I do like the 'Thirty-Two' calibres (7.65 mm) - despite them being generally disparaged as "mouse guns" .. and I have a parfait Ruger revolver in 327 Federal Magnum. - You can fire the .32"ACP rounds in this & some other .32" revolvers as this semi-rimless cartridge was designed by John Moses Browning prior to 1899 to permit that .. but don't expect the revolver's star ejector to work properly eh.
It has been hard to find a .32" auto pistol here in New Zealand that is approved "B Cat" by our authorities for use on club target pistol ranges .. so having only recently found (in different shops) two vintage French 'thirty-twos' that are approved as 'B' Category target pistols I was delighted to bargain for their ownership ..
One of Mine Won't yet Lock The Slide Back
& The Lanyard Ring Has Been Cut-Off - But The Other is Original..
- Just WHY I like the 32's is partly a reaction to the morons calling them "mouse guns"
.. For starters - the calibre or bore size is the same size hole as the British ".303" rifle - .308"s & the Russian "AK 47" rifles .. among the most successful rifles in the world.
- And secondly these .32" pistol cartridges had the BEST ONE SHOT STOP statistic in Greg Ellifritz's Stopping Power Study from recorded US Police & Military shooting records. - CHECK IT OUT if you need to argue: Link ..
https://flicense.blogspot.com/2014/01/stopping-power-study-by-greg-ellifritx.html
- And thirdly this pistol round is very accurate, controllable & pleasant to shoot having little BLAST or FELT RECOIL at 1,000 fps.
The moron problem (& mine) is that most current makers use the .32" ACP to build smaller "carry guns" with shortish barrels.
The 7.65 mm /32" ACP MAB model D was produced for thirty years by Manufacture d'Armes de Bayonne in the Basque region of France close to the border with Spain - from 1933 to 1963 in 7.65/.32" ACP ; - it was inspired by the Belgian Browning FN pistol 1910/22. - This full size 'D' model pistol was intended for police and military service use.
The original Type I MAB Model D was made 1933–1945 and uses an external muzzle bushing release latch in front of the trigger guard - My elegant specimens are 60-70 year old post war Type II and use a "bayonet" type release requiring pushing in and turning the muzzle bushing.
This pistol is not an easy gun to take apart or re-assemble .. it's a bit awkward - fiddly. - Since buying my French MAB-Model D's I seem to have started twitching & muttering during my REM sleep much like my old cat remembering last decade's earthquakes ..
- Records say that the MAB factory changed from the Type I to Type II production in June 1945. - So both of my 'thirty-two's might be slightly younger than I am & the serial numbers BF11** indicate issue for use by guards at the Banque de France.
The range of post-war Type II letter-prefixes relate to the name of the agency - "BF" for Banque de France, "CF" for the railroad (SNCF, or Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français), "D" for Customs (DGDDI, or la Douane) etc ..
Weird NZ Rules: Both of these European 7.65mm Pistols
Are Registered to my Endorsed Licence - But Only The French MAB Is a Shooter
Are Registered to my Endorsed Licence - But Only The French MAB Is a Shooter
I'm trying a 'Limbsaver' rubber sleeve on the MAB to fatten-up it's stock to better fit my hand grip
.. This police ruling on barrel length is a very silly power-play - as while I am trusted as fit and proper to own both of these old striker fired .32"ACP handguns - I am not permitted to fire the old German ORTGIES on range because it's barrel is a little length-deprived.
- So this full-size-but-chic 'B-Cat' four Inch semi-auto is a treat for me to fire with full power ammo, while it's low line fixed barrel .. in an all-steel gun - makes it pleasant to use. - several of the web-sites state that this model achieves the highest .32"ACP velocity readings on a chronograph.
My guess is that the MAB '32' will learn to play nicely with my Ruger 327 Fed Magnum ..
MAB went bankrupt in 1968 following revocation of their export licences by the French Government .. history says that they had made 300,000 Model 'D's.
- Here's a link to my version of the 'thirty-twos' cartridge history:
https://flicense.blogspot.com/2016/03/31-and-32-revolver-and-auto-cartridges.html
There is a most readable history of the MAB company linked here:
https://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/MABHist/mabhist.html
Marty K.
Agree on the mouse gun comment, always point any firearm in a safe direction.
ReplyDeletePlenty worn discarded SMLE barrels about, but which are less worn in their mid section. The throat is usually eroded by hot burning Cordite, and the muzzle end worn by the bullets having highest velocity by then. You could get someone appropriate to turn down a SMLE barrel mid-section to a range-legal Ortgies barrel.
Yes that might be possible to do but would take great eng skill to machine the breech block end .. and then I'm not sure that the senior ranking officer would authorise type approval for club range use. It would perhaps be more doable to 'sleeve' and fit a muzzle extension but that would permanently modify from original eh.
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