Savage 1905/1907 32 Auto

[DocB]

Walked into my LGS today as another guy was walking out. Saw this gun laying behind the counter and bought it for $140 plus tax. The man leaving the store had just sold it to them. Found some old Remington 32's from the 1970's in my ammo stash. Standing back about 20 feet, put a clip full into an area the size of my hand. . .always shoot them before you clean them up. I don't know much about these things since I mostly collect Smiths. It might be 85%. Hard to say. Sure does shoot good. It has the 1905 patent on the top of the receiver, but they say this type gun was more of a model of 1907. The SN is 2019XX. What do the experts say? Age? Value? Whatever? Any information is appreciated.

 

[RTILSON]

I don't know much about them other than I would have reinjured my rotator cuff getting my money out! Well done.

 

[Arik]

Had one a while ago. It was fun for 5 min.

Neat gun but not my thing

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

You may have bought that ammo in the 1970's, but it is much older! I'm thinking early to mid 50's. A Colt, Walther, Beretta and a cheap Ruby 32, have all shot that ammo very well! And now your Savage too!

I never owned one of the Savages, but I've shot my best friends. Very dependable as long as you have an OEM magazine! Replacement /after market mags stink at best!

Ivan

 

[DGT]

I got interested in semi-auto pocket pistols some time ago. Found these at last Tulsa show. At top is Savage Model 1907 serial number 18327 from 1910.


Remington model 51 at bottom is my favorite.

 

[jmace57]

I can't resist these. It's a $200 gun in that condition (maybe a little more) DocB. You can spend a long time just messing with the variations (size of the safety lever, number and width of slide serrations, 1907 vs 1917, French WW1 contract, etc)

FYI - they are sometimes called the 1905 because the last patent date on the barrel is 1905, but they were'n' produced until 1907). Same with the 1917 (barrel patent date is 1915). I believe they were the first (or maybe second) pistol ever made with a double-stag magazine.

Here is a picture of the ones I have acquired in the past few years. All of them are .32 except the one on the left, which is a .380, which I just bought a couple of weeks ago.

 

[austinjeane]

Very nice pistols. Very accurate.

 

[DGT]

DocB: According to the site I use for Savage manufacture dates, yours was manufactured in 1919

 

[DWalt]

The Savage pocket pistols are built like Swiss watches, and usually exhibit excellent workmanship and finish. At one time, I had examples of all types in .32 and .380, but I sold most of them off, and kept only a near-new Savage M1907 in .32. It's now the hideaway gun in one of my bathrooms. A couple of years ago I ran across one in about the same near-new condition for $250 (and I probably could have got it for less), which I was sorely tempted to buy but I decided I didn't really need another one. I have lots of pocket pistols, but my favorites are the Savage and the Remington Model 51. I have a couple of those also.

 

[jmace57]

Just a follow-up comment. These are an example of sort of an "undiscovered" collectible pistol. They are still largely affordable, but I have seen them increase in price by about 25% over the past 3 or 4 years.

 

[DocB]

The gun is really cleaning up pretty nice. Fixing to work on it while I watch TV.

 

[jmace57]

DocB - whatever you do, don't try and take the grips off. 99% of the time they will break.

 

[Drm50]

I have had quite a few Savages over the years, only one in 380.
Out of all them it was the worst shooter. Mechanically 100%, but
couldnt hit a barn with it. The 32s were just the opposite, surprisingly accurate and functional. A well made pistol and very
comfortable, despite its odd shape. They are bring $200 and up
in these parts. These old pistols shouldn't be fired with any of
the new hot SD loads. They were made for standard 32acp, hot
ammo can cause them to go metal to metal.

 

[DWalt]

The Savage should probably be able to handle about any .32 ACP ammo made, as it's fairly robust. Those familiar with them will know that they operate in more of a semi-locked breech mode, rather than straight blowback, or maybe it's described more accurately as a hesitation lock, actuated by the torque on the barrel from the movement of the bullet in the rifling, i.e., the barrel actually rotates a little. There are arguments that it doesn't provide much of a locked breech effect, but apparently Elbert Searle thought it did. See: Savage 1907 Pistol - Album on Imgur

 

[nutsforsmiths]

When I was into old semi-autos some time ago I owned a Savage Model 1907 like yours. Around that time I also owned a Mauser 1914, Sauer 1913 and an Otgies, all in 32. I liked the Savage, but it had some feeding issues with many different brands, so I sold it off. I also sold off all the others list as well. They were all shooters.

I would like to have better examples of all of them in my collection again, except the Ortgies. The Sauer and Mauser were sweet shooters.

I find the design and disassembly of those early semi-autos pretty interesting, and sometimes a bit frustrating too!

Enjoy!

 

[Cyrano]

Dry firing them is not recommended; the firing pin breaks. Replacements are available but the problem is putting the firing pin spring back in. It is a very stout, two inch long spring, and putting it into a one inch hole is not fun.

 

[DWalt]

Dry firing them is not recommended; the firing pin breaks. Replacements are available but the problem is putting the firing pin spring back in. It is a very stout, two inch long spring, and putting it into a one inch hole is not fun.

At least with the Savage, you do not have to dry fire. There is a thumbpiece (many think it's a hammer because it looks like one, but it's not) you can use to gently let the firing pin down on an empty chamber.

 

[DocB]

DWalt was right. . .made like a Swiss watch! I decided to field strip the gun this morning. A very small spring-loaded part turned and the whole trigger and trigger assembly came out. Unless you are an experienced gunsmith with a "complete" understanding of how all parts of gun function, you should not disassemble an auto like this one. Field stripping can result in some parts coming out that you didn't really want to remove. The good news is that the gun is now cleaner than I really intended and functioning perfectly. Residue can really impede the smooth functioning of an auto; but, wow, I've never seen so many tiny parts that all work together. Tiny springs don't help the process either. Is this a gun I would carry cocked and locked? Maybe, if there was no other defensive alternative. Otherwise. . .no! Full magazine with an empty chamber is the safe way to go. One final question if anybody knows the answer. Hopefully, DWalt does. With a live round in the chamber and the hammer down, does the tip of the firing pin rest on the primer or is it set back in the bolt??? It seems like it might rest on the primer. I did not dissemble the bolt or explore the firing pin much. It seems like it may rest on the primer when down, but I don't know. Is it a rebounding firing pin?

 

[DWalt]

The Model 1907 should not be carried with a round in the chamber and the thumbpiece (cocking lever) forward. The firing pin (striker) nose will stand proud from the breech.

 

[Walter Rego]

I like the Savage automatics a lot. It seems that the .380 cal are more difficult to find compared to the .32's. Here are a couple of variations that I have acquired over the years. Prices are inching up as these things are at the 100 year old mark and nice examples are getting more scarce.