Savage 1907 in .32acp for good price

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bannockburn said:
kb308

Glad you got it (even though the was a bit of an upcharge), and that it at least worked okay. Familiarize yourself with it's inner and outer workings, clean it up (if needed), and get yourself and your "new" Savage to the range!

Photos would be greatly appreciated too; when you get the chance!
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Planning to get some ammo this week, and maybe put 100-150 rounds through it to get a minimum amount of confidence in the reliability of it. Full disclosure; this will likely be my new carry-piece. I know that .32 acp is underpowered for self-defense, but my other 9mm's and .45's are just too big for carry for MY particular tastes (Remington R1 1911 .45 / CZ P-07 9mm / Star BM 9mm / Taurus PT-99 9mm). I just lean towards pocket carry, and I know many people are against pocket carry, but it's just what I prefer. Well, this Savage is perfect size-wise for that!

I'm trying to get pics in here. I am having cell-phone headaches getting the pics to actually send to my email so I can post them. I'm trying guys, put em up as soon as I get them on the PC! :) Also, if you guys don't mind, I think I'd like to after getting the Savage 1907 solo-pics up, maybe put it in pics with the rest of the "family" of toys. :)
 
kb308 said:
Planning to get some ammo this week, and maybe put 100-150 rounds through it to get a minimum amount of confidence in the reliability of it. Full disclosure; this will likely be my new carry-piece. I know that .32 acp is underpowered for self-defense, but my other 9mm's and .45's are just too big for carry for MY particular tastes (Remington R1 1911 .45 / CZ P-07 9mm / Star BM 9mm / Taurus PT-99 9mm). I just lean towards pocket carry, and I know many people are against pocket carry, but it's just what I prefer. Well, this Savage is perfect size-wise for that!

I'm trying to get pics in here. I am having cell-phone headaches getting the pics to actually send to my email so I can post them. I'm trying guys, put em up as soon as I get them on the PC! :) Also, if you guys don't mind, I think I'd like to after getting the Savage 1907 solo-pics up, maybe put it in pics with the rest of the "family" of toys. :)
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Nothing wrong with carrying an old .32 as long as it's reliable. .32 was a common military and police caliber for decades.:)

The Savage was meant to be carried charged over a live round with the safety engaged. The manual safety is fairly positive, but not up to modern standards. Anther option is carrying it charged over an empty chamber- this will greatly reduce the effort to actuate the slide for the first shot. Either way, it would require some practice to bring into action quickly. Honestly, there are far better and safer carry options these days- the LCP and Beretta Pico come to mind, but if you choose to go with the Savage for EDC, more power to ya!
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Nothing wrong with carrying an old .32 as long as it's reliable. .32 was a common military and police caliber for decades.:)

The Savage was meant to be carried charged over a live round with the safety engaged. The manual safety is fairly positive, but not up to modern standards. Anther option is carrying it charged over an empty chamber- this will greatly reduce the effort to actuate the slide for the first shot. Either way, it would require some practice to bring into action quickly. Honestly, there are far better and safer carry options these days- the LCP and Beretta Pico come to mind, but if you choose to go with the Savage for EDC, more power to ya!
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Wow, such a small round to be a military and police round for so long by today's standards anyway?! If I remember correctly, the Colt 1903 General Officer's model was offered in .32 acp and .380 acp, and the general to whom it was presented was given a choice between the two calibers. I always thought "I'd pick the .380!". Honestly I never pictured myself carrying a .32, but now that I have one (and again, as long as it proves reliable as you stated), then I will carry it. Also.... This now means I might have to invest in a couple more models in this caliber since I've got one! You guys recommend anything particular?? :) :) ;)

As for carry mode, I do like the safety fairly well; it's no 1911 safety, but it's better than some. I believe that I could disengage it quicker than I could charge the pistol under stress, even if it was pre-cocked. What you said about chambering a round if the pistol is pre-cocked proved to be quite true! Thank you for that tip! Also, I do fully agree with you about there being safer and better carry options these days. It's just that I may not be able to acquire one yet for maybe a couple months. Until then, it's either carry this, or try and carry my CZ P-07 or Star BM (which the Star BM is NOT reliable in my particular case; lots of FTE) around which I could do; I just prefer the ease of a smaller one you know?
 
