Sauer & Sohn, Shul M1930 Behorden

H

Harley55

Inactive
I inherited a Behorden Model pistol from my dad. It is in excellent working condition! The SN is 217xxx. Though there is not a police department marking, or a "sunburst" on the left side of the trigger, there is a marking on the slide that I have not seen in any other pictures of this pistol.
I have attached a photo and I would love to know more about the history of this very nice little pistol. Thanks!
 

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The photo is of the Sauer "caveman", a logo that Sauer took from the Prussian coat of arms, and which they used up until the end of the Second World War (the East German conglomerate which assembled all the remaining Suhl gunmakers under one name (the VEB Ernst Thalmann factory) also continued using this mark at least until the 1950s). If your pistol is the 1930 Behorden (instead of the earlier 1930), it should have a loaded-chamber indicator on the rear of the slide knob; at various times, they moved this "caveman" from the top of the slide to the side.
 
Thank you!

It does have a loaded chamber indicator. Every trainer at the range and the gunsmith marvel over this pistol. My dad was a WWII vet, but my mom said this, and a little German .22 pistol, which jammed, were given to him by a fellow police officer.

Many years ago, the .22 was taken to someone for an inspection, cleaning, and to see if it could be repaired, and we never got it back. The man had "no recollection" of ever having it and he didn't use claim checks, though he was regarded by those who recommended him, as being reputable. That will not happen with this one!

But I digress...
With the SN in the 217xxx range, is there a way to determine when it was made? And if it wasn't stamped with a police mark, where might it have been?

Thanks in advance!
 
As far as is known, production of this pistol ended in 1938, with serial numbers around 231,000, so yours would definitely be at the end of that run. HTH.

BTW, I hope the missing 22 wasn't one of the pre-war PPKs; those are VERY collectable.
 
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