Sauer & Sohn 7.65mm

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Any S&S owners out there??? I inherited a Sauer & Sohn 7.65mm/.32acp, that my Father brought home from WWII ETA. Not hardly any blueing left, has the correct holster, 2 mags, and I still have a few original ball cartridges. Shoots pretty good, I try to use only low power loads. Got to get dies for it! I'll try to upload some pics soon.
 
Yep, I own three different kinds of Sauer & Sohne 32 automatics. The most common one during the Second World War was their Model 38H, which was a double-action pistol with a decocking lever, a feature they still use today. They are popular with collectors, because they were both military and police issue in Germany during the Second World War, and were very good guns too. It was the first kind of pistol I ever bought as a collectors' item, as opposed to a target pistol.

Generally, there is no reason to restrict these guns to low power loads unless they are in really poor condition. Because there are so many old and worn 32 automatics out there, American factory ammo is never loaded "hot". European ammo might be loaded to a slightly higher velocity, but not greatly so.

Sauer was a high quality manufacturer, and German guns were proof tested with special heavy loads, except for some of the guns they were slapping together at the end of the war, or putting together from rejected parts for GI's. So the standard advice applies: if your gun looks rough, or the barrel is really foul, have a gunsmith look at it before firing it at all. That may cost some money, but it's worth it.

You would probably have to have low power loads specially loaded by a handloader anyway, because automatic pistols often don't work well with reduced power loads; they are made for a standard level of power, and may malfunction with less. So ammo makers don't offer them in 32 ACP (at least as far as I know). You don't want to get a bullet stuck in the barrel either, which can happen if the load is too low powered.

People here can tell you more about your gun if you can put up pictures of it, and would probably just enjoy seeing it, anyway!
 
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Yep, I own three different kinds of Sauer & Sohne 32 automatics. The most common one during the Second World War was their Model 38H, which was a double-action pistol with a decocking lever, a feature they still use today. They are popular with collectors, because they were both military and police issue in Germany during the Second World War, and were very good guns too. It was the first kind of pistol I ever bought as a collectors' item, as opposed to a target pistol.

Generally, there is no reason to restrict these guns to low power loads unless they are in really poor condition. Because there are so many old and worn 32 automatics out there, American factory ammo is never loaded "hot". European ammo might be loaded to a slightly higher velocity, but not greatly so.

Sauer was a high quality manufacturer, and German guns were proof tested with special heavy loads, except for some of the guns they were slapping together at the end of the war, or putting together from rejected parts for GI's. So the standard advice applies: if your gun looks rough, or the barrel is really foul, have a gunsmith look at it before firing it at all. That may cost some money, but it's worth it.

You would probably have to have low power loads specially loaded by a handloader anyway, because automatic pistols often don't work well with reduced power loads; they are made for a standard level of power, and may malfunction with less. So ammo makers don't offer them in 32 ACP (at least as far as I know). You don't want to get a bullet stuck in the barrel either, which can happen if the load is too low powered.

People here can tell you more about your gun if you can put up pictures of it, and would probably just enjoy seeing it, anyway!
Thanks "Monac"; This is the only centerfire I have, that I don't reload for. [darn cases are so small for my old fingers] The pistol has a serial number of 32000 and change, witch puts it in the '20s or '30s I think. As stated above, I think it might be worth $500+, even with the worn bluing, Except...sometime back in the '60s, my Father {God Bless him} engraved his drivers license # across the slide!!! (ye old neighborhood watch). Oh well...it is what it is, I do like shooting it!
 
I apologize for telling you things you already knew very well, Prairie Traveler, but it's hard to know how much to explain to a new poster. You know more about ammo than I do, because I've never handloaded.

I guess your pistol is not a Model 38H, then, but a Model 1913 or Model 1930 / Behorden Model. All of those are good guns, single action but compact for a 32 automatic of the period. The 1930 / Behordens are scarcer than the 1913's and therefore more valuable.
 
I also like the Sauer and Sohn 32's. I have one 1913, two 38H models, and the model 1930 pictures below with a Sig Sauer P938. Also have a 1919 Sauer in 25acp. Such well made pieces of machinery and art.

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