GUN SPRING 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
UNIQUE WHITE-MERRILL .45 CALIBER PISTOL, 2ND TYPE EXPERIMENTAL, US MILITARY. WHITE-MERRILL 1907 PROTOTYPE NSN 45 MODERN; C&R Cal. 45. After the M1907 White-Merrill pistol with its one-handed cocking features was rejected by the US military, Merrill went to work on another .45 cal pistol he hoped would be of more interest. This second Merrill pistol, that could be called the Model 1911, differed considerably from his previous effort. The new gun functioned as a simple blowback with an external hammer and a more refined slide release located on the left side of the receiver. In contrast to other blowback pistols of that era, the recoil spring was located in a tube below the bbl. The pistol in consideration was completed without manufacturers markings or SN. It had a 6.5" bbl fitted with a half-moon front sight and a fixed rear sight. The left side of the slide was marked "PAT. APP'D FOR". At the rear of each side of the slide were checkered sections for gripping, a pattern that was repeated over the top of the spur hammer and on the surface of the hold-open/slide release mounted on the left frame. The frame was made of blackened brass. Each of the grips were coarsely checkered and secured by 7 small screws. The magazine release was mounted at the bottom rear of the frame and functioned in the same manner as a Colt 1900/1902. The single column magazine, 7-rnd capacity, was in the white and made to have a separate spine and base that were each secured with a series of screws. Four screws on each side were used to secure the spine; two screws on each side of the base were used to secure the floorplate. In correspondence to Springfield Armory dated May 1911, Merrill indicated that he only had the one sample and even though it had been fired several hundred rounds, he was not inclined to submit it for testing, especially as the government had already committed to arm its cavalry and light artillery with the Colt. Although he left open the option for later submission, there was no further correspondence, suggesting that the project was subsequently abandoned. Another example the same pistol with different left grip, pictured in Small Arms of The World by Ezell, co 1981, pg 325. This exact pistol is illustrated in a display article by Alex Montgomery on pp.53-62 of World's Guns and Other Weapons, 1958. It is again referenced and pictured on pgs 175-176 of US Military Automatic Pistols, Meadows, 1993. PROVENANCE: The Frank H. Wheaton, III Collection. CONDITION: Overall very good with the steel surfaces retaining 60% of their orig finish. Most of the blackening from the brass frame has worn away, leaving only about 10% in protected areas. Excellent grips whose coarse checkering shows only mild blunting, particularly on the right side. Magazine remains entirely in the white with minimal oxidative disturbance, showing no suggestion of recent cleaning. Bright bore with sharp rifling. Perfect manual mechanics, except that the hold-open will not reliably engage and magazine insertion/removal is sticky. 51516-7 LMA (17,500-35,000)