1911 (17)

The 9×19 mm test cartridges DWM sent us fit inside the magazine of our test pistol, at least.

That alone showed that we’d made the right choice in sizing the grip and magazine well according to the preliminary design range the Army Ministry’s firearms testing commission had sent us in 1900.

But unlike the round dummy cartridges we’d made, the actual test rounds had flat noses, as if their tips had been cut off.

When I worked the slide by hand, the first round rode up the feed ramp, but its bullet caught on the upper edge of the chamber. The third round released from the magazine lips too late, so the base of its case didn’t rise properly in front of the slide.

The chamber needed a new barrel made to the provisional specifications, and we had to determine the spring strength and slide weight again to match the actual recoil.

“You said we wouldn’t have to start over from scratch.”

When I narrowed my eyes at Keller, he shrugged and replied,

“We’re not starting from scratch.”

“We’re changing the magazine, the barrel, and the spring.”

“We still have the frame dimensions, firing mechanism, safety, production fixtures, and three years’ worth of records. It’s nothing like starting over.”...