Pederson devices recently sold

[Calfed]

Was watching a couple of Pedersen devices at an auction recently..went for way more than I could swing

One came with the carrying can:




One was described as a "tool room sample"

Information

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[browningautorifle]

I'd love to try one of those out. At one time I would have given about anything for one.

[Mike D]

I'm still hoping for a repro. About $1,500 apiece sounds reasonable.

[browningautorifle]

If they work as well as a new original...they might be better. That way you don't have to worry if you do something to it.

[pcaru1]

If the government destroyed all of them after deciding not to use them, where did the examples come from that are out there? Did they come from rifles given away as awards then later seperated from each other? Back then I'm sure they were not concerned with collector value.

[JGaynor]

If the government destroyed all of them after deciding not to use them, where did the examples come from that are out there? Did they come from rifles given away as awards then later seperated from each other? Back then I'm sure they were not concerned with collector value.

The PD was considered a secret. However US ordnance did find a Mark 1 rifle complete with PD and all the trimmings in a German plant at the end of WW2.

Regards,
Jim

[Harlan (Deceased)]

I don't know if it's fact, pcaru1 but I've read that they 'destroyed' them by burning them in a fire. Some that weren't completely destroyed were pulled from the ashes after the fire and saved as souvenirs.

[Harlan (Deceased)]

I read the same thing. It sounds reasonable to me that as many of them they manufactured that one or more could have been captured in the chaos of WWII,

I also read they were a guarded secret, and by the time they were ready to be deployed the war was starting to wind down so they wouldn't allow them to be used in battle for fear of having them captured. I can see how the device would have been top secret in that time period - it wouldn't seem to be a stretch the design could be reverse engineered for a Mauser action or something. Didn't the U.S. modify some for testing in another rifle too?

Regardless, they've always intrigued me. I think it's mostly because of it's capability to become a semi-auto back in that time period. It's sad in a way the concept never really got to be tested in battle after all the ingenious development just to see how it worked. I don't know how practical it would really be in actual use having to jug around the tool, bolt, mags, and ammo and swap out to shoot pistol rounds when the enemy was in close range.

[Promo]

There were also PD for the M1917 and the Mosin Nagant. The PD was found at Rheinmetall company in Germany.

[Homer2]

Getting a reproduction is just half the problem. The ammo is not exactly common or available. Never heard the German connection before. Spy network I suppose.