Baby Browning?

K

Kentucky Rifle

New member
I was reading the .25ACP vs. .22 thread and I noticed that one fellow said his shop had two "Baby Brownings" coming in. I thought this was a pistol that was not being made any longer due to various silly rules and regulations. Can you still get one of these NIB?

Kentucky Rifle
 
I think that PSP is the name of the current American Producer of the Baby Browning. Bauer made them for a while. they are now made in stainless only, I think. Either way, they are the smallest semi-auto's on the market As far as I know.
 
These are excellent little pistols, and reliability should be fine with any factory FMJ load, as well as Winchester's "Pellet Point " EFMJ round. I say "should be fine" because if the magazine feed lips are buggered you can have problems. The good news is that spare mags are not hard to find.
 
Old-Design Striker-Fired Pistols

Greetings--

Yes, the Baby Browning is ONE OF the smallest pocket autos ever. In the 1950s, Bernardelli marketed a smaller .25 and .22 short--Tiny little thing, which only held five in the mag. It suffered from safety design problems, though. I had a friend who put not one but TWO holes in his office with one--no injuries, though. They discontinued this model after a fairly short run.

I carried a Bauer stainless .25 in a homemade wallet holster for many years. Cocked and locked. It was highly reliable with all types of ammo then-available, and quite accurate with FMJ and the ball-bearing tip Winchester ammo. I had exactly zero problems all that time. Then a gunsmith friend and I chatted about the practice and I was forced to re-examine my procedure.

The "Baby Browning" design, in common with a lot of other pocket pistols designed in the first quarter of the 20th Century is striker fired, but in a different way from the "modern" designed autopistols such as Glock, Kahr and others.

The old ones have a striker/firing pin that is at full cock anytime the chamber is loaded. Two problems with this. The striker spring is typically of about the size and weight of one in a retractable ball point pen. Unless it is quite well made, with a spring designed to remain under compression for long periods, it is apt to take a set and have insufficient power to do its work when needed worst. To be fair, my Bauer NEVER had a misfire having to do with a light firing pin strike. (Minor difficulties with handloaded ammo notwithstanding. --yes, in .25 ACP; Wanta swap load data?)

Secondly, if for any reason excessive play develops between slide and frame, and the slide is pushed or pulled UP, the striker may become disengaged from the sear, causing a discharge. Never heard of this happening with a Bauer, a Browning, or any of that family, but there was an interesting product liability lawsuit in Dallas twelve or 15 years back, having to do with an injury caused by just such a situation. It was some cheap-o pistol, but I don't recall the brand. Something like a Titan, I believe.

Thirdly--If the stock screw is not kept snugged right up, the stock panels become just loose enough to allow the trigger to disengage from the trigger bar, and the trigger falls out in your pocket!

I still carry my little Bauer on rare occasion, but ALWAYS with an empty chamber.

Best,
Johnny
 
Love those little Baby clones. I had a little Bernadelli, it was alot of fun. Once I figured out how to get it apart I took some finishing sandpaper to the moving/interacting parts, chamber and ramp, and polished it all up. Went to the range after thoroughly cleaning/lubing it. Didn't know what to expect. Anyway, it was very reliable, no misfire, nothing, reasonably accurate under rapid fire. The Fiocchi was hottest of all brands tried. BIG problem with my safety. After about a month it became essentially nonfunctioning and I traded in at the shop. Bigfun though!
 
I've got a CZ Duo which is a step up in size class. The striker arrangement, however, is pure Browning. It's solid, reliable and I've NEVER heard of a failure in that system. I've also NEVER had an FTF in any of my 25's.
 
You should note that "Baby Browning" is often misused. Here's a pretty good website dedicated to smaller pistols:

http://members.magnet.at/g.schoenbauer/

with a section on the Browning/FN/Colt models of the original design. As others have noted, it was widely copied, sometimes without the benefit of royalties.

They are fine little pistols, carried by many men in their pockets in the days when going unarmed was considered the same as going undressed.

The Fiocchi import ammo, about $8 a box at most gun shows, is a fine choice. I've found it to be very reliable and it functions in all my little .25s.

Ken Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC
 
I've got a PSP-25. Good little gun. I bought it a few years ago, and at the time it was the smallest, lightest semi-auto made, period. Now, with the Kel-Tec P32, it is still the smallest, but the Kel-Tec is lighter, thinner, and holds a bigger round. It's giving the PSP-25 a run for it's money. I haven't shot the P32 yet, though.
 
I have a Bauer .25 and I like this little pistol. I have never carried it but if I did, I would carry it with an empty chamber as Johnny Guest mentioned.
 
I agree...

If I find one and decide to carry it, it'll be with an empty chamber. Old design, no safety features = an AD. (And I do believe in carrying all my pistols at one time or the other. I have very few "safe queens".)
I have large pistols, but I usually carry a smaller pistol. Of course, that depends on where I'm going to be!
I consider my Glock 27 a "small" pistol. No worries there regarding fire-power.

