Bittner Model 1893
Waffenfabrik Gebrüder Bittner · Pistol · Discontinued · 1896
Also known as: Bittner Repeating Pistol, Bittner Model 1896, Bittner 7.7mm Repeater
Overview
The Bittner Model 1893 is a manually operated repeating pistol designed by the Bohemian gunsmith Gustav Bittner of Weipert. Rather than being self-loading, it cycles its rotary locking bolt through a ring-shaped trigger-guard lever that the shooter works between shots, feeding from an internal magazine charged with a five-round en bloc clip. Produced in only a few hundred examples between 1896 and 1898, it represents one of the last attempts at a mechanically repeating pistol before semi-automatic designs such as the Mauser C96 rendered the concept obsolete.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 820 g (28.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 290 mm (11.42") |
| Barrel Length | 152 mm (5.98") |
| Action Type | Lever Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal Box |
| Effective Range | 50 m (55 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 150 m (164 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 8 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.7mm Bittner · primary — also known as 7.7 Bittner, 7.7mm Bittner Repeating Pistol
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Internal Magazine, En Bloc Clip
- Features: Octagonal Barrel, Ring Lever Operation, En Bloc Clip Loading, Tangent Rear Sight, Case Hardened Frame
Service history
Operators
- Civilian market
Production
Estimated total produced: 500 · Production years: 1896-1898
Several hundred made, possibly up to 500; a civilian-market arm, sometimes sold cased as a presentation set.
Origin
Country of origin: Austria
Designer: Gustav Bittner
Discontinued: 1898
Notes
Frame marked "PATENT BITTNER" above an oval "GBW" logo for Gustav Bittner, Weipert/Bohemia. The octagonal barrel carries an eight-groove rifled bore and a tangent rear sight graduated 50-150 metres. Serial numbers are stamped inside the frame beneath the side plate; numbers on the barrel underside are Vienna proof-house marks.
Background
Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons called the Bittner "just about the most beautiful pistol I have seen," praising its ornate, steampunk-like mechanism. It is often described as the last gasp of the manually operated repeating pistol, arriving just as practical self-loading designs swept the concept aside.