I’d almost given up hope of IDing it and was contemplating shipping the resin casting of the mount that I received from Markus to my gunsmith to use as a pattern.

Then I received a message from Replica Prop Forum member Kpax concerning the efforts of another member (hat tip to Wakel) to construct his own live-fire blaster. The difference is, Wakel had successfully contructed his own alluminum scope mount.

Upon hearing of this, I immediately send a message to Wakal to see if he’s be willing to make one for me, too. It turns out Wakal has his hands full building other equally exotic live-fire toys of the full-auto and suppressed varieties as part of his company, Dreadnaught Industries, leaving him with an incomplete Han Solo blaster and not enough time to devote to finishing.

Little did I know Wakel’s dilemma would work in my favor when he offered me the change of buying his incomplete pistol and all the parts.

Now, with a new parent gun for this project and all the parts I need, all that remains is to thread the barrel, some minor modification to the scope mount, possible integration of a booster system and swapping out the flash hider to one of the correct steel MG 81 models.

All in all, my live-fire new Han Solo Blaster project is progressing much faster than expected and assuming things contnue at this pace, it should have it complete within the next month or so.

It turns out the scope is a Hensoldt Wetzlar Dialyt 3x, and features integral claw-style mounts. Although I’ve been unable to confirm it so far, I suspect they were used during World War II on Mauser rifles, such as the 98K and were possibly pressed into post-war service on uber-cool combination Drillings. Given their age, the scopes are scarce, however, thanks to some networking on the forum—along with a healthy dose of luck—it was my first procurement. (Hat tip to Markus in Germany.)

Many fans/forum members originally thought the flash hider mounted to the end of its bull barrel was actually the  nozzle of fire extinguisher, when in fact it’s actually from a German MG 81 machine gun.

One mystery remains—the origin of the blaster’s offset claw-type scope mount. I’ve seen photos of the actual mount used on the prop, and there are no visible tool makes or any telltale signs that it was fabricated in some propmaster’s shop (keep in mind, Lucas shot the film on a shoestring budget). Besides, given that the scope and flash hider are German World War II surplus parts, I suspect the mount is, too.

An exhaustive search of German World War II-era ordnance books in the NRA’s reference library yielded no leads. However, I’ve learned two members of the Replica Prop Forum are planning to manufacture some aluminum parts for the blaster (spotlight on Deadbolt and Kpax), including the scope mount.

Needless to say, the scope mount is a must to complete this project.

Stay Tuned.

With that in mind, I opted to construct a live-fire replica of Han Solo’s blaster from “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

With the help of “Broomhandle” aficionado L.N.H. Frey—who graciously assisted me in getting my Mauser C96 parts gun up and running—an extensive blaster-oriented education from Ed Maggiani and members of the Replica Prop Forum, along with lots of detailed photos to go by, I’m well on my way to converting my pistol into a into one serious sci-fi-based semi-auto.

For those brave enough to delve deeper into the mind of Bob Boyd, visit Boyd’s Blog fan page on Facebook, or subscribe to its Twitter feed.

Matt Carmel, inventor of an innovative handgun called the Palm Pistol, addressed that fact with his design. As comforting as this new development is, however, judging by a recent blog by John Snow on OutdoorLife.com, some people just don’t understand.

I’m disappointed someone with such seniority in the firearm industry can’t recognize the gun’s merits. I doubt the 40,000 rape victims among our nation’s disabled would agree with his observations.

Having been disabled since birth, I can tell you that people suffering with quadriplegia, for example, may not possess the strength to lift a firearm of average weight, or the motor skills required to grip a traditional handgun. Even a crisp, 4-pound trigger on a custom 1911 may well be impossible for them. While Snow’s taste in handguns is excellent, if his SIG Sauer’s trigger is anything like the 7-pound, 2-ounce deal on the one I evaluated for Shooting Illustrated, depending upon the degree of paralysis to the limbs, the trigger may be too heavy. Just because it worked for this quadriplegic, doesn’t mean it will for others. While I may not need a Palm Pistol for self-defense, others aren’t as fortunate.

Shame on Snow for indicting a specialty product with a limp-wristed attempt at coming to grips with the market for which is intended.

I realize the Palm Pistol isn’t for everyone. Will the average non-disabled person see the benefit? Unfortunately—like Snow has shown—probably not until a disabled loved one or friend, or an elderly and widowed parent, saves their life with one. I can tell you this, though: With its exotic design, I could easily see it joining my firing Man from U.N.C.L.E. variant and my full-auto suppressed STEN fun gun in my safe.

I’ll be discussing self-defense for the disabled on Cam & Company tonight at 9:40 p.m. Listen at the link or on Sirius Patriot.

More than just a derivative of 1911, the Springfield Armory Omega provides an extra degree of flexibility to Browning’s venerable design. Designed by Joe Peters of Peters Stahl in Germany (then West Germany in the late ’80s), the Omega barrel and slide possessed a number of innovative features for its time. Unlike a standard 1911 barrel, the Omega was devoid of the standard Colt-style barrel link or locking lugs. Instead, its barrel contained a modified Browning cam-lock (referred to as a linkless system) also eliminating the need for a barrel bushing. In addition, the system included a large, rectangular-shaped barrel hood—similar to those found on Glock and SIG Sauer barrels—to lock everything into battery.

