The first thought that struck Zwirz, following a detailed examination of a gun modified to fire the caseless round, was the simplicity of both the method used and the gun, itself.

"I would assume that someone made a similar statement upon viewing the first completed wheel!" Zwirz admits.

"I use the word, simple, mainly to convey the fact that as far as internal working parts are concerned, any of the modified guns now in use feature fewer working parts than necessary for use with conventional ammo. Since I spent my first hours at the plant becoming familiar with the weapons modifications required for firing of the caseless rounds, I'll first discuss the guns currently being used for experimental tests,” Zwirz reports.

"When viewed quickly, in profile, either the Swedish gun or S&W's Model 76 seem to have but three external modifications that strike the eye. First, and the most noticeable, is the battery-box located just forward of the trigger guard; next is the wiring that connects batteries to power-switch and the power-switch to the electrode built into the bolt face. The electrical charge is delivered from two twelve-volt batteries that provide all the ignition necessary; one particular gun has had near 50,000 rounds put through it and still is operating on the same two batteries. In addition, it has been found possible to use rechargeable batteries, or for that matter, S&W has worked out a system wherein either a portable or permanently housed generator can be utilized as a consistent source of electrical power and known output."

Smith & Wesson have worked out their electrical system so that it is impossible for the gun to be fired until the bolt has moved into its forward position. Both the Carl Gustaf and the Model 76 fire from the open-bolt position; thus anyone not familiar with the hard trigger pull finds himself a little uncertain during the first minutes on the range. The trigger itself acts like a switch, whether the gun is set on semi-auto or auto.

"For all practical purposes of comparison, there is no great difference between firing a standard Smith & Wesson with regular 124–grain 9mm Luger cartridges, or a modified gun handling the caseless round. There is no appreciable recoil with either submachine gun, although I am positive there is less of a sharp, audible report when firing the caseless ammo.

Both weapons utilize the same thirty-six-round box-type magazine issued for firing the 9mm Luger àmmunition in the conventional models. With the guns fieldstripped, Zwirz noticed that chamber length appeared to be considerably longer than the length of the round itself, which measures about one-inch.

The standard .355 diameter of conventional 9mm rounds is maintained with the caseless. A little hand-fitting of the front end of the bolt, in the chamber, showed tolerances to be very exacting; no doubt to act as a reliable breech seal during ignition.

During firing tests with S&W's caseless rounds, the submachine gun had no tendency to "walk" up the target or transmit any noticeable torque. Visual recoil, as transmitted to the shooter, seemed noticeably lighter with the caseless ammo. Performance data for the caseless rounds now in used are remarkably similar to that recorded for the 9mm Luger loads. Chronographed velocities for the two different rounds show figures averaging around 1150 fps for each. Accuracy was not essentially different whether firing conventional ammo or the experimental caseless rounds.

Firing from twenty-five and fifty yards, all shots could be easily held in a fourteen-inch group-at twenty-five yards this tightened to between ten and twelve inches.

"Surprisingly, the only item that stuns the shooter for the first moment or two, while firing caseless rounds, is where is all that fired brass? Just as suddenly it dawns that this is what the man has been trying to tell you about! And so it is that Smith and Wesson rates two points for neatness.

"Groups fired single shot from a benchrest position have showed far more conclusively that accuracy-potential is no problem with the S&W 76, whether the shooter uses conventional or caseless; two or three-inch ten-shot groups are part of the built-in quality of the product when placed in the hands of an experienced shooter.

"A while back, we touched on the not unimportant business of logistics-consider that the present caseless round weighs about thirty per cent less than standard loaded 9mm ammo and is in the vicinity of .15 or 16 inch shorter. In situations calling for quantity transportation, this adds up to a considerable

saving in bulk and mass weight; a vital factor where fast-arrival requires the use of aircraft for transport.

"Though there have been problems with ignition during past months, none of use experienced any malfunction during our lengthy sessions with the fast-talking choppers and their radical new caseless rounds. Encouraging as this seems to all who have worked with this new system, it is but part of the problems requiring a solution before the caseless/electric concept is finalized," Zwirz reports.

