Utah considers making semiautomatic pistol a state symbol

[sabra]

Source: USA Today

Utah may become the first state to adopt an official firearm, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

A House committee voted, 9-2, yesterday to endorse a bill that would make Utah gunmaker John Moses Browning's M1911 semiautomatic pistol a state symbol. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, said the .45-caliber handgun is something that represents Utah, The Tribune reported.

"It's an implement of freedom that has defended America for 100 years," he said.

The M1911, which was the standard-issue sidearm for U.S. forces from 1911 to 1985, was used by military heroes such as Alvin York and Audie Murphy, Wimmer said. The House Political Subdivisions Committee passed the measure, which several gun rights groups backed. The bill goes to the full House, which Republicans control.

Read more: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/01/utah-considers-making-gun-state-symbol/1

[LeFleur1]

1. Where else?

Gotta keep all those wives in line somehow. Or shoot them when they run.

[Deep13]

2. Related story: Utah legislators have nothing to do. nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

3. Forget inflatable dolls --

They need a life-size inflatable gun, so those guys can just live their fantasies and fuck their guns to their hearts content. :eyes: :puke:

[Jefferson23]

4. An implement of freedom...just dandy! n/t

[slackmaster]

5. All Hail JMB, one of the greatest industrial designers of all time.

[grahamhgreen]

6. Sad.

[hayu_lol]

9. How appropriate for the state whose people back in the day...

savagely massacred a peaceful civilian wagon train for no reason at all. They obviously continue to have no reason.

Mountain Meadows massacre of the Fancher-Bacon wagon train by a Mormon militia.

[Recursion]

7. Their current symbol of the honeybee has a VERY violent history (nt)

[WingDinger]

8. God is a bullet, have mercy on us every one.

[old mark]

10. K&R- Browning lived and worked in Utah, and that old pistol is very popular still.

FWIW, its magazine holds 7 shots, some modern aftermarket mags for it hold 8 or even 9.


Please feel free to continue the hate festival.

mark

[county worker]

11. I carried one many days riding in convoys to and from Saigon in 1967-68.

You can hit shit unless you're up close. Your arm goes in the air when you fire it if you don't know what your doing.

[Glorfindel]

16. I kept mine in my desk in Nha Trang in 1966-67

We all had one

[RamboLiberal]

13. The man was a genius

I know some of you decry that it is guns, but in that area he was a genius. His guns have stood the test of time and certainly contributed to both the civilian, law-enforcement & military in this and other countries. I don't have a problem with Utah honoring him in this manner.

Browning influenced nearly all categories of firearms design. He invented or made significant improvements to single-shot rifles, lever-action rifles, and slide-action firearms. His most significant contributions were in the area of autoloading firearms. He developed the first reliable and compact autoloading pistols by inventing the telescoping bolt, integrating the bolt and barrel shroud into what is known as the slide. Browning's telescoping bolt design is now found on nearly every modern semi-automatic pistol, as well as several modern fully automatic weapons.

He also developed the first gas-operated machine gun, the Colt-Browning Model 1895—a system that surpassed mechanical recoil operation to become the standard for most high-power self-loading firearm designs worldwide.

Browning's most successful designs include the M1911 pistol, the Browning .50 caliber machine gun, the Browning Automatic Rifle, and a ground-breaking semi-automatic shotgun, the Browning Auto-5. These arms are nearly identical today to those assembled by Browning in the 1920s, with only minor changes in detail and cosmetics. Nearly all parts may be freely swapped between the earliest and latest of each series of these weapons, no matter when made, which has extended their service lifespan nearly indefinitely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Browning

[slackmaster]

15. To truly appreciate his ingenuity, try following in his footsteps by building up one of his designs

As an amateur gunsmith and machinist I've had the pleasure of building up some of his weapons, including a 1911 pistol that has maybe 100 hours of work to go to be completely finished.

Browning worked with relatively primitive tools. He had an old-fashioned vertical milling machine with which he made very creative unconventional use of tooling, in particular key-seat cutters. The final assembly of his boxy machine guns was done mainly with an anvil and a ball-peen hammer.

He made excellent use of the limited resources he had at any particular time.

[Posteritatis]

23. Is that from scratch?

I didn't know much of that went on outside of the original factories where the firearms (or their components) were built; I know plenty of people who'd customize, alter, and mix-and-match the hell out of things, but making one from scratch sounds impressive.

[slackmaster]

26. I started with partly machined castings for the slide and frame

Fitting them properly to each other took a long, long time.

Remaining to be done - Fitting the mainspring housing, safeties, trigger, sear, etc. and all the pins, and finishing the slide and frame. I bought a parts kit taken from a USGI 1911-A1 pistol. It's a long haul.

That said, the only part that one couldn't reasonably easily make in a home workshop would be the barrel, specifically the rifling. (Assembling one with an unrifled barrel would be an NFA no-no.)

[somone]

12. Put it in their flag

like Mozambique

[hayu_lol]

14. Not knocking Browning...

the 45 was a good gun, still is. Browning saved a bunch of our GIs for many years with his dependable weapons.

Pay tribute to Browning? Sure. Not to a pistol just to make the gun nuts happy.

[SoapBox]

17. Ah yes...from the State that has a new Congressman that wants to enslave children...

...so...Mormon "Church"...What do you think about
the clown that wants to do away with child labor laws?

Do you REALLY want to put your 9 year old to work for a
few pennies per day?

Come on! Give us an answer! America is waiting!!

[sakabatou]

18. Ugh....

[provis99]

19. Texas will be next.

I can see it now: the official state machinegun.

[slackmaster]

21. The official weapon of Texas should be a nuclear bomb

'cause that's where they're all built.

http://www.pantex.com/

[Bragi]

20. Maybe a new slogan too: "Scared people need guns" /nt

[Posteritatis]

22. I get the reasoning, but holy wow is that unfortunate timing for it. (nt)

[demigoddess]

24. what in the world is happening in this country??

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Blue_Tires]

25. The state of Utah has *nothing* else to be proud of?

I'm well aware of Browning's legacy, but this is waaayyyyy over-the-top. The state just couldn't have an official proclamation on the anniversary of his birth??

[slackmaster]

27. It's kind of bleak unless you are a skier or a sheep. They borrowed their state bird from MY state.

http://www.netstate.com/states/symb/birds/ut_california_gull.htm

[No Elephants]

28. Morons.