Famous Firearm Flops

On today’s show with GunBroker, we’re talking famous firearm flops! Guns that had huge potential to change the industry, but just could never gain the steam. We start off with the Colt Model 1855 Revolving Rifle, which was a super interesting concept, but design flaws kept it from really taking off. One of the biggest problems was cased ammunition not being invented yet, as well as manufacturing issues straight from the factory. Now, remade with a modern take in the Heritage Rancher Carbine, these guns have gained some popularity and there’s still one common problem, no one knows how to hold them when shooting! Next up, we delve into the 1960s, The Great Space Race! Astronauts, rockets, and Gyrojet Rocket Pistols! A rocket fuel powered firearm that was extremely complex and awesome, but just too early for its time. Arguably one of the best names for a handgun ever, it was hammer fired, but the hammer was in front of the cartridge that then drove it into the firing pin. The downside is that you didn’t get your maximum velocity until the bullet was downrange. The Remington Model R51 had an absolute fantastic lead up to its launch, tons of good content and marketing hype that really made this gun a must have, but there was a downside? The gun was subpar at best. Different from the original R51, it was unfortunately a complete flop for Remington, who swiftly buried any evidence of its existence under the rug. A great conversation piece in firearm history, however, they can be picked up for a fantastic deal on GunBroker. Closing out, we talk about the Heckler & Koch G11. Caseless ammunition has stumped manufacturers for years and with the H&K G11, it was no exception. Ahead of its time, with a large failure to launch these guns are extremely hard to find, however other caseless ammunition does sometimes pop up on GunBroker. Still to this day the caseless ammunition has not been figured out or mastered, hopefully one day in the future! Allen goes over some of the examples of these guns and ammunition you can find today on GunBroker. The show launches every Thursday morning. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.