As of this date, no completely satisfactory answer has been found to render the cartridges' solid propellent fireproof and waterproof. These particular bugaboos will probably be solved, once a reliable exterior finish is hit upon that will offer the needed durability and safety factor, without hindering the ignition characteristics of the molded propellent mixture. The composition of this propellent, by the way, is a highly guarded secret that has seen constant revision over the past years. Since some batches of the caseless round propellent have offered less perfect ignition than others, research must be continued to obtain a more stable charge for positive ignition.

Unfired rounds are removed from the chamber by means of a cleaning rod and eventually it will be necessary to design the round so as to make extraction and ejection possible, short of ramming the projectile out by hand.

The S&W people feel that the primary forte of this concept lies within the needs of our military; for this reason they have correctly tied their testing to their Model 76 9mm machine pistol, a light-weight, compact weapon offering excellent firepower for close assault or defensive work. Even with conventional ammo, this selective machine-pistol weights by 84 pounds fully loaded. With a cyclic rate of 720 rounds per minute, almost no recoil problem, simple take-down, plus amazing reliability under combat conditions, it is a natural for both the armed services and, when maximum firepower is required, by law enforcement agencies.

Bill Gunn admits they have not contended themselves with a military weapons system alone. His staff realized the potential for caseless rounds and sporting rifles, so the brains operating out of Springfield are working out some pleasant surprises for members of the shooting fraternity craving the same firearms sophistication being made foolproof for more serious applications.

"Logistics aside, I see future guns featuring internal simplicity, without the negatives of lock time, firing pin travel, trigger problems or the recoil factor. And along with this step forward, ammunition of such constant quality that the rariations between cases, powders and primers will no longer cause precision shooters one single gray hair.”

[From the July 1968 issue of Guns magazine]

NEW .22 RIMFIRE SUBMACHINE GUN

(By John Broz)

While not a military cartridge, the .22 Long Rifle has certain advantages which could be applied to military usage. It is low in cost; light in weight; and effective as an anti-personnel cartridge within certain limitations.

With these thoughts in mind, Hans Seggern, a gun designer from New Jersey (22 Carpenters Pl., Cranford, N.J. 07016) worked on the development of a military weapon which utilizes this popular cartridge. His design is a unique .22 submachine gun which could be used as a survival weapon, a special purpose weapon for guerrilla warfare, or as a basic training weapon for indoctrination of soldiers into the aspects of full automatic fire.

The mechanical features of the Seggern .22 SMG are as unique as its appearance. It is only 17" over-all (23'' with silencer), and weighs from 2% to 24 lbs., depending on accessories used. The prototypes shown have a cyclic rate of fire of 750 rounds per minute. Following the parts photograph, we see the receiver (1) which contains the bolt, bolt handle, and driving spring. The .22 SMG has no extractor or ejector; these functions are performed by the gas trap (2), which holds the empty case on the face of the bolt until it has recoiled back to a point where the case is tipped off of the bolt face by a lip on the magazine, and ejected.

The silencer (3) also acts to trap the gas and hold the empty case against the bolt face.

Trigger assemblies are of several different types. The double trigger arrangement (4) has the top trigger operating full automatic and the bottom trigger operating as a semi-automatic. A single trigger assembly (5) can, with interchangeable searing, operate as either semi-auto only or full auto only. With a semi-auto trigger assembly, this gun could be sold as a self-loading pistol, and would not violate the federal machine gun laws. (This is, of course, subject to examination of the gun and interpretation by federal authorities-editor). The barrel (6) is secured to the receiver with a large threaded nut. The front hand grip (7) attaches to the barrel, and incorporates the front sight. Several magazine styles are available: the 20-round straight clip (8); the 80-round drum magazine (9); or a 40-round, two-position feed, staggered colu mncurved box magazine (not shown).

The .22 Seggern SMG operates on the straight blowback principle, and fires from an open bolt. The firing pin is machined on the bolt face. The prototype models shown here are made mainly of aluminum, with the exception of the barrel liner, bolt, trigger, and sear parts. Aluminum parts were made of bar stock, but production models would utilize die cast components.

