Semmerling LM4 Hideout

Hideout guns are an interesting category of handgun. They’re usually smaller, thinner and lighter than other concealable firearms a citizen or off-duty cop would carry, but still with enough power to save your life with a well-placed shot or two. I don’t consider a 22 Long Rifle derringer or 25 Automatic Colt Pistol a viable hideout; there’s too many good options out there to consider an unsafe pop-gun.

When you need a hideout, you’re in BIG trouble and bringing the best you can find to a gunfight is probably a good idea. Hideout guns are mostly police weapons. Citizens who legally carry a concealed pistol or revolver don’t need a back-up or hideout handgun as just having any handgun available puts the concealed-carrying citizen ahead of the game. There aren’t too many running gun battles in suburbia or the local mini-mall between heavily armed criminals and the average Joe.

Civilian shootings involv- Semmerlings had very nicely made magazines of steel. These early pistols were beautifully made and hand-fitted. ing someone that is not a member of a uniform-wearing military or police organization are over with one or two shots fired in a couple of seconds or less.

In doing research about legally justifiable shootings a few years back, I could find no instance anywhere nation-wide where someone (not a policeman) had to reload their weapon, draw another handgun, or move under fire to a position of cover. It just doesn’t happen. Police shootings, on the other hand, occur when the officer responds to gunfire, instead of trying to avoid conflict like a citizen should. Backing off and being a good witness is not an option for a street cop.

A hideout or backup handgun is a tool of last resort when the primary firearm is empty or disabled. There might not be time for a speed reload or your ammo supply has been exhausted. You could have dropped your duty gun or it may have malfunctioned. It happens. Police chasing and sometimes engaging heavily armed suspects with gunfire during the course of an arrest are an almost daily occurrence in the United States now.

Having a second gun on your person is tactically smart and increases your chances of survival if a contact or arrest goes sideways. When I worked the Big City I always carried two guns, sometimes three. It depended on what I was doing that day or night. Mostly my back-up or hideout was a 2" Smith & Wesson Bodyguard in 38 Special. Later on, it was an Airweight S&W. These handguns were what was authorized by my department, so I carried what was allowed. They both worked well enough and

gave me the option of an additional weapon in sometimes dangerous circumstances. The Semmerling LM4 would have been an interesting option, had I been able to carry one. Short, thin, and flat with five rounds of 45 ACP punch, an LM4 would have been a great choice in a reinforced leather uniform pocket. A shade heavy at 24 ounces, but you can’t have everything. Having to use two hands to chamber each round would be a big concern, but more on that later.

Semmerling History Designed in the early 1970s and patented in 1979 by Phillip Lichtman, the LM4 ("LM" stands for "Lichtman Model" and the #1, 2 and 3 were pre-production prototypes) is a very interesting pistol. Mr. Licht- An easy operation to chamber anew round using the support thumb on the slide serrations, with only an inch and a half of slide travel. man had a degree from Harvard, dabbled in everything from butterflies, cars, model airplanes, and astronomy, and held over 30 patents.

Lichtman envisioned the LM4 as an uber-concealable pistol that could be used by law enforcement or as a deep undercover piece for Central Intelligence Agency types overseas. It is still the smallest 45 ACP five-shot made, being about the size of a pocket 32 ACP. The LM4 magazine capacity is four rounds with one more in the chamber. Five 45 ACP rounds in a package the size of a little .32 caliber pistol will definitely work if you’re in trouble; if a .38 or 9mm is good, a .45 is better.

Weight is 24 ounces, which helps somewhat with recoil. About 600 pistols were originally made outside of Boston; these are now very collectible. Initial price was $685, which translates to about $3,000 in today’s dollars. Supposedly the US government bought some; no one is really sure how many were purchased or what agency they went to. In the early 1980s, the company’s patents and trademarks were purchased by American Derringer Company in Waco, Texas.

Normal production of the LM4 ceased in 1998, however, American Derrin- Far Slide only travels 1.5" to load another round. With a little practice a quick flick of the support thumb on the slide serrations will chamber another round.

Rails are very nicely machined, fitted and polished. Far Fixed rear sight is integral to the slide. Very nicely machined muzzle crown definitely helps the LM4 accuracy-wise. ger will still build you one special order for somewhere over $4,200. Advertised as a "vest pocket" sized .45, the Semmerling is a small pistol that fulfills its intended role as a deep hideout gun. At first glance, it appears to be a semi-auto, but it’s actually a manually operated repeater with a double action trigger.

