Roth-Steyr M1907 Pistol...???

[Pete Ebbink]

Picked up this very nicely restored Roth-Steyr pistol (8 mm cal.) made in 1908 (Correction : 1907)...for not alot of money at the recent Reno gun show.

I recognized it as a Roth-Steyr but do not know much about it.

The only book reference I can find is in Ian Hogg's book, "The Complete Illustrated Encycolpedia Of The Worlds' Firearms" on page 270; giving a good history about the gun's designer and its mechanical features.

Doe anyone know the production numbers on this gun ?

Does anyone know how to take-down this piece...? It appears as if the left side of the frame should open up and swing along a hinged edge to allow access to the mechanicals...

The quality of the restoration is very high quality and this is what lead me to buy this piece. I have seen 2-3 other such pistols in original condition and they were just very worn and used...

The bore is excellent and does not appear to have seen much firing...

The top of the frame is stamped as "Fegyvergyar Budapest". Serial number on the right side is # 1774 and has a few small proofs on the back of the frame above the grip tang...reads as "W.n. (a crown) and 11"...

Appreciate knowing more about this pistol...

I have a lead on a nice holster for this gun that I will be able to chase down in a week or so. If I do pick up the holster, I will take photos with my camera, then...

p.s. Athough it is fairly ergonomically designed...it is not as well-balanced in the hand as a luger...

Regards,

Pete...

[Edward Tinker]

Pete, that is cool looking!

There is something about the really old semi-autos that draws you!

<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />

Good find man!!

Ed

[SteveM]

Pete,
I used to have a Roth Steyr, but used it as a trade for a Mauser Banner 1940 Police.(not even!).

Whaddaya think about the trigger pull on this pistol? It makes any accurate shooting almost impossible, at least for me. Fiocchi makes ammo for this if you are interested in shooting it. The holsters are rare with the stripper clips being even harder to come by.

To field strip, you start up at the wedge at the front sight and go from there. I didn't have anything to go by, just trial and error. The rear knob will also unscrew. Look at everything closely and I know you will be able figure it out.

[Lugerdoc]

Pete, Your M07 Roth-Steyr made in Hungary, is about half as common as the Vienna made Austrian versions. Complete TD instructions may be found in the Jolex press "The Famous Automatic Pistols of Europe" Vol 1. If you can disassemble a T14 Nambu, this is similar. Pull bolt back to HO position, depress extractor and unscrew rear cocking piece, etc. Th

[Pete Ebbink]

Hello Ed,

Did you or John S. or John D. "resize" my photos by chance...? They cannot be opened, now, and I have no clue as to how to fix it...

Thanks for your help...

Hello Tom,

Would you have a copy of the book/pages by chance ? If yes, would you mind sending me a copy in the mail (or e-mail if you have a scanner...). I will send you a private email with my home address...if you do not have it in your files anymore...

Hello Steve M.,

You are right about the trigger pull...it almost seems to have 2-stages...one a prefire and the final bit to fire (almost like a Glock trigger safety). I have a modern day Daewoo DP51 with its unique tri-action and the trigger pull reminds me of the pull on this R-S pistol...I will probably not fire this piece. Even though she is restored, I would not want to add any wear to it...plus I will get a holster rig but not the stripper clips or tools...

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Edward Tinker]

Sorry about that Pete, I "thumbed" them, simply replacing the img with thumb, BUT, once done, if you go back in then it is screwed up, and you have to start over. I did it because the picture was / is about 3 inches larger than the screen.

Ed

[Pete Ebbink]

Ed,

Can you remind me how to do the "thumbnail" thing and I will try to do...

Thanks,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Edward Tinker]

You just swap out the [img] with [thumb], the glitch to the system, is if you go back in to change it or modify it in ANY manner, then the thumb aspect doesn't work again, but you can see the original url and can delete all the gobblygook writing and start over if you want.

ed

[Pete Ebbink]

Thanks, Buddy...!!!

[Douglas Jr.]

Hi Pete,

Congratulations for you new gun! I always love those early self-loading pistols and this was one of my finds. After some year looking for one - they aren�´t common here in Brazil - I get one which still has its oriinal finish, although pretty weary.

After some research I discovered that my Roth-Steyr is an early gun (serial number 66xx) and also found the unit where it served during WWI: the 15th Dragoon Regiment. After that I could also figured out it battle story - which was VERY, VERY interesting. As your gun also has the unit�´s stamp I would do the same if I was you. Just a tip.

