Overall the pistol is pretty good looking from a manufacturing standpoint. Creep and a sluggish let off come to mind. Not as bad as some is the nicest thing I can say. The trigger breaks with comfortably excessive travel – by my measurement, the trigger travels at least 1/16th of an inch to release the sear and a total of nearly 1/4th inch after sear release before it stops – and takes about 6 pounds of force. Sight alignment, or, the view from the control end To clarify, the standard issue Model D had fixed sights and normal flat grips on both sides. Not a brilliant move for a police or military sidearm. The thumb rest grip is not uncomfortable, but makes the pistol awkward, if not uncomfortable, to shoot left handed. I’ve found some photos of others, but all in conjunction with the ‘adjustable’ sight. The thumb rest grip is also not the usual grip on this pistol.
The sight notch is narrow and tends to blend with the front sight while taking aim not the best of possibilities. Heaven help the poor soul issued a pistol with such a sight. in an attempt to portray them as something special. My understanding is the ‘adjustable’ sight was added onto the pistols imported to the U. My particular specimen has an ‘adjustable’ (windage only) rear sight which fits loosely in the dovetail slot – about 3/32th inch of horizontal play – and MAB marked plastic grips with a thumb rest on the left grip.
#MAB MODEL D SERIAL NUMBERS MANUAL#
There is a manual safety catch and slide lock, inconveniently located forward of the left grip panel, and the ubiquitously French magazine safety. It is a fairly simple design with few moving parts. The internal firing mechanism of the MAB is unique to the company. It is internally striker fired and in that has the trigger and firing characteristics of a single action pistol. It is a simple blowback, semi-automatic pistol. At least one source cites the model D was loosely copied from the 1910 Browning. The external and some of the internal design is similar to the Browning pistol of 1910/1922. 32 ACP was part of the NAZI German supply chain, whereas. 32 ACP chambering probably seems odd to the American shooter, but most European countries considered a. I’ve never understood why makers didn’t use ‘even’ numbers. According to one article, the barrel is 101mm long in Metric. Barrel (from breechface to muzzle) is 3 15/16ths inches. It is just a hair over 6 3/4ths inches long, 5 inches high counting the rear sight and lanyard mount, and about an inch thick if the thumb rest is ignored counting it broadens the horizon to about 1 5/8ths inches. It is just less than two pounds in weight. It is not a particularly small pistol, and does not have the rounded off look of the Colt Pocket Pistol. The Model D has a lanyard ring on the heel of the butt, and was carried often in a belt type holster as part of a uniform. It is somewhat longer and taller than a Walther PPK/s, and is very nearly the same size as a Colt 1903 Pocket Pistol. Sigh.Ĭomparative size of MAB ‘D’, Colt 1903 Pocket Pistol and Walther PPK/sThe pistol itself is a medium sized handgun. The sales box also includes a safety warnings booklet dated 1984 (?), a limited warranty card warning against the use of reloads by anyone or anything, an exploded diagram with parts list, and a post card for information for the National Rifle Association. Also shown is the stock number of the item and the pistol’s serial number, hand written in the pre-printed space provided. So the pistol was imported no earlier than 1986. The box also has a marking showing Federal Ordnance’s 20th anniversary in 1986. Also on the cover of the box is the legend, “1 each certified French Surete Pistol” which reminds of the “Genuine Hopalong Cassidy” cap gun I had as a kid. It comes in a cardboard box printed up with a drawing of the pistol, a rendition of the Eiffel Tower and a drawing of a perceived French police officer holding such a pistol in a ‘firing position’. The pistol I have was imported to the United States by Federal Ordnance, Inc. In my internet research, I could not find any information on manufacture dates so I don’t know when mine was made. The pistol was used by several French agencies (Customs and National Police) after 1945. The model D was made by MAB from 1933 to about 1963 (exact dates seem to be missing). MAB opened in 1920, survived the Second World War and was finally taken over by Fabrique National (FN) of Herstal, Belgium in the 1970s.
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