Sauer Behördenmodell

[Pisgah]

This was at a local shop. Basically, a police pistol, but almost certainly it would have come to the US as a bringback. I didn't know exactly what it was when I found it, but knew it was Sauer and had to be from between the wars. When I bought it, it had either the wrong magazine or had a magazine which had been modified to the point where it wasn't recognizable as original. I found an original magazine on GunBroker for it from one of the Polish sellers. I was impressed with that seller (Dariusz P.) as I received the magazine from Poland in eight days and it is perfect for the pistol. It also had its recoil spring exposed over the back of the barrel with the slide closed (through the ejection port). I knew this was probably wrong and went on a quest to discover why. Short answer is that it was supposed to have a collar at the base of the recoil spring which prevents the recoil spring from being exposed when the slide is closed. I looked all over the internet for the part and couldn't find it anywhere. GPC doesn't have it, etc. I read some posts about the pistol on various forums and found one where someone who knows the model pretty well said that sometimes the collar I was missing gets turned around and is actually inside the pistol but at the muzzle end. I don't know why this would be, but it was. That is good, as it would have taken me a while to find one. The safety on this pistol doubles as a slide hold-open device. Note the style/font of the "S" marking the safe setting. One more interesting note on this pistol: it has a trigger safety, similar to a Glock and other various modern semi-auto pistols. Whether it was intended to allow it to be carried cocked and locked I cannot say. Obviously it has a conventional switch-type safety also.

 

[mauser202]

Very cool looking little pistol. I have never seen/heard of one before. It is rare for any pistols of that era to show up in a shop near me.

 

[rpf2697]

I really like the look of that old girl. It would be fun to shoot.

 

[Pisgah]

Sauer Modell 1913--der ältere Bruder

Another Sauer in 7.65mm. This one was also from a local shop, although about 50 miles from where I found the Behördenmodell I posted above. It appears to be a variant 3 due to the configuration of the safety. It also looks like it is "1920" marked on the left of the slide above the serial number. It disassembles similarly to the Behördenmodell. To disassemble it you lock the slide to the rear by pulling it to the rear and depressing a catch in front of the trigger (the Behördenmodell uses the safety as a slide catch). Both the Modell 1913 and the Behördenmodell have rear sights which double as catches for the slide cap. Depress the rear sight (after locking the slide to the rear) and the cap can be rotated off counter-clockwise. This Modell 1913 also seems to have an internal assembly number, in addition to the serial number. Look at the top of the tang and you will see the number "2559". The last three digits of that number are on the bottom of the muzzle end of the slide, the inside of the muzzle cap, and the bolt body. The Behördenmodell has numbering in the same spots, but uses the last three digits of the actual serial number. Once the slide is locked to the rear, pulling the trigger releases the slide. One other interesting difference in this pistol is that one must push the heel magazine catch forward to release the magazine instead of the usual manner.

Link discussing some of the Sauer models between WWI and the 38H:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/S-S13-30/s-s13-30.html

 

[Pisgah]

Sauer 38H--der jüngere Bruder

For comparison. This one from the same shop as the Behördenmodell.

 

[mauser99]

love the grips on the middle pistol. The logo is very elegant. JPS was always second tier to Walther but, made a decent pocket auto.
Thanks for sharing..

 

[20PZGR]

Second tier yes, but I find 38H fascinating little pistols. The shoot well and "sit" very nicely in the hand....

 

[ebeeby]

Some excellent examples - thanks for sharing!

 

[Pisgah]

noch ein Sauer Modell 1913

This literally showed up at the same shop as the Behörden and the 38h today. According to the salesman it did not come from the same source as the Behördenmodell. They showed up at the same shop a couple of weeks apart. This one is the second type Sauer Modell 1913.