Calico M-950 pistol

Calico M-950 is an example of attempting to work within confines of what the law will allow. The Calico M-950 while quite light, due to the extensive use of polymers in its construction it is hardly what most people think of when they think of a handgun. Originally developed as a submachine gun for the Law Enforcement market it also had a semi-auto versions available as a carbine for US consumer market and as the pistol you see. Sales of submachine guns were disappointing but the semi-auto variants developed a small but very devoted community of civilian users.

Calico uses a rather unorthodox magazine that sits on top of the weapon instead of underneath or to one side as is commonly found on most firearms. Also it employes a helical magazine instead of a typical box, drum or tubular magazine. The helical magazine has the advantage of allowing for very large capacity, the M950 came standard with a 50rd magazine and 100rd magazines were available. The downside of the Helical magazine is that it can be quite bulky and when it is located on the top of the weapon can make it feel top-heavy. Especially when one is initially becoming familiar with it. Also it can present challenges to how one equips the firearm with sights. In the case of the M950 part of the magazine in molded to act as the rear sight.

The semi-auto carbine to comply with the 1934 Firearm Act was installed with a 16+ inch barrel to conform with the law. However it was able retain the collapsible stock that the original submachine gun ,SMG, had. Some carbines models they even kept the second pistol grip that was on the SMG. However for the pistol Calico had to remove the front pistol grip and attaching an aftermarket front pistol grip can cause you problems in the ATFE, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Agency since a pistol/handgun is defined as having just one pistol grip. So while having the additional front grip would make the weapon a bit easier to use it is a no-go. Unless one wishes to go through the legal maze to make it legit as a SBR, Short Barrel Rifle.

However for all their efforts to stay within the letter of the law it was in vain for the Calico Firearm Company since the Crime Bill of 1992 rendered the sale of new semi-auto firearms with magazines illegal. The Crime Bill eventually elapsed but by then it was too late for the M950 in all its variants.