Savage Model 1907 Advice Needed

Status
Not open for further replies.
Freudianfloyd

Freudianfloyd

Member
Joined
May 15, 2021
Messages
156
Location
Ohio
New member to this site. I have been a longtime reader and gun owner, but never signed up for some reason.

Anyway, I picked up this Savage 1907 yesterday at a garage sale. I didn't know anything about it, as I am more into newer guns, but thought it was a cool piece so I bought it.

I know some of these guns are more desirable than others, and if I am correct, this gun was one of the French military WW1 examples. Serial number 151xxx.

What I dont understand is the two tone finish. I guess it's possible that the previous owner refinished the bottom half of the gun and left the bluing on the slide, but it doesn't look like any aftermarket finish to me. And if that was the case, why not the whole gun?

Secondly, if it isn't some super rare two tone version, which I know isn't likely, is there any harm at this point in refinishing the entire gun? I am assuming most of the collectibility is already gone if they did actually refinish it.

And last and probably most importantly, this gun has a hammer follow issue, and one that could have been deadly. The first time I went to fire this gun, it went into full auto. Luckily, I had it pointed in a safe direction down range when the slide was released. Is there a known cure for this? I'd really like to shoot this gun, but its a bit scary at this point.

picture.jpg

Sorry for all the questions in my first post, but due to the history of this pistol, I am intrigued.

Thanks again


Oh, one last thing. I paid $100 for the pistol, a mag, and a box and a half of ammo. How did I do?
 
Looks like a Bubba.

BUT, they are great guns and fun to shoot. Nice and accurate as well.

Sounds like it has a sear issue. That's one of those pieces parts that requires precise tongue placement to get the sucker to drop into place. There is no hammer since it is a striker fired design. But the striker spring is closer to what you find in racing shocks than what is common these days around firing pins.

FCU-05-small.jpg

You can see the sear at the far left in this image. IIRC there were two versions of the sear in that time period so you need to make sure you have the correct one. It's definitely something I'd want to get checked out by an experienced gunsmith.
 
Last edited:
jar said:
Looks like a Bubba.

BUT, they are great guns and fun to shoot. Nice and accurate as well.

Sounds like it has a sear issue. That's one of those pieces parts that requires precise tongue placement to get the sucker to drop into place. There is no hammer since it is a striker fired design. But the striker spring is closer to what you find in racing shocks than what is common these days around firing pins.

View attachment 998759

You can see the sear at the far left in this image. IIRC there were two versions of the sear in that time period so you need to make sure you have the correct one. It's definitely something I'd want to get chacked out by an experienced gunsmith.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I guess I will have to do some searching. Any idea which sear I would need? According to the serial number, my gun was built in 1910.
 
Not really. The one in the image was made in 1913 and so appears similar in design to yours. But pull out your firing assembly. It's easy enough to do and take a look to compare with what I posted. I can also post additional images of the firing assembly if that would help.

Here is another view and if you look closely you can see the small sear spring that is also essential.

FCU-06-small.jpg
 
Freudianfloyd said:
What I dont understand is the two tone finish. I guess it's possible that the previous owner refinished the bottom half of the gun and left the bluing on the slide, but it doesn't look like any aftermarket finish to me. And if that was the case, why not the whole gun?

Secondly, if it isn't some super rare two tone version, which I know isn't likely, is there any harm at this point in refinishing the entire gun? I am assuming most of the collectibility is already gone if they did actually refinish it.

And last and probably most importantly, this gun has a hammer follow issue, and one that could have been deadly. The first time I went to fire this gun, it went into full auto. Luckily, I had it pointed in a safe direction down range when the slide was released. Is there a known cure for this? I'd really like to shoot this gun, but its a bit scary at this point.
Click to expand...
I figure the frame was so bad at some point that a satin-nickel finish (maybe chrome) was deemed a viable alternative.

Not including the slide is understandable as there are more potential opportunities to queer tolerances there when the nickel (or chrome) was applied.

As to the sear - I'd call Jack First. They seemed to have a butt-load of Savage pistol parts and would likely know which of the sears you need. There are a couple for the 1907 and then the 1915 and 1917 should be expertly either included or discounted as options. I don't personally recall interchangeability but it'd be good to know since many people call all the Savages *1907*s and that might be a problem.

$100? I'd have popped for that in heartbeat.

Todd.
 
ApacheCoTodd said:
I don't recall ever seeing. non-factory magazine for these.

Might be out there but I've never seen anything notably aftermarket.

Todd.
Click to expand...
Oh, they are out there. My last Savage auto came with a Circle K magazine. It fit poorly and wouldnt feed worth a damn.

IIRC, the original magazines have the caliber marked on them and a tiny "S" on the baseplate. They are also very tight fitting and should not drop free.
 
PM me your serial number and I can then let you know which version of 1907 you have. There was a Savage Pistol book published a while back and details the changes by serial number blocks. I happen to have a copy. You will then know which seer you need. There were some changes made to them over their production life.
You did OK on the price for the condition of the pistol. That finish is not factory.
 
