Raven Arms Explained

Raven Arms
Type:Private
Founder:George Jennings
Location City:Carson City, Nevada, Irvine, California and Costa Mesa, California
Location Country:U.S.
Area Served:U.S.
Key People:Paul Jimenez
Industry:firearms
Products:weapons, Semi-automatic pistols

Raven Arms was a firearms manufacturer established in 1970 by firearms designer George Jennings. The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibiting the importation of inexpensive handguns prompted Jennings to design the MP-25, a .25-caliber semi-automatic pistol, and enter the firearms business. Raven has been referred to as the original "Ring of Fire" company, a term describing companies known for producing inexpensive Saturday night special handguns.[1]

Raven kept manufacturing costs to a minimum by building their guns from injection-molded Zamak, a zinc alloy.

History

Before Jennings developed the MP-25, a friend who owned a pawn shop that sold firearms complained to Jennings that his supply of inexpensive imported handguns (typically made by Röhm Gesellschaft) had been cut off due to the Gun Control Act of 1968, resulting in a significant loss of sales. At the time, Jennings operated a machine shop that made parts for Southern California aerospace companies. Jennings established Raven Arms to produce the first Raven, the P-25 for his friend, and over the next 20 years, the company sold approximately two million variations of the pistols. The first variation of the Raven had a large button sliding safety on the side, and was manufactured in Baldwin Park, California. The second variation changed the safety to a smaller sliding safety, but retained the designation of P-25, and was manufactured in Industry, California (as were all other subsequent Ravens). The third variation changed the design of the pistol slide serrations and was designated the MP-25. The fourth and final variation of the pistol removed the sliding safety and changed it to an upward moving disk safety and retained the designation MP-25.[2] In parallel with this growth, gun-control advocates started pushing legislation in Washington, in state capitals, and in city councils to ban inexpensive weapons.

In November 1991, a fire destroyed the Raven Arms factory. Jennings retired and sold his designs to Phoenix Arms.[2] Phoenix was owned in equal shares by Jennings's ex-wife, his children, four of his grandchildren, and by Raven's former general manager. Phoenix continued to produce the MP-25 as the "Model Raven" and introduced a magazine safety disconnect which rendered the pistol unable to fire without a magazine inserted[2] Phoenix was run under the management of Jennings's son Bruce, and developed additional .22 and .25-caliber pistols, called the HP22 and HP25.

MP-25

Description and Operation

MP-25
Origin:United States
Type:Semi-automatic pistol
Is Ranged:yes
Designer:George Jennings
Design Date:1960s
Manufacturer:Raven Arms
Production Date:1970–1991
Number:3 million[3]
Variants:P-25
Cartridge:.25 ACP
Action:Blowback
Feed:6-round detachable box magazine
Sights:Post and rear notch

The MP-25 can hold six .25 ACP rounds in the magazine, plus one in the chamber, and is finished in chrome, satin nickel or black. The grips can be either wood or imitation mother-of-pearl handles. There is a similar model called the Raven Arms P-25. Both have similar blowback and envelope designs and are essentially identical firearms.[4]

Early models have a sliding bar safety that will not allow the pistol to chamber a round or cock the striker if the safety is not in the fire position when the slide is pulled back. Later models have a push up safety that will not allow the action to be cycled at all when engaged.[4]

The firing pin also acts as the ejector. It protrudes from its hole when the slide nears the end of its rearward travel, contacting the spent case and sending it up and out of the pistol. The gun's fixed sights are cast into the top of the slide. The trigger pull is fairly stiff, at about 8 pounds, 6 ounces.[5]

Conflicting Views

There are conflicting views on the MP-25. Critics refer to it by the pejorative term "Saturday night special", as it is both easily concealed and affordable enough that the poor can afford to purchase it.[1] However, Roy Innis, president of the activist group Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), rejected the pejorative term: "To make inexpensive guns impossible to get is to say that you're putting a money test on getting a gun. It's racism in its worst form."[6] Some advocates of the pistol say that it is reliable, despite its low cost.[7] [8] Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) reported that a Phoenix Arms Model Raven with an altered or damaged sear tip discharged unintentionally when the safety was moved "off" after the trigger had been pulled with the safety "on".[9]

Criminal uses

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Freudenberg, Nicholas. Lethal But Legal: Corporations, Consumption, and Protecting Public Health. January 21, 2014. Oxford University Press, USA. 978-0-19-993720-2. 48–52.
  2. Book: Brown. Peter Harry. Abel. Daniel G.. Outgunned: Up Against the NRA: The First Complete Insider Account of the Battle Over Gun Control. June 15, 2010. Simon and Schuster. New York. 978-1-4516-0353-8. 57, 157.
  3. Web site: PBS . frontline: hot guns: Interview with Bruce Jennings . . September 24, 2014.
  4. Book: Wood, J B. Automatic Pistols Assembly/Disassembly. October 21, 2007. Gun Digest Books. Iola, Wisconsin. 978-1-4402-2401-0. 535.
  5. Benedikt, Joseph von (2021). "Raven Arms MP-25: Known as a 'Saturday Night Special,' the little Raven MP-25 belly gun was cheap but reliable." Shooting Times. https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/raven-arms-mp25/389100
  6. Book: Harrison, Geoffrey. Lethal Weapons (Great Debates: Tough Questions / Smart History). July 2, 2013. Norwood House Press. 978-1599535920.
  7. Book: Wood, J.B.. Automatic Pistols Assembly/Disassembly. October 22, 2007. Gun Digest Books. 9781440224010.
  8. Benedikt, Joseph von (2021). "Raven Arms MP-25: Known as a 'Saturday Night Special,' the little Raven MP-25 belly gun was cheap but reliable." Shooting Times. https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/raven-arms-mp25/389100
  9. Web site: Firearm Recalls & Warnings Index. July 6, 2015.
  10. Web site: CNN - Pennsylvania students cope with shooting spree - April 25, 1998 . .
  11. Book: Lieberman . Joseph A. . School Shootings:: What Every Parent and Educator Needs to Know to Protect Our Children . Sep 1, 2008 . Kensington Publishing Corp . 9780806535692 .
  12. Web site: Robert Lee Yates Jr .
  13. Web site: Serial Killer Robert Lee Yates Jr . www.francesfarmersrevenge.com . 20 July 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090422025822/http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/serialkillers/yates.htm . 22 April 2009 . dead.
  14. Web site: 'It's a Bad Trading Day ...And It's About to Get . . August 8, 1999 .
  15. News: Killer Wrote of Fear, Hopelessness . 1999-07-31 . Amy Goldstein . Sue Anne Pressley . Hanna Rosin . . Washington, D.C. . 0190-8286 . 1330888409.