"You depress the trigger slightly to engage the slide lock." This is gonna give every safety officer and insurance company in a 5 mile radius a heart attack.
@@lopanreturns7085 Nah, not really. A common alternate use of the trigger is to uncock, and some frames have things like mag release or safety levers inside the trigger guard, which also give reasons for fingers to frotteurize the trigger.
@ I'm a self employed farmer. As such, my yearly income is very inconsistent, being reliant on multiple factors, and I only usually get paid once a year.
@Marc Michaud Technically you could reload the liberator. Ian and Karl have a video where they shoot with it. This pistol has a much better mechanism and a functioning magazine, but the disposability of the liberator wasn't really its issue as much as its performance in the first place.
I remember when this was introduced in 'Combat Handguns'magazine, the creator said they made it manually operated so that every bit of the mass would go into absorbing recoil. He said they did make a semiauto prototype without making the gun significantly bulkier, but in his words, "As expected, the recoil was excessive." I also remember 'Handgun Tests' magazine tried one out. They found that flicking the gun to operate it worked fine until gunpowder fouling built up enough to gum up the tight tolerances of the slide.
@@SonOfTheDawn515 There was probably a legitimate argument for something like this in the 1970s. More concealable than a snubnose .38, but not some shitty cheap pocket pistol either.
You're probably better off comparing based on the price of gold, than inflation-adjusted dollars. Gold was about $450 an ounce in 1979, so this pistol was about two ounces of gold. That's close to $3200 today.
@@ScottKenny1978 lol, why would I use the price of gold when we stopped using the gold standard 10 years before the sale was done? This pistol was sold in 81, America stopped using the gold standard in 71. Doesn't strike me as particularly relevant, I think I'm going to go with the inflation calculator.
@Mäkirannantörmä ok what do you get at lvl 20 ? "Gun Wish" : You manifest a perfect gun suited to your situation. Said gun lasts for 2d10 days, never jams, never needs to be reloaded. ?
I fired one years ago and it's interesting. The LM4 does not kick nearly as bad as you might expect by its size and heavy round. It's not exactly a mouse-fart, and it's not exactly something I'd do for fun, but it's very controllable. The recoil impulse does feel a little weird, though, because there's no slide moving forward and back during the split-second of kick.
@@painmagnet1 I'm sure ur hand would hav that warm viberating numb feeling for few mins??? The Pistola looked to be well made machine? I love my 45acp colt gold cup National Match, fat slow bullet, but oh so fun to shoot targets!!!
I bet it has All of the recoil. Like you know those recoilless rifles, this little guy stole their recoil when they weren't looking . Jk I bet it's far from the worst handgun... at least it is 3 oz heavier than a fp-45 "liberator" and has some ergonomics
@@finnpendleton4615 Only because the ATF has retarded definitions. It's more like a double-barrel shotgun that fires both barrels with a single trigger pull. Ian has reviewed the COP 357 derringer and even run it through a practical gun exercise. It sucks, but I still want one. And an LM4. I like weird, unique guns.
First time I ever heard of the Semmerling LM4 was from the pre-Gunsmith Cats anime Riding Bean by Kenichi Sonoda. Sonoda is a gun enthusiast who really did his homework when he created Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats. The villain in Riding Bean was not only named Semmerling but at the end of the anime pulls out an LM4 in an attempt to kill the heroes.
In 1980, my family bought a new 1979 Ford LTD Crown Victoria for about $4500. This guys pistol with accessories cost 1/5 of a new full size car. That was a lot of money for that little guy! Great Video and Take Care, John
I remember reading about these as a youngster they seemed so cool very james bond like. Never seen one in color before the reddish finish on the barrel is lovely. And seeing how it cycles... wow. Waited several decades to see this! Thank you!
Ian, I love you, I grew up in Arizona. Williams, 32 miles west of Flagstaff. I'm pretty sure I am a bit older than you, 58 now. I graduated high school in 1980. Then attended NAU. Then I attended Yavapai College in Prescott, at that time one of only two schools with full gunsmithing courses in the nation. I met a lot of the children of formost gun literature dudes there. I have always considered myself very well informed about guns and gun technologies through this period. I new it was near impossible to collect, like one of every cartridge or like that. I had seen MANY trophy guns from wars of the world. I also have strong ties to the city you live in. You have shown me that there is infinite (practically) knowledge of the history of firearms, and that it can facsinate for an indefinite period. I thank you for this. I do believe your little tiny head has more in it concerning all this than I know what to make of. Why am I saying this to you? I don't know. But next time I am in the Tucson area I would love to meet you, maybe send some projectiles down range with you. And dare I say it, I may have some information to lay on you! Please relate a practical way to communicate if you can. No trouble here, just an appreciative admirer!
I’m reading my first Repairman Jack novel, The Tomb, and I wanted to see what kind of gun he loves carrying on his ankle. Thanks for the video and explaining its quirks.
I'd honestly never heard of Repairman Jack until your first video on the Semmerling, and I must say, damn good book. Maybe if you can get the stars to align you can do a range day episode with the various wares he mentions
Was really interested in picking one of those up, several years ago. Not as a carry.....collecting only. Thought it would fun to have the weapon Jack carried in the first several novels.
I'm in the middle of reading through the Repairman Jack series for the millionth time as a result of quarantine. So glad you mentioned Jack in the intro!
I very much enjoy your uploads and they certainly introduce me to guns I probably would not see by myself. The info on each guy is presented in a very complete and professional manner and I find your evaluations of each gun to be spot-on in terms of strengths and weaknesses for each weapon featured. Keep up the good work!
@Adam Halsey totally awesome! I loved the adversary series! The Keep is how I ended up getting into Repairman Jack, didn't know they were two series with a couple crossover books.
