Vest Pocket Pistols

M

mete

New member
Does anyone have a source [link] that discusses the relation of vest pocket pistol sales to the economic and political collapse in Germany in the '20 ??

I've Goggled but can't find a suitable source.
There are parallels to today's problems !!
 
First of all - No I don't.

But I'm curious, do you not have the data? Or are you looking for records of interpretations / analysis of the data?
 
No I don't have the data and really didn't look for numbers yet. I'm looking for an analysis .What did Germans do for self protection during the post WWI economic and political upheavel. I did find that after the war Germany banned gun sales unless you had a permit - the first German gun control.

This search started when I remembered meeting an old German in NYC during the 1968 race riots. He said 'this is just like Germany in the '20s when if you had a business and wanted to keep it you stayed in the store with gun in hand.'
 
Still why teeny tiny vest pocket pistols necessarily?

A .25 is better than nothing but there are better concealment options, even back then.
 
Sorry but it makes me thing of this watch gun ..doubt if German
pocketwatch_gun.jpg
 
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Don't any of you see the new guns on the market ? mostly here are in 380 but Ruger , Beretta, Kimber , etc have introduced them and they are selling well.
Some see a close parallel of the direction our gov't is going and the rise of dictatorships in the '20s .
In any case small SD guns have been with us for a long time . Flintlock , percussioncap, derringers [often double barrel like the Reminton] , muff guns for the ladies and finally autos.
 
So, in summary, the point of the OP is that there is no point?

Not trying to be a smartass, I just don't see what you are possibly trying to allude to. Yes, there has always been a demand for concealment guns, not necessarily the same as vest pocket guns. During the world wide depression of the 30's (or any other time) a vest pocket gun probably isn't going to keep the starving masses out of your bakery. Furthermore, if the store owners are one ethnicity and the starving are another, who knows? You might very well end up with a holocaust of something.
 
Wikipedia has information on this.

Google Germany guns and you should get the link.

Seems the laws changed from time to time.

Rather than copy some of it here it’s best to read it yourself.
 
Clay, if the reason you didn't post a link is due to an earnest concern on copywright laws, you're OK to post the link. I know it's painfully obvious what keywords to use and all. Just giving you that option.
 
Maybe a better question is how the increase in social and economic unrest and the increased restrictions on firearm ownership contributed to the demand for easily-concealable firearms....legal and otherwise.....
 
Just a thought, but generally the firearms manufacture/sales sector will be such a tiny portion of a nation's economy that its impact is small if not negligible in the overall economic picture. Obviously, it will play a larger part in some traditional arms making areas, but on a nation-wide basis, I think the arms industry would not have been a major factor in W. German recovery.

Jim
 
Remeber that the 1919 Peace treaty..

severly limited the type and calibera allowed in the German Republic.

Note: the .30 Cal Parabellum not the 9mm, the numbers of M98 rifles turned into shotguns.

Doubt if good information is available???
 
Maybe a better question is how the increase in social and economic unrest and the increased restrictions on firearm ownership contributed to the demand for easily-concealable firearms....legal and otherwise.....
Click to expand...

I, for one, would be much more interested in that data. However this thread is not about that.
If one were to look at whats happening in todays handgun world, as a whole, its obvious that the major trend is towards concealable, smaller carry guns. Thats whats selling, thats what people are talking about, and thats what kind of new gun manufacturers are coming out with.
Kind of relevant, in a way, from a social standpoint. Different times, circumstances, and firearms, but all happening for a reason. Then and now, in a much different world.
 
I think more and more people want small carry guns because more and more people are acquiring carry permits who are not gun people. Not everyone wants to gear up with the popular G19 or similar sized pistol. Many do not want to alter their attire or daily routine just to carry a gun as much as we would like to think. There are also people who like a smaller gun as another option in a carry line-up. Manufactures are making guns smaller with bigger calibers but I feel that once each company has produced the smallest/lightest/most concealable carry gun in .380, 9mm, .40S&W and 45acp...the flooding of new models will come to an abrupt halt. There may be variations but the guns will finally be established as "their" version of that size/caliber category.

It's also not as common for people to walk around with vests or suits like they did back then which would require an even smaller gun to conceal under a simple tee or button down shirt. A mom that dosn't want to alter her lifestyle, but would like to have something in her purse to protect herself and her family is more than likely going to go for something small, lightweight and easy to conceal.

Good example is the Shield advertisement. It basically shows people going about their daily lives without shirts and pants 1-2 sizes too big. This is appealing to many weather they are gun people or not.

Now the current climate our country is in may be a reason why someone would want to buy or carry a gun but I don't see it as a reason why people want smaller models today or even back then. I think a small gun was and still is appealing for the very same reasons. Technology has caught up and we don't need to carry .22s,25s,32s in order to have a small carry piece anymore. We now have similar or smaller sized guns, with a lighter weight and in more potent calibers so those that would never trust their lives to a .22,.25 or .32 can now have a .380,9mm,.40 and .45 in a similar sized package.
 
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Vest pocket autos are often very finely machined little shooters, and the one I have is capable of decent accuracy at ten yards, however effective a .22 short round would be. i wonder if they might not have penetrated through the layers of gentlemen's worsted, perhaps under a Burberry trenchcoat and over woolen long underwear.

Mine is a Bernardelli, but the Colt .25's were also popular, as were FNs and several other European makes. Load it, drop it in your pocket, forget about it until set upon by ruffians outside the club...
 
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