NRA Convention Day 2 III: Story Time
There was all sorts of cool tech-geek stuff at the convention, but despite my love of gadgets the most interesting booths at the convention were the ones with a story to tell. Take this collection, for example: (click for embiggenment on any pictures in this post)
As you can see from the signs, this is part of a collection from the Miniature Arms Society. None of the firearms in the photo are full-sized. They are mostly 1/2, 1/3, or 1/5 scale. A fellow at the booth explained that the final test of some gunsmith apprentices or journeymen was to construct a firearm in miniature because the difficulty of crafting a working firearm at 1/3 scale is significantly greater than crafting a full-size weapon. All of the firearms in the case are functional, with working safeties, rifling, and the works. With scale ammunition (or in some cases 2mm rimfire) they will feed, fire, extract, and eject rounds in exactly the same way as their larger siblings. The craftsmanship on these weapons is exquisite. The rifle in the lower right of the picture and the one obscured by the case are crafted with actual gold, not gold plating. When viewed without any context, they are indistinguishable from full-size rifles.
This is the M1 rifle presented to John C. Garand upon his retirement from Springfield Armory, with serial number 1,000,000. It is an absolutely beautiful rifle. The stock is tiger maple and you can see that the cartridges and the enbloc clip have been polished until they shine like mirrors. The rifle below the M1 is a primer actuated rifle designed by Garand during an unsuccessful bid to replace the M1903 rifle. He was eventually successful in this bid with the rifle that would become the M1 that we know and love.
This is one of the last 80 weapons of its kind, a Smith & Wesson 1940 Mark II, commissioned by the British Army during World War II. Also in the collection was a Mark I. The weapons were plagued by malfunctions due to the fact that they were designed to be operated with 9mm Parabellum ammunition, a lighter round than was used by British forces at the time. Smith & Wesson attempted to correct the problems of the original design with the Mark II, but were unsuccessful. All but 80 of the weapons have been destroyed.