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Originally Posted by wiki
Shanxi Type 17 (.45 ACP)
During the Warlord era of Chinese history in the early 20th century, the province of Shanxi was ruled by warlord Yen Hsi-shan, who had established a modern arms factory in his capital city of Taiyuan. Yen was equipping his troops with a locally produced copy of the Thompson submachine gun, chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge, but was experiencing supply difficulties as his troops' sidearms were 7.63mm calibre C96 handguns.[24]
Yen's solution was to produce a .45 ACP caliber version of the C96, thus standardizing ammunition and making supply logistics easier.[24] Designated Type 17, production of the .45 caliber handgun began in 1929 at the Taiyuan Arsenal and ended in 1931. They are inscribed (in Chinese) "Type 17" on the left hand side of the gun, and "Republic Year Eighteen, Made in Shansi" on the right hand side.[24] They were issued (along with Thompson SMGs) to railway guards in the province as defense against bandits and other warlords.
Besides being chambered for a larger cartridge, the Shanxi .45 pistols use a noticeably larger frame than their 7.63mm counterparts, with the 10-round magazine extending below the trigger guard and a 155 mm (6.1 in) barrel. It was loaded using two five-round stripper clips rather than the single 10-round stripper clips of the standard 7.63mm Mauser. Because of the overall increase in size, Type 17 pistols share no interchangeable parts with any other C96 variant.
Most of the Shanxi .45 pistols were melted down after the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, largely due to their odd caliber for Chinese Communist standards, but a few examples were exported overseas for sale on the commercial market.[24] Approximately 8,500 Shanxi .45 caliber Broomhandle pistols are believed to have been produced by the Taiyuan Arsenal, but there is some debate as to how many of the Shanxi .45 caliber Broomhandle pistols currently on the commercial market were actually produced for Yen's troops, and how many are more recent productions for the US collectors' market.
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Anybody here got one? This has to be one cool gun. Unlike the P08, there are some of these around. Real ones. But where?
What is the market like on these: Honest well worn, beat to hell, refinish, or museum piece. I have no idea. Google was not very helpful. I did find a 4,000 price on something.
What are the
more recent productions all about. Another collector pit fall or an honest variation on the theme?