Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Seven- Six- Five-Year Itch...

L to R: Colt's, Savage, H&R, S&W, and Remington.

I think it started back in early '07, when I got a really nice early Colt's Pocket Hammerless .32 that I was reluctant to shoot. So I got another, slightly earlier, slightly more worn one which I could take to the range and pound out its little guts, guilt-free.

This kinda got me interested in early American self-loading pistols, which were an anomaly in the Land of the Revolver.

After a bunch of fits and starts, I managed to assemble a complete set of nice examples from the major domestic manufacturers, which you can see pictured above. These will be the inspiration for a bunch of new content at my currently-moribund Arms Room blog. Stay tuned!

22 comments:

Chas S. Clifton said...

And you have never taken them to the range for a .32-caliber Smackdown?

Or will that be in the upcoming blog post?

Anonymous said...

More free Arms Room ice cream please!

Joe in PNG said...

Drool- I too am a devotee of old pocket autos...

Cincinnatus said...

My Colt 1908 in .380 ACP gets picked up and stuck in my pants more often than any other pistol.

Wait, that didn't come out right ...

rickn8or said...

Envy meter pretty much pegged here.

Keads said...

Nice looking heaters there!

Murphy's Law said...

Moar! Moar! Moar gun posts pleeze!

Steve Skubinna said...

My favorite pistol is my Colt .25ACP vest pocket. Not to shoot - oh, no, if you shoot somebody with a .25, and he finds out about it, he's likely to be very angry with you.

No, it's my favorite because my grandfather bought it in Chicago in 1927 before coming to Seattle. Guess back then people still figured you needed to pack heat going out West.

Anonymous said...

love my 1903 colt! jmb was a fantastic designer!!
Walt

Anonymous said...

Tam - ... early American self-loading pistols, which were an anomaly in the Land of the Revolver.

Ever notice that, in novels up until perhaps the '30s, "revolver" was often synonymous with "pistol"?

Boat guy said...

Anxiously awaiting more gun pr0n...

mikee said...

I made the mistake of buying a Colt Model 1903 .32ACP on impulse a few years back, and have been unable to convince myself to buy a different .32ACP ever since, because the one I have is so very, very nice that I suspect I'd be disappointed in the rest.

I do have two Colt 1903s now, though, so I have that going for me.

Tam said...

"I do have two Colt 1903s now..."

Me, too! :)

(FWIW, the Savages are very nice, too.)

Geodkyt said...

So, is that H&R a licensed Webley copy, or vice versa? Because they look as alike as Colt/Browning vest pocket pistols. . .

Tam said...

The H&R is licensed (or licenced) from Webley, yes. Albeit the US rendition of the model was converted over to a striker-fired design.

Geodkyt said...

Cool. I don't know why, but I like the Webley automatics. Not like I like most Browning designs (fine NY strip), but more like, "I'm jonesin' for a Slim Jim and a Slurpee" kinda like. . .

Al T. said...

Had one of those Savages. The hammer bite was horrendous. Grossed out my shooting buddy by letting the little devil dangle from the web betwixt thumb and finger.

Home on the Range said...

Pretty little maids all in a row. Nice!!

Anonymous said...

The 1903 is a well-known gateway pistol, leading to other, harder pistols...

Antibubba

Joe in PNG said...

Especially since you can usually snag a grubby looking but mechanically sound 1903 with not a lot of money.
...then you want one in good condition... and a 1908 just because...

Robert Langham said...

You are well-armed.

Justthisguy said...

And you claim that you aren't an Aspie! Hahahahaha! Admit it, Ma'am, you have a serious perseveration, oops, I mean Special Interest about guns.

It's OK; people like us are the salt of the concern. If it weren't for us, the human stew would be very bland and un-amusing.