POTD: The Ruger LCP of Its Day – Walther Model 3 Pistol
Sam.S 05.17.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a very small 32 ACP. This is a Walther Model 3. In the early 1900s, the FN Model 1900 kicked off a carry gun craze. Every manufacturer wanted a piece auto-loading pocket handguns. Walther, a long time long gun hunting sort of company, also wanted a piece of the pie. Their answer was the Model 1 and then the Model 2 which were both very small guns in 25 ACP. For their entry into 32 ACP, they came out with the Walther Model 3 which is amongst the smallest 32 ACP pistols ever. They came out in the 1910s and would fizzle out at the end of World War One. The Model 4, its larger version, would take its place and be fairly popular.
“Introduced in 1910, the Model 3 was Walther’s first 7.65mm pocket pistol, and one of the first to be accepted by the European arms market. Though well made, the introduction of the Model 4 pistol rendered the Model 3 obsolete shortly after introduction, limiting overall production. Blade front and slide groove rear sights, “crown/N” proofs on the slide and barrel, the one-line caliber and patent markings on the left side of the slide, deeply cut slide serrations, external extractor, and checkered “CW” monogram grips.”
Lot 3758: Excellent Scarce Walther Model 3 Pistol – Excellent Walther Model 3 Semi-Automatic Pistol. (n.d.-x). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved May 16, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/76/3758/excellent-scarce-walther-model-3-pistol.