Hmmm. Just had a thought. I could sell my Star BM and maybe get another pocket option that is more modern that the Savage 1907. However, I must admit, I'm becoming kind of enamored with it :) (Not implying that I would SELL the 1907, just carry something else if I got a safer, more modern option; this is a KEEPER)
 
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MikeJackmin said:
Don't attempt to remove the grips; they are hard to remove and very easy to break.

Original magazines are valuable, replacement mags often have issues.

Great little classic pistols.
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Yes, I have noticed just by handling this thing, that the grips are not only seemingly flimsy themselves, but actually move around a tad; seemingly barely attached to the gun :O That I'm not a fan of, but I like just about everything else about it. I'm really loving this neat old design. I've never owned an old weapon other than mil-surp rifles such as a Yugo M48 Mauser (which I loved), and a Mosin-Nagant (which I despised due to the trigger) :) I'm starting to see what folks see in these old designs! They're just neat in a unique, quirky way, yet if maintained can still serve the intended purpose! Being a pragmatic person, I just love that!
 
kb308 said:
Thanks! It's been refinished, or at least polished, and one of the grip panels is probably a repro as it is a little browner than the other, but otherwise it's in great shape for a 100 year- old gun.:)
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It is not uncommon for guns with hard rubber grips to have one that is brown and one that is black. This is apparently because sunlight, even through glass, can turn hard rubber brown. This is often said to be the result of the gun sitting in a pawnshop or gun store window for some time. It's a good story, anyway!

BTW, a man named Bailey Brower wrote an excellent book about Savage's automatic pistols that was for sale on Amazon for a very reasonable price for a hardcover (less than $40, IIRC). It was published about 10 years ago, I think. It may be out of print, and it may be a lot more than you want to know, but it's a good book if you're interested.

(PS: One of my favorite gun authors, the late Donald Simmons, wrote a very good article about the Savage 32 automatics in the 1981 Gun Digest Annual. It catalogs ALL the changing design features of the pistols. The Brower book is more comprehensive, but a used '81 Gun Digest may be available much cheaper.)
 
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kb308 said:
Yes, I have noticed just by handling this thing, that the grips are not only seemingly flimsy themselves, but actually move around a tad; seemingly barely attached to the gun :O That I'm not a fan of, but I like just about everything else about it. I'm really loving this neat old design. I've never owned an old weapon other than mil-surp rifles such as a Yugo M48 Mauser (which I loved), and a Mosin-Nagant (which I despised due to the trigger) :) I'm starting to see what folks see in these old designs! They're just neat in a unique, quirky way, yet if maintained can still serve the intended purpose! Being a pragmatic person, I just love that!
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Much of the engineering diversity in those days was due to each company trying to get around each others patents, rather than what we have now where nearly everything is a Glock or 1911 ripoff.

The 1903 Colt was the .32, the .380 was the 1908- I could be wrong, but as far as I know, all the General Officer's Pistols were .32s. I had a .380 in factory nickel- it was elegant and beautiful, but jammed constantly. I flipped it for a tidy profit, but was heartbroken. I may give one of the .32s a try if the right one comes along at some point.

Had a similar experience with the PPK. I had a gorgeous stainless Interarms/Ranger PPK .380 which wouldn't make it through a full mag without a jam. I now have a Manurhin .32 PP and it has run flawlessly.

Had a Italian production Beretta Tomcat .32. Super neato and ran perfect. Unfortunately they had issues with frames cracking, and mine sure did! Supposedly, the new US made ones are better.

The Mauser 1914 .32 is a cool design- very steam punk. I am keeping my eyes open for one.

The Mauser HSC is the very opposite- very sleek. The best thing about the .32 HSC is the wartime ones are all steel- the post war .32s are aluminum framed.

Then there is the very neat Beretta 1935. One of the best .32s ever made, the .380 model 1934 is excellent as well (they also made a .22 version postwar).

Lastly, I have a Remington 51. Mine is in .380 and has never jammed on me, as far as I know the .32s are just as good. They are hard to find though.

Yep, those little mouse guns are a hoot!
 
NIGHTLORD40K said: The 1903 Colt was the .32, the .380 was the 1908- I could be wrong, but as far as I know, all the General Officer's Pistols were .32s. I had a .380 in factory nickel- it was elegant and beautiful, but jammed constantly. I flipped it for a tidy profit, but was heartbroken.

