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Calico M950
Calico M950
TypePistol
Place of origin United States
Production history
DesignerCalico Light Weapons Systems
Designed1987
ManufacturerCalico Light Weapons Systems
Unit cost$862.00
VariantsCalico Liberty III

Calico M950A

Calico M951/ 951S

Calico M955AS/ 955S

Calico M960/ 960A/ 960AS
Specifications
Mass2.25 lb unloaded, 4 lb (50 round), 5.8 lb (100 round)
Length14 inches [36.56 cm] (with 50 round attached), 19 inches [48.26 cm] (with 100 round attached)
Barrel length6 inches (152 mm)
Cartridge9×19mm Parabellum
Caliber9 mm
ActionRoller-delayed blowback
Rate of firefully-automatic, and semi-automatic
Muzzle velocity1290 ft/s
Effective firing range150-300 yards
Maximum firing range300+ yards (274.3 m)
Feed system50 rounds/100 rounds helical magazine
SightsIron sights, Flip sight with both ghost ring and notched (attached to magazine), can have various sights mounted

The Calico M950 (or the Liberty III) is a pistol manufactured by Calico Light Weapons Systems in the United States. Its main feature, along with all the other guns of the Calico system, is to feed from a proprietary helical magazine mounted on top, available in 50 or 100-rounds capacity.[1] Even with the large magazine size, the Calico M950 is considerably lighter than other firearms with less magazine size like the MP5 and the Uzi.[2] The baseline version of the Calico M950 was capable of firing both in semi-automatic and fully-automatic, although the company has also made a semi-automatic only version of the Calico M950 and many other variants.[2] The rebranded civilian version of this gun is called the Liberty III pistol, which was only capable of using semi-automatic fire.[3]

The design of the magazine is a helical elongated shell that contains a helical glide grooves within its inner cylindrical walls which cartridges are fed through a spiral path around the elongated axis, and then exit through one end of the magazine in radial directions.[4] The spent cartridges are then ejected through the bottom of the firearm.[2]The magazine is made out of plastic to lower the costs of manufacturing the magazine.[4]The magazine was also designed to be assembled and disassembled without the use of tools.[4] Another feature of the magazine is that when it is fully loaded, it has to be winded multiple times (10 times for the 50-round capacity magazine, and 23 times for the 100-round capacity magazine).[2] The unique design of the magazine causes many technical problems, such as it being prone to jam due to feeding issues, and ammunition cycling issues. Thus making the Calico M950 generally unreliable.[2]

The positioning of the fire-mode selector and safety-guard being in the front of the trigger guard make the Calico M950 ambidextrous, which is in contrast to many other firearms who have their fire-mode selectors and safety-guards located on one side of the firearm.[2]

The factory sights enable reasonable accuracy to about 60 meters (197 feet), but 100 meters is a reasonable range. However, the combination of the firearm lacking a buttstock and the sightline of the firearm being fairly high up from the barrel make the firearm not very accurate.[2]

The .22 LR weapons use a separate design than the 9mm offerings, and share no parts with their larger siblings.[5]

History[edit]

The first designs of the Calico M950 were made around late 1980s and early 1990s[2], and were made for Law Enforcement and Military markets, and for civilian usage.[6] The key features of the firearm were its helical magazine and the magazine's high round capacity. However, the magazine's high round capacity heavily impacted the civilian sales of the firearm, for the U.S. Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 restricted the civilian sale of firearms with magazine capacities over 10-rounds.[6][2] The Calico M950 did not sell well in the civilian market as a result of the U.S. Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 as the main feature of the gun, that being the 50-round capacity magazine, made the gun illegal to sell to civilians. The Calico M950 also did not sell well in the Law Enforcement and Military markets.[6] In 2004, the U.S. Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 expired and Calico Light Weapons Systems has then resumed the production and sale of the Calico M950 for civilians under the new rebranding of Liberty III.[2][6]

Although the sales history of the Calico M950 were poor, its appearances in cinema and video games are numerous.[6] Some notable appearances of the Calico M950 in cinema are in RoboCop 2 and 3, Total Recall, and Tomorrow Never Dies.[6][7] Video game appearances of the firearm also include, but are not limited to, Counter-Strike Online, Alliance of Valiant Arms, and Fallout Tactics.[8]

The Calico's magazine design was also copied by other manufacturers for firearms such as, the Russian Bizon, the Chinese CF-05, and the North Korean Type-88.[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Peterson, Phillip (15 November 2010). Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Tactical Rifles. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 32–34. ISBN 1-4402-1781-5.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Calico M950". Military Today.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "9mm Liberty III Pistol". Calico Light Weapons Systems.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b c Miller, Mike, and Warren Stockton (28 March 1983). "Clam shell construction ammunition magazine".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Martin Dougherty, Small Arms: From 1860 to the Present Day
  6. ^ a b c d e f Koenes, AJ (27 March 2020). "How the Calico Liberty III Pistol was started and why it was created". Cedar Mill Fine Firearms.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "Movie Appearances". Calico Light Weapons Systems.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Calico Series of Rifles and Pistols". Internet Movie Firearms Database.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[edit]

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