Any Gun Collectors?

[Sam Chambers]

My Dad, a WWII Army veteran, passed away last week. As we were going through my Dad's things this week, we found a few guns. We all knew about 2 - an old shotgun that belonged to my great-grandad, and a handgun that Dad took off a German colonel during WWII. I knew about a third - a newer .357 magnum. (Scared the garbonzos out of my Mom, because she didn't know about it, and it was loaded!)

But we found another handgun that none of us knew about. It looks like it might be another WW-II era weapon. It says "Browning" on the side, but the rest of the markings are in a foreign language.

Are any of you gun collectors who could help me ID this thing? If you PM me, I can e-mail pics to an e-mail address.

EDIT: The following appears on the left side of the gun:

"FABRIQUE NATIONALE D'ARMES DE GUERRE
HERSTAL BELGIQUE
BROWNING'S PATENT DEPOSE"

On the right side is the number 45094, in two
different places above the trigger.

[Dave Bartlett]

Sam,
Try this site, it could have the model in question.
http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg00-e.htm

[Sam Chambers]

Thanks for the link, Dave. It looks like the third photo down on this page (http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg17-e.htm), but has different markings on the left side. The grip has a rear slot, that I imagine was for the holster/shoulder stock shown in the photo. (I don't have the holster/shoulder stock.)

[Justin James]

Par for the course, I join a woodworking forum and my first post is about handguns . . . From the description and pictures, its a Browning High Power, aka 1935, Grand Puissance (probably mis-spelled), GP, etc. Might be a WWII bring-back or post-war purchase.

Made by Fabrique Nationale ("FN"), in Belgium, its a nice piece to have (or trade for tools or wood, or presidential portraits on funny green paper). Chambered for the 9mm parabellum cartridge (also known as "9mm Luger"). In theory, these pistols have a magazine safety, but this is often removed.

First off, is it loaded? Remove magazine (press the button on the left side behind the trigger, then draw the magazine down and out of the butt). Press safety down (left side, first level forward of the hammer), draw slide back. Make sure there's no cartridge in the chamber. Then you can lower the slide.

Is it a tangent rear sight, i.e., is the rear sight on a ladder-type thing that pivots from the front, or is it a fixed rear sight? Are there any other markings on the gun? Most militaries used a variety of proof marks and acceptance marks, and these often help identify the past history of the pistol.

[Sam Chambers]

Par for the course, I join a woodworking forum and my first post is about handguns . . . From the description and pictures, its a Browning High Power, aka 1935, Grand Puissance (probably mis-spelled), GP, etc. Might be a WWII bring-back or post-war purchase.

Made by Fabrique Nationale ("FN"), in Belgium, its a nice piece to have (or trade for tools or wood, or presidential portraits on funny green paper). Chambered for the 9mm parabellum cartridge (also known as "9mm Luger"). In theory, these pistols have a magazine safety, but this is often removed.

First off, is it loaded? Remove magazine (press the button on the left side behind the trigger, then draw the magazine down and out of the butt). Press safety down (left side, first level forward of the hammer), draw slide back. Make sure there's no cartridge in the chamber. Then you can lower the slide.

Is it a tangent rear sight, i.e., is the rear sight on a ladder-type thing that pivots from the front, or is it a fixed rear sight? Are there any other markings on the gun? Most militaries used a variety of proof marks and acceptance marks, and these often help identify the past history of the pistol.

Thanks Justin. It is a bit ironic that your first post here isn't about woodworking, but welcome to the Creek anyway!


Yes, it was loaded! I emptied the clip and verified that the chamber was empty.

It has a variable rear sight.

There are some other very small markings on the gun, but I can't tell what they are.


I'm going to take it to a local gun shop today and see if they can help me ID it.

Thanks again!

[Sam Chambers]

OK, here's what the gun dealer (who came recommended by a friend as an honest dealer) told me:

This is a fairly rare weapon. It's a WWII production Waffenampt Proof, Type 1, with tangent sights. It carries a WaA613 Nazi mark. It is slotted to accept the shoulder stock. He estimated it at 60% - 70%, with "honest" holstering wear. He wasn't sure the clip was original, but there are some faint markings on it.

According to the blue book he was looking at, it had a very limited production run, with serial numbers ranging from 40,000 - 47,000. The blue book said this model was of exceptional quality. At 60% - 70%, the blue book said it was worth $1,000 - $1,250.

Does anyone else have more info?

[Bonnie Campbell]

I guess I'm just a paranoid person, but I would communicating about that gun in private messages. I haven't seen anyone here I wouldn't trust. But trollers make a move through forums looking for things like guns to steal (seen it happen, unfortunately). And with your real name and city listed...... not good.

[Sam Chambers]

I guess I'm just a paranoid person, but I would communicating about that gun in private messages. I haven't seen anyone here I wouldn't trust. But trollers make a move through forums looking for things like guns to steal (seen it happen, unfortunately). And with your real name and city listed...... not good.
Bonnie:

Thanks for the concern, but I'm not worried. Dad's guns are locked up in a safe place (off premesis), and my home is well protected.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Sam,
Nice find!
The P-35 is a particular favorite of mine.
It was one of John Moses Browning's last creations and he's often credited with building it.
Dieudonne Saive - who worked with Browning at FN, completed the job of building the gun 9 years after JMB passed away.

It's name "High Power" comes from the double stack magazine, which holds 13 rounds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browning_Hi-Power has a good article and also a couple of pictures.

A word of caution though.
Don't try to stock the pistol by attaching a shoulder stock to it. If you do it becomes a short barreled rifle and the ATF will frown on it (more than frown - there's a heavy fine and serious jail time).

[Sam Chambers]

A word of caution though.
Don't try to stock the pistol by attaching a shoulder stock to it. If you do it becomes a short barreled rifle and the ATF will frown on it (more than frown - there's a heavy fine and serious jail time).
Rich, a friend told me the same thing, so I asked the gun shop about it while I was there. They said that in Georgia, it's all about how the gun is registered. If I register it as a regular handgun, then attaching the stock would make it an illegal weapon. But if I register it as an historic firearm, it would be OK.