- The first time I saw a Savage Model 1907 I had to have it. I mean, how many art-deco guns do you see? It was a cool little pistol that I knew nothing about, and I bought it on an impulse. Ten minutes after purchase, I took it to the local range. Even the 'veterans' there had never heard of it. 'Savage made a.
- Welcome to THR. The Model 1907 started with serial number 1 and ran to 229800 in 1920. The Model 1917 was started with 229801 and ran to 259472 in 1928. For the Model 1907, a block of numbers were skipped, from 130000 to 150000. These serial numbers ended up being used in the Model 1915 production run.
Since Savage made three different semi-automatic pistols in.32 ACP it is lucky that they used a continuous serial number system. S/N 214891 should be a model 1907. Total Number of Model 1907 Pistols Made 209,791. The disparity between the actual serial numbers and the number of pistols produced is caused by several unexplained gaps in the serial number sequence, along with the fact that Savage used some serial numbers for the Model 1915 and Model. Savage automatic pistol Model 1907,.32 in. Cal., serial number 1. Ten shot magazine located in butt, overall length 6.5 inches (165 mm). Made by Savage Arms Corporation, Utica, New York, 1907. This finely engraved and decorated pistol with mother of pearl grips is serial no. 1, and has the initials 'B A' inlaid into the underside of the frame in gold. It is suspected that it may have been.
First post here. Thanks for the fine venue.
I am a long time collector of military arms. And though the following pistol is not the 1907 US Trials or WWI French or Portuguese Military Contract, the commercial guns were derived from the military platform. I had wanted one of these artfully built pistols for a long time.
So, the opportunity arose last week in a multi-gun purchase. I just didn't realize what I had bought until I did some research.
It's a rare early example with all of the original features, and in uncommonly seen high condition. At serial number 902, it falls within the first 2000 units manufactured in 1908. Fewer than 1% of all Model 1907 where built in this configuration. And with such a small first production run, coupled with general attrition from wear, breakage, parting out and guns which were returned to Savage for upgrades, not many are left today with all of the following original early features:
- Steel Grips, replaced by hard rubber in 1910
- Safety Lever with scalloped half-round thumb pad, replaced with checkered thumb pad in 1909
- No Trigger Block Safety Bar or channel cut inside frame for bar, trigger block introduced by 1913
- No 'SAFE' and 'FIRE' stamped on rear frame, introduced in 1910, 'SAVAGE' stamp on left frame 1913
- Early Barrel with thick lug, No Loaded Chamber Indicator, thinner lug in 1909, loaded indicator collar added 1913 to 1917
- Early Frame with narrow and shallow cartridge feed ramp, wider and deeper ramp introduced in 1910
- Early Slide with large lettering Address and more rounded ejection port, many later addresses and port design.
- Rear Sight fitted in dovetail, later rear sight incorporated into slide 1912
- Front Sight as blade insert, later forged as one with the slide
- Early Hammer (cocking piece) with cog lugs, later with spur style
- Mag Release operated from top of lever on front of grip strap, later located to bottom lever operation.
- Magazine, only one mag catch hole at bottom of mag spine.
- Serial Number located of bottom of frame in front of triggerguard, later on front face of frame
- Matte metal texture with Rust Blue finish, later with mirrored high-polish and bright Rust Blue, then Charcoal Blue
I bought this from an aging Korean War Veteran. He stated that he bought this from a retired insurance salesman who carried it in an inside vest pocket, in the cool leather pocket holster shown below.
The above list does not cover the Military Trials pistol or the similar commercial Savage Models 1915 or 1917, nor the .380 acp caliber option. But it doesn't mean they are less interesting or important. So here are a few links to provide more information and historical perspective.
http://americansocietyofarmscollecto..081_Goulet.pdf
http://www.vintagepistols.com/1907/index.html
http://averagejoeshandgunreviews.blo..07-32-acp.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Model_1907
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9yX2nO-PxY
The 1907 US Military Trials in .45 acp (with video)
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/ear..ols/savage-45/
And a quick way to date your pistol. Just enter your serial number and submit.
http://www.savage99.com/savage32_dates.htm
Detailed pictures of Early Features will follow.
Savage Automatic Pistol Model 1907 | |
---|---|
Type | Semi-Automatic Pistol |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
Used by | United States (trials pistol only) France Portugal |
Wars | World War I |
Production history | |
Designer | Elbert Searle |
Designed | 1905 |
Manufacturer | Savage Arms, Utica, New York |
Produced | 1907–1920 (Model 1907) 1915–1917 (Model 1915) 1920–1928 (Model 1917) |
Variants | Model 1907 .45 ACP Trials Pistol, Model 1915, Model 1917 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 0.6 kg / 19 ounces |
Length | 165 mm / 6.5 inches |
Barrel length | 95 mm / 3.75 inches |
Caliber | .32 ACP (7.65×17mm) .380 ACP (9×17mm) .45 ACP (11.43×23mm; Trials Pistol only) |
Action | delayed blowback |
Muzzle velocity | 244 m/s (.32 ACP) |
Feed system | Detachable box magazine: 10 rounds (.32 ACP) 9 rounds (.380 ACP) 8 rounds (.45 ACP Trials Pistol) |
Sights | Iron, fixed |
The Savage Model 1907 is a semi-automaticpocket pistol produced by the Savage Arms, from 1907 until 1920. It was chambered in .32 ACP and, from 1913 until 1920, in .380 ACP. Although smaller in size, it is derived from the .45 semi-automatic pistol Savage submitted to the 1906-1911 US Army trials to choose a new semi-automatic sidearm. After several years of testing the Savage pistol was one of two finalists but ultimately lost to the Colt entry, which became famous as the ColtModel 1911. 181 of these .45 ACP pistols were returned to Savage after the testing and sold on the civilian market.[1]
Name and marketing[edit]
The Model 1907 is often erroneously called a Model 1905 because of the date Nov. 21, 1905 date stamped into the top of the slide on all Savage semi-automatic pistols. This is the date Elbert Searle was awarded one of his firearm patents, which were the design basis for all the Savage semi-automatic pistols.
