An Art Deco Automatic: The Savage 1907

[wanderinwalker]

OK, now that I have your attention, I present a couple of pictures of my recently acquired Savage Model 1907 in .32 ACP.



Honestly, I wasn't even looking for/didn't know I needed one of these when I came across this example. I thought my Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless was adequate for my current .32 ACP needs, but apparently I was wrong.

This pistol grabbed my attention because of how unique it is, at least in the story of the evolution of the semi-automatic pistol as we know it today. It has a "hammer", but is a striker-fired mechanism. The barrel is "locked" to the slide by way of a lug on the barrel and a groove machined into the top of the slide. It's questionable whether or not this system constitutes anything more significant than maybe creating a delayed-blowback pistol. It was deemed sufficient to be made into a .45 ACP version for the U.S. Army's pistol trails leading up to 1911, so maybe it's more efficient than it appears on the surface. It also has a staggered column 10-round magazine capacity in the .32-caliber version, which is quite a bit of firepower at a time when a 5-shot S&W top break was the epitome of pocket guns.

The most unique feature of these pistols, at least in handling them, is the magazine release mounted on the front of the grip. It is, in a word, a bit awkward for those of use accustomed to more modern systems. Even with that, it is secure, and in 1907 the layout of the automatic pistol was still being established. So the fact that this particular magazine release concept turned out to be a bit of an evolutionary dead-end doesn't mean it's bad.

We'd be remiss if we failed to note the very rudimentary nature of the sights. Seriously, these little nubs make the sights on a Colt Pocket Hammerless look like modern high-visibility models! They're adequate if you have full noon-time sunlight on an outdoor range, but I have doubts about their usability in a dark alley, or when investigating bumps in the night. Let's also throw in an honorable mention to the rather stiff trigger pull. Yes, it's a single-action mechanism, but don't let that make you believe the trigger action is anything in the class of a tuned Government Model. If you're used to something like a Glock or a staple gun, you'll be right at home squeezing the go-switch on one of these 1907s. Others will need some time to adjust.

Lastly, we should discuss the unique disassembly/arrangement of the firing system. For those not familiar with these pistols, you disassemble them by rotating the bolt assembly on the rear of the slide 90-degrees clockwise, and drawing it out the back of the slide. Then run the slide forward while pulling the trigger to remove the slide, barrel and recoil spring assembly. Reassembly is the classic "reverse assembly instructions." Be careful with the frame, as many of the important parts are held in by gravity and friction. Did I mention there are NO screws in this pistol? Also, the safety doubles as a slide stop, something I really wish I'd known the first time I disassembled this pistol.

Now, how does it work? Surprisingly well, actually. I put 30 rounds through it, with one failure to feed at the end of a 5-shot string where I was shooting 2-handed. Maybe my thumb was dragging the slide and slowed it down, causing the malfunction. No matter, I was mostly giddy by the fact that this pistol did function, considering the recoil and magazine springs are of unknown age and could still be original to the gun. Firing it with a proper one-handed grip, everything functioned just fine. I did run one mag of a full 10-shots through it just for giggles, and was rewarded with 100% cycling and 100% hits on a 1/2-scale IDPA silhouette from 20 yards. Five shots at 7-yards determined that the pistol shoots 3-4" high of the sights at that range. Which would explain why the Savage was able to topple the steel plate rack that doesn't fear hits from my Colt.

I would recommend one of these pistols to anybody interested in the early American semi-automatic pistols, or even interested in anything mechanically odd. The solutions the Savage 1907 presents to the problems of how to make a functional, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol are quite neat.

 

[wiscoaster]

Ya!!! Those old .32 pistols are pretty cool, no arguments here!!

co-signed: VZ-27, VZ-50, VZ-70, Walter PP

 

[tark]

A fine old gun. Looks to be in very good shape as well.

 

[entropy]

Art Nouveau. The Walther PP and the Remington 51 are examples of Art Deco pistols.
No matter which style it fits into, a cool pistol nonetheless!

 

[lsudave]

I have one. Mechanically it functions fine, and I don't get any failures. But it's the one gun I own that I can't shoot worth a darn.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I had nothing but trouble with mine. The seller didnt didnt mention that it had an aftermarket magazine installed (and I was too stupid to ask). Jammed constantly. When I finally found a factory magazine (for $100), it was a very tight fit- had to practically pry it out with a pocket screwdriver while finding the "sweet spot" on the release lever. Gave up in disgust and sold it at a loss.

Glad yours is working for you, OP. I really wanted to like that gun, but it just didnt work out.

