Help identifying this WWII Semiauto

A

allen820

New member
My father-in-law brought a small semiauto pistol back from his service in Europe during WWII. He said it came from a German officer, but I am thinking it had it origins somewhere else. I can send a pic by private e-mail; I cannot get it to upload to this site (yes, I do have techno challenges!). Anyway, the little pistol is about 4 1/4" long overall and 3" tall. It says CAL. 6-35 on both sides of its hard black rubber handles. It reads "Pistol Automatic CAL 6.35" on the left side of the slide, and has nothing on the right. Just under the "pistol . . . etc." on the slide are the letters "DOG," and then under that are some odd symbols which are written vertically, one on top of the other, if you hold the gun with the barrel toward the ceiling. The top symbol looks like a little stick lion (kinda like you might see on a midievial drawing). Under that is a line, then the letters PV, then a star, then a C, then under all that is a symbol that looks like a modern day radio tower, i.e. a short line coming from a base. This same set of symbols also appears on the frame of the pistol near the trigger guard on the left hand side of the gun. The number 534 appears to be stamped on the frame. The magazine looks like it would hold about six shots, and the slide is seriated at the back. The hammer is not exposed.

Wow. As I was examining the gun for this post, I found the same symbols described above on the side of the barrel, and in addition to these, just under the PV, as described above, there appears a picture of a crown over the letter R, then the star and the C and under that is the "radio tower," and under that is an egg shape with a crown on it, with an LG inside. The number 46 is on the opposite side of the barrel. The little lugged, 2 1/8" barrel is rifled.

Does anyone have a clue what I have, or where it might have come from?

Thanks for your help.

Allen
 
The "odd symbols" are Belgian proof marks.
6.35 is the metric designation for .25 ACP.

I do not see anything about a DOG brand in either of my books, but there were dozens of small European makers cranking out pocket pistols before and after WW I; after Mr Browning showed them how.
 
6.35 Browning is indeed the European designation for 25ACP. Provided it's in good shape and made well (they made potmetal junkers then too! Have a smith look it over first), it ought to be alright to fire with the regular factory ball .25ACP from S&B, Winchester or Federal or anything similar. I wouldn't use any odd or high-pressure loads like MagSafe in it (which is ineffectual anyway) due to its age.

Other than that, no idea. Sounds like they maybe copied a Baby Browning, but a picture would help a lot. :)
 
This a duplicate post of one several posts below. However it is not a Belgium copy (a copy of the Baby Browning) of a Belgium gun. For several reasons not the least was the legality of patent infringement the Belgiums didn't make copies of each others guns. :)
 
Sorry about the duplicate posts. I was having some computer issues and it appears my computer "stored" the message and re-sent it about 45 minutes after my original post. Go figure . . .

Anyway, thanks for the info. I am taking the gun to a gunsmith tomorrow to have him check it over. It is a very heavy piece (certainly not pot metal) and appears decently made. What the heck, it might be fun.

Thank you for your feedback.

Allen
 
Don't worry about it Allen, I've had double posts just from having a nervous finger. Good Luck, I hope you can get a picture, I'm curious to what you do have.
 
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