I just visited the owner of these:



And to make our envy even worse, he owns two more. These are four of the actual, serial number-noted Savage .45 pistols used in the 1907 field trials.

Oh, the things I could do to those

Don't leave something like that laying around in our shop!

_________________
Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

TR

At $18,000 each, they never left my sight.

Wow. Something most people don't see every day...or lifetime.
And he has twice that many?

Tell us more about those four. I don't know what else there might be to tell, but for starters: How did he come across them?

I have always read that the Savage .45's Searle-designed locking system gave a sharper recoil feel than the Browning/Colt. I bought a Savage M1907 "pocket" auto last winter, which I understand uses the same (or very similar) locking system as the .45.
I didn't know a .32 could have so much recoil.
I know it can't really recoil any more than another gun of the same caliber and weight, but it sure feels like it. No, it wasn't brutal, but more than I expected from a .32ACP. Whether it's the locking system, the grip angle, or my imagination, it felt like a 9mm being fired in a gun that size. So if the Savage .45 is anything like that, I can believe what I've read about it's recoil.
I'd sure like to find out for myself, though.

The owner is amenable to a second visit and test-firing session.

He used to own a fifth one. Sold it. When I asked, he said "Yes, I wish I hadn't done that."

The day before, I had visited the owner of one of the Colt 1907 field trials guns. A good drive, that was.

The are locked breach....?

Rotating barrel, just like the little .32s and .380s.

The owner says they don't kick any worse than a 1911. I'm skeptical (hence the return to test-fire) because I've fired rotating-barrel pistols, and they all kick harder than they should.

I've only let one person shoot my Savage M1907 32 ACP so far. It was "some guy" at the range who I had seen before but didn't really know well. I didn't tell him what caliber it was, as I presumed he would know it was either .32 or .380.
His comment: "What caliber is this, a .40?"

Man, where does one get the means, and connections to aquire such mythical devices? I am very jealous, especially as I could never dream to own an $18,000 gun. I'm lucky to own an $18,000 car

Simple: your family has owned a gunshop since before WWII. The things that come in (and came in in the old days) would bug your eyes out.

I once had a guy bring in a Beretta BM-59, (semi, not select) complete with a couple of .50cal ammo cans full of factory mags, and another couple of ammo cans full of surplus ammo. He wanted $400, which I didn't have, as I was in the process of buying a gun shop complete with machine tools as the next step in my progression.

Own a gunshop long enough, and you'll see everything walk through the door at least once.

Can I be your driver on these adventures?

_________________
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE
Thunder Ranch THG & UR(x2), Gunsite 250C,
Yavapai Firearms Acad HG1(x2), HG2, & SG,
Shootrite Prvt Inst HG, NRA Life Member

What horrendously ugly, wonderful pieces of history they are.

It's like finding Eleanor Roosevelt lying around. Well, ... not quite.