I love Repairman Jack! I have the entire Adversary Cycle in a limited edition hardcover set that comes in a slipcase. Not nearly as cool as an LM-4, granted....
Yep, I also started with seeing The Keep and only finding out there was a book years later, then finding there were more books then a massive story line. I was kinda lucky in starting it all after he had finished the whole series so I got to read it in the suggested order so the whole thing flowed. Now I've been trying to find any level of blue prints of the Simerling so I could 3d print a geek's prop version.
I really like how smooth it is. I have a similar preference with my 1911 commander that has a smooth forward section of the grip and I've had smooth grip panels on it before 3d printing my own later on. Only part that has texture is the back strap. But I'd like to try out a smooth one there as well. If I finally get money together to buy a finished frame I'll be building one exactly how I want like that. I've had zero issues gripping it as is despite a lot of people arguing against my preferences.
Nice to see how some people manage to keep all of the accessories. There must be a gremlin out there with lots of magazines, custom tools, sight aperture sets, scope lens and turret covers. This looks like a fantastic example to buy.
I remember when those were available. I wanted one, just because they were cool. I ended up buying a Detonics, instead. 6 plus 1 and semi-automatic (and stainless steel was a plus), albeit it was larger and heavier. People have to remember there wasn't even a Colt Officers Model yet, and the Star PD was the only other factory small .45 available. I would like to have one of these just for the craftsmanship. I think they're beautiful.
The machine work and finishing on this pistol is incredible, unlike any sub-compact I have ever seen! And the fact that its made of tool steel is the cherry on top.
I'd imagine it's not much different than full 357 mags out of a 15 oz smith J-Frame...that being said, I definitely consider that to be strong recoil...
Physics points out that it is the exact opposite....the only thing that counters recoil is mass. The Semmerling was more comfortable to fire because the full mass (including the slide) was there to counter act the forces, by design.
was thinking the same thing. having some "basic" dummy round like 9mm parabellum, 45 acp, 22lr and also 12 gauge especially when those calliber are quite common to be used on many guns
I don't think it was the Semmerling's creator. Just someone who had close links to it's development and usage (supposedly). It was under the account name 'SEMMERLING'. If you find the old vid, scroll to the bottom of the comments section (it is date stamped for 5 years ago) and you will find the whole glorious to-and-fro.
@@KenworthW900HG and an additional retort updated 3 years ago. Dude really hated Ian. That "they hated jesus because he spoke the truth" meme goes well here with our Gun Jesus.
That slide lock being released by the trigger is super simple but very slick. Goes to show the amount of care they took, a lot of people would have left that manual release.
@@Dominus_Deus I've always liked reading, but it's extremely uncommon for me to read a series of books that's more than, say, 3-4 books long. But Jack really sucked me in.
The AMT has more mass to lessen the felt recoil, plus you can do damage by beating or throwing it at your target after your available rounds are fired.
@@czar_fz I think the videos are available on RIA's site as soon as they are made, but don't get made public on YT until later. It's how Ian rewards folks that watch to the end of the video with "the video he's releasing tomorrow".
Lovely little pistol that. Have thought for a while that if you put a set of amber grip scales on it that it would be a very cool "Bladerunner" back up piece. Something about its aesthetic just reminds me of Deckard's gun!? Maybe it's how low it sits in the hand? Thanks for the video, you're keeping me sane in lock-down.
I used to drool over these little guys, even our police catalog had them listed for some time at a slightly reduced price; that price was, sadly well below the affordable price for a police patrolman. I did have a Star PD for some time and really loved that little guy, today I have the general officers model of the Citadel M1911A1 in .45 which I carry for a conceal carry gun when traveling, mainly because it is a lot cheaper then my little Astra A100 in .45. I do love the Astra and carried it for the last several years that I served on the PD.
Wow, looks like a COP .38/.357 four cylinder derringer which of all people, you I'm sure is aware of. I found one for $600 in the 2000s, mint and unfired! Way cool, love your channel
@@troy9477 Look for F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack and also the "Adversary" series. Repairman Jack is just a guy called Jack, a nobody... and thats the whole point, He's a guy in the shadows who does exceptional things.
@@troy9477 - Great books and there's a lot in the series. Starts off in reality then starts getting kinda weird as the series progresses. Here's an Amazon link to the first book. Have fun! The Tomb: smile.amazon.com/Tomb-Adversary-Cycle-Repairman-Jack-ebook/dp/B004L2LMFK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14ANOCI855EBI&dchild=1&keywords=repairman+jack+book+1&qid=1587227195&sprefix=repairman+%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1
I got to handle one of those in the early 1980s in a gun store. Very finely made, like jewelry, and felt surprisingly good in the hand, and the trigger felt way better than you might think, given all that travel. The gun store employee didn’t know much about it, so he thought it was an inertia operated semiauto. For all these years I was unaware you were supposed to manually cycle it between shots.
My personal feeling after having handled the one a friend of mine owned ages ago was that it was neat and cool and such, but it was overpriced and really not very practical. Had it been a semi auto they might have had something. I'd rather have one of the old Bergmann Bayards in .380, that is the Model 1908 there, actually a pretty neat little gun.
I carried an AMT Backup .45 for a while in the late 80's that was about the same size, but was recoil operated semi auto. It had some quality control problems like magazines floor plate welds failing and dropping rounds at your feet., so I traded it off. Once you mastered the stiff trigger pull it was fairly accurate at the short ranges it was intended for,
Off the top of my head his video for one of the compact S&W pistols - either the ASP or the Devel 59 - pointed out that at least in the US it was hard to get hold of good-quality 9mm until the 1970s, so that might have had something to do with it.
