Friends -
Lately I've become interested in the little .25 pocket pistols. I understand these are a Browning design, and were marketed by FN, Browning, and Colt (plus copies made by MARS and other European concerns).
Where I've become confused is which model is which. I believe the original is the Browning Model 1906, the so-called Baby Browning, and it was imported to the US under that name. FN sold the same pistol as the M1906 Pocket Pistol in Europe.
Colt, meanwhile, used the design under license to produce the same pistol "as long as it does not interfere with FN-Browning" (and how selling the same pistol, in the same country, as Browning constitutes "does not interfere" is a question for another day).
Now, here is my question - is the Colt pistol in question the "Vest Pocket Model" or the "M1908 Pocket Hammerless". The reason I ask is that the M1908 has a grip safety, and the Vest Pocket Model does not. Furthermore, the two magazines do not interchange, as I thought they would. I've seen both pistols side by side in shops and while they look exactly the same, the grip safety and different mags would indicate a different frame.
Any clarification would be appreciated.
Ken Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC
Lately I've become interested in the little .25 pocket pistols. I understand these are a Browning design, and were marketed by FN, Browning, and Colt (plus copies made by MARS and other European concerns).
Where I've become confused is which model is which. I believe the original is the Browning Model 1906, the so-called Baby Browning, and it was imported to the US under that name. FN sold the same pistol as the M1906 Pocket Pistol in Europe.
Colt, meanwhile, used the design under license to produce the same pistol "as long as it does not interfere with FN-Browning" (and how selling the same pistol, in the same country, as Browning constitutes "does not interfere" is a question for another day).
Now, here is my question - is the Colt pistol in question the "Vest Pocket Model" or the "M1908 Pocket Hammerless". The reason I ask is that the M1908 has a grip safety, and the Vest Pocket Model does not. Furthermore, the two magazines do not interchange, as I thought they would. I've seen both pistols side by side in shops and while they look exactly the same, the grip safety and different mags would indicate a different frame.
Any clarification would be appreciated.
Ken Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC