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Steyr GB
The Steyr GB is a large semi automatic pistol with a rather unique form of gas delayed blowback operation. Unlike most 9mm pistols, the GB has no mechanical locking mechanism to delay slide opening long enough for pressures to drop to a safe level. Instead, the bbl is ported about halfway down its length and a removeable bbl bushing on the nose of the slide forms a piston and cylinder arrangement with the forward end of the bbl. When the pistol is fired, the gas passes through the ports and pressurizes the chamber formed by the bushing and a raised ring machined into the bbl. Unlike conventional gas operation, the pressure pushes the slide forward until the bullet exits the bore and pressure drops to the point where normal blowback occurs. The GB's other unique property was it's 18rd magazine, the largest of any standard flush mounted pistol magazine available at the time except for the even rarer HK VP70.
Developed by Steyr starting in the early 70s, the basic design was copied by an American firm and called the L.E.S. Rogak P18. Made of Stainless steel and produced in Morton Grove, IL (of all places!) for a short time in the late 70s, the Rogak soon developed a well deserved reputation as a failure prone piece of junk. The Steyr produced imports from the 80s were excellent pistols however, and soon developed a small but loyal following due to outstanding ergonomics, accuracy, reliability, and of course magazine capacity. Unfortunately, when the Austrian army adopted a radical new plastic pistol from curtain rod manufacturer Gaston Glock instead of the GB, and with export sales slower than anticipated, Steyr dropped the GB from their line in 1988. Today, they are quite rare in the US and both the pistol and their magazines command a premium over similar handguns of that era.
Specifications
(1981 – 1988)
- Type: Pistol
- Caliber: 9x19mm
- Weight: 2.8 lbs (1.3 kg)
- Length: 8.5 in (21.6 cm)
- Barrel length: 5.3 in (13.6 cm)
- Capacity: 18-round magazine
- Fire Modes: Semi-Auto (SA/DA)
The Steyr GB can be seen in the following movies, TV shows, and video games:
Film
- Aleksandr Baluev as General Aleksandr Kodoroff in The Peacemaker (1997)
- Tony Leung as Alan in Hard Boiled (1992)
- Cheung Siu Fai as Law in Fatal Move
- One of Ambrose's thugs in Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
- Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen in The Rookie (1990)
- One of the resistance organizers in They Live (1988)
- Tao's right hand man in The Sniper