Remember, the idea of a reliable .38/9mm caliber bullet working as intended prior to the mid-80s was a dream in many ballisticians minds. It wasn't until super-Vel in the early 1980s loaded a combination of a special ordered bullet made by Sierra and a very, very stiff powder change that with the light-weight bullet to insure somewhat reliable expansion. It still took well into the 2000s for people to develop confidence in these bullets. Additionally, the press and the courts vilified the hollow-points and the soft-point bullets as 'dum-dum' bullets and there were prosecutions of armed citizens responding to break-ins resulting in shootings where the citizen was prosecuted for intentionally causing harm to the poor burglar. Think that didn't happen, do you remember the furor over Winchester's 'Black Talon' hollow point? BTW, for those confusing handgun vs. rifle ballistics, velocity can make all the difference. Where a 150 bullet from a 7.62 NATAO is moving around 2700-2900 fps, in a 9mm, the same weight bullet is moving 1/3 the velocity. Whether anyone likes it or not, the momentum formula is just as much a part of the physics of ballistics as the energy calculation. So yes a big, slow bullet moving just a little slower than a smaller diameter bullet has more momentum. The expanding bullet has made a world of difference.
@@charlesadams1721 Great effort but i am afraid that most people here are less than interested to read that. Many of them are also afraid that they will have to reevaluate internet myths that they regurgetate in the comments. Some people don´t want a truth that´s don´t fit with their convictions. (Sorry about Grammar(?))
Yep Sonoda by his own admission has been a gun fan most if not all of his life. Same with muscle cars. If you ever read his various manga like Gunsmith Cats and of course Riding Bean you'll see his attention to detail on both to the point of when Bean is driving Rally's '67 GT 500 critiquing her choice in switching to a hydraulic clutch but sticking with the manual transmission. Hence also Rally's choice in short rail CZ 75 pistols though she isn't a fan of the original plastic grips on the "first edition" and in the manga gets a set of wooden grips off a friend for them (she goes through several owing to villains). So yes you see a lot of rare models of both in his work, the LM-4 used by Semmerling is a fine example.
The Semmerling has a high recognition rate among early Japanese Anime fans solely through Kenichi Sonoda's near obsession with exotic and unusual firearms. If it wasn't a mainstream firearm during Sonoda's career, it's a near certainty it would be featured in one way or another in his work, such as the eponymous Semmerling and her backup pistol. For another comparison on prices then and now, for the price of a Semmerling you could purchase any of the other compact firearms mentioned along with Celestron's then-new C90 telescope/spotting scope, the better to see what you wanted to hit long before it ever came into range.
It would the same price if Korth got on the high quality hand-finished small subcompact market and you splurge on all the updates, accessories and options they can offer.
@@AverageJohanson That was under two weeks pay for my first job out of high school in the summer of 1981. If I had been into firearms than I would totally have spent the cast.
Thanks, very interesting. I saw this gun only in the picture, and it was always interesting to learn more about how it works. It would also be interesting to see what this gun is in action.
Ian, I am impressed how much you have learned since we last exchanged views on the LM4 on that first video you mentioned. Good, appropriate.....important. I stepped forward way back then when the video started out by stating that the LM4 had no significant historical importance. It did, as you know point out in this one....and so much more. The LM4 was further developed into the XLM for the U.S. Army Special Command under contract. That version is a fully articulated semi auto. In other words, within the LM4 size platform the firearm was a semi auto repeater utilizing a very rare forward strip method taken from a forward moving tripod mounted machine gun system of the period. Still a forward moving barrel, LM4s small size, threaded for its own suppressor and still to this day the smallest fully semi .45 ever produced under contract for.....the U.S. Army. It can be seen at the US Firearms museum and the Cody, where we delivered it all those years ago. The XLM also had a slide lock so that that one most important round could be delivered with all 3 of the 5 suppressed sound sources that an operator can control....was controlled. The suppressor was longer than the XLM, it is quite the rig. I would post some pics for you, but YT doesn't allow it here. You mention in the ASP video that, along with the LM4, and the Detonics (but double action trigger work completed) that there are a small and important, historical group of super assemble weapons from the period. Well, there are still 3 more to find.....all equally important, in service and ultra rare. By the way, we could not use the ASP as the alloy frame failed in service....hard service....to the point where they were not carried. Forward frame cracks appeared just forward of the altered trigger guard. It remains the only one of the 6 that failed in service. Best and thanks for the improved video.
"You depress the trigger slightly to engage the slide lock."
This is gonna give every safety officer and insurance company in a 5 mile radius a heart attack.
I wish I understood this joke :(
Same with a Glock, basically.
@@normanpotts3169 What does this even have to do with a Glock?
@@HTacianas the safety on the Glock is part of the trigger. That's all.
@@lopanreturns7085 Nah, not really. A common alternate use of the trigger is to uncock, and some frames have things like mag release or safety levers inside the trigger guard, which also give reasons for fingers to frotteurize the trigger.
"So just to give you a size comparison, here is your LM4 alongside with some ludicrously rare and valuable gun". I love this channel.
Okay it's a 1910, but the differnce to the 1911 is good to nothing.
Still $150,000
@@thehatedones5153 really???
@@lancehobbs8012yep, and this pistol sold for 10.6k out the door
@@agentmuellerwait ten thousand I thought the comment said one hundred and fifty thousand
If you ARE that collector, do us all a solid and join Ian at the range after the auction. ;)
I would be honored if Ian shot one of my firearms.
Better yet, lend it to Ian for a 2 gun match!
@@2wheeleddemon999 As would I. Unfortunately, I'm too poor to own anything interesting enough.
@@Devin_Stromgren at least us poors can dream...
