These military contract pistols are easily recognized by the presence of a loaded chamber indicator, custom grips and a lanyard ring. However, between 1915 to 1917, the French military found themselves terribly short of sidearms and contracted with Savage for more than 40,000. Given Savage’s failure to win the Army contract, it had turned its focus solely to the civilian market. By the time production ceased in 1928, well over 230,000 Model 1907’s had hit the market. In addition, the Model 1907 is often erroneously referred to as the 1905 because Searle’s patent date “Nov. The grips, in fact, just snapped into place. Innovatively, the Model 1907 contains neither flat springs, nor-surprisingly-a single screw. Its detachable magazine held 9 to 10 rounds, depending on caliber, and utilizes what Searle called a “delayed” blowback action. Overall length is 6.5 inches with thickness just under an inch. 32 was largely more popular.Ĭompared to the heft of the original 1911 and other “pocket” arms then available, Savage’s baby weighs a svelte 19 ounces with a 3.75-inch barrel. Despite Savage’s attempts to popularize the additional caliber, its. 32 ACP, but at the end of the production run in 1920 Savage released a. And with a few modifications, Savage had itself a viable product.įrom 1907 to 1913 the gun was available solely in. 45 military version of the Savage pistol floundered, the civilian market was ripe for a small, easily wielded pistol. However, it’s interesting to imagine how the face of today’s gun designs might differ given an opposite result at those early Army pistol trials. Long story short, the Colt held up better during field tests and in turn won the contract, which is probably why we run across very few folks who know about Savage’s pistols today. And both versions were sent back to the respective makers for several re-workings over this course.
The military-inspired Savage also had a pivoting lanyard loop that retracted into the magazine well when not in use.īoth guns were put through the paces shooting thousands of rounds in both rapid-fire tests and heavy Army field trials. 45 semi-auto had only 34 total parts, wooden grips, an ambidextrous magazine release, grip safety, loaded chamber indicator, and held eight rounds in the magazine versus Colt’s seven. The Model 1907 Savage Calibre 45 ACP was an Elbert Searle design. And numerous companies-including Smith & Wesson and Luger-submitted to the contest, but only the Colt 1911 and Savage offerings made it to the final round. Thus came a call from the government, who sent out a list of standards, for all gun manufacturers to submit designs. military decided that it wanted to replace the sidearms it currently relied on-revolvers that were either lacking in knockdown power or capacity-with something more up-to-date. Today, the Model 1907 may be seen more as a half-retro/half art-deco antique than a functional piece of firearms history, but its creators aspired for so much more. Though Savage has done things right for more than a hundred years, their foray into the pistol market is largely forgotten. “Ten Shots Quick!” A pistol with catchy slogans and trademark looks, the Savage Model 1907 nearly became the most popular pistol in America.