Husqvarna Model 1907 in .380 ACP

The Swedish Husqvarna began life as the Fabrique Nationale FN Model 1903.  If you think it looks like a Colt Model 1903, the resemblance is quite intentional.  FN was licensed to produce Browning's .32 caliber Pocket Hammerless for the European market while Colt had the U.S rights.  Several countries reportedly wanted a larger service pistol on the same design so FN produced this model to handle the 9mm Browning Long cartridge.  They enlarged and lengthened the grip to accommodate the bigger 9X20mm Browning Long cartridge.  FN also lengthened the barrel to 5 inches as opposed to the 3 and a half inch barrel of the Colt .32 ACP.

One of the items FN added was a unique slide stop lever on the right side of the frame.  The Colt 1903 had no slide stop.  The FN version is a frame mounted "L" shaped armature that pops up into a notch on the slide when the slide retracts over an empty magazine.  To release the slide you do not press the lever down you simply pull the slide further to the rear and the lever will then release the slide.

Otherwise the FN 1903 and the Colt 1903 are very much the same.  They are both single action pistols utilizing a concealed hammer, they both have a grip safety and the magazine release on the heal of the grip is both company's models.  Like the early versions of the Colt 1903 they both have a removable barrel bushing and they both share the same lack of useable sights.  The Husqvarna Model 1907 weighs in at 32.8 ounces with an overall length of 8.07 inches.  The magazine capacity is seven rounds.

The rear sight is a very small and shallow notch and the front sight is a very small rounded hump.

Sweden adopted the pistol in 1907 and imported them from FN dubbing it the model 1907.  FN produced these pistols for Sweden until their factory was captured by German troops in 1914 during the Great War. Subsequently Sweden procured a license to produce them and Husqvarna began manufacturing them in 1917.

The Husqvarna Model 1907 was Sweden's stand sidearm from 1907 until 1940 when they adopted the 9mm Lahti.  Sweden put many of them into the surplus pipeline in the 1950's with most of them coming to the U.S.  They did pull them out of mothballs in the 1980's as their Lahti's began wearing out with the use of higher powered 9mm ammunition.  The Model 1907 were a stop gap measure until Sweden received their order of Glock Model 17 pistols.  

This pistol is one of the 1950's exports which came with it's leather military holster and three magazines.

Once they arrived in this country most importers re-chambered them to .380 ACP or in it's European designation 9mm Browning Short.  The original chambering of the 9X20mm Browning Long cartridge was not very popular in the U.S. and the pistols were fairly quick and easy to convert to .380 ACP.

The pistol is devoid of any importation markings but does have this crown over the initials G.B. on the rear.

My assumption is that this is the inspection marking of Carl Gustaf Bjorkenstam but if anyone has any different information please drop me an email.

Shooting the Husqvarna Model 1907 is a snap.  By today's standards of pistols this pistol is really over built for the .380 cartridge.  The recoil veritably defines the word "minimal" and the accuracy is much better than to be expected.

I first rolled a three inch bullseye out to 15 feet to get to know the pistol a little better and was astonished with a ragged one hole 5 shot group.

Pushing the next target out to 21 feet I still got a good 5 round grouping.  On the one hand you would expect pretty good accuracy with a five inch barrel and the recoil taming weight of this pistol but the tiny sights present a challenge.

Going out to 35 feet the grouping opened up due primarily because I could no long really distinguish the minuscule black front sight against the black target.  Still they would have all been good upper torso hits.

In order to get a little more contrast I borrowed a red marker and hastily drew a 4X4 inch red box.  The 16 rounds did group a little tighter.

Looking at this pistol it drips with INTRIGUE.  During WWII Sweden declared their neutrality as they had since the 1815 Napoleonic wars.  However, they were never completely certain if Germany was going to honor this declaration but they were able to stay out of the war with certain concessions to the Nazi's such as allowing them to ship troops and equipment through their country's railroad system.  To the Allies they shared military intelligence and one can only imagine one of their intelligence officers on a mission armed with the Husqvarna model 1907 concealed in his jacket.