The .380 Colts are now known to have always had a jamming problem. That is why the Shanghai Municipal Police modified their Colt .380s with a spring pressing through the slide against the barrel. It did not really come to Colt's attention until WWII, when the US military complained about it. Colt investigated and found the problem could be solved by an adjustment to the ejector. Modified guns had an "M" stamped in front of their serial numbers. This confused collectors for some time, and at one point it was thought there was an entire separate production run of M-series Colt .380s. There was not.

All this is remembered off the top of my head, from Donald Simmon's article in American Rifleman "The Myth of the M-Series Colt", and John Brunner's book about the Colt 25, 32, and 380 pistols. I may have got some of it wrong, but the basic point - there was a problem with Colt 1908 .380s for a long time - is correct. The severity varied from gun to gun, of course, and many Colt .380s may have fixed by private gunsmiths in the many years since they were produced.
 
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Monac said:
NIGHTLORD40K said: The 1903 Colt was the .32, the .380 was the 1908- I could be wrong, but as far as I know, all the General Officer's Pistols were .32s. I had a .380 in factory nickel- it was elegant and beautiful, but jammed constantly. I flipped it for a tidy profit, but was heartbroken.

The .380 Colts are now know to have always had a jamming problem. That is why the Shanghai Municipal Police modified their Colt .380s with a spring pressing through the slide against the barrel. It did not really come to Colt's attention until WWII, when the US military complained about it. Colt investigated and found the problem could be solved by an adjustment to the ejector. Modified guns had an "M" stamped in front of their serial numbers. This confused collectors for some time, and at one point it was thought there was an entire separate production run of M-series Colt .380s. There was not.

All this is remembered off the top of my head, from Donald Simmon's article in American Rifleman "The Myth of the M-Series Colt", and John Brunner's book about the Colt 25, 32, and 380 pistols. I may have got some of it wrong, but the basic point - there was a problem with Colt 1908 .380s for a long time - is correct. The severity varied from gun to gun, of course, and many Colt .380s may have fixed by private gunsmiths in the many years since they were produced.
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I tried a new, old stock magazine($75!), and a Wolff spring kit to no avail.:( Never thought to monkey with the ejector as during hand cycling it seemed to eject properly. Oh, well, at some point I will probably look at getting a .32 Colt. Man, that was a looker though!
The only other issue with it was the grip safety was very thin and not positive at all. Gripping it properly was challenging and would have been a major concern if I needed to carry it for SD. The Remington 51 grip safety is far superior, being thicker and clicking on and off very distinctly.
 
Guys, I am trying to get pictures posted, but am having phone difficulties (phone being my only camera option). I will continue to try and get them up as soon as I can. My apologies for the wait.
 
Monac

As a side note a noted Colt collector once told me that another modification the Police Commissioner of the Shanghai Municipal Police did was having all of the magazines for the Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless modified with witness holes on the front and back of them. There wasn't a problem with the magazines but the police officers sometimes took to selling off their ammunition to make a little extra money on the side. The Commissioner eventually got wise to this and ordered the holes so on routine inspection the guns could be checked to see if any rounds were missing.

Eventually the officers figured a way around this by having dummy rounds made of wood and painted to look like live rounds. And again the Commissioner found out about this and made the officers unload their magazines before heading out on patrol and then again when they returned to their station. If rounds were found missing or replaced with dummy rounds the constable was in for a spot of trouble from their superiors.
 
True, Bannockburn. Fairbairn, the Commissioner, who also had a hand in designing the Fairbairn-Sykes commando dagger, had one other modification made: The manual safeties were screwed in place in the "Fire" position. IIRC, the idea was the the officers should carry the guns with an empty chamber and rack a round in when they were in a shooting situation.
 
.32 is my favorite handgun round - it amazes me that it was such a prolific m&p round for so long, and hearkens back to days of a demilitarized police...and demilitarized criminals. If you're collecting, the PPK (not PPK/S) is .32 is an absolute must have, but you'll pay dearly. If anyone has one and is looking to unload it, please let me know :p:p. They are difficult to find at any price. For about $300 you can own a FEG PP copy in .32 - I have one and it is 100% reliable, beautifully made, a real steal at under $600. Model numbers vary, I think mine is an AP/MBP or something like that. As mentioned above, the Mauser and midcentury Berettas are amazing, and you cannot forget the modern Seecamp - the .32 and the .25 are phenomenal. Have fun with the Savage, I was fondling one last weekend, but the LGS wanted more than it was worth. A shame, really.
 
