gunnut1
03-03-2011, 10:28
The Model 3 was only produced for a very short time, probably less than 2 years, and only about 3,500 were made, making it one of the rarest early Walthers. The Model 3 was said to be prized by secret agents during the cold war because of its concealable size and relatively powerful round.
But World War I required a handgun more suitable for military use, and the Walther Company designed the Model 4 as quickly as possible by simply enlarging the Model 3, giving it a larger grip, longer barrel, better sights, and a greater magazine capacity. They were rewarded with an order from the German government in May of 1915 for 250,000 Model 4s. Some might wonder why a .32 caliber handgun was ordered for military use, when the primary service weapon was the much more powerful Luger 9mm P08 Parabellum pistol. Personally, I suspect that the P08 Parabellum, while powerful and accurate, was finicky about dirt and residue and, being complex to field-strip, was hard to maintain in the trench-warfare environment of World War I*. The Walther, while underpowered, was reliable and easy to maintain. Once it was adopted, it rapidly gained the confidence of the soldiers who used it. By the end of World War I--thanks to its government contract--Walther was the largest pistol manufacturer in Germany and was among the first companies to be allowed to resume pistol production after the war.
the Model 4 is a relatively simple handgun of blowback design, with a fixed barrel, an external extractor, and a concealed hammer. Its most unusual feature is that (like its predecessor the Model 3) its extractor and ejection port are on the left. The barrel acts as a guide for the concentric recoil spring, which is held in place by a bayonette-type lug that covers the front of the barrel, and by a sleeve at the rear which also serves to cover the spring. When the slide moves rearward, it forces the trigger bar down, disconnecting it from the sear. The safety is a rotating thumb lever that positively locks the cocked hammer. There is a screw on the backstrap of the grip that regulates the tension of the flat hammer spring. The gun is well-balanced, fits the hand very nicely, and points instinctively. It is also reasonably accurate.
There is absolutely no play in the fitment of the slide and receiver. The gun tends to shoot a bit high at ten yards, but is spot-on at 25 to 50 yards. The trigger pull is rather heavy and the gun has considerable recoil. Recoil causes the trigger guard to batter my trigger finger, making it sore after a couple of magazines, so I prefer to shoot the gun with a glove on. Nevertheless, the grip fits my hand perfectly and it points better than any gun except the Remington Model 51. The slide does not stay back on the last round, and there is no provision for locking it open. The gun lacks a magazine safety and may be fired without a magazine. The thumb safety is rather easy to disengage, but it is more secure than that of the 1910 Browning, which can be easily broken. Like the ever-popular Brownings, the Walther’s virtues were its simplicity, reliability, accuracy, and quality of manufacture.
first variant early ww1 production
Neat old pistol , dont know what il do with er yet but if anyone would care to chat about em drop a thread
But World War I required a handgun more suitable for military use, and the Walther Company designed the Model 4 as quickly as possible by simply enlarging the Model 3, giving it a larger grip, longer barrel, better sights, and a greater magazine capacity. They were rewarded with an order from the German government in May of 1915 for 250,000 Model 4s. Some might wonder why a .32 caliber handgun was ordered for military use, when the primary service weapon was the much more powerful Luger 9mm P08 Parabellum pistol. Personally, I suspect that the P08 Parabellum, while powerful and accurate, was finicky about dirt and residue and, being complex to field-strip, was hard to maintain in the trench-warfare environment of World War I*. The Walther, while underpowered, was reliable and easy to maintain. Once it was adopted, it rapidly gained the confidence of the soldiers who used it. By the end of World War I--thanks to its government contract--Walther was the largest pistol manufacturer in Germany and was among the first companies to be allowed to resume pistol production after the war.
the Model 4 is a relatively simple handgun of blowback design, with a fixed barrel, an external extractor, and a concealed hammer. Its most unusual feature is that (like its predecessor the Model 3) its extractor and ejection port are on the left. The barrel acts as a guide for the concentric recoil spring, which is held in place by a bayonette-type lug that covers the front of the barrel, and by a sleeve at the rear which also serves to cover the spring. When the slide moves rearward, it forces the trigger bar down, disconnecting it from the sear. The safety is a rotating thumb lever that positively locks the cocked hammer. There is a screw on the backstrap of the grip that regulates the tension of the flat hammer spring. The gun is well-balanced, fits the hand very nicely, and points instinctively. It is also reasonably accurate.
There is absolutely no play in the fitment of the slide and receiver. The gun tends to shoot a bit high at ten yards, but is spot-on at 25 to 50 yards. The trigger pull is rather heavy and the gun has considerable recoil. Recoil causes the trigger guard to batter my trigger finger, making it sore after a couple of magazines, so I prefer to shoot the gun with a glove on. Nevertheless, the grip fits my hand perfectly and it points better than any gun except the Remington Model 51. The slide does not stay back on the last round, and there is no provision for locking it open. The gun lacks a magazine safety and may be fired without a magazine. The thumb safety is rather easy to disengage, but it is more secure than that of the 1910 Browning, which can be easily broken. Like the ever-popular Brownings, the Walther’s virtues were its simplicity, reliability, accuracy, and quality of manufacture.
first variant early ww1 production
Neat old pistol , dont know what il do with er yet but if anyone would care to chat about em drop a thread