stubbicatt
New member
Borchard implemented the striker fire in the last iteration of the Sharps rifle, and emigrated back to Germany to refine the mechanism in that odd looking automatic pistol which was the precursor to the Luger I believe.
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Question: So, who developed the striker fired concept? First striker fired pistol?
- Thread starter armedleo
- Start date
mapsjanhere
New member
If you go to non-semi guns, the striker mechanism dates back at least to the Dreyse needle guns developed in the 1830s. Don't know if any of today's inline muzzle loaders have historic originals that predate that.
One of the challenges with developing self loading pistols was the low pressures and bulk generated by black powder ammo. This wasn't really overcome till smokeless powder arrived.
Hiram S. Maxim, an American, took out patents in 1884 on one of the first automatic rifles employing recoil to self load. It was a modified Winchester lever gun. It worked and proved recoil could be harnessed to operate a self loading long gun. But the gun was overly complicated for the time and possibly anytime. Not a striker but a hammer.
Maxim then developed plans for a striker fired pistol that was quite revolver looking except for the magazine in front of the trigger guard. He never built it as he could find no interest in it from manufacturers in the late 1880s.
He patented a striker fired pistol of blowback design with Louis Silverman in 1896. The patent was a British one. Models of the gun were built in 7.65 Borchardt, 8mm Schonberger and 45 Webley. These were powerful rounds for a blowback and the Silverman-Maxim gun solved this by having gas ports. The gun resembled the Whitney Wolverine at first glance. This latter may have scared off some manufacturers and it never reached full production. Maxim and Silverman went on to get 4 patents on machine guns together.
Not the first striker fired but it shows the idea and concept of striker fired guns was a common one and not unusual.
tipoc
Hiram S. Maxim, an American, took out patents in 1884 on one of the first automatic rifles employing recoil to self load. It was a modified Winchester lever gun. It worked and proved recoil could be harnessed to operate a self loading long gun. But the gun was overly complicated for the time and possibly anytime. Not a striker but a hammer.
Maxim then developed plans for a striker fired pistol that was quite revolver looking except for the magazine in front of the trigger guard. He never built it as he could find no interest in it from manufacturers in the late 1880s.
He patented a striker fired pistol of blowback design with Louis Silverman in 1896. The patent was a British one. Models of the gun were built in 7.65 Borchardt, 8mm Schonberger and 45 Webley. These were powerful rounds for a blowback and the Silverman-Maxim gun solved this by having gas ports. The gun resembled the Whitney Wolverine at first glance. This latter may have scared off some manufacturers and it never reached full production. Maxim and Silverman went on to get 4 patents on machine guns together.
Not the first striker fired but it shows the idea and concept of striker fired guns was a common one and not unusual.
tipoc
It oughta be said that in the 1880s and 1890s the Europeans and particular the Austrians and Hungarians were leading the way in self loading pistol design.
In the 1890s the Austrian Archduke held annual pistol trials where anyone who was anyone showed up and tried out their designs. Frommer, Borchardt, Schwarzlose, Browning, the Mausers, Bergmann, Mannlicher, Luger and many others attended. Would have been a thing to see.
Strikers were first employed in rifles. Most developments in pistols trickle down from rifles.
Striker fired guns were a part of the mix (hammer and bolt being the others) but no special status or mention of them was made.
I looked through the indexes of Ezell's "Handguns of the World", Smith's "Pistols and Revolvers", Boothroyd's "The Handgun", Smith's "Small Arms of the World" and Pollards "History of Firearms" for references to striker fired pistols or any references to strikers. Only Ezell has a spot in the index and he mentions them first in connection to the early designs for what became the Hi-Power.
In the text of each book strikers are mentioned as part of the designs from the beginning of rifles and handguns but they have no spot in the indexes. This is not a mistake or oversight. Strikers and hammers have been a feature of handgun design but not an important enough one on their own to merit separate references in the indexes.
