Pocket or Vest .25 acp pistol

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Formery Productive

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So I inherited a FN. Baby Browning .25 acp. Pistol

Never really gave much thought to its age or origin but the wonderful interweb information is at our fingertips

Back story WWII my father radio ( Prior job railroad telegraph) operator in 7th Infantry location Metz France helping out this guy named General Patton

After the action cooled off a bit a French man approached my father and handed him this pistol because he didn't need it anymore

It's been shot to hell and back only fires the round in the chamber no follow ups

It looks like the FN. And baby Browning but not sure where it fits in all that history or even if it does

Thanks for any info
 

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Nice little pistol and a later design quite different from the earlier FN 1906 (Colt 1908) or later Baby Browning. That design was made by several Belgian firms and a Brazillion Spanish makers.
 
The design of the safety lever is indicative of several pistol designs of the Eibar region of Spain. Do a search for Ruby pistol, and you will see the same basic design.
 
Yes it looks to be made in France that's why I loosely used FN. and Browning moniker because JMB. Entered a contract to allow FN. To produce this "style " that became baby Browning later.

Possible it's just a random French company which makes me wonder was FN. Always FN.

I can break it down and show pictures of major components I need to see if I can identify why it won't run right anyways
 
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Formery Productive said:
Possible it's just a random French company which makes me wonder was FN. Always FN.
Click to expand...

FN was an amalgam of several Belgian makers to finance tooling primarily. It later became an entity on its own.

But that design is quite different than either the FN/Colt Browing Vest Pocket or the later Baby Browning and more like the Astra 25acp Patent line beginning IIRC in 1924. That design was made by many Spanish makers and several Belgian makers and very likely some French as well.

Take a look at the Astra 200 series and if you can find it their 1924 model.
 
A number of the Spanish knockoff shops labeled their wares in French to give them more class. In the absence of clear proof marks we can't be sure wher it came from. Maybe not even then, there were Spanish knockoffs run through French or Belgian proof to cloud the issue.
I'll see if I can find it in Zhuk.
But the heirloom value is much greater than the resale of a common pocket pistol.
 
Learning more, might be "Unique" brand made just in French border and it's another name just inside Spain

As usual with most of relics not much value
 
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The only slide markings are already pictured there is nothing on right side at all.

So my picture fades off a bit but what it says is. Pistolet Automatique cal 6.35 Fabrication Francaise Marque Deposee " VINDEX"
So made in France Trademark Vindex. now I cannot seem to find Vindex in French I do find it in Latin meaning defender, champion, avenger
So it's looking like it was made in France with a Spanish / Latin marketing name
Probably made near the border as previously suggested
It is built like the Colt 1908 / 1906 FN.
 
Formery Productive said:
The only slide markings are already pictured there is nothing on right side at all.

So my picture fades off a bit but what it says is. Pistolet Automatique cal 6.35 Fabrication Francaise Marque Deposee " VINDEX"
So made in France Trademark Vindex. now I cannot seem to find Vindex in French I do find it in Latin meaning defender, champion, avenger
So it's looking like it was made in France with a Spanish / Latin marketing name
Probably made near the border as previously suggested
It is built like the Colt 1908 / 1906 FN.
Click to expand...
Except for the location of the safety and the lack of a Grip Safety that both the FN 1906 and the Colt 1908 Vest Pockets had.

standard.jpg
 
The lower portion is a cut and paste from another board where someone was asking about a WWII Unique pistol found on dead German soldier..... this response fits the best of all I have found he points out the Unique brand was cheap copy that improved over time I believe mine was a very early production.....The pistol that this response is referring to has the grip safety.

" Unique was a French firearms manufacturer located near the French border with Spain. Many of their pistols were similar to the simple, inexpensive guns made in the pre-Spanish-Civil-War Eibar region of Spain. This one is one of those. It might have been made any time from about 1920 to about 1940.

This gun is a simplified copy of John Browning's Model 1905 25 caliber automatic. Because German soldiers were hated in most of the countries they occupied, many of their rear-area troops had a 32 or 25 caliber automatic to carry when off duty, if they could get one.

The Uniques are better than the average Eibar automatic in workmanship and material, although the design is still very simple. For example, this gun has a grip safety, which many of the Eibar copies lacked, but it still uses the Eibar type safety/dismantling catch, which only blocks the trigger and does not lock up the firing mechanism. (The presence of the grip safety suggests it might by a 1930's gun rather than a 1920's one; Unique kept improving their guns as time went on.)



Since there is no prominent manufacturer name on it and no serial number and minimum safety features the logical conclusion for me is a very early knock off
 
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