Watch: A Mysterious Pair of Experimental Pistols

Here are a couple of odd and interesting old experimental handguns. Both were made by Iver Johnson and are covered by a 1909 patent.

Ian tells us both of the guns are chambered for 32 ACP, but the auction listings say otherwise. The info at Rock Island’s website indicates that the blued one is 32 ACP, but the unfinished one is 380 ACP.

One has a weird sort of safety button, located on the left side of the frame just behind the trigger guard. This only works if you are firing it right-handed, and is really not a good idea if you ask me.

The unfinished pistol–most likely the earlier one–doesn’t use screws to hold the grips in place. Instead, there was an unusual dovetail system.

Odd-looking poppers, but they do look comfortable–and Ian says they fit his hands well. They sold for $2070 (non-blued) and $2300 (blued).

Enjoy.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.