The Bushman IDW is described as Individual Defense Weapon (IDW) and is exceptionally small, no more than 10.8 inches (276 mm) long. It can be easily concealed and carried, though it is relatively heavier than might be expected from its size. It is much smaller than regular submachine guns like Heckler & Koch MP5, AKSU-74, Heckler & Koch UMP, and similar. The Bushman IDW is also known as Parker Hale PDW (Personal Defense Weapon).
Design
The Bushman introduced an entirely new idea to automatic weapons. Hitherto, it has been usual to build a weapon and then find out how fast it fires; if the rate of fire is too high or too low, then adjustments are made to the weight of the bolt, the strength of the return spring, and other features to approach the desired figure.
But the desired figure was no more than a figure the designer felt was right; it had no scientific or technical origin. As a result, most submachine guns are difficult to keep on target since the vibration of the weapon and the muzzle blast combine to lift the muzzle during automatic fire, and the shots fly harmlessly into the air.
The designer of the Bushman IDW / Parker Hale PDW reasoned that, like most mechanical devices, a submachine gun would have a ‘natural frequency’ at which it would fire smoothly, without vibration, and without the muzzle climbing. He developed an electronic control unit that arrested the bolt for a fraction of a second as it recoiled and then released it. Being electronic, this device could be adjusted from infinitely slow to the full natural speed of the weapon. It was simply a question of experimenting to find the natural frequency once the weapon had been designed.
Smallest submachine gun in the world
The result is one of the smallest submachine guns, a little larger than an automatic pistol, which can be fired one-handed at a fully automatic rate of 450 rounds a minute and puts all the bullets into the target area. The weapon does not jump; it merely rocks slightly in hand.
The Bushman IDW / Parker Hale PDW is heavy for its size, machined from forged steel, using modern computer-controlled machine tools. It is a blowback weapon and, without the delaying mechanism, would have a natural rate of fire of about 1400 rounds per minute, at which rate it would be almost uncontrollable and certainly incapable of being fired one-handed. But the regulator arrests the bolt momentarily after each shot and then, instructed by a micro-chip, releases it at the correct time to give the desired rate of fire.
The electronic control principle has also been applied to some existing submachine gun designs, with equally good effect. At the time of writing, the Bushman has just entered production, and it will be interesting to see where it will be adopted.
Technical specifications
| Country of origin: | England |
| Manufacturer: | Bushman Ltd, Frogmore, St. Albans |
| Type: | blowback, regulated |
| Caliber: | 9mm Parabellum |
| Barrel: | 3.25in (82.5mm) |
| Weight: | 6.4lbs (2.92kg) |
| Magazine capacity: | 20, 28, or 32 rounds |
| Cyclic rate of fire: | 450 rounds/minute |
| Effective firing range: | 50–100 m sight adjustments |