American Rifleman Reports: For every firearm design that flourished and went on to fame and fortune, several others arrived with great fanfare only to fizzle out at a very young age. Here are a few examples of underachievers. From Gyrojets that fired miniature rockets to a hunting rifle with an on-board computer, many seemingly harebrained ideas have actually made it into the firearm marketplace. But those revisited here didn’t get far before they were scuttled due to lack of consumer demand. What? Your gun doesn’t fire Trounds? Read on.
Standard Arms Model G Rifle
Many firearm enthusiasts know the Model 1917 Browning Automatic Rifle was the first gas-operated rifle to be adopted by the U.S. Government. Few are aware of an earlier rifle with an action of the same type designed for sporting use. Patented in 1906 by Morris F. Smith and manufactured by Standard Arms Co. of Wilmington, Del., it was called the Model G and was offered in the then-new Remington family of rimless cartridges in .25, .30, .32 and .35 calibers. A port near the end of the barrel channels propellant gas through a valve into a long cylinder, which was often mistaken by those not familiar with the rifle as a magazine tube. A piston inside the cylinder is connected to dual action bars which in turn are connected to the breech bolt. Turning the valve to its “off” position prevents gas from entering the cylinder, allowing the rifle to be manually operated as a slide action.
One can only speculate on why its inventor chose to give his rifle the capability of both semi-automatic and manual operation. Smokeless propellants had been in common use for only a short time, and a possible reason was the lack of uniformity in factory ammunition available at the time. The two Model G rifles in .25 and .35 Rem. I have owned operated reliably with handloads loaded to maximum pressures, but a reduction in velocity of 100 to 150 f.p.s. caused both to malfunction. The velocity of ammunition exposed to extremely cold weather during an early 1900s hunt could easily have been lowered by that much. Adding to the rifle’s problems, propellant fouling buildup in the gas cylinder eventually leads to malfunctions. Poor maintenance may have also contributed to a reputation for unreliability.
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