The Trejo pistol also known as the Trejo machine pistol, is the smallest fully automatic weapon ever made. Not well known in the United States, it was quite successful in Mexico, with over 16,000 examples manufactured by Armas Trejo S.A. between 1952 and 1972. The apple logo on the side of the slide is a reference to the town Zacatlán de las Manzanas (Zacatlán of the Apples, near Puebla), which is famous for its apples and apple cider.
The Trejo pistol has a blowback action with unlocked firing from a closed bolt. It is designed for burst fire rather than full-auto because of limited magazine capacity. At the time when it was introduced to the Mexican market, there were no laws against fully automatic capabilities in small calibers like the .22 Long Rifle.
In 1950, Gabriel Trejo, a blacksmith by trade, created the company of his son Abraham, not in an extant company, because in his own words, "I want to do something out of the ordinary".
Full-auto versions of the Modelo-1 are marked Tipo-Ráfaga (select-fire type) and have a little lever marked with an "R" for ráfaga (the Spanish word for "burst"). In terms of its operation, it is near identical to the M1911.
The rate of fire is very high, ranging from 1300-1400 rounds per minute depending on the type of ammunition used (higher velocity rounds make for a higher rate of fire). Bursts can be from three up to eight rounds, the latter of which will empty the entire magazine in 0.4 seconds. The design suffers from reliability issues with the .22LR rimfire cartridge.
The National Firearms Act of 1934 reduced imports of the Trejo pistol to the US because the $200 tax imposed on Title II firearms was far more than the original value of the Trejo. The Gun Control Act of 1968 ended importation into the United States and finally the Mexican government closed down domestic production of firearms for private purchase. The Trejo was also made in semi-automatic versions: the Modelo 2, a model with a longer barrel and an expanded magazine with a capacity of 11 rounds, and the Modelo 3 in .32 ACP and .380 ACP. A variant using a high capacity magazine was manufactured for the Mexican military which was chambered in 9mm and featured a 40-round magazine. This variant named the Model 2 "Especial" (special) offered the capability to fire in semi-automatic, burst-fire or fully automatic modes.
In 1970 the factory that produced the Trejo pistol, along with three more that manufactured other weapons, were closed by Presidential Decree as a result of social problems that were occurring in Mexico at the time (now known as the Dirty War).
Variants - Model 2 - Model 3 - Model 4?
Wars - "the dirty war"
Trejo Model 1 Machine Pistol: Shooting and History
