Reviving A Steyr 1909 Pocket Pistol

Let me start with some thoughts on small pistol history. I have to admit that small pistols and derringers have been fascinating me for along time. The major wonder of these guns is twofold. First, they are the last resort in self-defense. Second, they have to combine maximum power with the smallest size for better concealment. Over the years these requirements have produced some interesting designs. But what is the small pistol?

One would assume that the term "small pistol" is self-explanatory but in reality the definition is somewhat fuzzy. Take, for example, miniature replicas. Many of them are fully functional, even with 0.5-inch long barrels and 2mm bullets. These toys became quite collectable. See below for more info. These miniatures are actual pistols since each of them can be fi red with one hand and the bullet is flying out of the barrel, however, we cannot consider them a weapon for self-defense.

For this purpose their power is laughable. We all understand that greater caliber and bullet weight are more efficient for this job, but heavy loads imply heavier pistols. That, in turn, violates the concealment principle. So, what is the minimal size of the pistol able to be a weapon for selfdefense? Again, not an easy question. Firearms history has a lot of controversial examples. One of them is the Velo Dog revolvers.

They first appeared in France in the late 1800s and were designated to cyclists against dog attacks. The original cartridge was a 5.75mm Velo Dog. This type of revolver became very popular across Europe and was followed by all kinds of small pocket revolvers, mostly with fi ve chambers in .22 Short. Definitely, that can harm the dog, but still is far from a real self-defense weapon.

Interestingly enough, the Velo Dog became a prototype for the Bull Dog, produced in Britain by Webley & Scott in 1878 and chambered for .442 Webley first and the .450 Adams later. No doubt, that was a real weapon. It seems that the definition of the small self-defense pistol became 25ACP, designed by Nicolas Pieper of Liege. somewhat more stable with appearance of the .25 ACP cartridge.

This cartridge was introduced by John Browning in 1905 for his semiautomatic "pocket" pistol, made first by Fabrique Nationale in Belgium. Then, from 1906 and on, this pistol was manufactured by Colt. The .25 ACP centerfi re cartridge is of a semirimmed design. A small rim on the case allows for more consistent head spacing than one based on the casing geometry only. For this matter the shoulders of the chamber are the only support for the rim of the chambered round.

Having approximately the same power as .22 LR, this cartridge is more reliable for cycling in semiautomatic pistols. Small size and comparative reliability of Browning’s design inspired other designs of similar-size semiautomatic pistols for the same cartridge. Given the flatness and compactness of such pistols compared to revolvers, they became very popular and pushed away from the market

25ACP barrel, which happened to be in a good shape, with an already-finished chamber was used for making anew liner. The barrel lug will be removed and the barrel turned into the liner with outer diameter of 8 mm. most of small, low power wheel gun intended for the same purpose. Even today the popularity of .25 ACP pistols is quite high and design of pocket pistols for this cartridge continues. Among new .25 ACP designs are such as Beretta, Bernardelli, Kel-Tec, Raven Arms and many others.

For the sake of truth and completeness of this description I have to mention that another strong tendency in modern self-defense small handguns is the design of subcompact big-bore pistols. In this article, however, I want to describe the repair of the old .25 ACP Steyr 1909 pocket pistol, designed by the prominent Belgian gunmaker Nicolas Pieper of Liege with a number of interesting characteristics. Steyr-Pieper Model 1909 This pistol began its life at the Austrian Weapons Manufacturing Company in 1909.

It is a blowback, semiautomatic pistol of .25 ACP with a magazine holding six rounds. The barrel length is 2.24 inches. The Steyr 1909 was manufactured from 1909 through 1914 and then after WWI from 1921 through 1939. This particular example featured in this article was assembled in 1921, which is stamped on the left side of the barrel block. This design has a tip-down barrel block. I call it a barrel block because it contains not only the barrel but also the recoil spring housing.

A tipping barrel allows for fast access to the chamber and is needed for removal of the unused or misfired cartridge since this model of Steyr 1909 does not have any extractor. The ejection of the spent case relies completely on blowback. The tip-down barrel is a very convenient feature and appeared on many contemporary designs of .25 ACP caliber, such as the 1979 Beretta 21 Bobcat, Taurus PT25 and others. The recoil spring, located at the top of the barrel block, is another interesting feature of Steyr 1909.

Putting this spring in a separate housing instead of winding it around the barrel allows for a flatter, narrower design. It also allows for a longer spring, which is important for consistent slide-returning tension. In other words, this helps to avoid the situation when pulling the slide back is easy in the beginning and hard at the end. In addition, the recoil spring plunger has a hook for engaging with the slide. Tipping the barrel down momentarily disengages the recoil spring from the slide.

This feature makes disassembling very easy. The other important feature of this pistol is its modular design. Undoing two screws disintegrates this pistol into four main modules: barrel block, slide, slide housing and frame. Modularity is a modern idea found more often in the latter parts of the twentieth century and through today. We can see it nowadays on combat rifles and pistols but in 1909 it was a futuristic feature, unparalleled to other firearm. Another interesting feature of the Steyr 1909 is its barrel.

It is not a separate part—it is drilled and rifl ed in the body of the barrel block. That also is an attempt to minimize the width of the pistol’s body. Any separate tube would require more space. Unfortunately, this last feature made repair of this pistol a bit cumbersome as I describe in the next section. What’s Wrong With This Pistol? The pistol came into my shop with the problem that "it does not shoot." A quick test showed that the internal hammer kicked pretty good and the firing pin was in order.

Despite this, the mark on the primer was absent or almost invisible. The problem was not difficult to detect after checking the chamber. It was abnormally widened and did not support the rim at all. As I mentioned before, the .25ACP is a semi-rimmed and straight bodied case. There is nothing else to provide a correct headspace other than reliable support of the rim by the shoulders of the chamber. As was the case with this example, the chambered cartridge bypassed the shoulders and deepens into the chamber.

As a result, the primer is beyond the reach for the firing pin. That is a real headspace problem.

Making the liner out of the Bernardelli barrel required some attention since it ends up being a pretty thin tube. It also should fit snug into the new tunnel in the barrel block. Repair My first effort was to find the barrel block in better condition than the original one. I was quite surprised when Numrich Gun Parts Corporation had this part available. However, after receiving it and realizing that finding this part in a good condition may be a utopian idea, I started thinking about some other solution.

Naturally, relining the barrel came to my mind, however, there were some obstacles for this solution. First, finding a .25ACP liner or even a chamber reamer turned out difficult. The other problem was a really slim profile of the barrel block. So, the drilling through the old barrel for the reasonable liner becomes quite risky. However, that seemed to be the only way to go. My solution for the liner was to buy a barrel for a Bernardelli .25ACP from Numrich Gun Parts and work it into a liner.

This also means I would not need the chamber reamer either. I found such a barrel in good shape. A 21/64-inch drill bit was used for drilling the tunnel for the new liner. Making the liner out of the Bernardelli barrel required some additional attention since it is going to be a pretty thin tube, yet should still fit snug into the new tunnel in the barrel block. Another careful step was putting the liner into the tunnel so that the headspace would be correct.

Remember that chamber is already finished and there is no way to regulate headspace by gradually reaming the chamber, as would be done in the normal circumstances. For fixing the liner in the tunnel I decided to solder it in. The liner soldered into the barrel block with SWIF 95 solder/flux mix. This soldering mix is very useful in many situations and can be bought at Brownells Inc.

After shaping the liner outside the barrel block the Steyr The chambered cartridge has proper support of the rim, which is properly supported by the shoulders of the new chamber. The SWIF 95 solder/flux helps to tin the hard to reach surface of the tunnel. 1909 became like new. The liner with correct chamber along with Nicolas Pieper’s great design enabled reliable cycling of this revived pistol. That is how I repaired this Steyr 1909 disabled by a damaged chamber.

This damage caused the cartridge to protrude inside the chamber and its primer became inaccessible for the firing pin. This problem was solved by relining the barrel of this pistol with a liner made out of a Bernardelli .25 ACP barrel. 25 ACP cartridges are the smallest ones widely used for selfdefense. Anything less is below the edge of needed power and makes it a miniature toy. For more info visit miniaturearsenal.com AG