Gun Digest 2011. Dan Shideler

      Fabrique Nationale, Herstal Belgique, marked “FL 9m/c” with 17.5-inch barrel; Simson Prazislans Karbiner Simson & Co. Suhl with spoon bolt, 24.75-inch barrel marked “Flobert”; JG Anschutz GmbH Waffenfabrik, Ulm, Germany, 21.75-inch barrel marked “Kal 9mm Glatt”; Anschutz Model 1365, German proof marked 1969, 25.4-inch barrel marked “Kal 9mm Glatt.”

      (circle) 9mm Rimfire ammunition, 9mm Parabellum cartridge shown for size comparison. Top row, left to right:RWS shotshell, brass/paper construction; Winchester shotshell, brass/paper construction; Fiocchi brass shotshell. Bottom row, left to right: Remington ball cap; RWS ball cap; Fiocchi conical bullet cap.

      “You collect 9mm what?”

      I get that a lot when the subject of collections comes up. I have been collecting (accumulating, really) 9mm rimfire firearms for about twenty years now. There are seventeen resting in my safe at this time. Many American shooters have never heard of a 9mm rimfire shotgun. They were made as inexpensive “garden guns” and will be found in a variety of action types and makers. While Winchester is the only U.S company that ever made a 9mm shotgun, the Model 36, many famous European gun makers have offered them at one time or another. Most that we see were brought to the U.S. by immigrants or by US servicemen returning from the World Wars.

      The name most commonly associated with the 9mm RF guns is “Flobert,” and many sellers describe these guns as such. But a bolt-action or a break-open gun is not a Flobert; a gun may fire a Flobert cartridge and still not be properly termed a Flobert. Flobert was credited with patenting the rimfire cartridge and there is a specific action design that bears his name.

      SMALL ORIGINS

      The rimfire or Flobert cartridge was invented in 1846 by France’s Louis Nicholas Auguste Flobert (pronounced flow-BARE) and consisted of a primed brass cup topped with a round ball, loaded without powder. These little cartridges were made in several sizes: 4mm, 5mm, 6mm (.22), 7mm, 8mm and 9mm. The rimfire cartridge is Flobert’s biggest and most enduring contribution to the gun world. Using his case and priming design, the 6mm/.22 was developed further in the U.S. by Smith & Wesson and others by lengthening the case and adding gunpowder. The resulting cartridge, the .22 Short, quickly became the most common and widely distributed cartridge in the world. Flobert’s rimfires were originally used in handguns for indoor or “parlor” shooting and soon became extremely popular. Shortly after use of the ball loading became common, ammunition manufacturers started loading Flobertstyle shotshells. These used the ball loadings’ brass cap as a cartridge head but also incorporated a cardboard tube of varying length loaded with shot. Other rimfire cartridges in the 6mm-12mm range were developed during the first fifty years of fixed ammunition but only the .22/6mm and 9mm remain in widespread use.

      The unique Carabine Buffalo bolt action over/under 9mm/.22 combination gun.

      The various 9mm rimfire shotguns quickly became known as “garden guns” because they were considered ideal for potting small varmints that raided the family garden. In America, they became popular with farmers, who used them to dispatch barn pigeons without blowing hard-to-fix holes in the roof.

      A FLOBERT FLOBERT

      There is also a firearms design that carries Floberts’ name. My parlor pistol, for example, is a true Flobert in that it has a Flobert action: a single shot with a breechblock that rocks open when the hammer is pulled back. The hammer locks the breech closed at the moment of firing. This arrangement is very similar to the Remington Rolling block action. However, the Flobert design is not as strong and has been made only for low-power cartridges.

      Flobert firearms in .22 and .32 caliber rimfire are fairly common in the United States. They rarely have any markings except the word “Belgium” stamped somewhere on the barrel and perhaps the telltale “crown over ELG in an oval” proofmark. Many were low-price imports from Belgium that were sold through Sears-Roebuck and other mail order catalogues in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prices as low as $1.99 were advertised for these types of guns, most of which were bought by poor farmers who did not have the money to get an American-made gun. When these Floberts survive into the modern era, they are frequently in rough condition. They were, after all, bought as tools and used as such. To make matters worse, this was in the era of black powder cartridges with mercuric primers, a combination that almost invariably led to bore erosion.

      Other Flobert guns were brought home by American GI’s from service in WWI or WWII. Among these there were various 9mm shotguns and Rifles.

      IT’S NOT A FLOBERT

      Yet another single shot design, sometimes mistakenly referred to as a “Flobert,” is the Warnant.

      The Warnant system consists of a pivoting breech that swings up and operates the extractor, similar to the U.S. “Trapdoor” Springfield. Part of the hammer locks the breech closed upon firing. There are single shot, side by side, and over/under examples of the Warnant design that are occasionally encountered.

      This Anshutz 9mm action shows the U-shaped extractor that rides in a slot beneath the bolt on many 9mm shotguns. This piece is sometimes missing as it can fall out if the bolt is removed.

      BOLT ACTIONS

      The single shot bolt action is the most common type of 9mm rimfire firearm found. These are usually very simple guns. Some have Rifle sights and some have a simple bead sight; some cock on opening, others on closing. Some have a manual cocking piece. Many do not have a safety. Most have a simple U shaped extractor sliding in a slot underneath the bolt. (Note: Make sure the extractor is present in any 9mm bolt action you might be considering buying.. They can fall out if the bolt is removed and are frequently lost or broken.)

      Many well-known European arms makers have offered 9mm rimfire guns in their product line. Germany seems to be the most prolific nation of origin. Some noted manufacturers from Germany include Alfa, Anschutz, Erma, Geco, Muchler and Simson & Co. Other continental makers include Fabrique Nationale and Bayard (Belgium), Webley & Scott (England), St. Etienne (France), Bernardelli and Beretta (Italy), and Husqvarna (Sweden).

      While most 9mm shotguns seen in the United States were manufactured between 1900 and 1940, the design remained popular in Europe after WWII and a few firms still produce them today, the vast majority of which are single shots. I have never seen or heard of a magazine-fed 9mm bolt action garden gun.

      OUR AMERICAN COUSIN

      The sole American-made firearm chambering the 9mm rimfire is a bolt action: the Winchester Model 36. Introduced in 1920, there were about 20,000 units made by the time production stopped in 1927. The Model 36 used basically the same action as the popular Winchester Models 1900, 1902 and 1904 single shot

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