One of the prototypes has fired more than 6,000 rounds without a malfunction, and the combination of aluminum and chrome-plated steel parts required no lubrication. The designer says that accuracy is comparable to a good plinker, and shooting full auto, all the shots can be held into a man-size target at 50 yards. Searching for possible applications for the .22 SMG, we should first look at the ballistics of the .22 LR cartridge. The .22 LR High Velocity cartridge, with a 40 grain bullet, has a muzzle velocity of 1335 fps and a muzzle energy of 158 fp. Not impressive by today's standards, but certainly not harmless. Then take a look at the weight of the ammunition. A case of 5,000 rounds of .22 LR weighs about the same as 800 rounds of .30-06; or 1,500 rounds of .30 Carbine. The ammunition cost differential is equally impressive. Even if purchased at commercial retail prices, you can buy almost 200 rounds of .22 LR for the same price as 20 rounds of .223 ammunition. This cost factor is important when you consider using the .22 SMG as a training weapon for the military.

When used as a special purpose military weapon, the light weight and compact size of the .22 SMG are all important. The gun and 1,000 rounds of ammunition would weigh only a few ounces over 10 lbs. Also, the noise level of the .22 LR is minimal compared to almost any other caliber, and with the optional silencer, the .22 SMG has a report comparable to a BB gun.

The Seggern .22 SMG is still in the development stage. The design could be refined as military agencies make known their specific needs; perhaps ammo

using a jacketed bullet; a higher or lower cycle rate of fire; configuration more like existing SMG's; or even a new, hotter, rimfire cartridge. If the military can find the need or needs for such a weapon, Hans Seggern is ready with his unique .22 LR submachine gun.

[From Newsweek, June 24, 1968]

A QUESTION OF GUNS-SENTIMENT GROWS FOR TOUGHER CONTROL LAWS Among the myriad strands that make up the American heritage, guns have a significant, and disturbing importance. In Brooklyn last week, a 5-pound baby girl became part of this heritage a bit prematurely. She was born already wounded by a casual bullet that struck her mother while standing at an apart ment window, and thus she became an appropriate symbol for the 100,000 or so Americans who will be struck down by firearms this year.

Alone among the major nations of the world, the United States permits its citizens almost unlimited access to guns. Inevitably, it also pays a high toll for the privilege. Four American Presidents, and some of its foremost leaders, have been felled by assassins' bullets (photos, right, of the guns used to kill them). At last count, President Johnson has said, guns were being used in 6,500 murders each year in this country. They are also involveld in 10,000 suicides a year, 2,600 accidental deaths, 44,000 serious assaults, 50,000 robberies and 100,000 nonfatal injuries. Since the turn of the century, according to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, three-quarters of a million Americans have lost their lives to privately owned guns-a third again as many as have been killed in all the wars in U.S. history.

In a nation with a frontier tradition, this grisly record has somehow been accepted as a matter of course. The U.S. is a land where children get toy guns at the age of 4, graduate to air rifles at 12 and go right on yearning for the prestige and power of "real guns." It is the land of the "Saturday night special"— any cheap, low-caliber revolver displayed proudly at bars and dance halls. It is a land where roadside signs are often pocked with bullets fired for sport from passing cars, and psychopaths like Charles J. Whitman and Richard Speck engage in wholesale slaughter. Despite the fact that the U.S. is the most highly developed industrial nation in the world, it is, increasingly, a country where guns have become the deadly means for settling disputes. "Two friends have an argument," says Detroit police commissioner Ray Girardin. "One pulls a gun and shoots the other, apparently just because he's got the gun."

"ALARMED"

In recent months, people have been buying many more guns than ever before— almost certainly in response to the racial tension that has erupted into riots in more than 100 cities. "People are overly alarmed," worries Frank Flanagan, commander of homicide for Chicago's police department. "White and black people are overreacting, and it's just snowballing." In Texas, a Negro newspaper carries an ad for a "long hot summer special": a snub-nose revolver for $39.88. In San Francisco, a white advertising executive decides to keep his guns even though he no longer hunts. "It's that big black mass out there," he explains. In Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, white housewives enroll for pistol practice. And on Chicago's South Side, a young black man says, "A gun is status-that's why they call it an equalizer. What's happening today is that everybody's getting more and more equal because everybody's got one." And, indeed, in Sacramento, heavily armed members of the militant Black Panther Party invaded the state-capitol in protest against a proposed gun-control bill.

