WIST-94 pistol

 

WIST-94 pistol.

WIST-94L pistol with integral laser aiming module, built into the hump in front of the trigger guard. Red button on the left grip panel turns the laser on when pressed.

Characteristics

Type	Double Action Only semiautomatic
Caliber(s)	9x19 Luger
Weight unloaded	730 g
Length	190 mm
Barrel length	114 mm
Magazine capacity	16 rounds

Following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, Poland turned to the West and eventually joined NATO. This resulted in a need for NATO-standard weapon calibers, pistols included. During 1992-94, the Military Institute of Technical Armaments (WITU - Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia) developed a new 9mm NATO pistol, known as the WIST-94. Produced at the Prexer factory in the city of Lodz, this pistol won the Polish Army trials and has been the standard sidearm of the Polish army since 1997.

The WIST-94 is short-recoil operated, locked-breech pistol using the traditional Browning-type action. The frame made from impact-resistant polymer. The barrel locks to slide using two lugs, machined on the top of the barrel; these lugs fit into cuts made on the underside of the slide. Barrel locking and unlocking is controlled by a cam-shaped cut made in the lug below the chamber area on the barrel. The trigger is of double-action-only type, striker fired. WIST-94 pistol is fitted with automatic trigger safety; no manual safety is provided. The WIST-94L differs from the standard version with the addition of the LAM (laser aiming module) that is built into the frame at the front of the trigger guard.

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P-83 pistol

P-83 pistol, right side.

P-83 pistol, left  side.

P-83 pistol, field stripped.

Characteristics

Type: Double Action
Calibers: 9x18 Makarov
Weight unloaded: 730 g
Length: 165 mm
Barrel length: 90 mm
Capacity: 8 rounds

The P-83 pistol (officially designated as 9 mm pistolet wz. 1983) has been developed during early eighties at the state-owned Z. M. Lucznik arms factory. It is used by Polish military and police, and provided some improvements over previous P-64 service pistol in terms of both cost and combat effectiveness.

P-83 is a blowback operated, semiautomatic pistol. Both frame and slide are made by stamping, forming and welding from steel sheet parts to minimize production costs. Grip panels are plastic. Double action trigger with slide-mounted decocking safety and external hammer provide necessary safety and handling features. Unlike the P-64, the P-83 also features an external slide stop catch to facilitate faster magazine change, but magazine release catch is still located at the bottom of the grip. The disassembly catch is a separate part, located within the trigger guard. To remove the slide, this part is pulled down, and slide then is pulled all the way back and then up and out of the gun. Single stack magazine contains eight rounds. Sights are fixed, with rear sight being dovetailed into the slide.

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P-64 pistol

P64 pistol, right side.

P64 pistol, left side.

P64 pistol, field stripped.

Characteristics

Type: Double Action
Calibers: 9x18 Makarov
Weight unloaded: 635 g
Length: 155 mm
Barrel length: 85 mm
Capacity: 6 rounds

The P-64 pistol (official designation 9 mm pistolet wz. 1964) has been developed in Poland during late 1950s and early 1960s, as a compact and lightweight replacement for Tokarev TT pistols, manufactured in Poland under soviet license. Following the Soviet road, Poland replaced the powerful 7.62x25mm ammunition with less powerful, but still effective 9x18 Makarov ammunition. P-64 has been used by both Polish military and police, and still could be found in holsters of some Polish police officers. In military service it has been superceded in mid-1980s by the P-83 pistol. The P-64 was small and light enough for a pocket or a concealed carry sidearm, but it has too small magazine, and too heavy trigger pull to be considered as a valuable service pistol. The severe felt recoil also did not helped to establish popularity for this gun.

P-64 is a blowback operated, semi-automatic weapon, made almost entirely of steel. P-64 is hammer fired, with double-action trigger and decocking safety, mounted at the left side of the slide. Safety features also include loaded chamber indicator in the form of a small pin, which protrudes from the back of the slide, above the hammer, when chamber is loaded with cartridge. Trigger guard is a separate unit, which is hinged to the frame and served as a disassembly lever when pulled down. Single stack magazine contains only 6 rounds, and magazine release catch is located at the bottom of the grip.

