Cute or what? 3mm Kolibri
 

I started sorting out a small batch of collector's ammo that I got recently. It was quite a shock to find this little beauty in one of the boxes, and it is amazing that it didn't get lost :)

I took a snapshot (sorry for the quality) just to show the size of this little auto pistol round next to a 9x19 blank.

The 3mm kolibri was a ballistically improved (yup :D) version of the earlier 2.7mm kolibri round. Of course this pistol, once thought of as a self defence weapon for women before WW1, was not effective at all and neither the pistol nor the round lived passed the start of WW1.

Great little cartridge! I keep hoping I will stumble upon one to add to my small collection of scarce cartridges.

That's a great find.
You're right: it could be easily lost...
Do you have the pistol?

Douglas.

There seems to be a bewildering assortment of 'Kolibri' miniature pistols; both autos and revolvers, from a Google Search...This one seems to be the model referred to in POTW; it sold on Icollector for $1500... :eek:

(It's missing the safety lever)

Awwww... Makes me want to get my Kruger re-chambered!:D

Really an amazing find. Which would be more rare to find examples of today, these small calibers or pin fire ammo? Now I can say I've seen a picture of a 3mm round!

I would wager that a Kolibri round is rarer than a pinfire round, as many manufacturers made pinfires.
The astonishing thing is that it is a centerfire rather than a rimfire, which would have been an obvious choice at the time. BTW, "Kolibri" means "Hummingbird".

Although the ballistics seem laughable, I'd hate to be shot in the eye with one.

Some more cartridges from this collection...

Vlim,
Could you show a cartridge base photo of the Kolibri? is there any room for markings?

Kolibri makes lighters now, yes?

Gerben, those other cartridges are also interesting. Surviving paper cartridges must be another infrequently found item (are those from our Civil War era?). Have you identified the rest?

Vilm
What are those black square things with a bullet tip sticking out of them?
Is that some kind of caseless ammo? I remember hearing that H & K was testing something similar.
Thanks for the pics!
Bob

Bob, the 2 black square things are indeed caseless ammunition, and they most likely come from Heckler & Koch.

Alan, some have been identified, but I'm on the road at the moment. The big cartridge is an old Fiocchi 12 guage slug. The cartridge on the left is a proof round from the US, purple bottom and bullet. The paper cartridge on the right is a French Chassepot Model 1866 version.

No idea what the larger paper cartridges are (yet).

Thanks, Vlim. I believe the square caseless ammo is for the never adopted H&K G11.

very cool Vlim

Ed

No headstamps on the Kolibri or Liliput, the Kolibri 2.7mm, 3mm and Liliput 4.25mm rounds are shown here. Markings on ruler are 64th's of an inch.
Regards
Grant

I want a 1/3 scale 1921 Thompson that fires 3mm Kolibri full auto!!

I would imagine that Kolibri round casess would be fairly easy to machine from small brass rod.

A bullet also easy to make.

The areas of concern for me would be that tiny rimless area
and of course the primer. It also would not be difficult to make a special tool to machine the primer pocket including a Berdan type integral anvil. Making a die to create small primer cups from very thin brass would be simple but of course the real challenge would be applying a real
priming compound. I read where toy cap pistol caps have been used with some success to 'reload' primers so there may be something there.

If I had a 2.7/3 mm Kolbri pistol I'd do it; I enjoy crazy challenges like that.

Jerry

I also have a beautiful fountain pen I bought in Assisi a few years ago. It is marked Kolibri. Same company, Vlim?

Regards,

Gunny John

Kolibri just means hummingbird. I suspect the name is used on lots of products not associated with the firm that made the pistol.

Hey Dave, you have a Kruger?!..me too. Randy Bessler wants $95.00 for one! I think I paid $5.00 for mine.

You betcha, Ron. It was the childhood toy of the friend who gave it to me a couple years ago in recognition of my Luger interests! It has been used as a handy, rust-proof stand-in for my KGP69 Erma, during holster molding. They're close enough to being the same size and outer lines, and it worked great for this purpose; also holds the shape of the holster during storage. The Kruger lacks only the "cleaning"/clearing rod, and is complete otherwise, including the "million dollar chip" molded into the corner of the left grip. I think this is a hoot.

I've seen a few come and go on eBay since then, in the $45 + range, but worth it if you're molding holsters for down-scaled Luger wannabes!

Me too!! That would be fantastic! I've fantasized about the Italian(?)-made half-scale Lugers--all steel, I think, so at least feasible. But those puppies go for as much as a real one...:crying:

Here is another nice one I found. 6.5mm Bergmann, the version without rim.

And a nice .308 case, headstamp of the Beschussamt (proof house) in Ulm.

Vlim.
Very nice!
How would that cartridge extract?
Bob

It was extracted using residual gas pressure. This proved to be unreliable and this catridge was quickly replaced with one that had the now familiar extractor groove. Of course, it meant that the Bergmann pistol also had to be modified, an extractor was added.

IIRC (always a big question) the current Beretta "tip-up" in .25cal and 32ACP does not utilize an extractor. It just relies on gas pressure for extraction. That model has been around a long time. I had one in 32ACP a # of years ago.

Here is a more recent artefact from the DWM stores:

A small ammunition crate, sent out from DWM (IWKA by then) in Grötzingen to the chief of the Ulm proof house. Nicely recycled wood, as the inside of the lid still had a shipping label from Dynamit Nobel in Fürth stuck on.

Photos were taken using a HP Scanjet 3800 flatbed scanner. Nice and very helpful inexpensive research tool that I have owned for quite a few years. This thing scans anything from ammo to pistols and even wooden crates. :jumper:

According to Forgotten Weapons, a 2.7mm Kolibri is being offered at the upcoming RIAC auction...

http://www.rockislandauction.com/search/aid/62

...With 7 rds of ammunition... :)

Starting price of 1000 for the gun and 7000 for the rounds :D

Kolibri
 

This might be of interest.

http://rockislandauction.blogspot.co...m_medium=email

Jim