Michael Tinker Pearce
Member
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2016
- Messages
- 1,576
Linda is in the habit of buying me guns for Christmas and my birthday, and this year was no exception. One of the two 'mouse-guns' she got for me this year was quite unusual (ok they both were, but...) It's a copy of a Galand Velo-Dog revolver made by August Francotte of Liege, Belgium, chambered in .25 ACP.
No, the trigger-guard is not large- it's actually on the small side of normal. Yes, this is a seriously small gun. While it is a copy of a Galand, it's actually more nicely made, with better fit and finish and a few minor improvements. To load you rotate the lever on the right side of the frame forward 180 degrees, then slide the cylinder and barrel off the fixed cylinder arbor. You can then use the arbor to poke out the empty shells.
Despite my large hands and its tiny size I don't have much trouble firing this gun. The trigger in narrow and not at all light, but it's super-smooth with no stacking so it remains easy to use. The sight's aren't much, but they are usable. The gun shoots rather high even at three yards, and even higher at seven. Here's five ****s at three yards, aimed at the x-ring- in fact the first five shots I fired through the gun:
Not actually bad, particularly for a gun intended for use at an arm's length. It was tougher at seven yards, but still not tragically bad for such a diminutive firearm. I imagine with practice I'll improve. This group was aimed at a six-o'clock hold:
Francotte produced this gun from 1912 to 1914, when production was stopped under the German occupation. By the end og the war small auto-pistols had entirely taken over this market niche, and production was never resumed. This particular gun is in remarkable condition for a gun more than a century old. The only real blemishes to the finish are above the chipped upper rear portion of the Mother of Pearl grips, where there is some loss of the nickel and minor rust.Shown here with my other birthday present, a Seecamp LWS32:
It's an interesting little gun, and a lot of fun to shoot. Fortunately I reload .25 ACP, as this ammo is getting a bit harder to find, and I will be shooting this gun. It's just too cute not to.
No, the trigger-guard is not large- it's actually on the small side of normal. Yes, this is a seriously small gun. While it is a copy of a Galand, it's actually more nicely made, with better fit and finish and a few minor improvements. To load you rotate the lever on the right side of the frame forward 180 degrees, then slide the cylinder and barrel off the fixed cylinder arbor. You can then use the arbor to poke out the empty shells.
Despite my large hands and its tiny size I don't have much trouble firing this gun. The trigger in narrow and not at all light, but it's super-smooth with no stacking so it remains easy to use. The sight's aren't much, but they are usable. The gun shoots rather high even at three yards, and even higher at seven. Here's five ****s at three yards, aimed at the x-ring- in fact the first five shots I fired through the gun:
Not actually bad, particularly for a gun intended for use at an arm's length. It was tougher at seven yards, but still not tragically bad for such a diminutive firearm. I imagine with practice I'll improve. This group was aimed at a six-o'clock hold:
Francotte produced this gun from 1912 to 1914, when production was stopped under the German occupation. By the end og the war small auto-pistols had entirely taken over this market niche, and production was never resumed. This particular gun is in remarkable condition for a gun more than a century old. The only real blemishes to the finish are above the chipped upper rear portion of the Mother of Pearl grips, where there is some loss of the nickel and minor rust.Shown here with my other birthday present, a Seecamp LWS32:
It's an interesting little gun, and a lot of fun to shoot. Fortunately I reload .25 ACP, as this ammo is getting a bit harder to find, and I will be shooting this gun. It's just too cute not to.