KR
 
I had a Bauer in the late 80's and like the idiot I am, I sold it. :(
I want another one or a PSP.
Is anyone still making them domestically? Or do I have to scour the used market?

Mikey
 
I found my Bauer at a gun show. I see them pop up from time to time. They don't seem to be just real scarce.
 
I have a P32 which is barely large enough to grasp. Browning Baby (which weighs as much as a P32 but is smaller) is even tinier. How does one hold onto it?

FWIW, I've shot a Colt Vest Pocket 1906 (precursor to the "Baby") and found it accurate and mild in recoil.
 
I own two Bauers and two original pre 1968 Baby Brownings and they are such sweet little guns. I no longer carry any of the above, I have found the perfect pocket pistol and it's the Keltec P-32, I love mine, so light weight at 6.6 ounces, flat and easily carried concealed.

7th
 
I've had a couple of the "Baby Browning" type pistols. I found them to be well made (although for a minimalist round). The PSP's are no longer being made (if you can find an alloy frame, grab it!), they were the actual manufacturers of the pistol for FN in recent years. The article, "The Argument for Small Caliber Handguns" (in Rifle #118 Jan/Feb 1988) is very interesting reading. It advances the idea of using solid brass bullets for small caliber pistols to get sufficient penetration.
 
Baby Browning

The Beretta .25 is perhaps the most reliable .25 I have owned. The Baby Brownings are not as reliable and one can often experience about 1 jam every 100 rounds if one does not stiff arm the pistol when one is shooting it. By all means stay away from the Bauer and Fraizer Stainless copies. I have never owned or shot one of these pistols that did not jam a least several times on ever clip full of ammo. The Bauers seemed to work fine when new until about 50 rounds had been fired through them. After that they became jam-a-matics. I once worked on one for over a month trying to get one to work but finally gave up. Several friends of mine also had the same problems with them. The Beretta is far cheaper than buying an original Browning although I must admit I like the little Browning very much and actually prefer it over the Beretta. It is lightning quick to get into action and very accurate for a pocket pistol and very easy to hit with. W.R.
 
,25s in general

Fun topic, Kentucky Rifle.

The only Beretta .25 I ever really liked was the model 418 and its kin. Can't recall the model number for the one with alloy frame. This is probably the basis for the original James Bond lsidearm--"The Beretta .25 with the sawn barrel and the taped grip." Typical of that era writing by the Brits, who, even by that time were pretty deficient in handgun knowledge. As I recall, the barrel stuck out the front of the slide by about 1/4 inch, and the factory stocks were pretty thin, so the modifications were pretty useless.

I liked this model because it held eight in magazine, had a grip safety which locked the sear, and the thumb safety was quite convenient, though it only locked the trigger.

That was the first pistol I frequently carried on my person. I wore a long leg cast for several months. The Beretta, in a very thin leather holster, fit nicely in the top of the cast--chamber empty, of course. I owned several of that series--about six, IIRC--and never had a moment's trouble with any of them, with a variety of factory ammo. Only handloads I ever shot in 'em was after I had worked out my loads with the Bauer, and those worked fine in two Berettas, as well.

Wild Romanian-- Just an example of every handgun being a law unto itself. As I said, I never had a single bobble with my Bauer--which was the only one I ever shot much. But I did shoot it a LOT there for a while. I have no experience with the Frazier at all. I had one true Baby Browning with BAD reliability problems--Finally got 'em gun smithed out, but never trusted it thereafter.

Oleg and Strayhorn-- I too am fascinated with the old Browning/FN/Colt Vest Pocket .25s. Classic little items. But, like most first generation handguns of whatever type, they were a bit large and heavy for the job, compared to the products of just a few years later. But I do love 'em--Nicely laid-out controls, and a good grip safety, and beautifully machined. Ole J. M. Browning was indeed a genius! As I type, I have a Colt Model 1908 Pocket .380 in the drawer below the keyboard. Totally reliable. Too-small sights, but I can make good first-round hits at 50 yards.

I agree, though--The new breed of tiny .32 autos have just about made the .25 obsolete, in my mind. But, it's kind of like some old guys I used to know who kept packin' Colt Single Action Armies, just because they started doing so early in the 20th century--Just 'cause it's old, don't mean it won't do the job! (Some of my young associates probably say simething similar about me, because I carry a badly worn .45 Commander, made before most of them were born.)

Best,
Johnny
 
I suspect that the key to many of these gunsis practice. Yesterday, I fired eight rounds from my P32 (with which I am generaly accurate only to a "minute of an elephant") at an empty ammo box which was a cube with 2" sides. At 15-20" (the distance increased with each hit), I shot right at its bottom every time throwing it up and away with every shot. Must be getting used to the gun.

That said, I can see why 32acp used to be a "serious" caliber - 1908 Hammerless has a longer barrel and much better accuracy (one hole at 20ft). I think that the idea of chambering defensive guns for excessive calibers is misguided and would rather have .32 or .25 is blowback guns currently chambered in .380 and .32 respectively...at least I'd be willing to practice!
 
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