Patented November 21 1905-9m-m on Savage semi automatic pistols what does 1905-9m-m stand for or mean?

Answer 1

Savage made three models of automatic pistols, the model 1907 (made 1908-1920), the model 1915 (made 1915-1917), and the model 1917 (made 1920-1928). All of these were made in .32 ACP and .380 ACP caliber. Because Savage pistols were sold internationally (for example, the French military purchased tens of thousands of .32 model 1907s for use in WWI), starting in 1913 Savage stamped both the US/British "inch" caliber and the metric caliber on the top of the slides of its automatic pistols.

.32 ACP = 7.65mm (or "7.65 m/m")
.380 ACP = 9mm (or "9 m-m")

There are a number of 9mm cartridges; the .380 ACP is the same as the 9x17mm, aka 9mm Browning Short, 9mm Corto, 9mm Kurz, 9mm Court, 9mm Short. This is NOT the same as what is commonly meant by "9mm" today, which is the 9x19mm, aka 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, or 9mm Para. It is also different than the 9x18mm, aka 9m Makarov.

November 21, 1905 is the date Elbert Searle was awarded a patent for his pistol design. This design is the basis for all the Savage automatic pistols, and the date is stamped on the top of the slides of all Savage automatic pistol models. It has no connection with a pistol's model or manufacturing date.