PICS ADDED. What do Archduke Ferdinand and Huey P. Long have in common?

[M29since14]

Every now and then the subject of the Browning/FN 1910 comes up. I lucked into one twenty years ago or more now and have always refrained from shooting it any to speak of for fear of a breakage that might be tough to repair. Mine is a Browning product, I think made in the early 1950s. It is a pretty little gun, no doubt. I guess it’s time to get it out and see what happens.

In the past I have read concerns about the safety of carrying this model with a loaded chamber. I never did see any writing about the accuracy or inaccuracy of this concern that seemed definitive. I guess we can assume that all guns can be dangerous when loaded if not handled properly.

 

[alwslate]

I would say your gun is a Browning 1955. Realize that magazines will chamber both rounds regardless of either caliber marking or maybe none. The 1910/55 was designed to be carried chamber loaded and manual safety off. Older manuals suggested the safety be used only for field stripping as the safety does not engage the trigger or sear but just has a small tab that blocks forward movement of the grip safety. A strong squeeze can break it. The idea is that the strong springs of the trigger and grip safety require considerable pressure in opposite directions at the same time. Impossible to occur accidentally when carried in a pocket.

 

[dsf]

I couldn’t start the process yesterday because apparently solar flares or some such knocked out the Colorado background check system.

All was well today. Cash changed hands and the little Belgian headed back to gun lockdown til Monday.

I took a couple of mugshots.

It has Browning grips and a magazine that is probably a replacement.

Is it more properly known as a Browning Model 1955?

Can any of you gurus glean any info?

That's a 1955.

For a quick cleaning, pull the trigger and remove the magazine. Pull back the slide and lock it back with the safety in that forward notch. Twist the barrel counter clockwise. This will turn the locking lugs out from the corresponding cuts in the frame.

Turn the safety down out of the notch, remove the slide by pulling it forward.

You'll be able to get to most of the moving parts for cleaning.

To reassemble, put the slide back on the frame, reengage the safety and notch. Turn the barrel clock wise and the slide will snap forward.

If the lugs and cuts don't quite line up pulling the slide back just a bit usually works.

Takes longer to describe than to do.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Huey P. Lewis ? I think it was Huey Long whom Dr. Carl Weiss killed. Neither he nor Franz Ferdinand were short and skinny, both ate well. Still some question as to whether or not a shot from one of Huey Long's bodyguards did him in. Franz Ferdinand's wife Countess Sophie Chotek died instantly, he lived only 15 minutes.

 

[murphydog]

Huey P. Lewis ? I think it was Huey Long whom Dr. Carl Weiss killed. Neither he nor Franz Ferdinand were short and skinny, both ate well. Still some question as to whether or not a shot from one of Huey Long's bodyguards did him in. Franz Ferdinand's wife Countess Sophie Chotek died instantly, he lived only 15 minutes.

I think Echo40 was having some fun. If a Browning 1910 did in Huey Lewis, that would be The News of the day.

 

[scooter123]

Wait until you shoot it. I expect that you will find that accurate shooting is not an option. I have an Astra 300 which is largely influenced by the 1910 and a WWII bringback of my fathers. Sights on the 300 followed the pattern set in the early 20th century. This means tiny little sights that can only be seen by people with 20/20 or better vision. The only way I could manage to hit a 12X12 target was by point shooting and the squared up grip on the 300 results in it pointing low.

Tip, if you do have to point shoot your pistol keep the gun at your waste, because that is the position those squared up grips were designed for.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

They're both dead

 

[Echo40]

Huey P. Lewis ? I think it was Huey Long whom Dr. Carl Weiss killed. Neither he nor Franz Ferdinand were short and skinny, both ate well. Still some question as to whether or not a shot from one of Huey Long's bodyguards did him in. Franz Ferdinand's wife Countess Sophie Chotek died instantly, he lived only 15 minutes.

How dare you dispute me?! Don't you know who I am?! I'm Echo40! I'll have you know that I trained at Gunshot Academy under Colonel Jebb Cooter, and he taught me his secret blend of 11 powders and propellants, so I know Kentucky Fried Windage and can bullseye a grass flea offhand at a distance of 200 yards in a rainstorm with simple point-shooting!

I'll have you know that Franz Kafka's wife Countess Dracula only died instantly out of fright, and he died in 15 minutes of infection because they attempted to treat his wounds by plugging the bullet holes with manure, as was standard medical procedure at the time!

Today, having .380 ACP bullet wounds treated can be done from home with a pair of needle nose pliers and a bottle of Captain Jim Daniels Vodka. It's an inadequate cartridge with no reason to exist, it's a solution to a problem nobody questioned! I have no use for it! I carry a Mini Draco rocked, cocked, and ready to roll!

Joking aside, .380 ACP is obviously a fine cartridge and the FN 1900 is a beautiful classic pistol, I'm just doing a bit of a throwback parody to old-school users who post ridiculous, inflammatory nonsense on forums under some bizarre persona.

 

[rwsmith]

Old .380 ACPs were not....

...viable defense rounds. Tell that to Mr. and Mrs. Ferdinand.

 

[sigp220.45]

Quick update - the store forgot to run my background so I couldn’t pick it up before a planned trip to New Orleans and a cruise from there. I almost had to pop for a second background on my return.

I took it to the range yesterday with high hopes. While I’m normally a big fan of JMB this one misses the mark for me. Literally. As noted above there are basically no sights, just a tiny groove in the slide with a front sight that sits flush with the sides of the groove. Even with my virile and robust imagination I couldn’t find it or use it. Second, my days of chortling at people who find the recoil of blowback .380s objectionable are over. And lastly, that low profile made possible by the recoil spring around the barrel means it gets to make a fleshy feast of my hand.

On the pro side - it worked like a champ, even with WWB flat points that sometimes are iffy in other guns.

Oh well - it just makes me love my Colt Pocket Hammerless guns even more.

 

[Wyo]

I had one of those some years ago. Like you, I just never warmed up to it though it worked fine. Recoil seemed harsh and the sights were miserable. It went down the road pretty quickly. I much prefer the 1903 Colt.

 

[djohns6]

There's a lot of speculation that Long was actually killed by a wild shot from one of his bodyguards . They carried 1911's .

 

[alwslate]

The Colt 1903 is a JMB design, scaled down from an earlier gun at the request of Colt for a pocket size gun they could market. The 1910 is said to be the gun JMB designed for himself. He liked the idea of a minimal number of parts with multiple function. The 1910 is an almost absurdly simple and clever design. It was offered to Colt but they turned it down, fearing it might usurp the sales of the 1903 so he gave it to FN who knew it would be a success and held it from the market until their stock of 1900s were depleted. The 1910 was JMBs choice for SD in .32 ACP. He had one in his pocket when he died unexpectedly at the FN plant. It is a point and shoot gun for SD like the current popular Ruger LCP which also gets along fine with minimal sights. A tribute to the design of the 1910 is that it was basically unchanged throughout it's long production history. Most likely the best striker fired traditional design ever. But.. some folks want to criticize it for what it isn't instead of appreciating it for what it is. Always a market for one if an owner wants to sell.

 

[Venom6]

My only example is a 1910/22 in .32, with Waffenampts and late wood grips. Got it for a price at the low end of reasonable, and love it for its history. Loading for it is tedious due to the small size of case in my fat fingers.

 

[alwslate]

Some folks prefer the .32 ACP to the .380 and there are good reasons why. Higher velocity, deeper penetration, less recoil and one more round capacity. In the US where bigger is always better the .380 is much more popular but it's not the same in the rest of the world. The Nazis rejected it and stuck to their .32s. The good news for those that like the 1910/55 is that all it takes to change from .380 to .32 is a change of barrels. Magazines accept both rounds, breech face dimensions are the same. So find a barrel in .32, sell your .380 barrel and live happily ever after

 

[BC38]

My brother and I were dividing my Dad's collection of guns the other day. I ended up with among other things, a Spanish Bufalo, a near copy of the FN. This particular one is gold damascened and engraved. My Dad took it off a German paratrooper that didn't need it anymore in France in WWII. Its a .32 ACP.

Pictures? Please?
Sounds like a very interesting pistol...