Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors New guy to Savage pistols, with question about 1917 at LGS.

Hello all! As the thread title states, I'm brand new to Savage pistols, or indeed, any Savage.

I've noted what is listed as a Savage 1917 in .380at my LGS. It is in excellent condition, very little bluing wear, and just minor scratches (just the bluing, not into the metal) and handling marks. The grips look nearly pristine. It comes with 2 mags, no box.

What really attracted me to it, beyond its basic design, and features...is its beautiful condition, for its age. And, in doing a little research on it, as I've no prior knowledge of this pistol, I've found something which seems to be in conflict with this pistol.

Namely...the bluing. It's lustrous, deep, and mirror-like. I commented on it to the LGS employees, I even asked if they thought it might have been a reblue, even though the markings and lettering appeared crisp and sharp to me, with no normal tell-tale signs of rebluing. No, they assured me the finish was original. So, I believed them, since I'm unfamiliar with these.

But now, in doing some research... everything I see seems to indicate that 1917s had a rather matte blue finish, not high gloss. I did see that 1907s had a more shiny finish, though. So now...I'm wondering.

I didn't take any pics, or note the serial number. I'm planning on going back, and looking at it more closely. I'm hoping to draw on the expertise of the members here, for some assistance. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed, or perhaps some insight into the possibility of a high gloss 1917? Is it possibly a misidentified M.1907?

Finally...the price. They're asking $660, and they say they have no wiggle room. I can get 5% off, a discount for veterans. But, that'll only cover about half of the sales tax. Not knowing these guns, I first thought that seemed a bit steep. Now I've seen some prices online as high as $1200! (I think those examples always had boxes, though...but still!) I first walked away from it, but I've looked at it several times now, and I'm becoming enamored with it...the beautiful bluing, the 2 double stack mags, it's interesting and innovative for its time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, in advance!

A Model 1917 will have "trapezoid" shaped grips.
Model 1907 will be rectangular.

Blue finish varied over the years for both models from a faint blue that wears easily, dark blue, paint, deep blue, gloss, matt.
Serial number ranges and/or model cutoffs regarding blue finish are not finite and not sure if documented well. The pistols basically had a ~20 years run and the finish process varied over that time for rifles and pistols within Savage.

.380's command a higher price in general as a lot less were made than .32's.
The price is certainly in the ball park of reasonable. Plus and extra mag.
A good number of high condition pistols exist due to numbers produced combined with little use.

Good luck!

According to Brower's book, all 1917's in 380 would be a matte blue. Now, you might be confusing a 1907 for a 1917 (as Rick said, look at the grips) or you might be confusing a high quality matte blue for the earlier mirror blue that was on many of the 1907's.

Model 1917's in lower left and upper right in this picture, 1907 in the lower right, 1915's in the upper left and middle (1915's have a 1907 style grip but also have a grip safety).

And welcome to the campfire!

Best to give us a serial number so we can identify the model and variation which can affect value. Also verify that both magazines are identical and not aftermarket. Should have the .380 stamp on one side.

Thank you for all of the replies, and useful info!

*Southern_WI_Savage*...not having the pistol in front of me, I can't comment on the grips, but I'll definitely be checking them when I get back there. I *think* they're trapezoidal. Thanks for the info on finish. But, is that true for 1917s...or the whole 1907/1915/1917 "family"?

*Calhoun*...yes, I had read elsewhere previously that all 1917s in .380 were matte blue. That was the main reason for my seeking out additional info, because the pistol in question definitely does *not* have a matte finish! It's more of a mirror finish. It most closely resembles the finish of the 1915, in the center of your pic. (I *know* it's not a 1915...I definitely would remember the grip safety, if nothing else!) It is nothing even remotely similar to the dull, matte finish of the lower left 1917! Now, *I'm* not confusing anything! I'm too uninformed to even rise to the level of "confused"! I'm too ignorant of the facts, in this circumstance, to be confused! But, your point is well taken...I'm wondering if the LGS has confused a 1907 with a 1917? I kinda think it has the trapezoidal grips, as I mentioned above...but I can't be certain without seeing it again. Otherwise...it is either an extremely rare high gloss 1917 (which is unlikely, if not impossible, I'm guessing), or it's been reblued, which is much more plausible. If so, they did a *beautiful* rebluing job! Now, having said all that...I have found some conflicting opinions about the existence of high gloss .380 1917s! Thank you, for the info!

*Rick99*...yeah, I didn't expect to be digging this deeply into the pistol, so I didn't even think to get the SN. I'll definitely grab it next time. Both magazines are identical, and are not aftermarket...as near as my limited knowledge and expertise of these particular pistols goes! They both are marked ".380". Thanks for the help!

I'm friendly with one of the sales guys at that LGS, so as I've been responding to your great info here...I texted him, to see if he'd mind snapping some pics. Well, he's not working right now, but he's texting a guy who is working, and I might get a pic or two that way. I also requested the SN, or at least the first 4 digits or so. During that exchange, this sales guy, who's quite knowledgeable, in general...if not actually any sort of expert on Savage pistols...said it's definitely a Model 1917. He sited the grip shape as evidence. So...doesn't seem as if it's a misidentified 1907.

