[PTK]

Today I spied a handgun marked "COLT .25 AUTOMATIC PISTOL HARTFORD CONNECTICUT"

It has a hammer and a slide release that doubles as a safety. I don't know much about Colt pistols but it looked like a vest pocket pistol but with a hammer. What model is it?

[SDC]

It's a "Junior Colt", which has been built in two separate versions; the original ones were built for Colt by Unceta in Spain, but the GCA 68 prohibited their import in 1968. Colt re-intoduced a "made in USA" version after 1970.

[PTK]

Thank you.

[Ron James]

For the uninformed, Unceta, Colt Junior, Think the Astra 200.

[Jim K]

IIRC, after 1968 the Colt Junior frame was made in Miami by Firearms International, and the guns assembled there; the rest of the parts were Astra, imported from Spain.

The only thing Hartford was the marking on the slide.

Actually, the Colt Junior was the Astra Cub, also known as the Model 2000. The Model 200 was an earlier pistol with a concealed hammer and a grip safety, made in .25ACP only. The Astra Cub and Colt Junior were made in both .22 Short and .25 ACP, but the .22 Short version of the Junior is scarce.

Jim

[scbair]

I hate to be a nit-picker, Jim (well, actually, it's sorta fun :neener:), but the USA-produced successor was built by Firearms Import & Export (FIE) as "The Best."

I have an FIE in .25 ACP, and a pre-'68 Colt Junior ("Made in Spain") in .22 Short (for when the recoil of the .25 is just too much). . .:what:

[deadin]

built by Firearms Import & Export (FIE)

To be even more "nit-pickier" (is that even a word?), FIE never "built" anything. They were strickly importers like EAA.:neener::neener:

[Ron James]

But by assembling the parts in the US they earned the right to say " build by" the same as Walther and the PP'S and PPK's are marked Made in Germany ( the ones before 1980 ). So IAW the rules they were build ( The Best )by FIE. Nit picky back at you :)

[chief]

I have had one since 1972 and have loved it. Plinking empty 12 gauge hulls off of a fence rail at 5-7 yards is fun for our whole family. I have a 10 year old daughter who can go 5 for 5 all day long with the Junior. I guess firing .22 shorts doesn't put much strain on the little gun, it still shoots well after thousands of rounds. If you ever have to find another mag, be prepared to swap a kidney.

[Ron James]

Numrich did have magazines, picked one up for my Astra, the magazines are marked .25 and .22 caliber, Colt. I just checed e-gunparts and the .22 short replacement mag is still available, 32 bucks ( wow).

[Jim K]

Hi, scbair and deadin, correct on the company. I confused FI&E with FI. As to the post-68 Colt, they definitely did not import the frame. I don't know who actually made it, but it had to be made here. Those kind of arrangements are often convoluted, with contractors and sub-contractors.

No matter who made the frame or assembled the guns, it was done under Colt's license and they were the official manufacturer.

Jim