8mm Nambu?
- Thread starter B
- Start date
I have one but have never fired it. I bought it from Teri Bryant. You might want to email Teri Bryant (teri.bryant@haskayne.uccalgary.ca) who collects Japanese militaria in
Canada. She's an expert in Japanese business activities, very knowledgeable about their weaponry and quite generous in sharing information. She has another email address that she uses for weapons information, but I don't have it here. If she's in-country, I'm sure she'll reply to you.
I just found Teri's WWII Japanese handgun site. It's: nambuworld.com
Canada. She's an expert in Japanese business activities, very knowledgeable about their weaponry and quite generous in sharing information. She has another email address that she uses for weapons information, but I don't have it here. If she's in-country, I'm sure she'll reply to you.
I just found Teri's WWII Japanese handgun site. It's: nambuworld.com
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I'm old and my memory for things that happened more recently than twenty years ago is poor. I really don't remember what the Type 14 cost was, but I remember Teri went to great pains to explain where there were problems with the gun (she's refreshingly honest about the condition of her guns), and that at the time I thought the price was fair. If it's critical to you, let me know and I'll look up the price. Teri's site (nambuworld) is extemely detailed and complete, she posts prices pretty carefully on her guns for sale, and she discusses differences in the models as well as problems. I don't know if she has anything for sale now. She has truly an enormous amount of detailed information about Japanese handguns on the site, and I remember she did have something there about shooting the Type 14, but I don't remember looking at it; I'm a collector and not much of a shooter. I did get some modern ammunition for it, but I've never fired the piece. If you want to get one and haven't found one anywhere else, she's certainly the one to ask.
Back in 1990, while visiting the RCMP Forensic lab in Vancouver I had the opportunity of firing 3 rds out of their in stock Type 14. As they only had 50 rds for it, I was told that I should be satisfied with the 3 rds I got. It was a very pleasent handgun to shoot.
That's neat, I love the Type 14's Luger look and the weird cartridge. Ballistics seem on par with .38 special. If I ever picked up a collector type gun this would be it. The late production models seem pretty rough though.
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Well, there may be a superficial resemblance to the Luger, but it's an entirely different action. The Nambus are rare enough in Canada that it would make an interesting addition to any collection. The takedown is a little out of the ordinary and if you do get one, make sure you get instructions from Teri's site (or anyone else knowedgeable) before you start. By the way, the bottle-necked 8mm Nambu cartridge is a bit similar in shape and size to the bottle-necked .30 Luger cartridge. Bottle necks often feed more reliably in the older designs. The old 9mm Luger is notorious for being sensitive to ammunition, but the .30 Luger is not.
They are very nice to shoot. The cartridge can be made from 40 S & W, resized and then lathe turned to remove the big ridge you create but otherwise work well. Getting the 8mm bullets is a bit of a chore but not impossible. These guns are some of the most accurate shooting service pistols I have shot, very, very light recoil, decent sights, ok triggers. I sold Terri 3 of the ones from my collection (All I had for Nambu's) as well as a set of dies, brass and bullets. I don't know if she actually shoots hers but she sure does know alot about them. Funny, 6' plus redhead showing up in Japan all the time, must scare the heck out of those little fellows!
Scott
Scott
I am aware, uses a system similar to that in the C96 which is another oddity I'd like to someday own. The only negative thing I ever hear about Nambus is the condition many are found in and the "stopping power" of the cartridge. I imagine ammunition would be tough to find as has been said. I imagine it is why those of you that HAD one no longer do?
I have one because I collect mostly autoloaders with different action designs. I do intend to shoot it sometime or other, but it's not high on my list. Certainly the "stopping power" isn't much, but military handgun designers outside the US and UK rarely worried about that. Many nations used these pistols often more as symbols of rank, but certainly their cartridges are quite capable of killing. While there is a rough similarity to the action of the C96, it's only roughly similar. The use of a separate, vertically moving block exists in lots of designs, but it seems to me that this similarity is far outweighed by other differences. Handgun designs these days rely heavily on the "tilting barrel" lock, but that's more for manufacturing reasons. Before the cost of manufacturing became so high, there was a lot more design creativity expressed in government handguns. I also agree that the Type 14 is one of the really elegant (even if awkward and not powerful) military pistols.
