??? Astra DA Revolvers ???

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MARKMALL

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I have a chance to buy one but have never seen or heard of thier revolvers. Any thing you could tell me about them would be helpfull. so tell me all the good, bad or inderferent points about them!

Thanks Mark.
 
I sure like my .44 Mag. The DA is real smooth, the SA is real nice, it shoots better than I can, and the price was reasonable. I cannot speak for all models.

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Years ago I had an Astra .357. Quality appeared excellent and it shot very well. Had an adjustable hammer spring, if I remember correctly. Anyway, it went down to the road to finance a 686 or something.

I believe an Astra revolver was the basis for the FN Barracuda.
 
I worked in a gun shop through the late 80's and early 90's when we used to see a lot more Astras around, so I got to handle several and shoot a few of them. Solid guns, seemed pretty well built and I don't recall any complaints or returns on one.
 
I can tell you that Astra went out of business in 1977.

So parts & service for their revolvers is pretty hard to come by now.

rc
 
I wish I had opened up one back in the day to see the internals, is there any practical parts exchange with a Smith & Wesson and an Astra????
 
When Astra folded their tents their assets were taken over by FN, Yes FN used Astra equipment to make the Barracuda. The only problem with the Astra ( the same as with Star ) are parts.
 
I haven't owned any, but the few I've shot were solidly built guns. IIRC, some parts can be found at Bob's.
 
I think one endemic problem with Astra revolvers (the .357s, at least) is that they had a tendency to crack forcing cones, and in some extreme cases, split the frame where the barrel screws in.

When I was working in a shop in the 80s, I had at least two that I can remember with that problem that were, sadly, useful only for parts afterwards.
 
They're good guns depending on the caliber.

I say caliber because if you're looking for .357s, the old Ruger Security-Sixes is the way to go. For the big .44, the Astras are the best for the buck you can find.

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Following are some pictures of my 4" Astra 960(.38 Special)-which was identical to the Astra .357, except for the caliber and, of the adjustable hammer strut spring-located under the grip frame(Neat feature). Although there is just a bit of holster wear near the muzzle, this 960 was mostly carried but shot very little. This was a strange model-since at the time-only the Astra .357 could be imported into the USA, but not the Astra 960 .38 Special. I got lucky in finding this Astra 960 because it was not an import-as the owner had brought it here from Spain. I really enjoy shooting this revolver and the double action trigger pull is really nice!:D:
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You sure Astra went out of business in '77?
No, my mistake.

The guy who owned & operated Astra was killed by Basque terrorists in 1977, and the company went down hill from there.
They merged with Star, and both companies went under in May, 1997.


rc
 
1977 was an important date in Astra's history, this was the year that the very successful manager, Augusto Unceta Barrenectrea was murdered by a terrorist bomb, afterward everything was down hill. They were able to limp along until the finial closing in 1997, the same year that Star also closed their doors. Thanks to an unresponsive government ( rigid and unwise regulations and high taxation ) they were unable to compete in the world market.At the present there are no { in the conventional sense, there may be a few reproductions made } handgun manufactures in Spain
 
And here I thought I knew a lot of obscure stuff. RC and Ron have humbled me.

I remember Astra made a cool .44mag snubby called the Terminator, they were good guns.
 
I have a 4" astra cadix 22lr "kit gun" that's turned out to be the most delightful 22 revolver I've ever owned.

In use pictured below


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posted via mobile device.
 
I'm pretty sure Spain would still be a major player in the arms industry if it were not for the internal strife / Basque & other terrorists / collapsed economy / who knows what, that took place then.

But like a lot of things in history, we will never know what might have been.

For instance, what if nearly 3/4 million young American men, some of them powerful leaders in civilian life, had not have been killed in the civil war?

Or all the other wars in the world.

In many cases, the best of the best are killed in battle.
The worst of the worst are in the rear with the gear.
And survive to become the leaders of the future!

rc
 
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