While Sweden exported several thousand of these pistols to the U.S. you do not see them all that often.  GunBroker.com currently only shows one at a price of $475.00.  For that money you get the pistol, three magazines and the leather holster.  Not a bad deal for such a fun pistol.

This Is It! The Ruger SP101

As I expressed last week after being frustrated with another lightweight revolver at least after handling the S&W 637 and the Gemini Customs Ruger SP101 I now knew what I need and do not need in a small revolver.

What I Do Not Need	What I Need
1. Ultra Light Revolver	1. All Steel Revolver
2. Ultra Short Barrel	2. 3 Inch Barrel
3. Immeasurably Heavy Trigger Pull	3. 9.5 Pound Trigger Pull
4. S&W Grips (including Hogue, Desantis, etc)	4. Hand-filling Grips
5. Small Plain Sights	5. Adequately Sized Front Night Sight

Let's start with what I don't need:

1. An ultra light revolver.  The tradeoff between weight and shoot-ability is too high.  Ultra light equals painful practice.  The backstrap rockets into the web of my hand and becomes painful after only a few cylinders of ammunition have been fired.  The trigger guard bangs against the knuckle of my middle finger adding more pain.  I know that the old adage it that the small .38 special revolvers are to be carried a lot and shot a little but in today's litigious society any handgun I carry  needs to be backed up with a lot of practice.
2. An ultra short barrel.  The barrel on the S&W J frames isn't even 2 inches long.  Practical sight radius is not there.  They are nothing more than a 5 round derringer.
3. An immeasurably heavy trigger pull.  S&W J frame revolvers have terrible trigger pulls, well north of 13 pounds.
4. Small grips.  For some reason the grips on S&W's J frames never fit my hand be it their stock wooden grip, their stock rubber grip, a Hogue Monogrip, or their new ones by DeSantis.
5. Small plain sights that disappear in sunlight and dusk.

All of these attributes make for one little revolver that is painful to shoot and difficult with which to find accuracy.

So what I do need is pretty much the opposite.  I need an all steel revolver with a 3 inch barrel, a front night sight, a trigger pull of about 9 to 10 pounds and hand filling grips.

The answer to my needs comes in the Ruger SP101.  But did I need so send it to Gemini Customs for their $459.00 treatment?  Read on!  But first, here's a quick comparison of the S&W 637 and the 2.25 inch and 3 inch barreled Rugers:

Model	637 Wyatt Deep Cover	Ruger SP101	Ruger SP101
Caliber	.38 Special +P	.38 Spec./.357 Magnum	.38 Spec./.357 Magnum
Capacity	5	5	5
Barrel Length	1.87 inches	2.25 inches	3.06 inches
Sights	Fixed	Fixed (Night Sight Added)	Fixed (Night Sight Added)
Overall Length	6.31 inches	7.2 inches	8.0 inches
Action	Double Action Only	Double Action Only	SA/DA
Weight	14 ounces	25 ounces	27.2 ounces
Grips	Polymer Clip Grip	Polymer Grip	Polymer Grip
Frame	Aluminum Alloy	Stainless Steel	Stainless Steel
Cylinder	Stainless Steel	Stainless Steel	Stainless Steel
Trigger Pull		9.8 pounds	9.5 pounds DA/2.1 pounds SA
MSRP	$559.00	$659.00	$659.00

Let's start with the grips.  Grips that fill and fit my hand are crucial.  What I have found is that if the hand isn't making full contact with the grip it is bad for accuracy, recoil control and pain management.  If the hand is not making full contact if means there will be gaps between the hand and grip at various points.  Those gaps are areas where you have no grip control and they provide room for the grip to slam into your hand.  Also, I am partial for a grip that gives me room for my pinky finger.  That is another grip control point and accuracy enhancer.  With properly sized and fitting grips you will still experience muzzle flip and a push into your hand but proper fit eliminates the slap-shot recoil pounding your middle finger and the web of your hand.  

