You Astra guys made me do it!

I take at least partial credit for this purchase. You liked my Astra 600. Enjoy! BTW, that is a supremely cool looking pistol.

My first Astra was a Cub in 22 short. My first Constable was in 32 acp and it is still my favorite followed by the 22lr. Recently got into 32's and just bought a Star model SI. Just love those Spanish handguns!

I had a friend that owned one . I shot it a few times, but that was back when I thought that revolvers were the only accurate &reliable handguns around. That was many years ago and I have since learned different. The Astra pistols I have shot proved to be accurate &reliable. My M600 is not only fun to shoot, but has been used for H.D.! Enjoy that Constable!

Why, oh why would someone sand the bluing off it?
Looks like a good candidate for a refinish.

Astra and Star mad pistols that were as good as anyone's.

It doesn't look white enough to be nickel plated.
It looks like someone sanded off the bluing.
Notice the remains of the bluing in the stampings and slide serrations.
Also, notice the scratches running the length of the slide.
I'd have it reblued or cerakoted.

My model 600 while being in great condition, looks like it was plum color. The Astra constable was a nice dark blue. My friends constable was a house gun & was only shot occasionally. The 600 was a Portuguese navy pistol & it probably never left it's holster much! I have noticed that they got lighter in color as the war progressed. I have also seen them a nice dark blue! These guns were well made & the guns that never made it to Germany where grabbed up by other country's. Astra has made many fine pistols, including the A-75 & A-80. I had a lite wight A75 in .40S&W that I regret selling very much!

Astra and Star made guns that were as good as any.

9 fingers

I also thought the finish had been removed from the gun and the metal left in the white when I saw your photos. I would get it hard chrome plated, especially if you're possibly considering using it for concealed carry. I have always had great success with Astra and Star pistols.

I own a 600 that I bought over 40 years ago for $30 and an A75 that was my EDC gun for many years. I have not shot the 600 for years and the A75 is keeping it company in the safe. They are both really well made guns. The A75 probably has over a 1000 rounds through it.

Cerrakote it!

Sort of a blast from the past for me...Dad bought a 400 and a 600 from the local K-Mart in about 1965 or so. We had nothing available at the time to figure out how to field strip them, but I'd say after about 30 min of head-scratching he figured out the ring and collar at the muzzle. What an incredible piece of design, and wonderfully made in the old world manner. Looks like you got a good one there, made just as nicely.

I won't forget how much the Astras kicked my butt as a 12-year old--what a 'remarkable' round to put in a handgun having the ergonomics of a pipe wrench. As I remember it, boxer-primed nickle-plated FMJ (bullets, not the brass) 9mm Largo was something like $0.03 a round or less, mail-ordered out of Shotgun News along with several gallons of GI bore cleaner. The Good Old Days, for sure.

Any input appreciated

Click to expand...

Shoot it!!!

It's beautiful....shoot it, love it. Lookit the Colt Pocket Hammerless I bought...deliberately since someone had messed with the bluing and stripped the finish:



Look at what it became with a little brain storming and professional work:



I think that Astra is beautiful. Congrats on the score and have fun with it!



VooDoo

Just love those Spanish handguns (me too)

I too love Spanish pistols!!!!! I had a pair of Constable II's...380 and .22LR but traded off the .22 as part of a deal for a beautiful M1 Garand. I also have a Star Model F in .22LR...a Llama Especial .22LR and a beautiful Astra Model 200 (older Firecat) in .25 Auto!!!
I would love to find an Astra Constable in .32 Auto...perhaps someday. ::shrugging::
By the way...all above pistols function perfectly and are highly accurate. I don't think Astra or Star ever made a gun that wasn't of very high quality!!!!
p.s. I won't get rid of any of my Spanish guns anymore!!!!! :banghead:
p.p.s. I almost forgot...I owned and carried an Astra A80 9mm for a number of years and found it too to be of excellent quality...it never failed. Traded it off for a bunch of computer equipment and still regret it.

I meant to say chrome, not nickel.

I'd probably get it hard chromed or cerakoted.
Or Parkerized. Or even bead blasted and blued.
Parkerizing is easy to do. Bead blasting is easy to do.

Star and Astra pistols were as good as any other brand of pistol.

Vodoun da Vinci, that Colt is sweet, a wonderful way to keep an old gun going that's lost it's historic finish. I'd love it if you would start a new thread and walk us through that project. Cheers, Matthew

Coincidentally, I too aquired an Astra model 4000 .32acp, as a gift from my cousin.

Nice Firecat 25

With original box, mags and manual

That's a beautiful chrome finish on the Colt. It's like bringing a gun up to the 21st Century! The old gun looks like it has some stories to tell, and with the new finish looks like it will have many more. It looks like it could have ridden in someone's coat pocket back on chilly days in the '40s! It's cool to look at a photo taken in the years just following its manufacture and think, “When this was taken, this pistol was was in existence...in someone's drawer, maybe a safe or in someone's back pocket, and over the years it found its way here.“ Even if it's hard chromed and looks like it just got out of the factory, it still is what it is.

I second the cerakote idea. Take a negative and turn it into a one of a kind positive!!