Pieper Bayard Model 1912
Anciens Etablissements Pieper · Pistol · Out Of Production · 1912
Also known as: Bayard 1912, Pieper Bayard .25 ACP
Overview
The Pieper Bayard Model 1912 is a compact blowback-operated, hammer-fired semi-automatic pocket pistol produced in Belgium by Anciens Etablissements Pieper. It is the .25 ACP (6.35mm Browning) chambering of Bernard Clarus's Bayard pocket-pistol design; the .32 ACP model appeared in 1910, the .380 ACP version in 1911, and this smallest-caliber .25 ACP version in 1912. Sharing the family's extremely short 126 mm frame and stacked barrel-and-recoil-spring layout, it was one of the most compact self-loading pistols of its era.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 460 g (16.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 126 mm (4.96") |
| Barrel Length | 57 mm (2.24") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 5 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 230 m/s (755 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 86 J (63 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 20 m (22 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 6.35x16mm Browning (.25 ACP) · primary — also known as .25 ACP, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
- 7.65x17mm Browning SR (.32 ACP) — also known as .32 ACP, 7.65mm Browning
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety
- Features: Compact Pocket Design, Fixed Sights, Exposed Hammer, Stacked Barrel Recoil Spring
Variants
- Pieper Bayard Model 1908 - Chambering
- Pieper Bayard Model 1911 - Chambering
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Civilian market
Production
Production years: 1912-1940
Part of the broader Bayard pocket-pistol series produced from 1908 into the late 1930s; exact per-caliber figures not documented
Origin
Country of origin: Belgium
Designer: Bernard Clarus
Discontinued: 1940
Notes
The Bayard series shares one frame size across .25 ACP, .32 ACP, and .380 ACP; the .25 ACP chambering is the one introduced in 1912. The American patent granting date of 1908 gives the parent design its 'Bayard 1908' name, though per-caliber models were released across 1910-1912.
Background
The whole Bayard family crammed a full pistol mechanism into a frame barely longer than the shooter's palm by suspending the sear inside the slide behind the hammer - a trick that made the .25 ACP Model 1912 one of the tiniest true hammer-fired autos ever mass-produced.