Grant Cunningham recommended Pachmayr grips for the SP101 and since he is "The Revolver Specialist" I knew he would not steer me wrong.  The SP101 is pretty well set up right out of the box but it can be made a little better.  The $34.00 for the Pachmayr grip was money well spent.  The grip is slightly longer than the stock Ruger grip so it gives my pinky finger some room.  Additionally they fit my hand very well with no gaps between hand and grip and the textured synthetic grips have a better "feel" to them than the standard Ruger grips.

Obviously I went for a 3 inch barrel as I find they offer better balance and provide more sight radius and more velocity.  For sights I chose a Meprolight front night sight.

It provides a better sight picture in all lighting environments and, from a cosmetic standpoint it is very "sleek".  The Gemini Customs SP101 sported an XS Big Dot night sight which looked a little odd and contributed to the revolver shooting a bit low.

The three-inch barrel and all stainless steel construction provide more weight which also helps dampen recoil.  At 27.2 ounces the 3 inch SP101 is almost twice as heavy as the Smith & Wesson 637 and believe me, this is a good thing.  I do not find the extra weight to be a hinderance in concealed carry, all day long carry.  If you have a proper belt and holster, including pocket holster, the weight is no problem.

This leaves us with the trigger pull.  The trigger pull as it came out of the box was better than any S&W "J" frame pull I have ever experienced.  But I knew it could be made even better.  Fortunately for me the gunsmiths at Bill's Gun Shop in Robbinsdale, MN are trigger pull experts. They offer several options for their trigger pull work. They can give you a competition trigger pull which is amazingly light or can give you their "safe carry" pull which is heavier than their competition pull to keep you from negligently discharging the revolver when under the stress of a shooting situation and it is ultra reliable.  With some competition triggers you may find that the pull is so light it is not heavy enough to reliably strike with the force necessary to fire all of the various primers on different ammo.  When this revolver was returned to me it had a buttery smooth 9.5 pound double action trigger pull and a 2.1 pound single action pull.  This trigger pull is awesome!

Time for the Targets:

The above target shows 10 rounds of Magtech 158 grain FMJ ammo fired at 21 yards.

Same ammo with 25 rounds fired at 30 feet.

Same ammo, 20 rounds fired at 50 feet.

Defensive Loads

5 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 110 Grain +P FTX bullet at 21 feet.

The above target shows 5 rounds of Federal Hydra Shok +P 129 grain Hollow Point ammo fired at 21 feet.

The above target shows 5 rounds of Winchester PDX 1 Defender +P 130 Bonded Jacketed Hollow Point ammo fired at 21 feet.

10 rounds of Remington High Terminal Performance 158 grain +P Lead Hollow Point at 21 feet.

So, was the extra work I had done on the SP101 worth it and how much did it cost?  In my opinion, yes it was.  The cost of the grips, night sight, springs, installation and trigger job was $144.00.  That's $315 less than had I sent it to Gemini Customs and I had to wait about a week instead of five months to get it back.

Ruger SP101 DAO 2.25 Inch Barrel

I liked the 3 inch barreled model so much that my curiosity lead me to ask if the 2.25 barreled model could perform as well.  I wondered how much would be traded off between a shorter length and the performance of the longer barrel.

Ruger manufacturers a Double Action Only version with a bobbed hammer in a 2.25 inch barrel so that is what I procured.  I had all the same work done to it as I did with with the 3 inch model.  After being worked over the double action trigger pull on this SP101 came in at 9.8 pounds.

And here's how she shot (all targets were placed at 21 feet):

Here's five rounds of the Hornady Critical Defense ammo.

Federal Hydra Shok +P

Remington High Terminal Performance 158 grain +P

Speer 135 grain +P Short Barrel Gold Dot Hollow Point

Winchester PDX 1 Defender 130 grain +P

In short, the 2.25 inch barreled model gives up very little to the 3 inch model especially when using the Speer or Winchester ammo.

And this is how they ride in the DeSantis Super Fly pocket holster and a Bianchi outside the waistband belt holster.

A final and wonderful observation about these revolvers is, that instead of being painful, they are really fun to shoot and exceeded my expectation for accuracy!

In Conclusion: THIS IS IT!