carguychris
New member
Found this interesting little jewel at a pawn shop last week... It's a J.P. Sauer & Sohn Model 1930 in 7.65 Browning aka .32 ACP.
I'll admit that I don't know much about these pistols, and the info I've found online isn't terribly detailed, but this pistol is apparently a development of the Model 1913 differentiated by the oval rather than circular trigger guard, the serial number above ~163,000, and the elimination of the rather notorious slide stop located inside the trigger guard.
The Model 1930 is apparently similar to the more well-known Behördenmodell or Behörden Pistol but lacks the Glock-ish trigger safety "dingus" that characterizes that model. The Model 1930 has a thumb safety and a magazine disconnect only. Interestingly, some online sources claim that the Behördenmodell is the first of the series with a separate sear in the sear housing block, rather than a sear built into the trigger bar, and online Model 1930 parts diagrams show the old-style sear; however, my pistol has a separate sear and trigger bar!
The serial number of this pistol is 1885xx (digitally obscured for privacy reasons).
The thumb safety doubles as a manual slide stop. The gun has no last-round slide-hold-open feature.
As you can probably tell, the pistol has little original finish left. When I got it, it was really rusty, but it has cleaned up well. The only deep pitting is on the port side, with a spot on the slide near the muzzle, and an old scratch across the frame and slide above the grips (the scratch is not lined up in the second picture because the slide is locked back).
When I bought it, the pistol was missing the pin through the sear housing block behind the grips, but both sear housing block pins (the other is under the grips) are the same diameter—0.108", almost exactly 7/64"—and I was able to make a new pin using a shortened 7/64" drill bit.
The pistol is striker-fired and comes apart in an interesting manner. The slide has a large checkered and threaded cap that is held in place by a tab on the rear sight. To field-strip, you depress the rear sight and turn the cap counter-clockwise; after about 1/2 turn, the rear sight tab pops up through a notch in the cap so you can release the sight. The cap has a riveted post that holds the striker spring, which fits into a separate breech block that holds the striker and also incorporates the extractor. The striker can be shaken out of the breech block for cleaning, although I've left it in place in the picture. The barrel is fixed and uses a separate hollow bushing to hold the recoil spring; the bushing was left in the white.
The pink finish on the front sight is fingernail polish applied by me so that my aging eyes can see the ridiculously narrow front sight more easily.
When I bought it, the barrel was filled with crud and surface rust, and I was concerned it would be pitted. However, it cleaned up like new.
The trigger is surprisingly crisp, although it's somewhat heavy, and has a smidgeon of takeup and generous overtravel. Overall, however, it's darn good compared to the other old-school striker-fired pistols I've tried.
I'll try and post a range report later.
To be continued...
I'll admit that I don't know much about these pistols, and the info I've found online isn't terribly detailed, but this pistol is apparently a development of the Model 1913 differentiated by the oval rather than circular trigger guard, the serial number above ~163,000, and the elimination of the rather notorious slide stop located inside the trigger guard.
The Model 1930 is apparently similar to the more well-known Behördenmodell or Behörden Pistol but lacks the Glock-ish trigger safety "dingus" that characterizes that model. The Model 1930 has a thumb safety and a magazine disconnect only. Interestingly, some online sources claim that the Behördenmodell is the first of the series with a separate sear in the sear housing block, rather than a sear built into the trigger bar, and online Model 1930 parts diagrams show the old-style sear; however, my pistol has a separate sear and trigger bar!
The serial number of this pistol is 1885xx (digitally obscured for privacy reasons).
The thumb safety doubles as a manual slide stop. The gun has no last-round slide-hold-open feature.
As you can probably tell, the pistol has little original finish left. When I got it, it was really rusty, but it has cleaned up well. The only deep pitting is on the port side, with a spot on the slide near the muzzle, and an old scratch across the frame and slide above the grips (the scratch is not lined up in the second picture because the slide is locked back).
When I bought it, the pistol was missing the pin through the sear housing block behind the grips, but both sear housing block pins (the other is under the grips) are the same diameter—0.108", almost exactly 7/64"—and I was able to make a new pin using a shortened 7/64" drill bit.
The pistol is striker-fired and comes apart in an interesting manner. The slide has a large checkered and threaded cap that is held in place by a tab on the rear sight. To field-strip, you depress the rear sight and turn the cap counter-clockwise; after about 1/2 turn, the rear sight tab pops up through a notch in the cap so you can release the sight. The cap has a riveted post that holds the striker spring, which fits into a separate breech block that holds the striker and also incorporates the extractor. The striker can be shaken out of the breech block for cleaning, although I've left it in place in the picture. The barrel is fixed and uses a separate hollow bushing to hold the recoil spring; the bushing was left in the white.
The pink finish on the front sight is fingernail polish applied by me so that my aging eyes can see the ridiculously narrow front sight more easily.
When I bought it, the barrel was filled with crud and surface rust, and I was concerned it would be pitted. However, it cleaned up like new.
The trigger is surprisingly crisp, although it's somewhat heavy, and has a smidgeon of takeup and generous overtravel. Overall, however, it's darn good compared to the other old-school striker-fired pistols I've tried.
I'll try and post a range report later.
To be continued...
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