The K100 is a
9×19mm semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
designed and built by
Grand Power s.r.o. in
Slovenská Ľupča
Slovenská Ľupča is the largest village in the Banská Bystrica District of central Slovakia.
Geography
The altitude of Slovenská Ľupča ranges from 370 to 699 metres, with the centre of the village lying at 378 metres. The municipality cove ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
located approximately 11 kilometers east of
Banská Bystrica
Banská Bystrica (, also known by other alternative names) is a middle-sized town in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Veľká Fatra, and the Kremnica Mo ...
,
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
which is the region's major city.
Development
The K100 was developed by
Jaroslav Kuracina, a former weapons officer in the
Slovak Army
The Slovak Ground Forces, also known as the Slovak Army, is the land specialized service branch of the Slovak Armed Forces.
Structure
Ground Forces Command
* Ground Forces Command, in Trenčín (Commander: 2 Star General)
** Command Suppo ...
. Kuracina sketched drawings of the K100 as early as 1992, but manufacturing activities were highly restricted during the early post-Communist era. Kuracina would be forced to wait until 1996 to continue development of his design. In 2007 Grand Power announced a deal to produce 100,000 units for the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
market in partnership with
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
-based handgun manufacturer STI International Inc. The first pistols were exported in 2008. They were K100 Mk6 pistols under the commercial name GP 6.
Design details
![Grand Power MK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Grand_Power_MK.12_K100_X-Trim_in_9mm.jpg)
The K100 uses a rare rotating barrel locking system, similar in some ways to the
Beretta Cougar
The Beretta 8000 (Cougar) series pistols are manufactured by Beretta of Italy.
They first appeared on the market in 1994 as a more compact alternative to the full-sized Beretta 92 service pistol in order to offer a compromise between concealabil ...
,
Beretta Px4 Storm, and
Brügger & Thomet MP9
The Brügger & Thomet MP9 (Maschinenpistole 9mm, German for "machine pistol") is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge that is designed and manufactured by Brügger & Thomet.
The MP9 is a selective-fire submachine gun. I ...
, which in the K100's case is cammed by a cross pin. When the pistol is fired, the barrel and slide move backward together for about 3/8 of an inch while the barrel is cammed clockwise (with respect to the shooter) by a flat, twisting, helical "cut" in the barrel extension. Once the barrel and slide have moved back to the point where the barrel has twisted about 45°, the slide is free to continue traveling back while the barrel's travel is arrested by its interface to the frame via the barrel extension's square shoulders. On the K100, the Beretta's barrel extension cam cut, and transfer block's cam tooth, are replaced by a curled, twisting cut in the barrel extension, and a round, frame-embedded cross-pin respectively. As such, there is no transfer block (locking block) ''per se'', and the barrel extension directly interfaces with the frame via the replaceable cross-pin. The design allows a low bore axis relative to the shooter's hand and avoids the use of the transfer/locking block typically found in rotating barrel pistols.
Both of the Berettas, and the K100, have the archetypal square shouldered lock protruding from the otherwise round barrel, easily visible at the ejection port with the slide fully forward. This square shoulder is rotated in behind a solid column of steel running the length of the slide forward of the ejection port, and on the left side out of view, when the slide and barrel are fully forward in battery. This locks the slide forward in battery. Given that the MP9 uses the same basic locking mechanism, and has a cyclical rate of fire of 900 rounds/min, the rotating barrel lock has shown itself to be capable of very fast lock times.
The thick walled barrel and other metal parts are treated by
Tenifer
Ferritic nitrocarburizing or FNC, also known by the proprietary names Tenifer, Tufftride and Melonite as well as ARCOR,Other trade names include Tuffride/ Tuffrider, QPQ, Sulfinuz, Sursulf, Meli 1, and Nitride, among others is a range of proprie ...
QPQ technology. This hardens the metal components and increases resistance to corrosion.
The standard K100 has a barrel length of and operates in both
single- and double-action mode. The hammer must be manually decocked for carry in double-action mode with a chambered round. The safety can be applied with the hammer cocked, but can not be applied with the hammer in the forward position. The safety does not lock the slide. A decocking hammer group is available as an option on many models.
The ergonomically shaped polymer grip frame houses a steel receiver which provides the rails the slide travels on as well as hardpoints required for the trigger mechanism. The slide spring guide, safety, trigger, and trigger guard are polymer.
The pistol's toothy surface, and grooved grips, provide good grip even with wet hands. The K100 also features ambidextrous controls, supporting both left and right-handed users. Current production Grand Power pistols use a solid trigger guard and a new take down lever. They also have 4 user interchangeable grip backstraps to accommodate various hand shapes and sizes; this feature permits most shooters a comfortable and efficient grip on the firearm.
Additional models
K22S/K22 X-Trim - Two .22lr versions of the K100. The K22S has fixed sights, and the K22 X-Trim has adjustable sights. Both are manufactured on the same steel chassis and grip of the center-fire models, and have steel not zinc alloy slides. They are stand alone firearms, and not conversion kits. Using a direct blowback system rather than the rotary lock up, the rimfire barrels are dovetailed and pinned into the steel chassis.
P1 - 93 mm barrel and matching slide using the same frame.
P1S - 93 mm barrel and matching slide using the subcompact P11 frame/grip.
P1 Ultra - scalloped slide and exposed 93 mm barrel using the same frame. 40 g lighter than the P1.
P11 - 85 mm barrel and matching slide with subcompact frame/grip and 12-round magazine.
P9M - 93 mm barrel chambered in
9mm Makarov and matching slide using the same frame.
X-Trim - A sporting version of the K100 with a scalloped slide and tighter fit.
Target - An adjustable-sight version of the K100 featuring a micrometric adjustable rear and fiber optic front sight.
X-Calibur - For 2012, a new model with a longer fluted bull barrel and scalloped slide was introduced. Felt recoil and front sight lift is noticeably reduced.
P40/P45 - For 2013, a new larger grip frame sized to fit the
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
cartridge was introduced. The P40 is chambered in
.40 S&W,
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
and
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
. The P45 is chambered in .45 ACP. Using the same rotary locking barrel system, and the same 108 mm barrel length, the larger-caliber guns use many of the same proven components of the 9mm models.
P40L/P45L - For 2014, a 127mm/5-inch barrel and corresponding slide model was added to the larger caliber line up. The P40L is chambered in
.40 S&W,
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
and
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
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Q100 - A
Trigger (firearms)#Pre-set .28striker or hammer.29, striker fired version of the K100 intended primarily for armed forces and self-defense. The Q100 has a 108mm barrel and the same modular grip as the K100. The initial version will be in 9x19.
Q1/Q1S - A shorter slide and barrel than the Q100, either on the standard full sized grip (Q1) or combined with the subcompact grip shared with the P11 and P1S (Q1S).
References
External links
Grandpower HomepageInstruction manualReview of the STI GP6 (K100) from ''American Rifleman''{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Military of Slovakia
9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols