Browning .25 Caliber Automatic Pistol

My gun was manufactured and imported in 1968. It was purchased new for $50, by the father of one of my friends, who was a gun dealer at the time. He put the gun in his safe, still in the wax paper and pouch where it stayed for thirty years untouched and still unfired. Read the whole story below... 

 

Specifications:
  • Capacity of Magazine...6
  • Over-all Length...4"
  • Length of Barrel...2"
  • Height of Pistol...2¾"
  • Width of Pistol...¾"
  • Number of Rifling Grooves...6 Grooves
  • Twist of Rifling...Right Hand
  • Weight of Pistol (w/Empty Magazine)...9-7/10 ounces
  • Sights...Fixed
  • Weight of Bullet...50 Grains
  • Muzzle Velocity...820 ft./sec.
  • Muzzle Energy...75 ft. lbs.
  • Penetration...3*

* Number of ⅞" Pine Boards at 15 ft.

The Baby Browning 6.35 mm: Made in Belgium, this is a great gun for concealed carry. It is very accurate at distances under 25 ft. and totally reliable in my experience. The 1968 Gun Control Act (signed by President Johnson on October 22, 1968 in the wake of the King and Kennedy assassinations) prohibited the importation of these guns. With the American market cut-off, F.N. produced far fewer guns in 1969 and thereafter, for export to other countries like Spain. Some of these guns are showing up recently. 

History:

My gun was manufactured and imported in 1968. It was purchased new for $50, by the father of one of my friends, who was a gun dealer at the time. He put the gun in his safe, still in the wax paper and pouch where it stayed for thirty years untouched and still unfired. In 1998, I purchased this Baby Browning for $400 from my friend's father.

Let's look at the transaction from an "investment" point of view. My friend's father doubled his money every ten years on the gun, i.e., 1968=$50, 1978=$100, 1988=$200 and finally 1998=$400 when he sold the investment to me. Do I think it will double in value by 2008? I think so. I have seen one like mine sell for $750 on gunbroker.com recently. But then again, if we drew a graph of the value over the last thirty years, it would certainly have ups and downs and not just be a straight line constantly moving upward. Well, it's 2008 and my question has been answered. I was offered $800 for the Baby, and I turned it down.

 

Enthusiast Rather Than Collector

Although I'm not into gun collecting as an investment, I do like to collect guns that I believe will hold their value or increase in value. I look for value in everything I purchase, cars, musical instruments, down to my wrist watch. My friend's father was able to put this gun in a safe and leave it alone for thirty years, (possibly because he was a gun dealer and had plenty of other guns to keep him busy)!

As you can see, I have the gun out on the kitchen counter taking pictures, holstering it and even loading the magazine and carrying it on certain occasions. I have resisted the temptation to fire it, but only by buying a used blue gun of this same model to practice with.

The Browning 6.35mm (or .25 caliber to us Americans) was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (F.N.) in Belgium. John Browning had contracts with Colt and F.N. and this is why the Baby Browning was not imported to the U.S. until 1954, even though it had been in production for twenty-five years or so. Colt stopped producing the vest pocket .25 pistols and got out of that market in 1953.

Many gun enthusiasts will laugh at the mention of a .25 caliber gun and call them a mouse gun. This little gun earned my respect and the respect of a lot of others through it's service to the French Resistance during WWII. It saved many lives. This gun went places, undetected, where a larger gun could not have gone. I've read more than one story of this gun being concealed inside cigarette packs.

Baby Browning

 

Serial Number Ranges:

 
1959 181001-206439
1960 206350-230999
1961 231000-250999
1962 251000-278999
1963 279000-286099
1964 286100-303499
1965 303500-329999
1966 330000-367443
1967 367444-412999
1968 413000-479000
1969 479001-

Browning - manufactured 1968

 

Comparison photos to illustrate size

Browning Pistol 1968, Masonic Ring 1941

Made in Belgium

Baby Browning and Porsche car key

Six Shot Magazine

Browning 6.35 mm

Semi-Autos:  
Colt Mustang Colt Mustang: .380 caliber, baby 1911 - DOM 1992, real mop.
1908 Colts: 24kt gold plated, fully engraved with mother of pearl. 1908 Colts: 24kt gold plated, fully engraved with mother of pearl.
1911 Colt: For nine decades the Colt Government Model 1911 has been without challenge the most ... 1911 Colt: For nine decades the Colt Government Model 1911 has been without challenge the most ...
Colt Officers Model Colt Officer's Model: Slightly smaller than a Government Model, with the barrel length reduced from 5" to 3.5".
Baby Browning Browning .25 Caliber Automatic Pistol: The 1968 Gun Control Act stopped the importation of these guns.
1903 Colt Pocket Hammerless Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless .32: Produced from 1903 to 1945.
Colt 1908 Vest Pocket Colt 1908 Hammerless .25 (Vest Pocket) Model N was made in 1916.
Revolvers:  
Colt Detective Special Colt .32 Detective Special: Made in 1950, this gun is chambered in the .32 New Police cartridge (.32 S&W Long).
1965 Colt Python 1965 Colt Python: Pythons produced from 1955 to 1969 have no letter in the serial number and are the most desirable to collectors.
Colt Single Action Army (SAA) Peacemaker: The Colt Single Action Army - this is a first generation gun.
1962 Colt Python 1962 Colt Python: Pythons produced from 1955 to 1969 have no letter in the serial number and are the most desirable to collectors.
Last Colt Detective Special Detective Special: One of the most well known and most copied guns in the world.
Colt Cobra Colt Cobra: It was an earlier version of this gun Jack Ruby used to kill Lee Harvey Oswald.
Ruger Single Six Flat Gate Ruger .22 Single Six: Commonly referred to as a "Flat Gate".
Holsters:  
Gun Holsters Gun Holsters and Various Methods of Carry: The holster is a very important part of "concealed carry".
Holsters Holster Gallery: Pictures of holsters that I have found to be of good quality as well as design, functional, easy to use and a good value.
Long Gun Leather Long Gun Leather: Gun cases that are good for transporting long guns.
Rifles:  
Colt Sauer Bolt Action Rifle Colt Sauer Rifle: Bolt Action, 30.06 caliber, 24" bbl., magazine capacity 3 or 4 rounds.
Winchester Lever Action Winchester .30-30: Lever Action, 30.30 caliber, saddle gun.
Savage Model 24J Combination .22/.410 Savage Model 24J: This Savage Model 24J O/U Combination Gun is a .22 Magnum Rifle and .410 Gauge Shotgun combined.
Shotguns:  
Ithaca Flues Model Shotgun Ithaca 4E Flues Single-Barrel Trap (1914 - 1922)
Ithaca Knick Model Shotgun Ithaca 4E NID (New Improved Design) 1922 - 1944
Browning A5 Browning A-5: Auto 16 gauge short bbl, stamped U.S. Property.
Remington 90-T Trap Gun Remington Model 90-T: A Single-Shot 12 Gauge Trap gun with a 34" bbl, Full Fixed Choke, low vent rib and adjustable comb stock.
Remington Pump Shotgun Remington Pump: Pump action 12 gauge with stamped patent dates...
Abercrombie and Fitch Shotgun Abercrombie & Fitch: 12 Gauge, Single Shot, 32" bbl., full fixed choke, made by Renato Gamba for Abercrombie & Fitch about 1978.
Knives:  
Arno Bernard Custom Made Giraffe Bone Knife OldPocketKnives.net: A website where you can buy old pocket knives.
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