Was He Just Lucky? Or Good?

[Hohn]

"He" being Georg Luger, inventor of the most popular and long-lasting handgun cartridge for autopistols.

Now I'm not any kind of 9mm fanboy, as I prefer something a little newer. But you have to admit that the 9mm occupies something of sweet spot for power, performance, capacity, etc. Choosing a 9mm is about the safest bet for a neophyte or veteran alike when picking a handgun. It just works.

So did Luger just get lucky? Did he just happen to stumble across a cartridge that would prove to be mild enough for almost anyone to handle, yet stout enough to kill almost anyone? Did he know that it was about the most powerful cartridge one could handle on full auto and control the weapon?

I haven't seen any research that suggest Luger did a lot of trials with determining exactly how powerful to make the cartridge. Heck, was there even a huge variety of pistol smokeless powders from which to choose?

Whether by genius or serendipity, Mr. Luger bequeathed to the world a cartridge that will likely be around another hundred years.


So-- was he just lucky? Or was he really that good??


I'd like a link to some of the research he did if someone can find one.

Thanks.

 

[UncleMike]

IMO, neither.
He was trying to get British, American, and German handgun contracts and need a bullet with a nominal diameter of .355-.358 as specified in the respective Government contract biddings.
He necked up his previously developed 7.62 Luger round into a tapered case with a bullet diameter of .355" (9mm)
The Germans (Nazis) eventually bought it in the 1930's to whiz off their enemies from WWI that had specified in the Armistice that Germany couldn't have Military sidearms of a caliber greater than .32".
The 9mm became popular after WWII due to captured German 9mm bringbacks, subsequent sale of captured 9mm handguns, and the large stocks of cheap war surplus ammo sold to American arms dealers.

 

[Hohn]

That may explain the diameter. But there have been many 9mm calibers. Why is it that the Parabellum (Luger) is the one that went on to global dominance? And how did the power range of the 9x19 come to fall into the sweet spot it occupies?

The websurfing I've done seems to indicate that the 9x19 was already ascendant after WW1-- not so much WW2.

 

[halfmileharry]

There are instances where the gun made the caliber and others where the caliber made the gun. Sometimes they just get it right and a legacy is born.

 

[xdmstu]

Let's see, to adapt a famous quote.

"I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire sixteen shots or only fifteen?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a 9mm, the most well-balanced, high-capacity handgun in the world, and would blow a modest hole cleanly through your head, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, punk?"
​

Dunno. It just doesn't have the same effect.

 

[UncleMike]

Like I said, the 9mm became popular in the U.S. due to a flood of cheap guns and ammo after WWII.
Europe had been enamored with the 9mm class of firearms since the early 1900's.
They had the 9MM Largo, 9MM Steyr, 9mm Glisenti, 9mm Bayard Long, and 9mm Browning Long.
All of these were attempts to improve on George Luger's 9mm Parabellum.
None became popular in the U.S., however 9mm Largo and Steyr can be found occasionally on some U.S. ammo dealers inventories to satisfy the needs of those who own Spanish and Italian semi autos chambered for those rounds.