Top-Notch Baby Browning?

[Mad Jack McMad]

Hello!

I'm considering buying one so, which brand makes/made the absolutely greatest Baby Brownings?

Matthias

 

[VA27]

Browning.

Everything else is a clone and no longer in production just like the Browning. Bauer is a nice stainless one, if it works. I wouldn't buy one without a test fire. A company called Precision Small Arms used to, or was gonna make a clone, but I've never seen one. They also said they were gonna make one in 22 Short, but I don't think they did that either.

 

[Mad Jack McMad]

I thought Browning never manufactured any, or do you mean the FN Brownings. Precision Small Arms does make them, apparently Able Ammo sells them though i have no idea of the quality or reliability of them.

Able Ammos model range: http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=9935_13105_17557

Precision Small Arms(aka. PSA) homepage: http://www.precisionsmallarms.com/

 

[GreyCoupe]

Wouldn't you really rather have a Walther PPK? Plenty more punch in just a little bigger pistol.

 

[Mad Jack McMad]

Oh, its not for self defense or anything like that. I am just intrested in ultra compact guns and therefore want the best ones available, but thanks for the concern anyway and besides i already owne a PPK.

 

[Coltdriver]

The original FN Brownings are excellent little pistols. I bought a beater a few years ago and even though mine is ugly it works great.

The problem it this, you do not want to carry one of these with a round in the chamber. The safety only prevents you from pulling the trigger but there is no striker or firing pin block. If you get one and see just how marginal the striker is held in place you would see what I am talking about.

That said I think Colt cloned these too but they will cost as much or more than the Baby Brownings. The other clones are primarily junk, no offense to anyone that owns one, just my humble opinion.

If you shop a bit you can come across them for a reasonable sum.

 

[CZguy]

If you shop a bit you can come across them for a reasonable sum.

Yep, I picked this one up at a pawn shop for $35.00. It was missing a part and and the magazine. For another $50.00, I got both parts from Numrich.

My wife loves to shoot this little gun. It was made in 1915. It's a little rough, but you just can't beat the price.

 

[Starter52]

Colt made an excellent copy of the .25 Browning in the first half of the 20th Century. I've seen decent Colt Vest Pocket pistols (Model of 1908) selling for $250 at gun shows in the east. Many have cosmetic blueing issues but still function perfectly.

 

[dogtown tom]

The pistol above is not a Baby Browning....

Don't confuse the Vest Pocket with the Baby Browning. Two entirely different pistols that have no parts in common.

The Baby is a bit smaller than the Vest Pocket and has no grip safety.

 

[bannockburn]

When I think of Baby Brownings, this particular model always comes to mind.

 

[JR956678]

A company called Precision Small Arms used to, or was gonna make a clone, but I've never seen one.

They in fact did make a "clone" and started to a number of years ago. It was my understanding that it wasn't actually a clone but was built from the original drawings. I have one from very early on - it's a very well-made firearm with good materials and excellent fit and finish. Mine is very reliable, though I don't shoot it much.

PSA is still around and still makes these - they exhibited at the NRA Exhibition and I say their display yesterday.

 

[MikeJackmin]

I have one of the Bauer stainless versions.

It works quite well, except that the magazine frequently unlatches upon firing. Very frustrating.

I also learned that the grip panels hold some of the tiny parts in place - if your grips are cracked or loose, that's bad.

 

[SIGLBER]

A couple of buddies have the Colt versions and and couple of people at the range have them. They are pretty amazing little guns. They are as old as Moses but shoot every single time. And up close pretty accurate. My one buddy works in Detroit and has to go out on road calls. Before they got CCW leagal a little .25 Baby Colt was all he could slip in his pocket at work to conceal. Got him through some bad spots. Luckily having the gun was enough of a deterence to stop things from getting bad.
If you can find one of the Colts in decent shape I'd get it in a heartbeat. I see alot more of the Colts than the Brownings for obvious reasons. Off subject but I've got a couple of buddies with the old "Pocket" .32's and .380's that still work well. One buddy carries one in .32 everyday. Amazing they still work so well after all the rounds they've seen.

 

[trekgod3]

Here's my 1967 Baby. It was a gift from my wife's aunt. It belonged to a friend of her father and had been sitting in a cigar box in a closet for a long time:


I have only taken it to the range once to try it out. It works fine, but ammo is getting pricey.

 

[Mad Jack McMad]

Nice pieces you fellas got there!

What should the approximate price be for FN Baby Browning in perfect condition with an original manual and holster?

 

[MachIVshooter]

Wouldn't you really rather have a Walther PPK? Plenty more punch in just a little bigger pistol.

That's like saying a an F-350 is just a little bigger than a Tacoma.

To the OP:

The original is best, but the Bauer's are nice little US-made stainless copies that can be had for 1/3 the price. I like mine just fine.

 

[rcmodel]

I picked this one up at a pawn shop for $35.00.

That gun is not a Baby Browning.

Neither is anything Colt ever made.

with original manual and holster?

There was no orginial holster.
Baby Brownings came from the factory in a box with a black plastic outside, red flannel inside lined zipper pouch with "Browning" marked in gold lettering.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/998433014/Guns/Pistols/Browning-Pistols/Baby-Browning/Baby_Browning.htm

rc

 

[CZguy]

Originally posted by rcmodel.

That gun is not a Baby Browning.

RC, I certainly will defer to your knowledge of these little guns. But what model is it then?

 

[rcmodel]

It is an FN Model 1906 "Vest Pocket".

May be either a 1st. variation if serial number under 1.0000, and no thumb safety / slide hold-open for dissembly.

Or a 2nd. variation if serial over 1,0000 and it has the thumb safety / takedown hold-open.

rc

 

[Lucky Derby]

Colt never made a Baby Browning copy.

The Baby is smaller than the Vest Pocket Brownings and Colts. The Baby is much smaller than the PP/PPK pistols.

 

[bannockburn]

rcmodel

My Baby Browning did not come in a black vinyl case; instead it's a square black cardboard box which opens like a clamshell. On the lower right of the lid is the Browning name in silver. Inside is a fitted insert for the gun with a red velvet-like material covering it. The upper portion of the box lid holds the owners manual. Factory records are incomplete but I believe mine was made sometime in the late 1950's.