I have a Savage Model 1907 .32acp pistol, which I compared to an old Savage instruction manual for the Model 1907. I found in the instructions information on a loaded chamber indicator. My pistol does not have the loaded chamber indicator. Also, the manual says the pistol can be carried with the hammer down on a loaded chamber. My pistol cannot be carried that way, safely. My pistol was made in 1909. Does anyone know when Savage started making this pistol with the loaded chamber indicator, and made it safe to carry with the hammer down on a loaded chamber?
At this website http://www.vintagepistols.com/1907/index.html there is a "It Banishes Fear" - Instruction Manual that shows the pistol parts on page 38, pointing out the Chamber Indicator, and the Extractor as separate parts. My pistol does not have the Chamber Indicator. Thanks.
The loaded chamber indicator on a M1907 Savage has a ring that fits into a groove around the barrel and an extension that goes back to a notch in the chamber. It looks a bit like the clip on a fountain pen or the extractor on a .22 rifle, but is on the barrel, not the bolt. When a round is chambered, the cartridge pushes the indicator out and it can be seen and felt. It was installed beginning at the end of 1912 and on pistols generally above serial number 80000. It can be found on earlier pistols if the barrel was replaced since its presence did not keep newer barrels from being used as replacements on earlier guns.
Savage pistols can be carried with the "hammer" down, because what looks like a hammer is not. It is a cocking lever used to pull back the striker. It normally rests on the cocking piece when it is down and even if struck cannot transfer the blow to the striker due to an elongated slot arrangement.
The loaded chamber indicator on a M1907 Savage has a ring that fits into a groove around the barrel and an extension that goes back to a notch in the chamber. It looks a bit like the clip on a fountain pen or the extractor on a .22 rifle, but is on the barrel, not the bolt. When a round is chambered, the cartridge pushes the indicator out and it can be seen and felt. It was installed beginning at the end of 1912 and on pistols generally above serial number 80000. It can be found on earlier pistols if the barrel was replaced since its presence did not keep newer barrels from being used as replacements on earlier guns.
Savage pistols can be carried with the "hammer" down, because what looks like a hammer is not. It is a cocking lever used to pull back the striker. It normally rests on the cocking piece when it is down and even if struck cannot transfer the blow to the striker due to an elongated slot arrangement.
Thank you very much for the information! I read the manual posted at this site http://www.vintagepistols.com/1907/index.html. It did not have the detail you provided on the year and serial number, nor the chamber indicator detail.
I tried the hammer down on a loaded chamber with my pistol using a dummy. It indicates to me it will fire a live round with the hammer down when the hammer is struck in my pistol (made in 1909). Now I am wondering if "safe to have the hammer down on a loaded chamber" came around the same time they started putting the chamber indicator on these pistols? I would like to find an owner's instruction manual for the Savage Model 1907 printed up for these pistols prior to the 80000 serial number range. Would you know where I might find one?
Thanks again!
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