Well I'm starting to feel less and less like I got a killer deal. The mag has zero markings on it and does fit loose, also looking at pictures of oem mags, it appears the windows on my mag are on the opposite side as the factory mags.

Also, the grips have no engravings, or markings of any kind and I can't tell if they are wood or plastic. My gut is telling me though that they are aftermarket also.

Either way, I'm happy with my purchase. I know I can still get my money back out of it, if I ever had the desire to sell it, bit its not likely. I would like to get it functioning properly as I would like to play around with it on occasion.

So with that said, is there any harm at this point in stripping it down and giving it a new finish? I can't imagine the current one is adding any value.
 
Freudianfloyd said:
Well I'm starting to feel less and less like I got a killer deal. The mag has zero markings on it and does fit loose, also looking at pictures of oem mags, it appears the windows on my mag are on the opposite side as the factory mags.

Also, the grips have no engravings, or markings of any kind and I can't tell if they are wood or plastic. My gut is telling me though that they are aftermarket also.

Either way, I'm happy with my purchase. I know I can still get my money back out of it, if I ever had the desire to sell it, bit its not likely. I would like to get it functioning properly as I would like to play around with it on occasion.

So with that said, is there any harm at this point in stripping it down and giving it a new finish? I can't imagine the current one is adding any value.
Click to expand...
Nope, strip away and have fun.:)

The original grips were plastic (bakelite?) And varied from gloss black to brownish. There were a couple different Indian head and "Savage" logo variations embossed into them.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Nope, strip away and have fun.:)

The original grips were plastic (bakelite?) And varied from gloss black to brownish. There were a couple different Indian head and "Savage" logo variations embossed into them.
Click to expand...
The grips appear to be gloss brownish black with no features to them at all, just flat. Baseline does seem likely.
 
Another question. If I cannot locate a sear, is it possible for a qualified welder to add a little material to the sear and file down to make a solid locking fit? I'm sure doing repairs without being a gunsmith are highly frowned upon, but this should be fairly simple and if messed up, would make it no more dangerous than it is currently.
 
Freudianfloyd said:
Another question. If I cannot locate a sear, is it possible for a qualified welder to add a little material to the sear and file down to make a solid locking fit? I'm sure doing repairs without being a gunsmith are highly frowned upon, but this should be fairly simple and if messed up, would make it no more dangerous than it is currently.
Click to expand...
If you need to go down that road, probably better to have a machine shop fabricate a new one.
 
If you haven't disassembled the breech plug, proceed carefully. The seer is spring loaded by a coil spring at its rear. The extractor is spring loaded by a coil spring acting on its bottom. The most delicate piece is the cylindrical striker spring capture piece that removes from the top of the plug. Push from underneath, don't pry from the top. Ask how I know.:oops:
 
Freudianfloyd said:
Another question. If I cannot locate a sear, is it possible for a qualified welder to add a little material to the sear and file down to make a solid locking fit? I'm sure doing repairs without being a gunsmith are highly frowned upon, but this should be fairly simple and if messed up, would make it no more dangerous than it is currently.
Click to expand...
Disassemble inside of a clear plastic box, like labs use for combining dangerous fuming liquids. Parts gonna launch.
 
Freudianfloyd said:
Another question. If I cannot locate a sear, is it possible for a qualified welder to add a little material to the sear and file down to make a solid locking fit? I'm sure doing repairs without being a gunsmith are highly frowned upon, but this should be fairly simple and if messed up, would make it no more dangerous than it is currently.
Click to expand...
It would be better to use a qualified gunsmith and it would be very expensive. The part might also require heat treatment.
Best to find the right part.
 
I really don't want to disassemble the breach plug at all, but can't really tell what the problem is without doing so. I'm still not 100% sure it's the sear that is the issue, it snaps in tight when I cock the gun, and if I hold the slide back and release, the firing pin stays locked back, it's when I have the slide held back with the safety lever and release it, then it drops the hammer.
 
The 1907 doesn't have a hammer, you mean the cocking piece.
Given that a previous owner(s) have messed with the gun based on the replacement grips and removal of the factory finish, there is no telling if the internal pieces are correct. You may want to write this off to educational tuition and keep it as a wall hanger. Or if that doesn''t work for you, a good gunsmith MAY be able to help. Good luck with this.
 
Keep it and have a full auto illegal pistol. Just joking. I had a Mod. 51 Rem. (my 1st pistol) that I had a gunsmith lighten the trigger. Every now and then it fires of 2 rounds at a time. If it weren't my 1st gun, I would have gotten rid of it.
 
If the slide is stamped 7.65...and I can see a hole for the lanyard, it looks like you DO have one of the French contract models.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

N
  • Locked
Savage Model 1907 .32acp
Replies
5
Views
802
jyo
J
Doug Bowser
  • Locked
My 1907 Savage .32 Pistol
Replies
20
Views
2K
KodeFore
K
M
  • Locked
Savage Models 1907 and 1917
Replies
1
Views
2K
bannockburn
bannockburn
R
  • Locked
1907 Savage magazine question
Replies
1
Views
451
DougME
D
Snowdog
  • Locked
Savage 1907 .32acp: Blowback or not?
Replies
18
Views
1K
film495
F
Back
Top