[Ferroflame]

Hey guys,

My Grandfather gave me his old pocket pistol from when he was a kid for Christmas.

He told me that he bought it off a deputy sheriff, who apparently got it from a woman who had bought it to kill her husband but later changed her mind and gave it to him and asked him to sell it.

It shoots .25ACP. I'm not sure exactly what it is, though. It's semi-auto and holds 6 rounds per magazine.

The poor thing was practically rusted out. I worked with the slide a bit and it seemed functional.

I took it out in the backyard and fired one round into the ground to see if it worked, and the answer is yes. It still works. I sprayed it down with WD-40 to help work the rust off of it. I'ma let it sit out all night and come back to it in the morning.

I'll be sure to post some pics later and see if any of you know anything about it. It has slide markings but I can't even read them. All I can really make out is "Automatique" or something.

All in all it was a Merry Christmas, for sure.

[pajaro]

a toothbrush and fine steel wool might help in cleaning it..... clean the bore out and the chamber too..... get it cleaned up and dont be in a hurry to shoot it again til you're sure its working safely....... you might consider wearing safety glasses too.....

[dodge310]

Congrats. 25's can be fun to shoot.

btw, what part of Kentucky you from?

[Big Dog]

Sounds like any of a large number of inexpensive little pocket pistols produced by the French and Belgians in the early 20th century - it was almost a cottage industy! With a good pic, and some legible markings, I may be able to help - I have a very good "Encyclopedia of Handguns" that covers the various known makers. And logo or designs on the grip panels could really help too.

[KW Gary M]

Sounds like a bomb waiting to explode in your hand. I'd clean it up, put it in a case and keep it as a memory of Grandpa. Not sure I'd shoot it agian unless a gunsmith gave it a clean bill of health...

[Ferroflame]

Quote:       Originally Posted by pajaro

a toothbrush and fine steel wool might help in cleaning it..... clean the bore out and the chamber too..... get it cleaned up and dont be in a hurry to shoot it again til you're sure its working safely....... you might consider wearing safety glasses too.....

I'll plan on doing that, thank you.

I always wear safety glasses. My father also suggested wearing gloves, in case it blew up in my hand. Haha. I'm glad it didn't.


I live in Woodford County.


Mine is strikingly similar to the picture on wikipedia.org when you type in pocket pistol.

It has a shorter grip and very slightly different markings. I should get those pics up in a sec.