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My
Great-Great-Grandfather Henry P. Burney
A Past
Judge and Jeweler of Walker County, Georgia
Henry Pound Burney (11/6/1858 -
9/16/1960) ... a judge... a jeweler.
More information is being gathered,
so check back...
 I,
James David Burney, acquired this pocket pistol in the mid-1990s from my
father, Barry Lee Burney, after the death of my grandfather,
James Barry Burney.
My grandfather had received it from
his father, Walter C. Burney, the son of Henry P. Burney.
I have discussed the firearm with Doug Wicklund of the
National Firearms Museum at the headquarters of the National
Rifle Association and am presently attempting to obtain the
historical information for this pistol and my
Great-Great-Grandfather so as to
"tell the story" of his personal sidearm.
 CLICK
HERE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS
Left Side |
Right Side |
Butt Plate of
Magazine
A s can be seen from the
photographs, this glistening nickel plated Colt .25 Calibre Vest
Pocket pistol is in exquisite condition.
The piece was manufactured between 1918 and 1919 making it 100
years old, and it still shoots beautifully, though .25 ammo is
not always easy to find these days. The aftermarket custom grips
were added sometime later, made by Franzite. These same grips
can still be found today if one hunts around on the internet.
The Colt Vest Pocket 25 ACP
pistol was another John Browning design. It was small, only 4.5"
long and was readily concealable in a waistcoat. Normally it
came in the beautiful Colt Royal Blue finish but occasionally
was nickel plated. It should not be confused with the Colt
Junior 25 ACP. They look similar, but the Junior was made by
Astra (in Spain) and imported by Colt from 1958 to the 1970s.
The grips are not interchangeable between these two pistols.
The Colt Vest Pocket was made from 1908 to 1945 and 409,000 were
produced, many of which are in excellent shape. The factory
grips were hard rubber and checkered walnut. Ivory and pearl
were placed on special orders.
More to come...
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