Although originally chambered in 10 mm, the Omega was designed as a convertible pistol where changing calibers only required swapping out barrels and possibly the recoil spring. Additional caliber offerings included .38 Super and .45 ACP. Later variants were also offered in 9 mm. (Springfield Armory also sold interchangeable conversion kits, featuring a second complete slide assembly in an alternate chambering—along with single corresponding magazine.)

To accommodate for different case-head dimensions the Omega’s slide featured dual extractors, which also provided enhanced reliability. Pistols were sold with either 5- or 6-inch polygonal-rifled barrels that were offered with or without porting. The two oval-shaped slots cut through the slide and barrel flanked the front sight blade offer a noticeable reduction in muzzle flip when shooting full-house 10 mm loads.

While many shooters and gunscribes (myself included) consider the 1911 the perfect pistol, the Springfield Armory Omega 1911 is a prime example of how a slight change can make something even better.

To learn more about the Omega 1911, visit here.

For example, his character Kelly Robinson from “I Spy” carried a special short-barreled Walther P38. While often misidentified by fans as a truncated P1 and P4 and even more erroneous as a P38K, the short semi-auto was actually a war-era P38 (judging by the presence of a firing pin and indicator cover on the pistols’ slide). Curiously Culp’s P38 contained post-war black plastic grips—probably to match the custom-made, glossy black shoulder holsters he and Bill Cosby used.

Then as FBI agent Bill Maxwell in “The Greatest American Hero,” he eventually carried one of Charles Kelsey’s highly customized Devel Model Smith & Wesson 39 in an Alessi shoulder holster that was converted from horizontal to upside-down carry by the legendary Arvo Ojala.

Cheers Robert. Rest in Peace

Robert Martin Culp
August 16, 1930-March 24, 2010

One of the firearms that piqued my interest, and no doubt many others, is Kel-Tec’s KSG—the company’s first entry into the shotgun market.

With features such as dual magazine tubes boasting an impressive capacity of 14 rounds of 2 3/4-inch 12-guage shells, and downward shell ejection to promote ambidextrous use, the KSG puts a lot of firepower at your finger tips. Overall length of 18.5-inch-barrelled shotgun is 26.1 inches, thanks to its bullpup-style design, which offers quite a lot in an ultra-short, lightweight package.

Being a fan of bullpup-platform firearms, I can certain see one of these shorty shottys in my future. While the KSG unquestionably has loads going for it (no pun intended), it is by no means the first shotgun of its kind. In the mid- to late ’80s Mossberg produced a short-lived bullpup variant of its venerable Model 500. 

However, the notion of incorporating a bullpup design to a riot-style shotgun dates back much further. In 1966, using its Flite King as the basis for the new, innovative modification, High Standard began manufacturing a semi-automatic 12-guage, bullpup shotgun that included such features as a swiveling buttplate, along with an integral carry handle and an built-in Kel-Lite flashlight. The Hi-Standard Model 10A was originally designed to be the ultimate entry shotgun for the newly created SWAT teams being formed in police departments nationwide.

The later Model 10B (my favorite semi-automatic riot shotgun) was improved with a left-hand charging handle, flip-up front sight, and featured a pivoting, detachable carry-handle mount, which a Kel-Lite could also attach to when the handle was not in use.

Executives of the newly formed Office of Strategic Services (OSS) thought so, too when seeking to supply their agents to fight the Axis powers.

One such example of the agency’s efforts involved a unique partnership between High Standard Manufacturing Company, then of New Haven, CT, and Western Electric’s Bell Telephone Laboratories. The company was awarded a contract to develop firearm suppressors for the OSS on Jan. 9, 1943. (And you though the company only dealt with Alexander Graham’s creation.) The result was a 12-page manual “delivered by Bell Labs to the OSS on Oct. 22, 1943.

The manual was clearly designed for a Colt pistol. However a sketch of the silencer was supplied for Hi Standard pistols. Subsequently, the OSS asked the Ordnance Department to award High Standard a contract for 1,500 suppressed Hi Standard Model HD .22-caliber, semi-automatic pistols. The military designation was known as the U.S. Property Model HDM).

While the likelihood of coming across a genuine Hi Standard HDM today is slim—even for a Class III nut like me. Thankfully, the folks at Arms Tech Ltd offer the next best thing. Designed from the same specs as the WWII-era HDM, the company offers a nearly exact contemporary reproduction of the classic clandestine ops pistol. The only difference pertains to the pistol’s markings. For obvious reasons, it doesn’t contain the U.S. Property mark, whereas the Arms Tech logo is discretely located on the underside of the pistol’s integral suppressor.

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Image courtesy of Arms Tech Ltd

More images will follow.

Now if I can find a reproduction of another long-time favorite OSS party favor—a McGlaglen “Peskett”close-combat weapon.

A gift from my father, I kept the pistol as is until I couldn’t stand the eye sore any longer. I sent it to firearm miracle worker Andy Horvath of the Diagonal Road Gun Shop. In turn, Horvath did an action job, shortened the barrel and relocated the front sight, removed the lanyard loop, plugged the hole in the frame, refinished the pistol bright blue, and even made a fancy pair of burl walnut grips for it—thereby giving this—old military sidearm a much-needed makeover.