OK, here we go:
The Bren Ten was the first 10mm combat auto pistol designed to specifications set by Jeff Cooper. It was based on a CZ-75 frame and a SIG P-210 slide with an Obermeyer "Power Seal barrel. It was built with a stainless frame and a black slide in the Standard Model with alot of custom work as standard, like beveled mag wells, polished feed ramps, trigger jobs, reversible safeties, and a firing pin block safety, and there were 4 variants: The Special Forces model was shorter and was SS or black; the Police Model was full-sized and all black; The Pocket Model was a little smaller that the Special Forces model, SS, and is the most collectible as there are (I believe) only 2 copies of this pistol in existence; There was also a .45 variant.
The 10mm version carried 11 cartridges of 10mm Norma. It was in production for 4 years (83-86) and had an original MSR price of $750.00. Due to some questionable powder used by Norma, the ballistics and accuracy for the pistol were questionable at best, giving the pistol its (unwarranted) reputation for unreliability.
The pistol was manufactured by Dornaus and Dixon, Inc., who gambled too heavily that the military would select it as their new service pistol. When this didn't happen, capital-weak production delays and supplier problems started to surface. The pistol was shipped (in many cases) without mags, making it a very ineffective boat anchor. In 86 D&D packed it up.
The pistol received some notoriety because it was the sidearm of Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) during the first 2 seasons of "Miami Vice," who carried a Ten with a refinished slide in hard chrome. Because of the mag shortage, there were people on the set tasked to follow Johnson and make sure they got the discarded mags to keep Bren Ten owners from stealing them.
In the (I think) late 80's or early 90's Richard (?) Voit, the former owner of Voit Sporting Goods tried to resurrect the Bren Ten, with some slight design modifications, and a new name: The Peregrine Falcon. Again plagued by production problems, and (this part might be heresay) a possible lawsuit from Ruger, mainly because the logos of the 2 companies were similar, it never saw the light of day, and no production pistols were ever made.
Today, the pistol is something of a collectible, NIB models commanding in the $1200.00 to $1700.00 range. Parts are available for the pistol, and a company in Florida - ESF Sales - has become the main Bren resource in the Country.
It was a sharp looking pistol (IMNSHO) and if you want to see what they look like, click this link:
http://marina.fortunecity.com/harbour/347/10mm08.html
And look for all the pictures of Brens. There is also a rare pic of the Peregrine Falcon here:
http://marina.fortunecity.com/harbour/347/10h/bren10/peregrine.jpg
The best news is that the owner of Triton Cartridge, Fernando Coehlo, is a Bren afficionado too. He is working on resurrecting the pistol. According to everything I've read here on TFL, the pistol should be available spring/summer 2001, and make its debut at the next SHOT show. Fernando owns a .45 variant, and shoots it. he has acquired the tooling and equipment, and the puppies should have an MSRP of $900.00. I believe it will be available in .40, 10mm, and .45. You can see his on the main page for Triton Ammo at:
http://www.triton-ammo.com/
That's his in the center picture.
I think that pretty much covers it. Did I miss anything, guys?
[This message has been edited by joegerardi (edited March 01, 2000).]
