wanderinwalker
Member
OK, now that I have your attention, I present a couple of pictures of my recently acquired Savage Model 1907 in .32 ACP.
Honestly, I wasn't even looking for/didn't know I needed one of these when I came across this example. I thought my Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless was adequate for my current .32 ACP needs, but apparently I was wrong.
This pistol grabbed my attention because of how unique it is, at least in the story of the evolution of the semi-automatic pistol as we know it today. It has a "hammer", but is a striker-fired mechanism. The barrel is "locked" to the slide by way of a lug on the barrel and a groove machined into the top of the slide. It's questionable whether or not this system constitutes anything more significant than maybe creating a delayed-blowback pistol. It was deemed sufficient to be made into a .45 ACP version for the U.S. Army's pistol trails leading up to 1911, so maybe it's more efficient than it appears on the surface. It also has a staggered column 10-round magazine capacity in the .32-caliber version, which is quite a bit of firepower at a time when a 5-shot S&W top break was the epitome of pocket guns.
The most unique feature of these pistols, at least in handling them, is the magazine release mounted on the front of the grip. It is, in a word, a bit awkward for those of use accustomed to more modern systems. Even with that, it is secure, and in 1907 the layout of the automatic pistol was still being established. So the fact that this particular magazine release concept turned out to be a bit of an evolutionary dead-end doesn't mean it's bad.
We'd be remiss if we failed to note the very rudimentary nature of the sights. Seriously, these little nubs make the sights on a Colt Pocket Hammerless look like modern high-visibility models! They're adequate if you have full noon-time sunlight on an outdoor range, but I have doubts about their usability in a dark alley, or when investigating bumps in the night. Let's also throw in an honorable mention to the rather stiff trigger pull. Yes, it's a single-action mechanism, but don't let that make you believe the trigger action is anything in the class of a tuned Government Model. If you're used to something like a Glock or a staple gun, you'll be right at home squeezing the go-switch on one of these 1907s. Others will need some time to adjust.
Lastly, we should discuss the unique disassembly/arrangement of the firing system. For those not familiar with these pistols, you disassemble them by rotating the bolt assembly on the rear of the slide 90-degrees clockwise, and drawing it out the back of the slide. Then run the slide forward while pulling the trigger to remove the slide, barrel and recoil spring assembly. Reassembly is the classic "reverse assembly instructions." Be careful with the frame, as many of the important parts are held in by gravity and friction. Did I mention there are NO screws in this pistol? Also, the safety doubles as a slide stop, something I really wish I'd known the first time I disassembled this pistol.
Now, how does it work? Surprisingly well, actually. I put 30 rounds through it, with one failure to feed at the end of a 5-shot string where I was shooting 2-handed. Maybe my thumb was dragging the slide and slowed it down, causing the malfunction. No matter, I was mostly giddy by the fact that this pistol did function, considering the recoil and magazine springs are of unknown age and could still be original to the gun. Firing it with a proper one-handed grip, everything functioned just fine. I did run one mag of a full 10-shots through it just for giggles, and was rewarded with 100% cycling and 100% hits on a 1/2-scale IDPA silhouette from 20 yards. Five shots at 7-yards determined that the pistol shoots 3-4" high of the sights at that range. Which would explain why the Savage was able to topple the steel plate rack that doesn't fear hits from my Colt.
I would recommend one of these pistols to anybody interested in the early American semi-automatic pistols, or even interested in anything mechanically odd. The solutions the Savage 1907 presents to the problems of how to make a functional, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol are quite neat.
Honestly, I wasn't even looking for/didn't know I needed one of these when I came across this example. I thought my Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless was adequate for my current .32 ACP needs, but apparently I was wrong.
This pistol grabbed my attention because of how unique it is, at least in the story of the evolution of the semi-automatic pistol as we know it today. It has a "hammer", but is a striker-fired mechanism. The barrel is "locked" to the slide by way of a lug on the barrel and a groove machined into the top of the slide. It's questionable whether or not this system constitutes anything more significant than maybe creating a delayed-blowback pistol. It was deemed sufficient to be made into a .45 ACP version for the U.S. Army's pistol trails leading up to 1911, so maybe it's more efficient than it appears on the surface. It also has a staggered column 10-round magazine capacity in the .32-caliber version, which is quite a bit of firepower at a time when a 5-shot S&W top break was the epitome of pocket guns.
The most unique feature of these pistols, at least in handling them, is the magazine release mounted on the front of the grip. It is, in a word, a bit awkward for those of use accustomed to more modern systems. Even with that, it is secure, and in 1907 the layout of the automatic pistol was still being established. So the fact that this particular magazine release concept turned out to be a bit of an evolutionary dead-end doesn't mean it's bad.
We'd be remiss if we failed to note the very rudimentary nature of the sights. Seriously, these little nubs make the sights on a Colt Pocket Hammerless look like modern high-visibility models! They're adequate if you have full noon-time sunlight on an outdoor range, but I have doubts about their usability in a dark alley, or when investigating bumps in the night. Let's also throw in an honorable mention to the rather stiff trigger pull. Yes, it's a single-action mechanism, but don't let that make you believe the trigger action is anything in the class of a tuned Government Model. If you're used to something like a Glock or a staple gun, you'll be right at home squeezing the go-switch on one of these 1907s. Others will need some time to adjust.
Lastly, we should discuss the unique disassembly/arrangement of the firing system. For those not familiar with these pistols, you disassemble them by rotating the bolt assembly on the rear of the slide 90-degrees clockwise, and drawing it out the back of the slide. Then run the slide forward while pulling the trigger to remove the slide, barrel and recoil spring assembly. Reassembly is the classic "reverse assembly instructions." Be careful with the frame, as many of the important parts are held in by gravity and friction. Did I mention there are NO screws in this pistol? Also, the safety doubles as a slide stop, something I really wish I'd known the first time I disassembled this pistol.
Now, how does it work? Surprisingly well, actually. I put 30 rounds through it, with one failure to feed at the end of a 5-shot string where I was shooting 2-handed. Maybe my thumb was dragging the slide and slowed it down, causing the malfunction. No matter, I was mostly giddy by the fact that this pistol did function, considering the recoil and magazine springs are of unknown age and could still be original to the gun. Firing it with a proper one-handed grip, everything functioned just fine. I did run one mag of a full 10-shots through it just for giggles, and was rewarded with 100% cycling and 100% hits on a 1/2-scale IDPA silhouette from 20 yards. Five shots at 7-yards determined that the pistol shoots 3-4" high of the sights at that range. Which would explain why the Savage was able to topple the steel plate rack that doesn't fear hits from my Colt.
I would recommend one of these pistols to anybody interested in the early American semi-automatic pistols, or even interested in anything mechanically odd. The solutions the Savage 1907 presents to the problems of how to make a functional, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol are quite neat.