Reeder Custom Guns - How come European handgun designs are historically

So goofy? Really, looking at revolvers. Sure they pioneered semi-autos, but I can’t think of any revolver designs worth much in comparison to American designs.

The Webley was likely best in my opinion. But it has some of its guts on the outside! Too bad they didn’t have a Sam Colt, the Wesson boys, or John Browning.

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guns so the gun manufacturers don't have the populace's input to urge them to develop different guns. They don't have the reason to develop new designed guns. They don't have gun magazines to let them know what the gun owners want so why even design something new. Other than the gun companies that sell a lot of guns to the U.S. the other gun makers tend to stick to what they have built for 200 years.

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The wars and uprisings, they all are subjects, not free people. Our arms innovations are at least partly for the free citizens. Good point.

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come out of Europe. The ugly Korth as a "for instance". The Lugers were all the same. The P-38 were all the same. The HK VP70, ugly ugly ugly. And the list of new unusual revolvers, or semi autos made in Europe is a very short one. Again they don't have the reason to re-design a revolver or semi auto to please the public. Mainly because the European public have been so brain washed that they don't even think about new guns.

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And S&W has always had a good following with the police and military in Asia. That Service-six or Speed-six was a dedicated model for officers and guards. Who knows how many fixed sighted K-frames and D-frame Colts were sold to foreign nations. Remember Russia bought a bunch of Top-break S&W back in the late 1800's. The Brits favored American iron too as late as the Victory .38/200, Vietnam too.

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And yet, a Russian came up with the AK47 and SKS before it and the German paratroopers were issued a semi auto AK like short rifle as well. French had some unusual designs over the years, the Finns modified Russian rifles to use against the Russians in the 1938 war. The Boers had some really interesting guns and Churchill carried my favourite, a broom handle Mauser while riding a horse in the British cavalry.

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We are talking about new designed handguns in Europe and why they have not come up with new designed guns in forever. The AK-47 is not a new design and it also isn't a gun for the public. Neither is the SKS. Look at all the newly designed guns from S&W, or Ruger among others. European gun makers haven't come up with anything like that ever. Manurhin manufactured some handguns when Walther ran into some problems, but they weren't a new design or a new gun. And speaking of Walther, look at their new PPK and PPK/S. They are the same gun they put out 50 years ago. Nothing new.
If American Handgunner magazine came out with a new magazine of new design European handguns it would be a really small magazine.

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it's a single action variation of the more common 1895. (consider we had some good wheelguns out by then) It's an astonishing device to examine. Almost an exercise of how bad can we make it and the Govt. not execute us. It's only outdone by the Japanese revolver as an example of horrific. The other nations that come to mind only did better as they copied some of the design cues from the west. Very few got close to or beyond 10mm cartridges, most were 7mm or 8mm rounds and truly anemic. Even the British .450 rounds were barely ahead of the old rimfire rounds.

True, they abandoned revolvers pretty early, save the Webleys. Their pioneering semi-autos did much better. I read Custer had some European DA cartridge revolver he favored at his last battle.

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I read some articles about Custer. It sounds like no one really knows what he carried at that time. The British gun is based on a photograph of Custer and his wife (there is a gun rack in the picture). A LT., who saw him on the campaign, described a pair of pistols that don't match that gun. Another piece of history that will probably never be solved.

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The Webley RIC was a solid frame DA that was beginning to take hold. It reloaded slow, like a SAA but more clumsily, but it was the late 1870's too. The most likely caliber around Custer was the .442 Webley. The .450 became more popular after his passing. It was not too bad with a .43 (.44 cal.) 200 gr. at about 700 fps. Some Indian sure had a prize for a while! A fancy pistol and long yellow scalp.

Jim and I would have been off on some flat rocks grinding flat tips on them! LOL

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they were all guns that had been here in the states for years. The Brits think our guns are crude and socially unacceptable. And look how many times we have had to send them guns on the lend/lease system to pull their ashes out of the fire.

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How come European handgun designs are historically

The people in Europe in most cases don't own

You are right, since 1870 or so…

Also look at the designs of the few handguns that

I know Ruger had some good contracts with France

European Guns

But that is comparing apples and horse apples

Roman has a rare Nagant revolver

After your post,

I couldn't see much in that rack either!

True, but these were not European designs