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Vis wz35

 

Characteristics

Type: Single Action
Chamber: 9x19mm Luger/Parabellum
Weight unloaded: 1025 g
Length: 205 mm
Barrel length: 115 mm
Capacity: 8 rounds

WiS vz35 stand for "Wilniewczyc i(and) Skrzypinski, model of 1935". Originally, it was manufactured in Poland by F.B.Radom factory.
WiS vz35 externally is very similar to famous Colt/Browning M1911 design, but internally it is different. WiS vz35 is a recoil operated, locked breech pistol that used Browning linkless (Hi-Power style) locking principle. Gun has no manual safeties: instead it has grip automatic safety (like the 1911) and the frame-mounted decocker. The lever on the rear of the left side of the frame is a disassembly (takedown) latch. Guns made for Polish military in 1935-1939 also had shoulder-stock mount on the rear of the grip. During WW2, some WiS vz35 were manufactured for German Military in Austria using original Poland made parts.
Original WiS vz35 were standart issue handguns for the Polish military. In 1992 the manufacturing of the WiS vz35 in Poland was re-started on custom basis (for collection purposes).
According to some sources (incl. Guns & Ammo magazine), WiS vz35 is one of the best handguns ever built.

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Obregon pistol

 

Obregon pistol, left side. Note characteristic single safety / slide stop lever.

Obregon pistol, right side.

 

Characteristics

Type	Single Action semiautomatic
Caliber(s)	.45 ACP
Weight unloaded	1020 g
Length	210 mm
Barrel length	124 mm
Magazine capacity	7 rounds

Obregon pistol was a brain-child of the Mexican gun designer Alejandro Obregon. This rare pistol has been manufactured during mid- to late 1930s by Fabrica de Armas arms factory in Mexico city. Only several thousands of Obregon pistol were produced; it is believed that about 800 pistols were privately purchased by Mexican Army officers, and some more were issued to various police forces in Mexico. In its design Obregon pistol heavily borrows on US M1911A1 pistol, although there are several original features.

Obregon pistol is short recoil operated, locked breech pistol that uses rotary barrel locking. The two other features that distinguish Obregon from M1911A1 are covered by Obregon patents and include single-piece safety / slide stop lever, located on the left side of the gun, and captive return spring rod. The basic design and shape of most other parts, including single-action trigger, grip safety and magazine, are virtual copies of M1911A1 parts.
Disassembly of the Obregon pistol is basically the same as of M1911A1, except that there's no separate returns spring plunger.

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QSZ-92 pistol

 

QSZ-92 pistol in 9x19mm, with laser pointer mounted on the rail under the barrel.

QSZ-92 pistol in 5.8mm.

Characteristics

Type: Double Action
Calibers: 5.8mm Chinese or 9x19mm Para
Weight unloaded: 760 g
Length: 190 mm
Barrel length: not known
Capacity: 15 rounds

The QSZ-92 pistol is a most recent development of the Chinese state arms factories, and, apparently, it is now adopted by the PLA (Chinese people's Liberation Army) forces. QSZ-92 pistol is available in two versions, with the only difference being caliber: one is chambered for most common 9x19mm Luger / Parabellum ammunition (QSZ-92-9), and another is chambered for proprietary 5.8mm ammunition with bottle-necked case and pointed bullets (QSZ-92-5.8). The development of the QSZ-92 pistol apparently began circa 1994, and it is in limited service with PLA since the late 1990s.

The QSZ-92 is a short recoil operated, locked breech pistol. It uses a rotating barrel to lock and unlock the slide on recoil. Frame of the QSZ-92 pistol is made from polymer. Trigger mechanism is Double Action, with external hammer and ambidextrous safety / decocker lever, mounted on both sides of the frame. Dual stack magazine holds 15 rounds of ammunition in either caliber. Front part of the frame under the barrel is shaped as an accessory rail to accept laser sights or flashlights. Fixed sights have luminous inserts for low light conditions.

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