Two Spaniards for my collection

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wnycollector

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Hi all. I picked up a Star BM about a year ago and really fell in love with the gun. Great fit and finish, super reliable and a superb trigger. That pistol got me looking for other Spanish pistols to add to my collection. Last fall I picked up an Astra .25 and a Ruby .32. The Astra set me back $165 and the Ruby $175.

The Astra .25 was sold to me as a "Hope" model because that is what is stamped on the barrel. The right side of the slide is marked Esperanza y Unceta Guernica (Spain) Astra cal-6.35 a25

They Ruby is a Retolaza Hermanos (RH) stamped. The mag is also RH stamped. It does have the two star proof marks stamped on bottom of the grip, adjacent to the mag release.

I have taken the Astra to the range but not the Ruby. The Astra runs 100% with 50gr fmj ammo. I'm looking forward to a break in the weather to shoot the Ruby.

Any info you can supply me on these pistols would be greatly appreciated!
 

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I had one Spanish pistol, a Gaztanaga Destroyer in .32. It slam fired and once went off when dropped. Not my idea of safe, or probably anybodies, a dealer bought it knowing the facts.
 
"Ruby" is a broad reference to a type of pistol , usually in .32 , somewhat modeled after the 1903 pocket hammerless , made by a whole bunch of different manufacturers. The thing that pretty much all of the different Rubys shared in common is - they were cheap.Some were tiuned out in high volumes in short periods of time. Quality control was sketchy - tolerances , property metal hardness , and so on.

Proceed with caution.
 
Waveski said:
"Ruby" is a broad reference to a type of pistol , usually in .32 , somewhat modeled after the 1903 pocket hammerless , made by a whole bunch of different manufacturers. The thing that pretty much all of the different Rubys shared in common is - they were cheap.Some were tiuned out in high volumes in short periods of time. Quality control was sketchy - tolerances , property metal hardness , and so on.

Proceed with caution.
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Ruby type pistols were used in trench fighting by the French in WWI and were a general issue side arm for them.
The magazines may not be interchangable since the guns were often may be multiple smaller businesses. I doubt relative to blowing up that the guns are not safe. But the quality and fit of important parts like sears and disconnectors may be faulty.
 
wnycollector

Had an Astra Model 600 (straight blowback in a 9mm, is not a lot of fun to shoot; take my word fo it), and an Astra Cub in .22 Short (definitely a lot more fun)! Also had a Star Model B which was a very decent, well made 1911 type service pistol, much like the smaller Model BM you have. My last Star was a Model 28, an excellent design with all sorts of interesting features and another solidly built 9mm. service gun.

Enjoy your two new Spanish pistols but do heed the warnings of others here to proceed with caution in shooting the Ruby. Quality could vary quite a lot especially in terms of metallurgy, heat treatment, and the proper fitting of parts. Be smart and be careful!
 
I used to have an Astra Ruby-type 32, marked Model of 1916. Its rifling appeared to be just streaks spiraling down the barrel, as if drawn there with a Sharpie. Bullets tumbled through the target, yet at 50 feet it was usefully accurate. Reliable with FMJ bullets too, IIRC. Cost all of $125, maybe less.

From what I have read, the way the Spanish made these guns cheaply was to use soft, easily machinable steel, but to use plenty of it. Their failure mode is to stretch or peen into uselessness, not to burst (unless severely provoked, of course.) It is instructive to see how thick a Ruby is compared to a Colt 1903.
 
Thanks for the warning gents about the Ruby. I'm well aware of its short comings. It is just an interesting old pistol that will see very limited amount of ammo through it. I have a Beretta 81 and FEG 32 that meet my needs for 32acp firearms that I can actually shoot.
 
Esperanza translates to "Hope" and thus the name. It's a well made model from a good family.

Your Retolaza Hermanos looks like their Liberty model but with the wrong grips. The right grips will be flatter at the top, not as thick and be stamped Liberty. It too should be a good shooter.
 
jar said:
Esperanza translates to "Hope" and thus the name. It's a well made model from a good family.

Your Retolaza Hermanos looks like their Liberty model but with the wrong grips. The right grips will be flatter at the top, not as thick and be stamped Liberty. It too should be a good shooter.
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Esperanza is a Spanish feminine given name, meaning "hope" or "expectation".
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Pistola I think is also feminine.

Astra Unceta y Cía was a Spanish weapons manufacturer founded on July 17, 1908 under the name Esperanza y Unceta by Juan Esperanza and Pedro Unceta.
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In Iberia Esperanza is often a female's name and I think it had a religious association in the Spanish, Portuguese, and related Iberian tongues.

Someone with more knowledge could give a surer and better explanation.
 
I read that there were four major Spanish manufacturers of Ruby pistols, but as many as 44 who made some or subcontracted.
The French were hurting for weapons and bought cheap .32s by the barge load.
There were also 8mm Lebel revolvers of Smith & Wesson pattern. I have read that those were transmogrified into .32-20s after the war.
 
jar said:
Esperanza translates to "Hope" and thus the name. It's a well made model from a good family.

Your Retolaza Hermanos looks like their Liberty model but with the wrong grips. The right grips will be flatter at the top, not as thick and be stamped Liberty. It too should be a good shooter.
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Jar, my pistol has star markings on magazine well indicating French Army acceptance for WWI use, that may be why the grip are different. Here is a link to a thread that shows a WWI vintage Retolaza Hermanos with grips like mine.
 
Any idea who made the Ruby.??. A wonderful pistol and probable the Astra pistol the that Frederic Henry purchased in the book "Farewell to Arms".. Well in a literature type of way :)
 
indy1919a4 said:
Any idea who made the Ruby.??. A wonderful pistol and probable the Astra pistol the that Frederic Henry purchased in the book "Farewell to Arms".. Well in a literature type of way :)
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If you read the top post, wnycollector says it is a Retolaza Hermanos. I don't know where they were on the scale of quality.
 
Monac said:
If you read the top post, wnycollector says it is a Retolaza Hermanos. I don't know where they were on the scale of quality.
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Many thanks my mind did not register.. moocho thanks. :) I blame it on old age and a weak mind. Again thanks
 
Good guns. I have had the BM and liked it very much after I installed an inertia fireing pin . Also I still have a Astra Firecat .25 I think it to be one of the bast .25s made and it still sees bug action.
 
I made it to the range today. A balmy 25 degrees with about 3" of new snow on the ground with another 6" forecast! I brought my KelTec p32, an FEG AP 32 and the Ruby. I put 50 rounds of Geco FMJ through the Ruby without a hiccup. The gun shoots about 4" low from POA at 10 yards. Once the gun gets cleaned this afternoon, it will go back in the safe until next year. Its a fun gun, but I want to keep the round count low. All in all, I really like this little piece of WWI history. 20200118_113550_Film4.jpg
 
wnycollector said:
I made it to the range today. A balmy 25 degrees with about 3" of new snow on the ground with another 6" forecast! I brought my KelTec p32, an FEG AP 32 and the Ruby. I put 50 rounds of Geco FMJ through the Ruby without a hiccup. The gun shoots about 4" low from POA at 10 yards. Once the gun gets cleaned this afternoon, it will go back in the safe until next year. Its a fun gun, but I want to keep the round count low. All in all, I really like this little piece of WWI history.View attachment 885296
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IIRC the Ruby sights were aligned to "cover the target" or the combat sight picture; kinda like the Sig P series pistols. If you "dot the I" then you will get consistent low. Next time try "cover the target" and see if it's closer to POA.
 
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