LAST EDITED ON Jan-02-16 AT 00:58 AM (EST)
 
>One thing I forgot to mention in the original post was that the Type
>14 is also the indirect ancestor of the Ruger Standard/Mk II/Mk III
>family of .22-caliber pistols, which debuted in 1949.

Belatedly occurred to me as I was getting the pictures for this week's that I have one of these in the cabinet, so you can see the resemblance for yourselves.

Nambu Type 14:

Ruger Standard (retroactively the Mk I):

Of note is the fact that, although the Ruger is a simple blowback and not a short-recoil-operated semiauto like the Nambu, and therefore the barrel does not move when firing, the barrel and bolt shroud assembly is still a separate piece that can be removed for cleaning.

Later Ruger Standard marks would move to a button-activated magazine release (also like the Nambu's, and indeed most modern auto pistols), but the Mk I had its magazine catch at the heel of the grip instead. Heel releases were pretty common on smaller-caliber auto pistols right through WWII, though you don't see them much on new-made guns nowadays.

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
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