders on a Harley Davidson. It is a principle to which engineers must pay attention."
David Bradshaw

[hairy]

Fun facts to know and tell:

Maxim's son, Hiram Percy Maxim won the first transcontinental automobile race. He also started the American Radio Relay League or ARRL in Newington, CT. The ARRL is the amateur radio operators version of the NRA.

[bradshaw]

hairy.... sounds like the Maxims were a maximum family. Hiram's brother Hudson Maxim got into the dynamite business. In the Ruger, Jr., library, there is a book, published around 1916, by Hudson Maxim titled DYNAMITE STORIES. Collection of anecdotes, riddled with humor at the folly of Man. Hudson Maxim describes getting on a train in New Jersey with a bag of nitrated guncotton. Woman careens into Hudson and his bag of excitement, muscling her buffalo butt onto the seat. Maxim must have sweat bullets. I count that as more dangerous than sprinting with a sack of blasting caps. In terms of excitability, nitrated guncotton makes nitroglycerine look like clay.
David Bradshaw

[rgates]

Not to detract from the very interesting posts about the Ruger family, but I do have a question that Mr. Ruger Jr. brought up. I have a Standard Model 6-inch purchased in about 1973-74. The magazines have been troublesome to me. I would like to know if the MK-II or MK-III magazines could be used in the original Standard Model. Maybe swap the follower button to the other side? I would prefer a 10-shot mag to the original 9-shot mags and especially if the MK-II's are more reliable. Any experiences with these would be appreciated.

[bradshaw]

rgates.... In discussing the Mark II 5-1/4" tapered heavy with Bill, Jr., the subject of magazines came up. The first generation magazines----Standard and MK I models----have split feed lips, reminiscent of early (I believe) Colt and High Standard. The MK II magazine is much superior. It is my understanding that, by swapping follower button to the other side, the MK II fits the first generation pistols. And, I have heard that the MK III fits the MK II, while the MK II lacks the thumb catch slot of the MK III. Others with personal experience should chime in.
David Bradshaw

[hairy]

Jan 24, 2014 12:18:51 GMT -5 bradshaw said:

hairy.... sounds like the Maxims were a maximum family. Hiram's brother Hudson Maxim got into the dynamite business. In the Ruger, Jr., library, there is a book, published around 1916, by Hudson Maxim titled DYNAMITE STORIES. Collection of anecdotes, riddled with humor at the folly of Man. Hudson Maxim describes getting on a train in New Jersey with a bag of nitrated guncotton. Woman careens into Hudson and his bag of excitement, muscling her buffalo butt onto the seat. Maxim must have sweat bullets. I count that as more dangerous than sprinting with a sack of blasting caps. In terms of excitability, nitrated guncotton makes nitroglycerine look like clay.
David Bradshaw

David

That would seem to understate things a little bit. Perhaps even a minimun family. In the book HIRAM PERCY MAXIM penned by Alice Clink Schumacher ISBN: 0-9663433-C-1 that was copyrighted in 1998, there is a photo dated April 23, 1908 of Hiram Percy Maxim holding a Winchester lever action rifle with his first Maxim Silencer. Also picture are, Hiram Hamilton Maxim (age 8), a Mr. Jenkins (a patent attorney), T.Wells Goodridge (HPM partner, i.e. in the business sense of the word and Best Man) as well as Simon Britt, the machinist that turned out HPM's silencer design.

HPM's father had been Knighted by Queen Victoria for his war efforts (a.k.a. machine gun). HPM was a graduate of MIT and a practicing engineer at the age of 17, he pioneered gliders, as well as air filtering and cooling, radio and foresaw television. He also participated in America's first overses radio communication in 1921. His wife was the daughter of a former Governor of Maryland.

While some may invent and be over achievers, I suspect that HPM and his relatives were simply on that stain of people known as brilliant, a term that also applies to Mr. Ruger.

I suspect they had the incureable disease of, I wonder what if?

By the way, the book is well worth the time to read even if you have no interest in electronics, the venue that he is probably most famous for.

[bradshaw]

As Bill Ruger, Jr., observed, the MK 514 Mark II tapered heavy barrel Target Model 5-1/4" is handsome, balanced pistol. While there is no reason to sell a prolifically produced 5-1/2" bull to buy the rarer 5-1/4", I was curious to weight the two pistols pictured above, side-by-side.

* MK II tapered heavy 5-1/4"----37 ounces, or 2-5/16 lbs.
* MK II bull 5-1/2"----41 ounces, or 2-9/16 lbs.

David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Note on the Ruger MK I Target Pistol:
Ruger Pistols and Revolvers----the Vintage Years 1949-1973, by John C. Dugan, page 62, photo of MK I Target Pistol T514. This is the tapered bull 5-1/4" barrel, and it is dated 1952. Bill Rugher, Jr., described the MK II T514 tapered bull as a favorite configuration. To be sure, it is an eminently shootable .22, with heft and balance sufficient to dampen the time between hammer fall and bullet exit. Ken O'Neill reports respectable performance from a stainless version.

I had thought the 5-1/4" tapered bull arrived much later than the 5-1/2" bull barrel, but the MK I T512 is dated 1965 in the book. Don't know when my MK II T514 was made----the MK II with new (and improved) 10-shot magazine and thumb operated bolt latch was introduced in 1982.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Bill Ruger, Jr., with his favorite configuration of his favored MK II Target Pistol.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

matt56.... a few notes on the Ruger MK II.

For those just tuning in, “curmudgeon” is the handle for our late Lee Jurras.
David Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

The “514"----MK II with tapered heavy 5-1/4” barrel----was Bill, Jr.’s favorite.
David Bradshaw

[diddle]

I have often wondered what kind of mind expanding substance Bill Sr. was on when he designed the action works in that first pistol. I mean this in the most flattering way. Who in the world could ever see that in their mind and then build it? A: Only a pure mechanical genius. I can hardly put mine back together!