Pooh. You naughty people are going to force me to buy an old Savage 32! I'm a sucker for antiques. I also enjoy 32's.

The Mauser 1914 is loads of fun (I have the 25 version, too).

I think my FEG is called an AP9. It's a sweet little shooter I got for around $200. My FiL liked it so much that he got one for himself.

The Colt 1903 is an absolute jewel to shoot - one of my very favorite pistols. I wish the sights weren't so tiny.

The most accurate is the Beretta Model 100. The 6" barrel and adjustable sights give it a bit of an advantage. :)

I enjoy shooting 32acp, but don't feel comfortable with it for SD. If I did, I would carry my little Kel-Tec P32. It's reliable and is probably more drop-safe than my ancient ones. I paid $120-something for it used. It doesn't really have sights, but that probably doesn't matter at "across the room" distances.

Here's the Colt 1903:
Colt 1903

Colt 1903


Here's the FEG. Please forgive the poor-quality photo.
FEG AP9 32acp

FEG AP9 32acp


Here's the Beretta. If you miss, you have nothing to blame but yourself.
Beretta Model 100

Beretta Model 100


I think this is the 25acp Mauser, but they look pretty much the same. I think the 32 is just a tiny bit bigger.
View media item 1445
 
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A note regarding accuracy and the Savage- there is something about the grip that seems to affect me (and several others who shot mine). I've found that it is a bear to get groups; shots were going left, right, up, down. Got much better groups with a CZ 27 and a Mauser 1914.

I thought the barrel might be bad, or something of the sort. Nope- I firmly placed it on a benchrest, really focused in, and placed a 2 inch group at 7 yds. The "group" consisted of a flyer; the other 4 shots were all touching and almost completely in the center of the bullseye.

It's now one of my goals to shoot that pistol well ;)
 
Isudave, the biggest difference between the Savage 1917 and the late production 1907's was the shape of the grip. May the 1917 would suit you better? (Or vice versa, if a 1917 was what you were shooting.)
 
Sushigaijin said:
.32 is my favorite handgun round - it amazes me that it was such a prolific m&p round for so long, and hearkens back to days of a demilitarized police...and demilitarized criminals. If you're collecting, the PPK (not PPK/S) is .32 is an absolute must have, but you'll pay dearly. If anyone has one and is looking to unload it, please let me know :p:p. They are difficult to find at any price. For about $300 you can own a FEG PP copy in .32 - I have one and it is 100% reliable, beautifully made, a real steal at under $600. Model numbers vary, I think mine is an AP/MBP or something like that. As mentioned above, the Mauser and midcentury Berettas are amazing, and you cannot forget the modern Seecamp - the .32 and the .25 are phenomenal. Have fun with the Savage, I was fondling one last weekend, but the LGS wanted more than it was worth. A shame, really.
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Thanks; I AM having fun with the Savage! It shoots well so far. However it hates Winchester Silvertip JHP. I runs Hornady Custom JHP just fine though! It is also surprisingly accurate for what it is!
 
For .32 acp, I would go online and search Fiocchi and PPU FMJ. Get the best priced of either; both are pretty hot and have nice round noses. i wouldn't trust JHP to run in a 100 yr old gun, and from what little I hear, I wouldn't really trust hollow points in .32 either.
 
The 32 ACP is a semi-rimmed case and WILL rimlock if the conditions are right. To prevent it the loaded rounds should fill the magazine to prevent them from shifting forward which happens with many JHP's being that they're loaded pretty short. Many use FMJ's for a couple reasons: first is the limited power available and being that penetration is the most important aspect of defensive ammo you really don't have a lot to give up to expansion. And the second is that rimlock sucks really bad and will put you out of the fight just when you really, really don't want it to....so it's best avoided with FMJ's or building a spacer for the mag to keep the rounds back against the rear surface.
 
On a semi-related note, I just came across another Mauser 1914 in .32 acp, for the princely sum of $150. Could not resist ;)
I love these old .32s. The guns are about the size of compact 9's today, but shoot a much gentler rd. That's a pleasant combo for the range, and the workmanship from back then is just fascinating.
 
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