Warner 'Infallible'

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by Patronen

Interesting pistol. I got an article out of one of the older GunDigests on them...

Yes, I bought a 1975 Guns Illustrated [7th Edition] on eBay with an article on the Warner Infallibles, but I had also read about them in the 31st Anniversary [1977] Guns Digest. One of the points brought up was that due to John Browning taking out hundreds of patents on pistol design, other inventors who came up with the same or similar designs had to either pay him royalties or come up with an alternative design...

...This was one of the more bizarre alternatives...

And it is quite top-heavy as well...

But it is definitely cool...Only three major parts, and about a dozen small ones...

Another aspect of the Infallible pointed out was that most blowbacks used a heavy slide and a weak recoil spring...The Infallible used a weak slide [bolt, actually - no slide] and heavy recoil springs...That was the reason for the 'disconnect' lever; to relieve pressure when cocking it - You could disconnect the recoil springs and chamber a round with only the firing pin spring giving minimal opposition...