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Baby Browning.25 Caliber Serial Numbers4/26/2021
In 1984 a Canadian Swiss screw machine shop, Precision Small Parts, Ltd (PSP) entered into a technology transfer and production agreement with FN to manufacture the pistol.
Baby Browning.25 Caliber S Manual Thumb OperatedThe manual thumb operated safety locks the slide in the closed position when engaged using side thumb pressure.Despite the name FN used for this pistol, it was later marketed as the FN 1906, the V.P..25 (V.P.Vest Pocket), and most confusingly, the Baby.This cartridge was among the first automatic pistol cartridges to be utilized worldwide. It was designed with a semi-rimmed shell casing made of brass. The rim of the shell casing had a slightly larger circumference than the base of the cartridge and an extractor groove was cut directly above it. The shell casing was headspaced on this small rim; however, the utilization of the rim in this design complicated the mechanics of the cartridge because, while still in the magazine, the rim of one cartridge would sometimes get hung up on the extractor groove of the following cartridge (also known as rim lock). In addition, this safety lever locked the slide about a half inch back from the front of the pistol to enable easy disassembly. Its basic design was used as a starting point for a new design. FNs Director of Operations, Dieudonn Saive (who would later design the Browning Hi-Power pistol and the FN FAL rifle) developed the new version during 1926-1927. The grip safety was eliminated and the small safety lever on the left side of the frame was extended under the grip plate toward the trigger, so that the thumb of a right-handed shooter could easily engage and disengage it. This feature enabled the user to manipulate the safety without having to release his grip on the pistol. ![]() The new design also introduced an auto-safety mechanism similar to the one utilized on the Colt Vest Pocket of similar vintage, which prevented the pistol from being fired if the magazine was removed. A cocking indicator was also incorporated and is attached to the firing pin spring opposite the firing pin. It protrudes through a pin hole in the rear of the frame when the pistol is loaded. This particular pistol came to be known worldwide as the Baby Browning pistol and is the pistol shown in the top picture, except for the Browning marked grip plates which indicate a more recent (circa 1960 and beyond) production run utilizing nylon impregnated black polymer grip plates. About 550,000 units were produced, including the hand chiseled engraved Renaissance and the Lightweight version. The Lightweight utilized a 6061 T6 aluminum frame and hexavalent chrome-plated (over electro-less nickel) slide and external detail parts. With the exception of special order nickel-plated units and the above-mentioned versions, all of the 1931 Baby Brownings were finished in chemical hot blue. The halt to exports to the US in 1968 was mandated by the Gun Control Act of 1968 - which was precipitated by Robert Kennedys assassination involving an Iver Johnson manufactured revolver. This piece of legislation was signed into law by then President Lyndon Johnson. It forbade the importation of certain firearms, among them the 1931 Baby Browning - but it didnt forbid the domestic production of these same weapons. Based in Bayonne, France, MAB produced the pistol from 1979 until 1983 when bankruptcy forced it to discontinue production. ![]()
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