 

[Monac]

The Savages are very well made guns, with interesting design features. Interesting does not necessarily mean good, of course. The 10-round magazine was good; the snap-in grips, quirky magazine release, and finicky trigger mechanism, not so much. The rotating barrel was OK, but unneeded. Personally, I find the Colt 1903 better looking, but the Savage ranks above the other pre-WWI US pocket automatics like the S&W .35, H&R 32 Self-Loader, and the last place Warner Infallible.

All the above are just my meaningless opinions.

Two last things about the Savage:

1) The Savage is striker fired. That thing that looks like a hammer just allows you to lower the striker. You only want to use it when the firing chamber is empty, because otherwise the striker rests right on the primer of the chambered round.

2) A man named Baily Brower wrote a very good book about the Savage automatic pistols, including the 25 ACP prototypes and the 38 ACP prototype. I think it is out of print, but it's worth having unless it costs like a moon shot.

PS - I should have thanked wanderinwalker for putting up such excellent photos. His gun has a beautiful finish. Savage had a hard time finding an attractive, durable finish for these pistols. Brower found they actually tried black paint briefly. That went over like a lead balloon.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Art Nouveau. The Walther PP and the Remington 51 are examples of Art Deco pistols.
No matter which style it fits into, a cool pistol nonetheless!

Thanks for the correction! My limited art history knowledge was screaming at me that the Savage isn't an Art Deco piece, but I so liked the way the thread title sounded.

The Savages are very well made guns, with interesting design features. Interesting does not necessarily mean good, of course. The 10-round magazine was good; the snap-in grips, quirky magazine release, and finicky trigger mechanism, not so much. The rotating barrel was OK, but unneeded. Personally, I find the Colt 1903 better looking, but the Savage ranks above the other pre-WWI US pocket automatics like the S&W .35, H&R 32 Self-Loader, and the last place Warner Infallible.

All the above are just my meaningless opinions.

Two last things about the Savage:

1) The Savage is striker fired. That thing that looks like a hammer just allows you to lower the striker. You only want to use it when the firing chamber is empty, because otherwise the striker rests right on the primer of the chambered round.

2) A man named Baily Brower wrote a very good book about the Savage automatic pistols, including the 25 ACP prototypes and the 38 ACP prototype. I think it is out of print, but it's worth having unless it costs like a moon shot.

PS - I should have thanked wanderinwalker for putting up such excellent photos. His gun has a beautiful finish. Savage had a hard time finding an attractive, durable finish for these pistols. Brower found they actually tried black paint briefly. That went over like a lead balloon.

Thanks Monac. I wrote my OP the way I did with the idea of pointing out what is different on this pistol versus what we consider "normal" or "right" today. I agree entirely that many times mechanically interesting doesn't mean better. But it also doesn't mean it's necessarily wrong. My favorite example of different, not wrong, is the modern H&K and Walther paddle-magazine release lever those companies use on many of their pistols. I happen to really like that system; many others can't put the pistols down fast enough when trying them.

Now yes, on the Savage, the different magazine release, grip attachment and trigger mechanism turned out to be evolutionary dead ends, discarded in the scrap heap of "well, it was tried and didn't really catch on..." I also kind of appreciate the quirkiness of how the Colt Pocket Hammerless does in fact have a hammer, and the Savage 1907 looks like it has a hammer, but its actually a striker control lever. In practice I wouldn't necessarily want to carry either the Colt or the Savage with a live round in the chamber, though I have no doubt many of them were carried exactly that way.

Back to my particular pistol, the left side grip panel does seem to have just a bit of play in it. I have no doubt the panels, which I have read may be gutta percha, have shrunk a bit over 100 years. They also have just enough wear you can't quite read the entire "Trademark" legend on the warrior's headdress on the left panel. The legend on the right panel is still just legible. Not a big deal to me, as I plan to shoot this one sporadically and leave any heavy use to more modern, more enduring, and more robust designs.

For my next victim, I think I'm on the hunt for a Remington 51, so I'll have a true Art Deco era pistol. And I might even branch out into the .380 ACP, if that's what turns up first.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Thanks for the correction! My limited art history knowledge was screaming at me that the Savage isn't an Art Deco piece, but I so liked the way the thread title sounded.



Thanks Monac. I wrote my OP the way I did with the idea of pointing out what is different on this pistol versus what we consider "normal" or "right" today. I agree entirely that many times mechanically interesting doesn't mean better. But it also doesn't mean it's necessarily wrong. My favorite example of different, not wrong, is the modern H&K and Walther paddle-magazine release lever those companies use on many of their pistols. I happen to really like that system; many others can't put the pistols down fast enough when trying them.