Until about 4 or 5 years ago there were no "striker vs. hammer" discussions.
Same is true of old gun magazines and books. I can't recall ever reading a single article debating the merits of one vs. the other. Certainly beyond 5 years ago or less. Plenty of debates on sa vs da/sa vs dao, 1911 vs. M9, 1911 vs. Glock, etc. But till a few years ago no debate on striker vs hammer. Zero discussion on which a shooter preferred. It's a very recent discussion.
I'm not sure why that is but it certainly is.
When Glock came along it was that it had a polymer frame and the trigger mechanism that were discussed. That it had a striker was not new (the H&K P7 was around) and not it's most important feature.
At any rate strikers have been around for awhile.
tipoc
In the 1890s the Austrian Archduke held annual pistol trials where anyone who was anyone showed up and tried out their designs. Frommer, Borchardt, Schwarzlose, Browning, the Mausers, Bergmann, Mannlicher, Luger and many others attended. Would have been a thing to see.
Strikers were first employed in rifles. Most developments in pistols trickle down from rifles.
Striker fired guns were a part of the mix (hammer and bolt being the others) but no special status or mention of them was made.
I looked through the indexes of Ezell's "Handguns of the World", Smith's "Pistols and Revolvers", Boothroyd's "The Handgun", Smith's "Small Arms of the World" and Pollards "History of Firearms" for references to striker fired pistols or any references to strikers. Only Ezell has a spot in the index and he mentions them first in connection to the early designs for what became the Hi-Power.
In the text of each book strikers are mentioned as part of the designs from the beginning of rifles and handguns but they have no spot in the indexes. This is not a mistake or oversight. Strikers and hammers have been a feature of handgun design but not an important enough one on their own to merit separate references in the indexes.
Until about 4 or 5 years ago there were no "striker vs. hammer" discussions.
Same is true of old gun magazines and books. I can't recall ever reading a single article debating the merits of one vs. the other. Certainly beyond 5 years ago or less. Plenty of debates on sa vs da/sa vs dao, 1911 vs. M9, 1911 vs. Glock, etc. But till a few years ago no debate on striker vs hammer. Zero discussion on which a shooter preferred. It's a very recent discussion.
I'm not sure why that is but it certainly is.
When Glock came along it was that it had a polymer frame and the trigger mechanism that were discussed. That it had a striker was not new (the H&K P7 was around) and not it's most important feature.
At any rate strikers have been around for awhile.
tipoc
I went much the same route. But what I found was that while guns like the Silverman-Maxim are interesting, it was patented in 1896, three years after the Borchardt went into serial production. So I ended up back with Hugo as the first striker-fired auto-loading pistol that was more than an idea.
Jim
Jim
I agree and for the same reasons Jim, Borchardt. This was the first successful striker fired pistol.
But as to the question of "Who developed the striker fired concept?" We may not know that because it showed up first in rifles and transitioned to handguns. It is older than we think it seems.
tipoc
But as to the question of "Who developed the striker fired concept?" We may not know that because it showed up first in rifles and transitioned to handguns. It is older than we think it seems.
tipoc
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But as to the question of "Who developed the striker fired concept?" We may not know that because it showed up first in rifles and transitioned to handguns. It is older than we think it seems.
The poster who mentioned the Dreyse needle fire was spot-on, I would think. If I recall, there were handguns which used the system as well as the rifles.
The poster who mentioned the Dreyse needle fire was spot-on, I would think. If I recall, there were handguns which used the system as well as the rifles.
The Dryse/Kufahl designed revolver followed the rifle by several years. The rifle showed up in the early 1840s.
Dryse had a "striker" fired revolver going on in the 1820's and experimented with the concept a number of times and ways. Seems that the "striker" was primed by either a crank or a lever with the trigger releasing it (I'll have to study this more). See more here...
http://www.horstheld.com/0-dreyse.htm
tipoc
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