https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/02/14/its-valentines-day-and-also-a-big-day-in-american-firearms-history-n2185588
It's Valentine's Day - and Also a Big
Day in American Firearms History
Red State, by Ward Clark
Original Article
Posted By: Hazymac, 2/14/2025 4:09:27 PM
Today, February 14th, is Valentine's Day — a Hallmark holiday in which we're supposed to show our loved ones how much we care for them by giving them cards and flowers, hopefully purchased at the local Hallmark store or an accomodating local florist. Yes, I'm a tiny bit cynical about that; you shouldn't need to set aside a special day to show your significant other how important they are to you. You should do that every day. So, let's set that aside for a moment. Today, as it happens, is a big day in firearms history as well. On February 14th, 1911 — 114 years ago —
— the United States Patent Office officially published patent US984519A, titled "Mechanisms or systems operated by propellant charge energy for automatically opening the lock recoil-operated the barrel being tilted during recoil." That patent was issued in the name of the DaVinci of firearms, John Moses Browning, and the mechanism in question was the recoil-operation mechanism for what may be the finest martial sidearm ever invented: the Colt-Browning 1911. The safe here contains one, not a Colt but a Rock Island Armory 1911, which is basically a Series 70 Colt in WW2-era 1911A1 style. It’s a no-frills, very basic military-type sidearm with the advantages of being powerful, reasonably accurate, and very reliable.
It's interesting to compare and contrast the 1911 pistol to another sidearm that entered service three years earlier: the P-08 Luger. I have one of those, too, made in Oberndorf by the famous Mauser-Werke in 1934, still carrying the original Nazi proof marks. Whatever you think of the people who carried them, the Luger nevertheless remains one of the most graceful and, yes, beautiful military sidearms ever made. It has lovely lines, the grip shape and angle are near-perfect, and if you bring the arm up in one hand and extend your arm, you find your eye drawn naturally to the sights.