Advertised with the slogan 'Ten shots quick!', the Model 1907 was very popular because, despite its small size, it had a 10-round double-stack magazine. The advertising included a number of early celebrity endorsers, including William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody, Bat Masterson, and the Pinkerton Agency. Savage Arms also presented Teddy Roosevelt with a Model 1907. Much of the advertising in the popular press played on the ability of an otherwise defenseless woman to use the Savage to subdue burglars and 'tramps'.
Design[edit]
Spectracal calman 5 crack. A safety lever is located on the left side of the pistol, at the upper rear of the grip. Though it appears to have an external hammer, it is actually a striker-fired gun; the 'hammer' is actually a cocking lever. Model 1907s made from 1913 until 1917 had a collared barrel and a loaded chamber indicator, allowing the shooter to tell by touching the shell ejection port whether a cartridge was chambered. The Model 1907 uses no screws (even the grips snap into place) and is simple to strip. The grips were made from gutta-percha, though some early production examples had metal grips. In 1912 the Model 1907 underwent a major design revision modifying almost every major component.
As with most semi-automatics, the pistol is readied for firing by pulling back and releasing the slide, which inserts a cartridge into the chamber and cocks the pistol. The recoil from firing a cartridge automatically extracts and ejects the empty shell, cocks the firing pin and loads another cartridge into the chamber, ready for firing.
Variants[edit]
Savage made two other very similar semi-automatic pistols, with many parts in common with the Model 1907. The first was the hammerless Model 1915; the .32 Model 1915 was made only in 1915 and 1916 and the .380 model from 1915 until 1917. Like the Model 1907, the Model 1915 uses no screws. The other is the Model 1917, made from 1920 until 1926 in .32 and from 1920 until 1928 in .380. The Model 1917 is mechanically the same as and shares almost all of its parts with the final version of the Model 1907 (including a smaller, thinner cocking lever 'hammer'), but with a significantly larger handle. Because this required larger grips, the Model 1917 uses one screw through each grip to hold them to the pistol frame.
A prototype run of about 40 smaller vest pocket pistols chambered in .25 ACP were made in 1912. While the cosmetic styling was very similar, mechanically they were quite different. These pistols operated by simple blowback with a fixed rather than rotating barrel, and there was no cocking lever 'hammer' as on the larger Model 1907. While the design was successful, for unknown reasons it was never put into production or marketed by Savage.
Military use[edit]
Although the Model 1907 was designed for civilian use, the French government purchased over 40,000 .32 ACP Model 1907s between late 1914 and 1917 for the French military in World War I. These military 'contract' pistols are recognized by the presence of a loaded chamber indicator and a lanyard ring, or mounting holes in the grip for a lanyard ring; lanyard rings were not available on civilian pistols. The Savage Model 1907 pictured to the right is a French contract pistol. A much smaller contract of 1,150 pistols in the same configuration were purchased by Portugal, which are distinguished by grips bearing the lesser arms of Portugal instead of the standard Indian head.
In popular culture[edit]
In the 1978 film noir parody The Cheap Detective, Sid Caesar's character, Ezra Desire, uses a model 1907,[2] as does Jude Law's character Harlan Maquire in the 2002 crime drama Road to Perdition.[3]
Savage 1907 32 For Sale
Gallery[edit]
- Grip of Portuguese military contract Model 1907
- Savage Model 1917
See also[edit]
References[edit]
Savage Serial Numbers By Year
- ^'The National Firearms Museum: Savage Model 1907 .45 acp Trials Pistol'. National Firearms Museum. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^'Cheap Detective, The'. Internet Movie Firearms Database. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^'Road to Perdition'. Internet Movie Firearms Database. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- James R. Carr Savage Automatic Pistols. Self-published, 1967.
- Daniel K. Stern. 10 Shots Quick: The Fascinating Story of the Savage Automatic Pistols. San Jose, Calif.: Globe Printing Co., 1967.
- Donald M. Simmons. 'The Savage Pocket Automatic Pistol Model 1907'. In Gun Digest, 35th Ed, pp. 68–85. Northbrook, Ill.: DBI Books, 1981.
- Bailey Brower, Jr. Savage Pistols. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2008.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Savage_Model_1907&oldid=961660139'