In Washington alone, sales of handguns have risen by more than a third in the past year. For the country as a whole, President Johnson estimated last week, sales of all guns are at an annual rate of 2 million. But this is almost too low. Excise-tax figures, while admittedly sketchy, indicates that sales are really running at an annual pace of 4 million, up 30 per cent from last year. Obviously, the sales of guns is big business.

For a time it seemed that each new outbreak of racial violence, each new shooting of a public figure, only added to what has become a domestic arms race. "About the time Martin Luther King was assassinated," says a Los Angeles policeman, "gun sales here just about tripled." But then, two weeks ago, came

the shooting of Robert F. Kennedy-and with it a wave of revulsion against guns and their works.

Perhaps it was the brutal parallel to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy; perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Robert Kennedy had himself pleaded for sanity in the form of stricter gun legislation. Or perhaps it was simply horror at what was, finally, too much blood. In any case, the nation reacted:

Alan Schoening, a hunter in Lancaster, Pa., for the past twenty years, walked into a police station and handed over a rifle and a shotgun. "I want to give you these so you can destroy them," he said. "I don't feel like killing anything any more." Schoening wasn't alone; citizens turned in more than 280 weapons in San Francisco, 175 in Chicago. In other major cities across the country, the story was much the same.

"We finally decided that this was one classification of business we could do without," said J. A. Baer. Baer's St. Louis store, Stix, Baer & Fuller, discontinued sales of guns and ammunition and turned over $25,000 in inventories to police and conservation agencies. In Columbus, Ohio, the J-Mart discount stores did the same with merchandise worth $20,000. Boston-based Jordan Marsh, New England's largest store chain, followed suit.

In Los Angeles, the 680 pupils of the Crescent Heights elementary school piled up 150 toy guns at a school assembly and threw away, in token of respect for Senator Kennedy and renunciation of violence. In Queens, N.Y., 1,000 pupils from kindergarten through the sixth grade turned in their toy weapons and watched while they were ground to bits by a city truck.

In spontaneous reaction across the country, hopeful little lobbies sprang up overnight to crusade for tough new firearms controls. In Toledo, which has been called "the gun center of the Midwest," Mayor William Ensign invited participation in what he called a "people lobby." Elsewhere, citizens took newspaper ads in the form of coupons that could be signed and sent to congressmen, and news. papers printed their own similar form letters.

The response wasn't long in coming. "The deluge began Monday, with more than a thousand letter, telegrams and coupons, and has increased in volume since then," said New Jersey Sen. Harrison Williams Jr. Michigan Sen. Phil Hart counted 975 letters, running 10 to 1 for stricter controls; Indiana's Birch Bayh, whose mail had been running 100 to 1 against controls, now counted only fifteen anti-control voices in a flood of 1,400 letters and wires. Williams got more than 8,000, and called it the biggest outpouring on a single issue in his nine years in the Senate.

There was, of course, already a gun-control bill. Tacked to the omnibus anticrime bill and rushed through Congress in the emotional wake of the latest assassination, the bill was awaiting President Johnson's signature as the first new gun-control law in more than 30 years. It had been a surprising defeat for the gun lobby, rightly called one of the toughest in Washington. The new law would ban, for the first time, mail-order sales or over-the-counter sales of handguns to any person outside his own state. But President Johnson himself called the new bill a "halfway measure" and demanded more-Federal control over the "deadly commerce" in shotguns and rifles as well as handguns. Sen. Thomas Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who has been the Senate's most persistent advocate of gun control, promptly submitted a new bill meeting the President's specifications and another calling for registration of all firearms. Other senators, notably Maryland's Joseph Tydings, went even further with bills requiring a license to buy either guns or ammunition, and forbidding such licenses to drug addicts and convicted felons.

The message was plain-so plain that eight senators who had previously opposed a bill banning mail-order sales of rifles and shotguns now announced they were signing up as sponsors of it. Among them was Democrat Warren Magnuson of Washington, one of the Senate's most influential figures. Gun controls are far from popular in the State of Washington, as Magnuson noted. "But," he told the Senate, "for me, this has become a matter of deep conscience."

DIVISION

With that, the die was cast. The powerful gun lobby, as stunned as it was astonished by the tide that threatened to undo 30 years of steadfast opposition to new gun controls, showed cracks in its united front. The militant National Rifle Association fired off a frantic bulletin to its 900,000 members, warning that they were threatened with "complete abolition of civilian ownership of arms," and