page_title: Pocket pistol
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Pocket pistol / History
caption_attribution_description: English: FN Model 1910. On display at Morges military museum. Français&#160;: Un pistolet Browning M1910, exposé dans le musée militaire de Morges, dans le canton de vaud, en Suisse.
context_page_description: In American English, a pocket pistol is any small, pocket-sized semi-automatic pistol, suitable for concealed carry in either a coat, jacket or trouser pocket.
  Pocket pistols were popular in the United States until the 1950s and 1960s, when most states passed laws limiting or prohibiting the carry of concealed weapons. However, the passage of "shall issue" firearms license laws in the mid-1990s, resulted in a resurgence in the popularity of pocket pistol in the United States, creating new markets for small, simple, reliable, concealed carry firearms.
  In general use, the term pocket pistol is purely descriptive, but "mouse gun" is often a pejorative. Likewise, pocket pistols, due to their small size, often are lumped in with Saturday night specials, another pejorative term, which are typically inexpensive small caliber handguns.
context_section_description: The pocket pistol originated in the mid-17th century as a small, concealable flintlock known as the Queen Anne pistol, the coat pistol, or the pocket pistol. This was used throughout the 18th century, evolving from a weapon reserved for the wealthy to a common sidearm in broader use as more and more manufacturers made them by the start of the 19th century.
  The original 19th century vest-sized pocket pistol was the Philadelphia Deringer. The advent of the metallic cartridge gave us the classic double barrel .41 Rimfire Remington Model 95 which achieved such widespread popularity, that it has completely overshadowed all other designs, becoming synonymous with the word "Derringer". The Remington double-barrel derringer design is still being manufactured (150 years after they were first introduced) by American Derringer, Bond Arms, and Cobra Arms, all of whom manufacture derringers in a variety of calibers from .22 long rifle to .45 Long Colt & .410 gauge.
  Introduced in the late 19th century snubnosed revolvers such as the "Banker Special", "Sheriff's Model", and "Shopkeeper Special" versions of the Colt Single Action Army revolvers were made by  Colt's Manufacturing Company. The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless models were produced from 1887 to just before World War II. They were chambered in either .32 S&W or .38 S&W with a 5-shot cylinder. They were most often produced with a 2-inch, 3-inch, or 3.5-inch barrels. These top-break revolvers were designed for fast reloading and concealed carry as the hammer was internal and would not snag on drawing the revolver from a pocket. They also had a grip safety. They were known as "The New Departure" to reflect the company's new approach to designing revolvers. The design of these revolvers sacrifices power and range for maneuverability and concealment. Similar "hammerless" designs proved popular with other manufacturers such as Iver Johnson and Harrington & Richardson. In 1952, Smith & Wesson introduced the more modern hand ejector model the Smith & Wesson Centennial Model 40.
  The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless is a 9-shot, .32 ACP caliber, self-loading, semi-automatic pistol designed by John Browning and built by Colt Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The Colt Model 1908 Pocket Hammerless is an 8-shot, .380 ACP caliber variant introduced five years later. Despite the title "hammerless", the Model 1903 does have a hammer. It is covered and hidden from view under the rear of the slide. This allows the pistol to be carried in, and withdrawn from a pocket quickly and smoothly without snagging.
  The first widely used and successfully semi-automatic .25 ACP pocket pistols were the FN Model 1905, Colt Model 1908 Vest Pocket and later the Baby Browning. The FN 1905 was designed and marketed along with .25 ACP cartridge in 1905. The M1905 is a very small 7-shot, striker-fired, single action, blow-back operated semi-automatic pistol. It features a grip safety and the manual thumb operated safety that locks the slide in the closed position when engaged.
  The FN Model 1910, also known as the Browning model 1910, was a departure for Browning. Before, his designs were produced by both FN in Europe and Colt Firearms in the United States. Since Colt did not want to produce it, Browning chose to patent and produce this design in Europe only. Introduced in 1910, this pistol used a novel operating spring location surrounding the barrel. This location became the standard in such future weapons as the Walther PP and Russian Makarov. The Model 1910 incorporated the standard Browning striker-firing mechanism and a grip safety along with a magazine safety and an external safety lever (known as the "triple safety") in a compact package. It was offered in both .32 ACP (8-shot) and .380 ACP (7-shot) calibers, it remained in production until 1983. It is possible to switch calibres by changing only the barrel.
  Also noteworthy for European pocket pistols are the Mauser Model 1910 and Mauser Model 1914, chambered for .25 ACP and .32 ACP respectively, both of blowback and hammerles
caption: FN Model 1910
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