circa 1917/1918

Father is away at the front, fighting the despicable Hun. The shirkers have avoided the war and are prone to trouble due to their low character. Ten shots quick!

Ok, who here has one?

None here but here's more info:
Savage Model 1907.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Model_1907

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Ok, who here has one?

Stylophile or bac would be my first guesses

I don't like idlers.

“It shoots straight without aiming and every crook fears it”

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Ok, who here has one?

Stylophile or bac would be my first guesses

Researching for a chapter on them right now, but… haven’t found one locally yet, and I think this is one I want to buy hands on, instead of online. Trouble is I really, really want one of the early production ones with the steel grip panels.

They are definitely a very cool design. What looks like a hammer isn’t, it’s an extension on the striker. And, double stack magazine anyone? Pretty sure it’s the first commercially successful double stack detachable magazine.

Bill R

neat pistols

have a handful in inventory,

none with steel grips,

never shot one, but if they are like most of that era, they shoot well in 32, (380 was available later as well)


be careful when you buu, sometimes the original mag was lost,

the French also had a contract for them during WW1

I'd rather have the pistol that came out four years later. The Colt 1911A1.

I stopped in at my local fun store back in September, 2022 just to see what they had in the used pistol case. I try and look several times per month.
Over the years I have picked up many great deals there.
I saw something in .32ACP on the hang tag and asked to see it.
(and I stock a variety of .32 ACP ammo for my Seecamp pistol)

I have seen the Savage period correct advertisements before, but had never seen a Savage 1917 Model in person.
This one is rough on the outside, some rust patina, some rust pits, several dents & divots in the exterior steel.
The bore/chamber looked great along with good parts fitment, and all the manual controls operated as designed.
Now the grips... Polymer technology in 1917 was rather primitive. The plastic OEM grips had been discarded likely 75 years ago as they were prone to cracking.
Someone had carved a set of wood grips and installed them, including the initials "M M" and had done a decent job.
The store employees laughed, as the store owners initials are "M M" as well. I guess jokingly referring to the guns age and the store owners age.
If I recall he wasn't impressed with the joke. (the store owner is not 105 years old, perhaps 70)

I decided to purchase the Savage. The price was $199, so I figured where else could you buy a piece of 100 + year old Utica, NY history for that price.
(I am located less than 45 minutes driving time from Utica, NY)

So I bought it and took it home. Eventually I decided to clean and lube it, then off to the range with it.
First, I loaded one round to see if it would go bang. It did.
Then I repeatedly loaded two round sets and fired them to see if the ancient old thing doubled. It did not.
I fired more than 100 round of ammo in that 105 + year old semi automatic pistol with 100% functionality. (at the time of testing last year)
No jams, no failure to feed, no failure to extract.
The trigger pull is near 12 pounds, and the sights are tiny. It will never be a "bullseye" competition pistol.
But at 50 feet in a poorly lit indoor range, the cardboard IPSC target had most of the rounds on the target. I wouldn't call it a group, it is more like a shotgun pattern board.
Would I want to stand out there at 50 feet and have somebody shoot at me with a Savage 1917 Model? Hell NO!
It's too bad that old pistol can't talk, I would listen to the story if it did.

IMG_20220919_144641939_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20220919_144616056_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
Ok, who here has one?

My father had a pristine example. I would have inherited it, but someone he knew talked him into selling it. Neat gun. Never shot it.

Hey, if you can't trust Bat Masterson's advice, what will you do?

"A tenderfoot with a Savage Automatic and the nerve to stand his ground, could have run the worst six-shooter man the West ever knew right off the range."

https://cdn0.thetruthaboutguns...len_tenderfoot_w.pdf

Like the Remington, the Savage had to be designed around the very comprehensive Colt/Browning patents.

I don’t have one, I’m down to around ten or so. I’m especially fond of the early 32acp versions with formed steel grips. The rest are the scarcer 380acp versions in each model 1907; 1915 hammerless and 2017 (wider grip) including a rare 1907 factory nickel. All 380s have a final “B” in the serial
My Dad had one and I’ve kept an eye out for them the last 60 years.
The very first version came close to being our Army’s service weapon losing out to the colt 1911.

My grandfather, Grandad, had been a WW1 Marine and I grew up seeing a Savage just like this one in a cabinet in the work shop area of his house. I never got to shoot it and, to my dismay, he sold it as he got older and sicker. I can't recall if he sold it before or while I was away in Vietnam, but it broke my heart.

He never thought I'd have any interest in "some old gun" like that.

Bob

I think he tried to mimic the Pattern Savage used on their grips.

I was given one about 25 years ago by a dear friend. He got it from and old railroad conductor who carried it in his pocket daily for 35 years. Mine has no finish at all, you can't even see a trace of it, but no rust, dings, or dents. It still shoots, too.

Cool advertisement! I have a Savage 1907 that my wife inherited from her mother, who had inherited it from her uncle.

I’m neither idler nor brute…

Haven’t fired it yet, but one of these days I’ll have to try it out. The back of the slide scares me a little, because if it gets the web of my fat hand it’ll shred it. I’ll have to be super careful about grip, that’s for certain!

My Dad has one in 32, much like the one in the ad Para posted. It was my uncle's who I am pretty sure bought on whim and probably super cheap in the early 2000's.

I know my Dad gave it a good cleaning for my uncle and I think one part had to be replaced which was easily sourced from Numrich but has ran flawlessly after that. When my uncle started to downsize, he gave it to him as a thank you.

Overall condition is good, just some minor finish loss. I can try to see if I can get some pictures to post.

Interesting advertisement and design. I bought a .32 in the 80s and liked the way the grip filled my hand. But I was better with and preferred shooting my Colt 1903. I sold the Savage and got a second 1903.

I've got the parts to one but it got a bulged bbl so I need to do some hunting for replacements.