Astra Cub .22 short - Neat little gun!

[Fu-man Shoe]

I recently acquired this little gun, and I just wanted to
show it off a little to some other gunnies who might be
able to appreciate it on some level.

...Because I think it's just too darn nifty not to do a little
bit of show-and-tell!

It's an Astra Cub, chambered in .22 short. It was made
in 1958. When I got it, it was a paperweight.
Very poor condition, rusted shut, badly pitted and completely inoperable.

Over the course of a day or two, I disassembled it, cleaned it,
sandblasted the frame and slide, parkerized it, and put it all back together.
It works well now, and is quite an amusing little
shooter. I think the most amazing thing is that it will shoot
and cycle .22 CB shorts with no problem at all.

it certainly makes for an interesting conversation piece at the
range. Everyone who handles and shoots it can't keep a big
grin off of their faces.

Here's a before and after picture.

 

[wditto]

I love it - glad it's working, betcha' 1t draws stares when it "pops", huh?

 

[Fu-man Shoe]

Thats for sure!

At the range, it goes kinda like this..


Everyone else: BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Me: *pop*...*pop*...*pop*

Everyone else:

Me:

 

[HammerBite]

That sounds like fun!

 

[HisSoldier]

I just got my Astra Cub a few days ago, wanted a .25 but got tired of waiting for one for the right price so I bought a .22 short version. It's in about 98% condition. I've been shooting it indoors, in my shop. Pretty accurate for such a short sight radius. I changed the magazine so it will accept 7 rounds and it works well. I'm going to remove or deactivate the stupid magazine safety, as it makes mag removal a chore. Without the mag safety the mags should drop out, with it they have to be pried out with a fingernail. I wish I had the one that says "Colt" on the side of it in the same shape, it would be worth 4 or 5 hundred bucks.

 

[Fu-man Shoe]

I know exactly what you mean about the magazine safety, it
does make changing the mag kind of a PITA. However, I think
it's neat how such a little gun even *has* a magazine safety.

I am amazed at the workmanship and craft that went into this
little gun. I wonder how much it would cost nowadays to make
an equivalent pistol? I would imagine more than most people
would want to pay for a little .22 short autoloader.

 

[Wil Terry]

Oh My Goodness, Another Astra Cub Fan. There Are Three Of Us Now...maybe.

My ASTRA CUB has well over 5M rounds through it and shoots up a storm. It'll easily hit popcans at 25 yards and tomato juice can at 50 yards are no problem. I buy 22SHORT ammo whenever I find it on sale in case lots. Some years ago I bought a case of 7400 rounds of Russian International rapid fire 22SHORT ammunition. It shot beautifully but to operate the CUB I had to replace the recoil spring with the lightweight GLOCK trigger spring from WOLFE GUNSPRINGS which worked perfectly. This Russian ammo also shoots like a champ in all my 22 revolvers including the BEARCAT which will put 'em all in one hole at 40 yards and sounds like a pellet rifle shooting.
I also have the COLT JUNIOR 22SHORT version of the CUB. It is indeed fancier but will not shoot with the ASTRA CUB. Also the magazines are not interchangable.
Whoops, forgot to mention here that the AGUILA 22SHORT ammo from Mananaland is high speed stuff that shoots great in the two 22SHORT ASTRA/COLT pistols as well as the 22 sixguns. I buy it by the case of 5M from an outfit in Texas.

 

[isp2605]

Bought this Colt Jr in .22 Short in 1968. Paid $25 for it.
Fun little gun.

 

[HisSoldier]

And it's worth a great deal more now! I was shocked at the prices on those. Collectors, Harumph!

 

[isp2605]

Yup for sure. I had not bothered looking at them at gun shows to check prices for quite a while. A few years ago I saw one on a guy's table and was surprised at the price. I looked his over really close thinking there was something special about his that was different than mine. Couldn't see anything different other than mine was in a lot better shape than his. Mine in the picture looks like it has some blue wear on the muzzle end of the slide, wear around the rear of the slide, and the blue looks dull. No wear and it's not dull. Just reflection from the lighting.

 

[HisSoldier]

Yes, and I like the walnut grips on yours better than the plastic ones on my Cub.

 

[HisSoldier]

Here's mine;

 

[Fu-man Shoe]

That little gun looks like it's in great condition!

Kind of puts my sad looking, pitted old relic to shame...

I'm glad to see there's some other folks out there who seem to
"get it" in regards to some of these really neat little mouseguns.