@ I'm a self employed farmer. As such, my yearly income is very inconsistent, being reliant on multiple factors, and I only usually get paid once a year.
Looks like a premium version of the Liberator pistol
I would 100% buy a premium version of a liberator.
@Marc Michaud
You mean The Subjugator?
@Marc Michaud Technically you could reload the liberator. Ian and Karl have a video where they shoot with it.
This pistol has a much better mechanism and a functioning magazine, but the disposability of the liberator wasn't really its issue as much as its performance in the first place.
"...Now comes with extra liberty!"
Marc Michaud it’s called aesthetics
My new favorite phrase: "a whoopsie in the holster."
Good euphemism for when you shit your pants, damn accidental discharges...
Rock Island Auction Company How tf did you post this last week?!
@@geoss2346 Patreon supporters get to watch earlier
A self-evident phrase
Oopsie whoopsie! You made a fucky-wucky!
I remember when this was introduced in 'Combat Handguns'magazine, the creator said they made it manually operated so that every bit of the mass would go into absorbing recoil. He said they did make a semiauto prototype without making the gun significantly bulkier, but in his words, "As expected, the recoil was excessive." I also remember 'Handgun Tests' magazine tried one out. They found that flicking the gun to operate it worked fine until gunpowder fouling built up enough to gum up the tight tolerances of the slide.
Inflation adjusted for 1981, the original sale price with accessories was just about $2600. It was the Gucci Glock of its time.
Eric I was about to post the same thing, glad someone beat me to it
I would compare it to Boberg, funky tiny and expensive pistol in .45. I think 80s Gucci glock would be Devel's full conversion of S&W M39/59.
@@SonOfTheDawn515 There was probably a legitimate argument for something like this in the 1970s. More concealable than a snubnose .38, but not some shitty cheap pocket pistol either.
You're probably better off comparing based on the price of gold, than inflation-adjusted dollars.
Gold was about $450 an ounce in 1979, so this pistol was about two ounces of gold. That's close to $3200 today.
@@ScottKenny1978 lol, why would I use the price of gold when we stopped using the gold standard 10 years before the sale was done? This pistol was sold in 81, America stopped using the gold standard in 71. Doesn't strike me as particularly relevant, I think I'm going to go with the inflation calculator.
“Let’s make it as expensive as possible, but actually put 80% of the cost into the R&D and tech and reliability!”
A Vertu of a gun world.
"today on forgotten weapons"
*Slides barrel forward*
Me: *confused screaming*
The Angry Mechanic
legit thought it was broken at first.
You'll never forget this weapon.
You haven't seen the Schwarzlose 1909 video, you amateur ;)
@@mrkeogh I immediately thought about this piece of garbage when seeing that this one here.
ua-cam.com/video/Jiupj4PyL4U/v-deo.html
This auctioned for $8,625 on 06/07/2020 in case anyone else was wondering
>casually pulls out a colt 1910
If Gun Jesus didn't make men equal, Colt did.
You have to excuse him, he didn't have his usual 1848 Colt Dragoon for a comparison
@Mäkirannantörmä ok what do you get at lvl 20 ? "Gun Wish" : You manifest a perfect gun suited to your situation. Said gun lasts for 2d10 days, never jams, never needs to be reloaded. ?
Allmost a Chad moment.
The same colt that he did videos on at the same RIA table likely on the same day.
My grandfather left us not one, but two of these little guys, had no idea how rare they were. He was an interesting guy.
BONUS. Comes with Gun Jesus’ finger prints at no extra cost.
I don't know... the cost will only rise now that it has been blessed by our gun savior!
I’d pay extra for it
This will become Turin Shroud of Guns?
no cost is too high for a Holy Semmerling.
Has a room dedicated to guns held by ian and nobody else
Damn, that "one-handed cycling the barrel forwards" has to be the coolest and most badass pistol operating I've ever seen.
How’s the recoil on this thing? Itty bitty gun with a big bullet
I'm sure it's snappy. Probably a hoot on range day.
I fired one years ago and it's interesting. The LM4 does not kick nearly as bad as you might expect by its size and heavy round. It's not exactly a mouse-fart, and it's not exactly something I'd do for fun, but it's very controllable. The recoil impulse does feel a little weird, though, because there's no slide moving forward and back during the split-second of kick.
@Hairless Wookiee Correction: An enraged FAT mule.
@@painmagnet1 I'm sure ur hand would hav that warm viberating numb feeling for few mins??? The Pistola looked to be well made machine? I love my 45acp colt gold cup National Match, fat slow bullet, but oh so fun to shoot targets!!!
I bet it has All of the recoil. Like you know those recoilless rifles, this little guy stole their recoil when they weren't looking .
Jk I bet it's far from the worst handgun... at least it is 3 oz heavier than a fp-45 "liberator" and has some ergonomics
"Whoopsie in the holster" and "Bad breath distance". Ian's killing it today, do they sell a good sense of humor at RIA aswell???
Not as bad as him calling WW1 "that little thing in Europe".
Looks like something off the Blade Runner set.
Let me tell you about my mother.
The gun you're thinking of is the cop357 and the one on set was technically a machine gun.
@@finnpendleton4615 Only because the ATF has retarded definitions. It's more like a double-barrel shotgun that fires both barrels with a single trigger pull.
Ian has reviewed the COP 357 derringer and even run it through a practical gun exercise. It sucks, but I still want one. And an LM4. I like weird, unique guns.
Eric or like the 10mm pistol from fallout 4
Looks like that small bladerunner handgun Adam savage made with the amber grips.
