Baby Nambu
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 83 mm
- Weight, empty
- 650 g
- Introduced
- 1903
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Baby Nambu (Nambu Type B) was a roughly three-quarter-scale officer's pistol developed by Kijiro Nambu and produced from 1903 to 1929. Chambered in the proprietary 7x20mm Nambu cartridge, it shared the locked-breech short-recoil action of the larger Type A 'Grandpa' Nambu but in a more concealable, lighter package intended as a private-purchase sidearm for Japanese officers.
The Baby Nambu was Japan's status-symbol sidearm: at 180 yen it cost more than two-and-a-half months of an officer's salary, making it more of a fashion statement than a service weapon. Its 7mm cartridge had less energy than .25 ACP, so even officers who could afford one rarely trusted it for actual combat.
The Baby Nambu was extremely expensive - listed at 180 yen against a Second Lieutenant's monthly salary of approximately 70 yen - which restricted production to roughly 6,500 units. Today it is one of the most sought-after Japanese collector pistols due to its scarcity and finely machined construction.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Nambu Rifle Manufacturing Company
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1903 to 1929
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 83 mm
- Overall length
- 171 mm
- Weight, empty
- 650 g
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 7
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 241 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 108 J
- Effective range
- 25 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
- Scaled down design
Officer purchase pistol
Tangent rear sight
Locked breech
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 1,909 pistols | 650 g | 794 g | Lighter than about 70% |
| Overall lengthAmong 1,911 pistols | 171 mm | 196 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 1,941 pistols | 83 mm | 102 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 1,962 pistols | 7 | 8 | Holds fewer rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Baby Nambu
How much does the Baby Nambu weigh?
The Baby Nambu weighs 650 g (1.43 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Baby Nambu?
The Baby Nambu is chambered in 7x20mm Nambu.
How many rounds does the Baby Nambu hold?
The Baby Nambu holds 7 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Baby Nambu?
The Baby Nambu is 171 mm (6.73 in) long overall, with a 83 mm (3.27 in) barrel.
Who makes the Baby Nambu?
The Baby Nambu is made by Nambu Rifle Manufacturing Company (Japan). It was designed by Kijiro Nambu.
When was the Baby Nambu introduced?
The Baby Nambu was introduced in 1903 and discontinued in 1929.
How does the Baby Nambu operate?
The Baby Nambu uses a short recoil action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Imperial Japanese Army Officers (private purchase)
- Japan
Provenance
Confidence in this record
80%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/nambu-baby' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "nambu-baby", "name": "Baby Nambu", "manufacturer": { "id": "nambu-rifle-manufacturing", "name": "Nambu Rifle Manufacturing Company", "countryCode": "JP", "foundedYear": 1927, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "updatedAt": "2026-04-26 23:12:00", "version": "ed3508cfb07d8f70c22afd161f88e29ab4c253d4b166ea149dab080f439cef0f" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "JP", "year_introduced": 1903, "barrel_length_mm": 83, "weight_empty_g": 650, "action_type": "short_recoil"}