I like Type 94 Nambu, due to its unusual appearance. The design of exposed sear bar is not optimal but that's not unique in Nambu -- Luger also has an exposed sear bar. To be fair, Type 94's exposed sear bar is easier to access than that of Luger's.... so it's very negative on Nambu.

Operate it in hands (never fired one), feel two things are negative, (1) It's very easy to accidentally release and drop the magazine out; (2) The hold-open was implemented by magazine follower, so when empty magazine is removed for reloading .... for a pistol of this size, Nambu should have implemented a real hold open facility.

The grip fits my small hand extremely well. That's a plus.

Still waiting - one more week - till pickup day. In the meantime, I found a numbers matching magazine for it!

And here it is!

You know, everything looks great. EXCEPT THE PURPLE NAIL POLISH! Are you trying to weird me out or is that an unintended side effect?
The Nambu looks very nice. I'll want a full range report.
dju

Zorba,
If you do decide to fire it, be aware of firing pin breakeage. I have seen examples that were broken before and later found that happens on these.
Thanks for sharing your new pistol.

Found an old photo on the net.

From dressing, were they bandits?? No. At least, the text description says no :) These were communist policemen in 1940s.

Two guys sitting in the middle were armed with Nambu pistols.

Red polish may have looked better, the purple does clash a bit... :evilgrin:

They're apparently notorious for FP breakage. I'm not going to fire it much, but I do have 50 rds on the way - a lifetime supply...

Is ammo still available?

A Nambu is a interesting gun. Neither myself or any of my shooting friends have one.
Would be fun to try one.
Interesting to realize that every single Nambu here in the USA was a GI bring back. AFAIK none where ever imported or surplussed and no other nation officially adopted them.
Bob

Eric:
There is a guy on Gunbroker.com who makes 8mm Nambu ammo. About $1 per shot. There is also a guy out there re-poping parts to keep them running. So they are shootable.
dju

One of the fellas that writes for Handloading Magazine(Mike Venturino) owns a Nambu, and reloads for his. I get the impression that he shoots his a fair amount.

Those firing pins breaks so easily that the holster even has a pocket for a spare, so original firing pins are hard to come by. If your firing pin is intact and original, you should consider replacing it with a repro before you shoot it. Don Schlickman is the best source for this, he makes excellent repro parts for the T14 and other Japanese guns. He can also retip broken firing pins: http://members.shaw.ca/tju/donspartslist.htm

Found shooting a Nambu!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIRQO9DEFlI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8BBMHh3FpA

Thanks for the web site Eric, lots of related links here. :cheers:

Lon

That's the stuff I bought. $1/rd.

Firing pin isn't original. That could be good OR bad...

I have wondered if the original Japanese ammunition used a hard primer and that was the majority of the problems and wear? I'm curious if anybody that shoots these regularly through handloading modern commercial boxers break their pins often?

Here is a link to Don's website:
http://members.shaw.ca/tju/donspartslist.htm

Zormpas
Here is a fun website for Japanese weapons,Ammo,accessories,etc.:D

http://mrnambu.com/index.html

Bob

That's who I bought the ammo from. Only guy who has it right now.