I’m a big fan of the .32 ACP cartridge and the turn of the century “pocket” auto-pistols centered around its chambering.

The FN/Browning 1910 is one of those sleek, almost art-deco pistols of that genre’ that I just really find aesthetically pleasing much like the 1903 Colt Pocket Hammerless and the Savage 1907.

The FN/Browning 1910 is probably most infamous in its .380 chambering as the pistol that ignited WWI when Gavrilo Princip assassinated Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914.

I found this odd example of a really clean Browning roll-marked 1910 in a .32 ACP chambering. I say odd because apparently all the ones roll-marked Browning were imported into the states in .380, and this one is in .32

I found a thread over on the Luger forums where another guy had a pistol like mine and apparently his was one of a special run that was imported into the states in 1959 in .32 ACP.

Regardless I got this little pistol for 6 bills flat and am super happy with the condition it’s in. Very sleek, retro little gun.

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I have not kept up with market values as of late, but for one in that condition I'd say you got a very very good deal! That pistol is as clean as a whistle! Use it well!!

That is gorgeous and classy, my friend. And the 7.65 is a wonderful round: accurate and penetrative (I hope you have some S&B ball around - great stuff).
Nice find - thank you for sharing with us.

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Now go make God proud...

Cool gun. I remember my 380 as being one of the hardest-to-rack autos I’ve had.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

A long time ago I p[icked up a rough condition 1910 in 32 with the thought of converting it to 380. I never got around to that. The finish is shot, and the grips appear to be glued on.

I seem to recall the last time I shot it it had problems extracting. It made me wonder if I had bulged the chamber with my early reloads - though I was not trying to load hot.

I need to dig it out and work with it some more and figure out what is needed for it to function reliably.

I have seen a few of them in .32 ACP marked as Browning on GB from time to time but not many. That serial # looks more like near the end of importation in 1968, but I'm working from memory as I have two .380s that date to 1968. Realize that barrels are interchangeable and could have been swapped out and the caliber roll marking is only on the barrel. Check the trigger. If it is plastic the gun is likely 68 importation. Triggers were plastic or steel, no Aluminum and are hard to differentiate just by looking. People don't like the plastic triggers but due to the design it makes no difference as to function. A great simple design, it was JMB's personal CC gun in .32 ACP.

I bought one just like it in 1969 when ATF was letting Browning put together and sell their parts on hand before the GCA '68 went into effect. I carried it off-duty for several years before it got away from me.

Fortunately, I inherited its twin from my uncle when he died. It's pictured here wearing a .380 slide and barrel I picked up later along with my hand-crafted take down tool.

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Texas By God!

To me the 1910/55 guns in .380 seem to be a bit small and delicate. Until you handle one and shoot it. Solid steel where needed and all springs are STRONG! Yes, hard to rack. Disassembly of the frame parts is easy as pins are slip fit and retained by the grips. The magazine safety is easily removed if you don't like them. I have two Browning marked .380s and two old FN marked .32s and all four have no magazine safeties now.

I was at a gunshow and remarked to a seller that the Browning on his table killed more people than any other handgun in the world. He looked at me like I was nuts - figured the explanation would have been too much work.

Very nice score you made with this one. I've never seen one in such great condition.

The extractor jumping off the rim is a common indicator of a "Hot" load. Try totally different loading data next time. RWS/GECO 32 ACP from the 1970's was the hottest factory ammo I've ever seen! It FTE on many guns. But not on a PPK.

I have been using Winchester Silver Tipped Hollow Points for 32 ACP defense loads since I got a WWI Ruby in 1981. I've had about 15 different 32 autos and am down to 3 now.

Ivan

Very cool piece. The 1910 was also the weapon used to assassinate Senator Huey Long ... according to the report. I am on the lookout for an early one myself. I have the investigating director's Registered Magnum. The assassin's pistol was "lost" for many years until reinvesting the crime in the 1990's found it in a safety deposit box willed to his daughter. I would like to one day display a 1910 with the RM and General L.F. Guerre's involvement with Long's assassination.

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Matthew Conrad