No safeties or visible hammers on the LM4; this makes for a sleek gun with nothing to snag onto when drawing. Sights are fixed, with a serrated ramp front and a simple notched rear. Considering the size of the LM4, the sights are quite good. Both front and rear sights are mounted on the slide. The extractor takes a very large bite out of the cartridge case; no worries on the extractor doing its job; it’s huge. Chambering around in an LM4 is, well, different.

A magazine is inserted and the slide is racked forward and then pulled back, picking up the top round, pushing it against the fixed breech and chambering it. Obviously, this is completely reversed to what a pistol shooter is used to but it works. I fed a couple of loaded magazines using dummy rounds through the pistol; very slick and smooth. Magazines are robust, easy to load and eject without any hangups. Once I got used to the loading and chambering, it was an easy and simple process.

Shooting the LM4 My live-fire time with the LM4 was purposely limited; small concealable guns aren’t designed to be shot extensively. The LM4 is a strong gun, though. Beautifully made and handfitted from S7 tool steel (later Texas version was made from stainless steel), it was built to last a career of being carried in a concealed shoulder holster or pocket, subjected to a daily regimen of leather wear, body sweat, and an occasional dropping on concrete.

I headed out to my favorite range in San Antonio on a warm fall day with some GI 230 grain hardball match and a box of jacketed 185 grain semi-wadcutters. My old Los Below and Fixed sights are integral to the slide. Serrations directly in front of the rear sight break up light reflections and distortion.

Angeles Police Department partnero and fellow gun accumulator, Craig Taylor, loaned me a minty Bostonmade Semmerling LM4 that was one of the early hand-made guns. I put 35 rounds of factory ball and SWC downrange without any malfunctions… about what I expected. Accuracy was quite good at the ranges I fired (7 and 15 yards) and the point of impact was spot on with a centerhold point of aim. Several groups (four shots each) went into one ragged hole.

I had no inclination to shoot this at 20 or 25 yards because the LM4 wasn’t designed to be a Bullseye match gun. Recoil was definitely there, but not as bad as I expected… about the same as my Airweight Chief with 38 Special +P duty loads. One magazine was shot as quickly as I could shoot, racking the slide forward and back to eject the fired Very easy to check the status of the pistol. case and chamber the next round.

A magazine can be emptied this way in 3-4 seconds, which is While the S&Wis lighter (the 24 ounce Semmerling versus the 15 ounce Airweight), the LM4 is smaller, flatter, and hits harder with five rounds of 45 ACP. The LM4 is about half the size of the Colt and 16 ounces lighter, unloaded. fast enough. Working with dummy rounds at home would probably cut the time down some. Using only the thumb of the support hand to rack and chamber is easy due to no recoil spring or hammer.

The slide only needs to move about 1.5 inches to eject the fired case and chamber the next round. There is a technique mentioned in the manual, using a one-handed wrist "snap" to chamber around but I didn’t try that one. If I were carrying this pistol as a backup, I’d spend some time learning to manipulate it one-handed. The LM4 has a nice smooth double action pull that, if you’re a revolver shooter, is easy to like. It’s a very short stroke and completely safe.

The trigger must be released after each shot or the pistol won’t fire. Also, if the barrel isn’t snug against

The LM4 is quite small and compact for a five-shot .45. Above center: Despite the LM4’s size, it hits hard with five 45 ACP cartridges. Overall size is about what a .32 or .380 auto would be. the breech and fully closed, the trigger cannot move and the LM4 won’t discharge. Mucho safe. No worries about carrying this in your pocket. Concluding Thoughts As much as I liked playing with this gun, I probably wouldn’t carry one. Shooting and manipulating this pistol two-handed bugs me.

Having drawn my back-up 2" revolver more than once as a cop, the idea of having to reload and chamber around two-handed with a back-up weapon is a serious tactical drawback. One-handed display and use of a second gun can be critical to winning a confrontation. While we all train now to shoot two-handed, the handgun is still a one-handed weapon by design and needs to be handled that way when necessary. That should be obvious.

An early Semmerling pistol is a very collectible firearm now, with nice examples going for $6000 to over $8000 and more. Much too valuable to be sitting in a pocket holster; the best place for a Semmerling LM4 today is in a gun safe, awaiting its semi-annual fondling and wipedown. A well-used .38 or 9mm is still a better choice for concealed carry. I’ll stick with what still works for me. AG Group was fired with GI Match ball at seven yards.