I see a lot of threads where people just seem to like to dump on
small caliber weapons for no apparent reason. I can only speak
for myself, but honestly I just think they're very interesting and
cool. I realize they don't have a lot of "stopping power", and they
fire a low powered round. To me, that's not really the point.

A lot of guys get hung up on that for some reason, I don't know
exactly why. But then, I tend to appreciate the more offbeat,
funky, and novel things in life. Glad to see it's not just me though!

 

[HisSoldier]

You took a lemon and turned it into lemonaid, and it looks great. I'd sure like to get a Colt .25 Junior in mint shape that I could afford.

 

[Fu-man Shoe]

Well thanks, HisSoldier. It was a fun project, restoring this little gun back into a shootable condition. From time to time, I'll fancy myself some sort of amateur gunsmith, and when things like this come along, I like to see what I can do with them.

I used a technique I've never tried with this one before. I sandblasted the frame and slide, then parkerized them gray with a zinc solution, then I applied liquid permablue to them. It's an interesting finish, that gives the metal a very dark, even, matte black finish.

I suppose I could have just parkerized it with manganese to make it black to begin with, but I was feeling experimental. I think it turned out well overall.

I would have like to sandblast it deeper with a more abrasive grit, but I didn't
want to take off the lettering and the serial numbers stamped into it. You also have to be careful with a sandblaster, as you can erode pinholes enough that the original pins won't fit anymore. It only takes .0003-.0004 of an inch
on a very small pinhole and you have done gone and ruined it, and have to install a larger pin.

 

[bannockburn]

Looks like the Astra Cub Club meeting has been called to order. Here's my entry, purchased earlier this year at a gun show. Pretty much LNIB, complete with the spare mag and the little cleaning brush. I had always wanted one of these pocket marvels for as long as I can remember. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of quality and engineering that went into making these little pistols.
[/IMG]

 

[HisSoldier]

Bannockburn yours looks exactly like mine down to the tiny overdepth of the ball end mill below the muzzle on the left side. On mine it doesn't exist on the right side. My date code is M1, I bet yours was from the same date code?

 

[bannockburn]

HisSoldier

Sorry, but your one letter off-mine is an L1. I'm still hoping to find a .25 to pair it up with.

 

[Spyvie]

A gun store near me has a Colt that looks just like isp2605's gun but in .25 ACP, I didn't handle the pistol as they were pretty busy today but it appears to be in very good to excellent condition.

They're asking $399, is that a reasonable price? I wouldn't mind owning it...

 

[bannockburn]

Spyvie

That's a little high, especially for what it is; basically an imported .25 caliber semi auto. But it's got the Colt pony on it, so it's going to command a higher price versus it's Spanish sibling. If you're interested, make them an offer and see what they come back with; never hurts to ask.

 

[jgoforth]

Gotta love it.

Hate to show you guys up, but this was my christmas present to me. But mark me down as a fan of pocket pistols.

Got it on gunbroker for 200+Shipping+FFL Transfer (About 250 total). So 399 is mighty high if you ask me. This one is chambered in 22 Short.

I want to get some custom grips made for it. But that will have to wait for now. Anyone know what to do for the flaking plating?

If you want to check out a cool little mouse gun you should look into a Galesi. They had one on GB for 299 in 25 ACP (Also engraved and plated.) The run of the mill ones run about 100-200 though depending on style and condition.

 

[HisSoldier]

That looks nice, and not a bad price for an Astra. Is that a .22 or .25? The Colts get a lot more than they would seem to be worth when in pristine condition, for the name I guess.

But value is based on supply and demand.

I paid $175 for my Astra. BTW, I did take the magazine safety out, the mag drops out now.

 

[bannockburn]

jgoforth

Congratulations, that's a very nice Cub you've got there. Not much you can do about the chrome plating flaking off. Try not to use any copper solvent, like Hoppes No.9, to clean it, as it will attack the copper plate underneath the chrome plate, and cause further loss of plating.
The Armi Galesi autos are nice little hammerless pistols; besides occasional problems with the extractors, they're well made and fairly reliable.

 

[jgoforth]

Prices

Yeah its a .22 Short.

175 is a good price. Under market value.

But still 399 for a baby colt 25? I mean the name carries a lot to it but I got a 45 Colt 1991 for 550 last year in pristine condition. I know it was a heck of a deal but nearly half a g for a 25? It would have to have a good story behind it and some paperwork for me.

 

[HisSoldier]

A pristine Colt Junior may go for $550 to $650, especially if it has the box. I always wonder how one figures out how to enter at the low end of the curve, once they start going up they never come down.