First time I ever heard of the Semmerling LM4 was from the pre-Gunsmith Cats anime Riding Bean by Kenichi Sonoda. Sonoda is a gun enthusiast who really did his homework when he created Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats. The villain in Riding Bean was not only named Semmerling but at the end of the anime pulls out an LM4 in an attempt to kill the heroes.
How do we get the Japanese to amend their constitution to enshrine the unrestricted right of the people to keep and bear arms?
Dispatch a Ninja? Lol.
hmmm. this might get me interested in anime again
@@FinalLugiaGuardianseeing as they took away their swords in the 1800s I doubt they would ever allow that. Most people lived in fear of the samurai.
@@AcidGambit419 Maybe not this generation, but by 2050? Maybe.
That starting segment had me like: WHAT IS THAT ACTION?!
NONE
At first, I figured it was a blow forward pistol, though with a 45 that would be almost impossible to control.
@@ajvanmarle it would be interesting to see someone try though
I thought my migraine was really messing with my perception lol
Yeah, the pistol is what hits your target
In 1980, my family bought a new 1979 Ford LTD Crown Victoria for about $4500. This guys pistol with accessories cost 1/5 of a new full size car. That was a lot of money for that little guy!
Great Video and Take Care, John
I’m so happy we have Ian during these difficult times
For real.
these*
Ha. Wait till next year.
"[...] you don't want that spring to get full of pocket lint."
Pocket sand test?
Thanks for the remainder, i almost went outside without refilling my pocket sand
Go home Dale ur drunk.
pocket lint test
Shshshaaaa
Pocket sand is the ultimate weapon
Awww! It's a little pump-action pistol! :D
"A whoopsie in the holster." xD
Hey, its a straight pull bolt action!!! XD
Love the fact he knows who repair man jacks is. That’s the reason I looked this video up.
That's one of the prettiest pistols I've ever seen.
It is. Looks like someone put a clearcoat finish on it. That's not a factory job but looks pretty nice.
It's quite pretty, i agree
The casual wrist-snap slide cycle reminds me of characters that one-hand snap breach loading guns open and closed. Like Hellboy.
Jack was in a similar line of work...
"you'd be hard pressed to spend more money"
>Laughs teutonically in Korth.
Try a german ,Janz' Revolver!
Britta Kriep I was just thinking that! Korth is the working man's Janz.
You missed the context. You would have been hard pressed to buy a more expensive .45 ACP in 1979.
$887 in 1981 is $2641 in 2020 dollars.
@@craigrobertson9667 amazing
I love that you mentioned Repairman Jack 😆 I'm listening to the audio book series right now and only looked up this gun to see what it looks like
Movie trivia: apparently, the only significant appearance of this gun in movie history was in _Riding Bean._
Ryan Pham Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find someone mention Riding Bean.
Ryan Pham love that movie!
Did the Kickstarter for Riding Bean 2 ever take off?
@@SerpentineJack99, I don't think it ever did.
Where it's wielded by a character named Semmerling.
Props for working in Repairman Jack.
I remember reading about these as a youngster they seemed so cool very james bond like. Never seen one in color before the reddish finish on the barrel is lovely. And seeing how it cycles... wow. Waited several decades to see this! Thank you!
Would work quite well suppressed by bond as well, no clackity clack as it cycles, DEFINITELY subsonic
From what Ian said that was a custom finish listed on the receipt rather than the stock appearance but yeah definitely a lovely sheen.
@@thomasa5619 XLM was the LM4 in semi auto under US Army contract, suppressed with a slide lock.
Ian, I love you, I grew up in Arizona. Williams, 32 miles west of Flagstaff. I'm pretty sure I am a bit older than you, 58 now. I graduated high school in 1980. Then attended NAU. Then I attended Yavapai College in Prescott, at that time one of only two schools with full gunsmithing courses in the nation. I met a lot of the children of formost gun literature dudes there. I have always considered myself very well informed about guns and gun technologies through this period. I new it was near impossible to collect, like one of every cartridge or like that. I had seen MANY trophy guns from wars of the world. I also have strong ties to the city you live in. You have shown me that there is infinite (practically) knowledge of the history of firearms, and that it can facsinate for an indefinite period. I thank you for this. I do believe your little tiny head has more in it concerning all this than I know what to make of. Why am I saying this to you? I don't know. But next time I am in the Tucson area I would love to meet you, maybe send some projectiles down range with you. And dare I say it, I may have some information to lay on you! Please relate a practical way to communicate if you can. No trouble here, just an appreciative admirer!
This would be an interesting piece in places were semi-auto's are restricted.
Great point there might me more of a market for this now then there was then.
Sorta like a bolt action rife, but without the bolt handle...and the rifle part.
@@brendancarlson1678 "manual inertial locking" for the sales pitch.
just don't paint it black.
US democrats ban black guns.
apparently, color increases lethality
Maybe nickel satin finish?
i love the plum slide. many years ago i had a beautiful p7m8 with a plum slide just like that.
I’m reading my first Repairman Jack novel, The Tomb, and I wanted to see what kind of gun he loves carrying on his ankle. Thanks for the video and explaining its quirks.
This is the type of neat gun engineering and history I subscribed for. Thank you
I'm just drooling at the hand made work involved in this. Just gorgeous, thank you for this presentation.
That is one of the coolest compact pistols I’ve seen. The quality and design is amazing! That holster slide lock was well thought out and executed.
Yes pulling the trigger part way on a loaded gun was a genius design choice, I wonder why we don’t see it more often
"It's a cool colector's pistol"
Fireplace Guy: You had my curiosity now you have my attention.
Mandingo fight
Kudos for giving credit it Repairman Jack!
"bad breath distance" haha havent heard that one in awhile.
