What pistols were the Northeastern Army's Seven-Sounder,Weibulie, Five-Winder, and Six-Banger?

Before the Mukden Incident (September 18, 1931), the Northeastern Army's weaponry could be said to be among the best in the country. Not only could its arsenals copy advanced foreign firearms, but it also continuously imported other foreign guns - especially pistols, of which there were many varieties. Almost every imported pistol was given a unique nickname.

Among them, four imported pistols were called the "Seven-Sounder" (Qiyinzi), "Weibulie," "Five-Winder" (Wufengzi), and "Six-Banger" (Liuxiang).

Below, let's take a look at which four pistols correspond to these nicknames.

I. "Seven-Sounder" (Qiyinzi)
The "Seven-Sounder" refers to the Nagant M1895 revolver.

This pistol was originally designed by the Belgian engineer Léon Nagant. Its design was finalized in 1895, after which it was produced at Russia's Tula Arsenal and Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, and subsequently issued to commanders at all levels of the Tsarist Russian army.

This is a Russian pistol - so how did the Northeastern Army end up with it?

This pistol was originally designed by the Belgian engineer Léon Nagant. Its design was finalized in 1895, after which it was produced at Russia's Tula Arsenal and Izhevsk Mechanical Plant, and subsequently issued to commanders at all levels of the Tsarist Russian army.

This is a Russian pistol - so how did the Northeastern Army end up with it?

During the Fengtian warlord era, the army accepted many White Russian mercenaries, and these pistols were brought by those White Russians. Over time, the Nagant M1895 became one of the sidearms of the Northeastern Army.

The Nagant M1895 fires 7.62×38mm ammunition and has a cylinder capacity of 7 rounds. Although its theoretical effective range is 50 meters, the optimal effective distance for this pistol is around 22 meters.

The Nagant M1895 is also not small or light, with an overall length of 230 mm and an unloaded weight of 0.75 kg, making it heavier than a standard pistol.

So why did the Northeastern Army give it the nickname Seven-Sounder? The reason is simply that this pistol had a 7-round cylinder capacity.

II. Weibulie
Weibulie refers to the early model British Webley revolver.

The Webley series is the most famous and most widely used revolver in Britain. Whether it was military officers or police officials, nearly all of them used this pistol at some point.

In the late Qing dynasty, the Beiyang Navy also introduced early model Webley revolvers, but in very small numbers, only issuing them to naval vessel commanders. These revolvers fired .455-inch ammunition, and their power was significantly greater than that of standard semi-automatic pistols.

Like a standard revolver, it also has a cylinder capacity of 6 rounds. The theoretical effective range is about 50 meters, but the actual accurate range may not reach that distance.

Since part of the later Beiyang Navy was absorbed into Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian warlord forces, this revolver, along with the naval officers, was integrated into the Northeastern Army's system.

The official name of this pistol is Webley Revolver, which when pronounced in a colloquial Chinese dialect sounds like Weibulie, and that is how the pistol got this nickname.

III. Five-Winder
Five-Winder refers to the Belgian FN M1906 pocket pistol.

This pistol was designed by the American firearms master John Moses Browning, finalized in 1906, and then produced by the Belgian FN company. It was primarily intended for personal self-defense rather than as a standard-issue military sidearm.

The FN M1906 pocket pistol fires 6.35×15.5mm small-caliber pistol cartridges and is fed by a 6-round single-stack, single-feed magazine. Its effective range is about 30 meters. Although it has a short range and low power, it is still sufficient for personal self-defense.

As a pocket pistol, the FN M1906 is also very small in size, with an overall length of only 114 mm, a barrel length of 53.5 mm, and an unloaded weight of approximately 350 grams.

At the beginning of the 20th century, quite a few of these small pistols were also imported into China. Some were issued to high-ranking police officials or military generals for self-defense.

During the same period, the Fengtian warlords also imported many of these pistols. In addition to being used by high-ranking officials, some were issued to secret agents or intelligence personnel. By the late 1920s, after the Northeast Flag Replacement and the Fengtian Army was reorganized into the Northeastern Army, this pistol was still in use and was not retired from service.

So how did the FN M1906 pocket pistol get the nickname Five-Winder?

This pistol originally had a magazine capacity of 6 rounds, but in order to protect the spring inside the magazine, it was typically loaded with only 5 rounds. Hence, it earned the nickname Five-Winder.

In addition, in other units of the Northeastern Army, this pistol was also called Little Five Bee.

IV. Six-Banger

Seeing the nickname Six-Banger, one might assume it refers to some kind of revolver, but in fact it does not. Instead, Six-Banger refers to the Mauser C96 compact pistol with a magazine capacity of only 6 rounds.

This model was very rare in China at the time, but it still belongs to the Mauser C96 Broomhandle pistol series.

The so-called compact C96 pistol essentially shortened the magazine housing, reducing the magazine capacity from 10 rounds to 6 rounds. Some models also shortened the barrel from the original 140mm to 102mm. As for other aspects, such as the grip, components, and overall layout, there were no changes at all-they remained the same as the original C96 pistol. The only differences in appearance were a slightly shorter barrel and a missing section in the magazine housing area.

The compact version of the Mauser C96 pistol also fired the 7.63×25mm Mauser pistol cartridge, with an effective range of about 50 meters.

At that time, this model was not copied or manufactured in China. The Northeastern Army likely acquired theirs from Germany or through other channels, but the quantity was far less than that of the standard Mauser C96 pistol.

As for the nickname Six-Banger, there's no need to explain it, right?
That's right, it's because this pistol can hold 6 rounds, hence the nickname Six-Banger.
Of course, some in the Northeastern Army also called this pistol Six-Sounder.

The above are the four types of pistols used by the Northeastern Army: Seven-Sounder, Weibulie, Five-Winder, and Six-Banger.