Thanks to everyone for the replies, and info! I'd be glad to hear any additional thoughts that anyone may have. Even if I end up passing on this one...now I think I have the bug, and I may be on the lookout for these Savage pistols!

Okay, so...I finally got the pics. So, it's weird. It's a 1907, but it has a 1917 hammer/cocking piece. Also, if I recall correctly, I believe it has the 1917 mag release, at the very bottom, released by the pinky. I did not get the SN yet. So, unless it turns out to be a hybrid, a 1907 factory-built with a 1917 mag release and cocking piece...then it's just a 1907, that someone over the years has installed the wrong cocking piece on...and I don't know how you'd change the mag release.

I'll hafta see about getting the SN.

"it has a 1917 hammer/cocking piece" ... the 1907 up to around 14000B had the burr hammer after that & the 1917 .380 had the spur hammer. (Corrected per Rick's posting below))

"I believe it has the 1917 mag release" ...All the 1907 & 1917 .380 had this magazine release.

Finish ... the 1907 .380's had the earlier bright blue finish, up to around serial 14000B (note: if you get a serial on the .380 that the first or last character in the seral will be a "B" not an "8").
So, the .380's before the Model 1915 were bright and after were the matt.

The serial will tell which variation and when the 1907 was made. I think you might have found a nice pistol at a decent price.

Burr or spur cocking lever? Early production or later production.

Thanks, to both of you! That's great info! I'm going to try to get the SN tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find.

I have pics now, but they're too large to post on here, and I can't find out how to reduce them, on my stupid POS phone...which I *hate*! The pics you guys post seem larger than the limit I'm seeing on the site here...what am I doing wrong?

Anyway...thanks to everyone for all the help!

We post images to a 3rd party site like Imgur or [bleep].com, then embed the photos here.

Edit: Sigh.. fl ickr.com

yep, I use Imgur.

I was able to get my contact in the shop to text the SN to me. It's 64XXB. The shop doesn't care to give out full serial numbers...I presume that is sufficient info.

Based on earlier statements...should this pistol have the "burr" hammer, not the "spur"? The number does seem correct for it to be a glossy blue.

As for pics...I went to Imgurs webpage. A quick perusal seemed to indicate a very liberal, anti-gun, anti-conservative bent to that site. So, I prefer not to use them. Maybe FIickr is the same, I don't know. I tried to sign up for a FIickr account...turns out I already have one. I don't remember doing that. In any case...I've forgotten my password. Attempts to reset my password were unsuccessful. I put in a "Help" request. If they can resolve my issue...I'll try to post a couple pics.

Thanks, again!

Welp, here's what it's looking like.
Some pistols .32/.380 with a load indicator have broken or missing load indicators.
Doesn't affect operation, but replacement load indicators for either .32 or .380 hard to find.
If this pistol has a load indicator and in the condition mentioned it sounds like a good one.

The standard hammer was the knurled knob, but the spur was a special order feature that was available. Don't rule it out just because it has the spur.

The optional spur cocking piece is only listed and pictured for the Model 1907 in catalog No 55 from about 1914 (no Model 1915), it is not listed in catalog No 57 circa 1915 which has the 'New Model 1915 Hammerless", or in any other later catalogs. It also is much heavier and not as smoothly contoured as the later standard spur hammers. - there is one on the gun pictured on the bottom of page 154 in Baily Brower's book 'Savage Pistols'.

Thanks, Gene! I love learning new stuff...

And looking at page 154 of Bailey's book, that spur hammer in the book matches the spur hammer on the pistol Bullzaye is looking at. So it's a special order.

Here's an old thread on these when Phil99 picked up a 1907 with one of these early and rare spur hammers.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...s/4715781/Re_New_Savage_1907_with_unusua

Thank you! What a great resource!

One thing...the pistol in question *does* have the "Savage" lettering on the frame. If I'm reading the book correctly...it's saying that it *shouldn't*?

Thank you! Really great to know! And, thank you also to *GeneB*!

So, any opinion as to the "Savage" marking on the frame of this pistol?

I'm going to hit the shop tomorrow. If it's still there, I'll give it one more last look, see if I can negotiate the price at all, (last time I was there, they seemed pretty firm on their price, but maybe telling them they have it marked incorrectly will have an influence?), and then likely buy it. Unless, of course...someone thinks that "Savage" marking is an issue?

Many thanks to everyone who provided info! You guys rock! Especially considering I'm a FNG!

Well, Brower says that at serial 64xxB it shouldn't have a SAVAGE stamp, but it does. That stamp shouldn't show up until 7000B and higher. But that may just mean that this gun was finished later than normal..both 64xxB and 7000B would be 1914 pistols according to Bailey, so if 64xxB was simply delayed a few months that might explain it.

Savage guns were not finished in serial number order. They tend to run sequentially in order, but there's always a number of guns that get delayed in production by a couple of months or even year or more.

Or it might mean something else.. Anybody?