I'd honestly never heard of Repairman Jack until your first video on the Semmerling, and I must say, damn good book. Maybe if you can get the stars to align you can do a range day episode with the various wares he mentions
Am an absolute Repairman Jack fan. Have been for ages.
Ian dropped the Repairman Jack reference straight out of the box!!!
That intro looks like that scene in Taxi Driver
You talkin’ to me?
Me "Oh look, Ian did a video on the gun of Repairman Jack" Ian "It's Repairman Jack's pistol." Awesome. Also, shared this with F. Paul Wilson.
Was really interested in picking one of those up, several years ago. Not as a carry.....collecting only. Thought it would fun to have the weapon Jack carried in the first several novels.
Ian should get dummy rounds (the metal casings woth the rest molded in plastic) so he can play around with how these weird guns would cycle
I'm in the middle of reading through the Repairman Jack series for the millionth time as a result of quarantine. So glad you mentioned Jack in the intro!
"That prevents you from having an oopsie in the holster"
Ah yes, I remember my teenage years...
Hey...it happens to all of us
And thats the story of why BROTRRer was escorted off the range
When he compared it to the 1910, it looked like it could double as an under-barrel accessory.
Pretty much
Ian, predicting new Battlefield Games Weapons since 2008....
I'm sure we can point directly at Ian for the Kolibri being in BF1.
Yep
@@cericat You might want to watch the Totalbiscuit/ForgottenWeapons crossover vid. Ian himself said that he helped with the development of BF1.
I very much enjoy your uploads and they certainly introduce me to guns I probably would not see by myself. The info on each guy is presented in a very complete and professional manner and I find your evaluations of each gun to be spot-on in terms of strengths and weaknesses for each weapon featured. Keep up the good work!
I just geeked out a little knowing that Ian read the Repairman Jack series.
@Adam Halsey totally awesome! I loved the adversary series! The Keep is how I ended up getting into Repairman Jack, didn't know they were two series with a couple crossover books.
I love Repairman Jack! I have the entire Adversary Cycle in a limited edition hardcover set that comes in a slipcase.
Not nearly as cool as an LM-4, granted....
Yep, I also started with seeing The Keep and only finding out there was a book years later, then finding there were more books then a massive story line. I was kinda lucky in starting it all after he had finished the whole series so I got to read it in the suggested order so the whole thing flowed. Now I've been trying to find any level of blue prints of the Simerling so I could 3d print a geek's prop version.
@Deimos Cain I've read the prequels as well! The origin story is rough, but I loved the young adult stuff
The fit and polish is incredible.
I really like how smooth it is. I have a similar preference with my 1911 commander that has a smooth forward section of the grip and I've had smooth grip panels on it before 3d printing my own later on. Only part that has texture is the back strap. But I'd like to try out a smooth one there as well.
If I finally get money together to buy a finished frame I'll be building one exactly how I want like that. I've had zero issues gripping it as is despite a lot of people arguing against my preferences.
Bonus kudos for the Repairman Jack reference, Ian!
This is definitely something LifeSizePotato would have in his collection.
Nice to see how some people manage to keep all of the accessories.
There must be a gremlin out there with lots of magazines, custom tools, sight aperture sets, scope lens and turret covers.
This looks like a fantastic example to buy.
I remember when those were available. I wanted one, just because they were cool. I ended up buying a Detonics, instead. 6 plus 1 and semi-automatic (and stainless steel was a plus), albeit it was larger and heavier. People have to remember there wasn't even a Colt Officers Model yet, and the Star PD was the only other factory small .45 available. I would like to have one of these just for the craftsmanship. I think they're beautiful.
The machine work and finishing on this pistol is incredible, unlike any sub-compact I have ever seen! And the fact that its made of tool steel is the cherry on top.
0:49 “A manually operated pistol”
My hands screaming imagining 45 out of something that small with no feeding system to absorb recoil.
It's not bad at all. Pretty fun to shoot actually.
I'd imagine it's not much different than full 357 mags out of a 15 oz smith J-Frame...that being said, I definitely consider that to be strong recoil...
Physics points out that it is the exact opposite....the only thing that counters recoil is mass. The Semmerling was more comfortable to fire because the full mass (including the slide) was there to counter act the forces, by design.
Clicked for Repairman Jack, was really surprised to hear you mention him immediately
I remember this coming out and reading the magazine reviews. Touted as a concealed backup gun, very small but real power cf .25 or .32 pocket pistols.
I really enjoy when Ian deliberately uses rare versions of firearms for simple things like size comparisons.
Wouldn‘t it be great to have some dummy rounds form every important caliber for demonstration purposes?
was thinking the same thing.
having some "basic" dummy round like 9mm parabellum, 45 acp, 22lr and also 12 gauge especially when those calliber are quite common to be used on many guns
@@prd6617 A new Kickstarter? Snap Caps for Gun Jesus!
Never understood why their isnt snap cap kits or packs where theres multiple calibers
It would, but you can't fly with them. Good luck convincing the TSA that they aren't live ammo.
Scott Kenny because they are nothing like ammo other than shape.
If I wouldn't be already a fan, the Repairman Jack reference would have made me one!
I remember the Semmerling creator commenting on your older vid, Ian!
I'm now on a mission to go find that comment.
@@2wheeleddemon999 I tried weeks ago. He was super butthurt about Ian's critique. It may have been deleted.
Here
ua-cam.com/video/lxdPbG2PXu4/v-deo.html&lc=UghIXmCdolOmQXgCoAEC
I don't think it was the Semmerling's creator. Just someone who had close links to it's development and usage (supposedly). It was under the account name 'SEMMERLING'. If you find the old vid, scroll to the bottom of the comments section (it is date stamped for 5 years ago) and you will find the whole glorious to-and-fro.