Now yes, on the Savage, the different magazine release, grip attachment and trigger mechanism turned out to be evolutionary dead ends, discarded in the scrap heap of "well, it was tried and didn't really catch on..." I also kind of appreciate the quirkiness of how the Colt Pocket Hammerless does in fact have a hammer, and the Savage 1907 looks like it has a hammer, but its actually a striker control lever. In practice I wouldn't necessarily want to carry either the Colt or the Savage with a live round in the chamber, though I have no doubt many of them were carried exactly that way.

Back to my particular pistol, the left side grip panel does seem to have just a bit of play in it. I have no doubt the panels, which I have read may be gutta percha, have shrunk a bit over 100 years. They also have just enough wear you can't quite read the entire "Trademark" legend on the warrior's headdress on the left panel. The legend on the right panel is still just legible. Not a big deal to me, as I plan to shoot this one sporadically and leave any heavy use to more modern, more enduring, and more robust designs.

For my next victim, I think I'm on the hunt for a Remington 51, so I'll have a true Art Deco era pistol. And I might even branch out into the .380 ACP, if that's what turns up first.

At one time, I had most of the pre-WW2 pocket pistols- Savage, Mauser, Colt, Walther, Rheinmetal, etc. I found them all to be quirky, interesting, well crafted.....and unreliable. Whether it was trouble finding the right ammo for its liking, bad magazines, excessive wear, or just bad design I wouldnt trust my life to any of them unless I had to.

The one exception is the 51 Remington. Mines a .380 and has not jammed on me yet. It even digests HP without complaint. The .380s are much more common. Well worth seeking out, IMO. Good luck!

 

[jar]

I've been fortunate I guess, my Savage 1907 has been a joy, super reliable and a natural pointer.

 

[Speedo66]

Art Nouveau. The Walther PP and the Remington 51 are examples of Art Deco pistols.
No matter which style it fits into, a cool pistol nonetheless!

Art Deco is characterized by geometric form, futuristic shapes, industrialization, etc. and though the movement didn't start until the 1920's, I think this Savage was ahead of its time. In my opinion, the Savage is more Buck Rogers Art Deco.

The Walther and Remington are more Art Nouveau to me, having more organic, graceful, and flowing lines.

Whatever art form it may resemble, great looking gun!

 

[jar]

Art Deco is characterized by geometric form, futuristic shapes, industrialization, etc. and though the movement didn't start until the 1920's, I think this Savage was ahead of its time. In my opinion, the Savage is more Buck Rogers Art Deco.

The Walther and Remington are more Art Nouveau to me, having more organic, graceful, and flowing lines.

Whatever art form it may resemble, great looking gun!

The Remington 51 always looked like an FN 1910 copy in shape but with a true twist.

 

[Monac]

The Remington 51 always looked like an FN 1910 copy in shape but with a true twist.

Remington would have been better off if the Model 51 was a Browning 1910 copy with a better shaped grip. It would have been cheaper to make and easier to field strip. But they were keen to use the Pederson design, which might have made some sense in the original 45 ACP version (the Model 50, IIRC), but not in 380 or 32. I suppose Browning's patents on the 1910 were in force until the mid or late 1920's, though.

 

[Mike Kerr]

" Ten Shots Quick "
This was the title of the often pictured Ad for the Savage Model of 1905 & 1907. It's advertising spokesman was Bat Masterson. According to 1950's TV lore it was the same Bat Masterson who "Had a cane and derby hat they called him Bat - Bat Masterson" The ad pictured a fisherman ? shooting an alligator by the side of a lake.

I owned a savage with a patent date of 1907 (about 20 years ago) and it had a 10 round magazine that functioned very well as long as I did not load over 7 rounds in it. I was very enthused with it for a couple of years and received some sage advice from a very experienced Savage collector regarding many of the changes and enhancements the pistol received over its production life. My main takeway from the collector was that he owned about 17 of the Savages and the 308 version was what he was keying his search on. So like a dufus I sold the Savage for about what I paid for it (circa $125), It was very worn on its finish but the patina was very even and many since have been on Gunbroker for much more. I think the OP's gun is quite good in its finish and I wonder if it has had a touch up or two in its 100 + years. Like most collector items it has had some good years and some bad years but overall the Savage in 32 shoot well for their age.

OP has already found out that the most recent Savage Co is not the same one as the old Savage Co so the internet has the best sources of information and the production history is very interesting. Good luck with your Savage. I am impressed.