Anyone have an Arsenal Double Barrel 45?

S

Skans

New member
I see these things (Arsenal AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol) being sold on Gunbroker for some pretty big coin, about $5,000. I was wondering if anyone here has one, and if so, how it actually works?

I don't really want to debate the merits of having such a handgun - obviously it's a novelty item. Some strange part of me wants one of these....just not for $5,000 or anything close to that price.

For reference: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=451237275
 
I have wondered how they work, literally, since the system appears to be unworkable. But I don't feel like spending five grand to find out, so I guess I will remain in ignorance.

Jim
 
I see these things (Arsenal AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol) being sold on Gunbroker for some pretty big coin, about $5,000.
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I've seen them OFFERED for $5,000 -- but haven't seen any BIDS or any SOLD. Have any been sold on that auction site?
 
I handled one at the Mason City IA gun show last Friday night...

didn't shoot it, but handled one to my satisfaction...

the gun is essentially a right & left hand auto melded together... the triggers are tied together so you only need to pull one trigger ( right or left hand ) both barrels fire at the same time, so it's still a 7 or 8 X 2 shot auto... the grip is more blocky than a Glock, the gun is heavy... also both mags are tied together with one base plate...

owner said it wasn't any worse to shoot than a normal 45 auto, because of the extra weight... has a cool factor kicking out 2 shells at a time, but IMO, that's also twice the chance of a malfunction, however the owner said it's cycled fine what little they had shot it...
 
Youtube has some good videos on how they work and folks shooting them.
It looks mostly like it's just two 1911s with a couple of combined parts.
The important exception is that they eject cases in opposite directions, one to the right and one to the left.
 
I was under the impression from the reading I have done on it that BOTH triggers needed to be pulled to fire the gun. The ignition system is tied together, so that both sides fire simultaneously, but a pull of both triggers is needed to release the hammers. It seems to me that if only one trigger was pulled resulting in two shots, it would run afoul of NFA laws and be technically a machine gun (fires more than one round with a single function of trigger). I could be wrong, I have never handled one.

EDIT:

It appears that my impression was wrong, pulling either trigger will fire both barrels. I am curious how this received BATF approval to be sold in US. This article says there are different sear-trigger systems available:

http://www.slickguns.com/product/arsenal-double-barrel-1911-45-tba
 
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How would one remove the barrel bushings unless
they modified them some strange way, Maybe move to
the 9:00 position remove spring then the 12:00 position
 
My problem is that business about both barrels firing "at the same time." I just don't think it is possible to get both barrels to fire at the same time, though maybe they fire close enough. But it seems to me that if one hammer is a little slow, if one sear notch is a tad longer, if one primer is a bit too fast, if one powder charge is a millisecond slow to ignite, you have the barrels fighting one another. And if there is even a slight hangfire in one barrel, it will fire out of battery since it was unlocked when the other barrel fired normally.

Of course, there are other problems, like size and weight, not to mention twice the recoil and muzzle blast. IMHO, a solution to a problem that no one ever thought of asking and a product that no one would want except as a case study in useless ideas.

Jim
 
The AF2011-A1 holds amazing and surprising target performance for the shooter: in fact, it will group all the 8 double .45 caliber rounds (16 bullets) held in the duplex, single columns magazines, in a target of the size of an orange at 15 yards and of a water melon at 25.
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Wow, Arsenal! Groups the size of a mere watermelon at 25 yards? And for a paltry $5,000? Where do I sign up?

Are they just trolling us?
 
I don't think so; the guns seem to be real and a lot of work went into them. But a lot of things are possible that are simply not practical or marketable. Above, I overlooked the small problem of getting both barrels to shoot to about the same point, when the barrels cannot be regulated.

I once saw a film of a Renault Dauphine into which someone put a jet engine. Did it work? Yep. Did it go really, really fast? Yep. Did it flip over and go spinning down the track on its side? Yep. Did people line up to buy it? Nope.
But what a cool project for someone with a lot of money!

Jim
 
I'm just wondering - at what price would you throw down some money and buy one?

For me, at $1,000 - I'm all in. $2,000....maybe... as an investment?.. More than that, probably not.
 
Not necessarily. For the most part, modern "collectible" guns have not even kept up with inflation. And age doesn't add much. I can cite "odd-wad" guns of the 19th century which not only are not high dollar but are nearly unheard of. Example: If innovation and low production make a valuable collectible, the Cooper percussion revolver should be very valuable. Yet, they don't bring anywhere near the price of a common Colt 1851 Navy in similar condition.

So collect the oddities if you want for the fun of it, but for an investment, go with good stocks or real estate.

Jim
 
I handled one at SHOT last year.
To me it is a bit of a novelty, kind of like a boat. It might would be fun for a while but once the new is wore off it would sit in the safe.
That is an awful lot of money just to sit in the safe.

James K had a good point if you ran into a hang fire. That would be real bad.
 
the Cooper percussion revolver should be very valuable....
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Never heard of this. Just looked one up on gunbroker. Looks like the starting price is $1,200. Hmmmm, I might just want one of these!

On that Arsenal double 45, even if one of the cartridges experienced a hangfire and ejected, the danger should be minimal.
 
No one's going to buy it as a serious shooting piece anyway. They're going to buy it mostly just to own it.
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If I'm going to spend money to buy bragging rights -- and that's about all that you can do with one of those guns -- it's gonig to be spent on a new SIG P-210 Legend or one of the SIG P226 X-Fives (9mm this time: I tried .40 and didn't like it) -- or something of that ilk. Then you can brag, show off, and shoot it, too. :cool:
 
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