@@KenworthW900HG and an additional retort updated 3 years ago. Dude really hated Ian. That "they hated jesus because he spoke the truth" meme goes well here with our Gun Jesus.
That slide lock being released by the trigger is super simple but very slick. Goes to show the amount of care they took, a lot of people would have left that manual release.
When I saw the title of the video I thought "cool, Repairman Jack's pistol".
5 seconds into the video I knew it wouldn disappoint me.
This is another great video thank you very much
The Repairman Jack books were fantastic. Well, up until the last couple anyway.
CarnalKid thems the books that got me into reading. Have wanted an LM4 since about 2010 because of them.
@@Dominus_Deus I've always liked reading, but it's extremely uncommon for me to read a series of books that's more than, say, 3-4 books long. But Jack really sucked me in.
That part where he racked the gun one handed may have been the coolest thing I have seen in my entire life
What about the AMT Backup 45? It's 130mm instead of 94mm, but both are less than 25mm wide and the AMT is a true self-loader.
Like you said, it's 1.5" longer.
@@ForgottenWeapons A very impressive inch and a half. Ohh, sorry! Wrong UA-cam-channel....
The AMT has more mass to lessen the felt recoil, plus you can do damage by beating or throwing it at your target after your available rounds are fired.
How is this comment 2 months old?
@@czar_fz I think the videos are available on RIA's site as soon as they are made, but don't get made public on YT until later. It's how Ian rewards folks that watch to the end of the video with "the video he's releasing tomorrow".
Handyman Jack's Semmerling.... to shoot Rakoshi with.... nice pick Ian to do a vid on an "exotic" pistol like that! Thumb up once again!
Lovely little pistol that. Have thought for a while that if you put a set of amber grip scales on it that it would be a very cool "Bladerunner" back up piece. Something about its aesthetic just reminds me of Deckard's gun!? Maybe it's how low it sits in the hand?
Thanks for the video, you're keeping me sane in lock-down.
I’ve never had an interest in owning a derringer until today. That’s a slick lil puppy!
Just imagine how much this will cost now that it has been blessed by our gun savior!
I used to drool over these little guys, even our police catalog had them listed for some time at a slightly reduced price; that price was, sadly well below the affordable price for a police patrolman. I did have a Star PD for some time and really loved that little guy, today I have the general officers model of the Citadel M1911A1 in .45 which I carry for a conceal carry gun when traveling, mainly because it is a lot cheaper then my little Astra A100 in .45. I do love the Astra and carried it for the last several years that I served on the PD.
Boy, was Abe pissed when Jack lost it.
Wow, looks like a COP .38/.357 four cylinder derringer which of all people, you I'm sure is aware of. I found one for $600 in the 2000s, mint and unfired! Way cool, love your channel
I thought that was a blow forward 45ACP and I thought the story was gonna be about people BREAKING THEIR FREAKING HANDS
thumbs up for simply KNOWING WHO REPAIRMAN JACK IS
I know I know ... he switched to a Glock 23 in later books. Still, I've never had the pleasure to see a Semmerling
I looked at this video's title and thought: "That's the pistol Repairman Jack uses."
Then Gun Jesus up and says it in the first 10 seconds, lol.
And after the video I'm downloading the books again for the 5th read lol
@@mcronin1494 - That's a great idea! I just wish I could find the time to read them again........................oh, wait. lol
Who is Repairman Jack? I love to read
@@troy9477 Look for F. Paul Wilson's "Repairman Jack and also the "Adversary" series.
Repairman Jack is just a guy called Jack, a nobody... and thats the whole point, He's a guy in the shadows who does exceptional things.
@@troy9477 - Great books and there's a lot in the series. Starts off in reality then starts getting kinda weird as the series progresses.
Here's an Amazon link to the first book. Have fun!
The Tomb: smile.amazon.com/Tomb-Adversary-Cycle-Repairman-Jack-ebook/dp/B004L2LMFK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=14ANOCI855EBI&dchild=1&keywords=repairman+jack+book+1&qid=1587227195&sprefix=repairman+%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1
I got to handle one of those in the early 1980s in a gun store. Very finely made, like jewelry, and felt surprisingly good in the hand, and the trigger felt way better than you might think, given all that travel. The gun store employee didn’t know much about it, so he thought it was an inertia operated semiauto. For all these years I was unaware you were supposed to manually cycle it between shots.
When will Netflix give us a Repairman Jack series!?!?!
I can't decide if that sounds like a great or a horrible idea.
Yes please.
The finish on that barrel is beautiful. Such a neat little pistol.
My personal feeling after having handled the one a friend of mine owned ages ago was that it was neat and cool and such, but it was overpriced and really not very practical. Had it been a semi auto they might have had something. I'd rather have one of the old Bergmann Bayards in .380, that is the Model 1908 there, actually a pretty neat little gun.
I carried an AMT Backup .45 for a while in the late 80's that was about the same size, but was recoil operated semi auto. It had some quality control problems like magazines floor plate welds failing and dropping rounds at your feet., so I traded it off. Once you mastered the stiff trigger pull it was fairly accurate at the short ranges it was intended for,
For reference Allen wrenches, or hex keys, are made of S6 tool steel. At least the good quality ones are.
If they aren't, don't buy them. I had the misfortune to possess some of an inferior grade, and they burred and some of them snapped. Most annoying.
Wow, that's some tough stuff for that little blaster!
Love F. Paul Wilson; and I haven't seen one of those in a long long time. Thank you.
This shows how the 45 was seen as a huge advantage back in the day.... To the point of silliness!
Don't think a .45 semi auto could be made that small today.
@M Via a 9mm will kill someone just as dead as a 45acp, unless they are a drugged tribesman.