Some more info about the roth-Steyr: these guns were developed specially to Mounted Troops (90,000 produced between 1907 and 1914) and some also saw service with some flying units - when it was unoficially called "Flieger Pistole".!

Here the picture of mine M-7:





Hope you enjoy.

Regards,

Douglas.

[Pete Ebbink]

Douglas,

Thanks for the info and seeing your pistol...I will try to track down some history as you suggested...

Jan Still recently posted a very nice study of his pistol and rig on his discussion forum.

Here is the link :

http://www.gunboards.com/luger/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=374

Best Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Pete Ebbink]

Douglas,

If you are hunting a leather holster for your Roth-Steyr pistol, I just passed on one that is for sale for around $ 395.00. The leather is in very good condition and it has the shoulder strap, but a previous owner had marked his personal info. in ink on the outside of the holster, covered when the flap is in place. The inking is small and not noticeable when the holster is closed.

This was my reason for not buying the piece...

If you are interested in buying this leather rig, send your email info. to me at "pebbink@pacbell.net" and I will give you the Owner's contact info.

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Douglas Jr.]

Pete,

Many thanks for the tip about the holster . However, I will have to pass it on too. I�´m saving some dimes to buy another Luger ( ), so I can�´t afford the holster right now ...

Here is the info that I tracked about the 15th Dragoon Regiment:

"Until the late summer of 1916 Dragonerregiment Erzherzog Joseph Nr.15 was an integral part of the 21st Cavalry Brigade of the 4th Cavalry Division. As usch it was deployed exclusively on the Galician front against the Russian Army. It took part in the great cavalry battle at Jarowslawice on the 21st of August 1914 when it came into action against the Russian 10th Cavalry Division. It saw further action at Zlocz�³w from the 26th to 28 August, the Gnila Lipa on the 29th and 30th August, Rawa-Ruska - Lemberg from 6th to the 11th of September followed by the withdrawal behind the River San and further to the River Dunajec. It advanced to the San again from 4th to 12th October and at Przemysl from the 10th Oct to 4th November. Following the action at Lawr�³w the division withdrew to the Carpathian Mountains, saw further fighting on the upper Dunajec and at the battle of Limanowa-Lapan�³w in the first two weeks of December 1914.

The regiment spent the winter of 1914/15 in the Carpathian Mountains and then took part in the Gorlice-Tarn�³w offensive in May, the engagemant at Sanok and the pursuit of the Russian forces to the East seeing fighting at Luck and at Rowno in the late summer. It remained on the Southern Sector of the Eastern Front throughout the remainder of 1915 and the first part of 1916.

At some stage either in late 1916 or early 1917 the the 15th Dragoons were detached from the 21st Cavalry Brigade and became utilised as Divisional Cavalry Squadrons.

This can give you an idea how funny can this kind of research can be!

Best wishes,

Douglas.

[Pete Ebbink]

Douglas,

Thanks so much for your research info. Appreciate your time in posting it.

p.s. Noticed on another forum that you are looking to buy luger grips and grips screws and need them shipped to Brazil.

Have you tried Luger Forum member, Tom Heller...? He goes by the name "LugerDoc". Tom is one of the largest luger parts dealers in the USA (if not the largest) and all can attest to Tom's honesty as a businessman. If Tom cannot help you, it cannot be found...

Here is Tom's email adress :

hellerarms@webtv.net

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Douglas Jr.]

Pete,

Thanks for your feedback concerning Mr. Heller. In fact he contact me on that forum and I�´ll probably contact him in the next weeks to buy the grips and screws that I need.

Take care,

Douglas

[Pete Ebbink]

Thanks to Luger Forum member, LugerDoc, for sending me copies of M1907 pistol info. with take-down instructions, I was able to take apart this wonderful pistol...

AND WE THOUGHT LUGERS WERE A COMPLEX PISTOL DESIGN...!!! (This one has a rotating barrel set-up...and a trigger safety...)

[Pete Ebbink]

[Pete Ebbink]

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[fg42]

It also Flaping lock on the right side that delays the bolt opening. It works kind of like the locking rollers on a CZ52 pistol or HK rifles or Swiss AMT rifles. Thanks Bob Benson

[Pete Ebbink]

Found this M1907 automation gif video clip on the Internet...showing this pistol in action :

http://users.skynet.be/HL-Editions/roth/roth7.htm

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />