Strange Guns: Calico M950

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When I first looked at this Calico 9mm, I was kind of amazed at it. It looked like a big water pistol or something. The size of it kind of indicates it as a toy. The large magazine that attaches on top of the Calico looks like the container for water. But then I was wrong.

The Calico M950 is a submachine gun manufactured by Calico Light Weapons Systems in the U.S.A during the late 1980s. Its primary unique feature, along with all the other guns of its kind made by Calico Light Weapons Systems, is to be bullet-fed from a proprietary helical magazine attached on top, available in 50 or 100-rounds capacity.

The idea behind this weapon was the volume of fire. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, having such a large magazine capacity was being badass and the weapon looked like it was made from the future.

The factory sights allow fair accuracy to about 60 meters or about 197 feet, but 100 meters is a possible range.

Other weapon stats:

Country of origin: United States
Caliber: 9x19 mm
Weight: (unloaded) 1 kg
Weight: (with loaded 50 round magazine) 1.8 kg
Weight: (with loaded 100 round magazine) 2.63 kg
Length: (with 50 round magazine) 356 mm
Length: (with 100 round magazine) 483 mm
Barrel: length 152 mm
Muzzle: velocity 390 m/s
Cyclic rate of fire: 750 rpm
Practical rate of fire: 50 - 200 rpm
Magazine capacity: 50, 100 rounds

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Despite the unusual styling, there was significant reliability issues with the weapon. Eventually for various reasons (high magazine capacity and lots of parts) this submachine gun was not adopted by any country and were produced only in limited numbers. Sales of civilian versions were also not so good due to poor marketing.