Off the top of my head his video for one of the compact S&W pistols - either the ASP or the Devel 59 - pointed out that at least in the US it was hard to get hold of good-quality 9mm until the 1970s, so that might have had something to do with it.
Remember, the idea of a reliable .38/9mm caliber bullet working as intended prior to the mid-80s was a dream in many ballisticians minds. It wasn't until super-Vel in the early 1980s loaded a combination of a special ordered bullet made by Sierra and a very, very stiff powder change that with the light-weight bullet to insure somewhat reliable expansion. It still took well into the 2000s for people to develop confidence in these bullets. Additionally, the press and the courts vilified the hollow-points and the soft-point bullets as 'dum-dum' bullets and there were prosecutions of armed citizens responding to break-ins resulting in shootings where the citizen was prosecuted for intentionally causing harm to the poor burglar. Think that didn't happen, do you remember the furor over Winchester's 'Black Talon' hollow point?
BTW, for those confusing handgun vs. rifle ballistics, velocity can make all the difference. Where a 150 bullet from a 7.62 NATAO is moving around 2700-2900 fps, in a 9mm, the same weight bullet is moving 1/3 the velocity.
Whether anyone likes it or not, the momentum formula is just as much a part of the physics of ballistics as the energy calculation. So yes a big, slow bullet moving just a little slower than a smaller diameter bullet has more momentum. The expanding bullet has made a world of difference.
@@charlesadams1721 Great effort but i am afraid that most people here are less than interested to read that. Many of them are also afraid that they will have to reevaluate internet myths that they regurgetate in the comments. Some people don´t want a truth that´s don´t fit with their convictions. (Sorry about Grammar(?))
It’s kinda fun to rewatch some of Ian’s old videos and this is a weird cool gun I forgot about
I remember this gun from Riding Bean OVA
Same here.
What a uniquely cool gun, I love the design, and the aesthetics are out of this world!
So this was the pistol used by one of the villains in Riding Bean, neat!
Who was also named Semmerling.
I thought it was so I went and re-watched it.. Yep, it's right there. They even animated the thumb-over reload.
Dang! Old School b4 Anime wuz cool. That you say that, I *do* remember that, and wondering _what the hell?_ at the time!
Yep Sonoda by his own admission has been a gun fan most if not all of his life. Same with muscle cars. If you ever read his various manga like Gunsmith Cats and of course Riding Bean you'll see his attention to detail on both to the point of when Bean is driving Rally's '67 GT 500 critiquing her choice in switching to a hydraulic clutch but sticking with the manual transmission. Hence also Rally's choice in short rail CZ 75 pistols though she isn't a fan of the original plastic grips on the "first edition" and in the manga gets a set of wooden grips off a friend for them (she goes through several owing to villains).
So yes you see a lot of rare models of both in his work, the LM-4 used by Semmerling is a fine example.
The Semmerling has a high recognition rate among early Japanese Anime fans solely through Kenichi Sonoda's near obsession with exotic and unusual firearms. If it wasn't a mainstream firearm during Sonoda's career, it's a near certainty it would be featured in one way or another in his work, such as the eponymous Semmerling and her backup pistol.
For another comparison on prices then and now, for the price of a Semmerling you could purchase any of the other compact firearms mentioned along with Celestron's then-new C90 telescope/spotting scope, the better to see what you wanted to hit long before it ever came into range.
This has to be one of my favorite looking guns ever
>His bill came to $887 in 1981
Imagine spending $2,641 on THAT today
AverageJohanson Imagine spending $887 thirty nine years ago.
@@neoncity5451 Nah, I would totally spend $887 back in '81
Just to flex
It would the same price if Korth got on the high quality hand-finished small subcompact market and you splurge on all the updates, accessories and options they can offer.
@@AverageJohanson That was under two weeks pay for my first job out of high school in the summer of 1981. If I had been into firearms than I would totally have spent the cast.
Today 2,641 could get ya an HK SP5...or pretty near any pistol that strikes your fancy, yes I know there are exceptions...
Thanks, very interesting.
I saw this gun only in the picture, and it was always interesting to learn more about how it works.
It would also be interesting to see what this gun is in action.
That man spent the equivalent of 2.4k in todays money on this firearm when he originally purchased it.
Ian, I am impressed how much you have learned since we last exchanged views on the LM4 on that first video you mentioned. Good, appropriate.....important. I stepped forward way back then when the video started out by stating that the LM4 had no significant historical importance. It did, as you know point out in this one....and so much more.
The LM4 was further developed into the XLM for the U.S. Army Special Command under contract. That version is a fully articulated semi auto. In other words, within the LM4 size platform the firearm was a semi auto repeater utilizing a very rare forward strip method taken from a forward moving tripod mounted machine gun system of the period. Still a forward moving barrel, LM4s small size, threaded for its own suppressor and still to this day the smallest fully semi .45 ever produced under contract for.....the U.S. Army. It can be seen at the US Firearms museum and the Cody, where we delivered it all those years ago. The XLM also had a slide lock so that that one most important round could be delivered with all 3 of the 5 suppressed sound sources that an operator can control....was controlled. The suppressor was longer than the XLM, it is quite the rig. I would post some pics for you, but YT doesn't allow it here.
You mention in the ASP video that, along with the LM4, and the Detonics (but double action trigger work completed) that there are a small and important, historical group of super assemble weapons from the period. Well, there are still 3 more to find.....all equally important, in service and ultra rare. By the way, we could not use the ASP as the alloy frame failed in service....hard service....to the point where they were not carried. Forward frame cracks appeared just forward of the altered trigger guard. It remains the only one of the 6 that failed in service.
Best and thanks for the improved video.