How can you identify a Savage semi-auto pistol with exposed hammer in 380 ACP Patented Nov 21 1905?

Answer 1

Update:

The 1905 date appears on the slide of all Savage automatics -- it is the date Elbert Searle was awarded his patent for the pistol design which is the basis for all three production Savage automatic pistols and the few hundred .45 pistols made for the US Army competition for its first automatic sidearm (the Savage ended up as the only other finalist, but in the end came in second to the Colt pistol that we now know as the model 1911).

All three production models, the 1907, 1915 and 1917, came in both .32 and .380, but one, the "hammerless" model 1915, came standard with a "shrouded hammer" (ie, the striker lever ("hammer") is shortened and hidden under a curved steel plate or "shroud").

If the pistol has an "exposed hammer", look at the grips. The model 1907 has narrow grips with no screws in them. The model 1917 has wider, trapezoidal grips with a screw through each grip. (The only screws in any of the Savage automatics are the grip screws used for the model 1917 grips, and used with some special order grips (mother of pearl, etc) for the other models.

All but the model 1915 came standard with one of two types of exposed "hammer." The model 1907 had a rounded "cocking burr" from 1908-1919; in 1920 it came standard with a "cocking spur," although this had been a no-cost option for about 5 years. The model 1917 came standard with the "cocking spur," although the older "cocking burr" could still be special ordered. The "hammerless" model 1915 could also be special ordered with an exposed cocking burr or cocking spur, although only a few examples are known.

.380 pistols of all three models have s/n ending in "B" except for the first hundred or so .380 model 1907s (made in 1913), which had s/n beginning with a "B." Savage used only two s/n series covering all three models -- a numeric one for the .32 pistols, running from 1 (1908) to about 259472 (1926), and another with the "B" for .380 pistols, running from B2000 (1913) to about 29972B (1928). (This does not include some prototype versions which had special s/n.)

Original:

Model 1907 will be marked in two lines Manufactured by Savage Arms Co. / Utica, N.Y. U.S.A. Pat. Nov. 21, 1905. The .380 should also have a "B" before (or is it after?) the serial number. An early model will have a serial number between approximately 2000 and 10000 and be marked CAL / .380 to the right of the main inscription. Later styles (made 1919 to 1920) will have serial numbers from 13901 to 15749, CAL .380 at the end of the top line, and 9.m-m at the end of the second.

The Model 1917 is similar but the hammer is more visible and the grip is narrower at the top than the bottom. There is a slight difference in the markings: Savage Arms Corp. Utica, N.Y. U.S.A. CAL .380 / Patented November 21, 1905-9m-m. Serial numbers will range from 15750 to 29972.