|
None of the Japanese handguns mentioned are going to "blow up" in anyone's hands with anything like the correct ammunition. They are odd looking and in some ways not user friendly, but they are strong and safe. The mistake made with the Type 26 revolver was that they used a rebounding hammer, necessary with a swing cylinder but not with a top break. Top breaks usually depended on the firing pin resting in the primer indent of the fired round to keep the cylinder from rotating and keep it lined up for the next shot.
The Type 94 pistol is probably the most given to myths. The most common is that it was designed as a "suicide pistol". The story went that a Japanese officer would approach an American with his pistol in his hand but finger off the trigger. Then when the American was close, the sneaky Jap would press the trigger bar and fire the gun, committing suicide or, in an alternate version, killing the American.
A great story if you think 1) Japanese officers surrendered and 2) that an American would let a Japanese officer approach with a pistol in hand no matter where his finger was. Complete nonsense, of course; someone discovered the odd trigger bar and invented a story to go with it.
Advising folks not to shoot Japanese pistols is not really necessary, even if they won't blow up. AFAIK, there is no ammunition available at reasonable prices and no plans for anyone to make it. (9mm revolver ammo can be made from .38 S&W by thinning the rims from the front, but there is no easy source of 8mm or 7mm Nambu.)
Jim
|