Savage 1907 / 1917?

[carguychris]

Howdy all,

I'm thinking of diversifying my collection to include some old .32 or .380 automatic pistols, and these old Savages seem pretty neat. I've never fired one. I like to shoot everything in my collection, and these pistols seem to have a good reputation for reliability and parts availability, unlike some of the more obscure prewar foreign stuff.

Does anyone have any info or pictures to share? Is there anything in particular to look out for?

Thanks!

 

[James K]

One important point. DO NOT try to remove the grips, even if you understand how they come off. They are made of hard rubber (gutta percha), which gets brittle over time and it is very easy to break them trying to remove them. There is no need to do so to clean the gun, so leave them alone.

I see no reason not to shoot a Savage if it is in good condition, but some are over a century old and parts are getting scarce, so I don't recommend any extensive firing. FWIW, the designer was a man named Elbert Searle, whose cross to bear was having to work around the many and very comprehensive patents issued to one John Browning. Those grips are an example; Searle had to come up with an odd way to hold them on because that Browning fellow had patented the idea of holding grips on an auto pistol with screws!

Jim