It looks cool so why not?

[igotta40]

I have yet to find out if this one is a keeper or a stinker, I’ll post again when I find out. I liked how it looked so I grabbed it. Sometimes that’s all the excuse I need. From what I could learn, it’s a model 506/b, made in 1968. I could be wrong. Anyway it pairs well with the Beretta.

 

[Jonny2guns]

It's cute, I like it a lot!

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I had a Sterling 302 which was supposed to be a stainless scaled down-version of the Galesi. Mine didn't work so hot, as I gather was true of many other Sterlings -- don't know whether this was down to the manufacturer or the original design. Cute looking pistol though.

 

[OneFreeTexan]

It’s obviously a piece of junk, so send it to me for safe keeping… I’ll even pay postage

 

[retDAC]

I have yet to find out if this one is a keeper or a stinker, I’ll post again when I find out. I liked how it looked so I grabbed it. Sometimes that’s all the excuse I need. From what I could learn, it’s a model 506/b, made in 1968. I could be wrong. Anyway it pairs well with the Beretta.

In one of his books, J. B. Wood thought well of Armi Galesi for its price.
He stated not to confuse it with Rino Galesi for which he did not share such esteem.

 

[Claus]

Not the same but definitely cousins. And yes, 22 long ammo is pretty tough to find. Extra credit if you know how to get the slide off for cleaning

 

[bannockburn]

retDAC

In one of his books, J. B. Wood thought well of Armi Galesi for its price.
He stated not to confuse it with Rino Galesi for which he did not share such esteem.

And you would be correct! In his book, "Troubleshooting Your Handgun", J. B. Wood states that: "There were several close imitations made at the time, one of which even had the Galesi name, but the quality piece was the one made by Industria Armi Galesi of Collebeato (Bescia) Italy." Two possible trouble areas were the extractor (Wood surmised that there might have been a problem with the heat treatment of some of these parts), and with the original factory grips (prone to chipping and breakage). Overall Wood wrote that they were decently made guns.

 

[bannockburn]

Dave DeLaurant

I had a Sterling 302 which was supposed to be a stainless scaled down-version of the Galesi. Mine didn't work so hot, as I gather was true of many other Sterlings -- don't know whether this was down to the manufacturer or the original design. Cute looking pistol though.

I had one of those too back in the day. And try as I might I could never get the gun to run properly for more than a couple of rounds. Trying different ammo and magazines didn't help either. The gun was well built, almost entirely made out of steel with the only plastic parts being the magazine floorplate and the grips. I eventually sent it down the road.

The aforementioned author and gunsmith, J. B. Woods wrote that the Sterling 302 was more or less a copy of the Rino Galesi gun and not the better made Armi Galesi model. Maybe that was the problem.

 

[Jimbo80]

Keeper for sure if I had it.

 

[Switup]

That’s a Beauty, would make a nice carry gun.

 

[igotta40]

It turns out this is no stinker! It flawlessly ran through a box and a half of Fiocchi. Target 2 is my best group, two hands, aimed slow fire. The yellow target is bad breath distance (3 yards) and the black target is 7 yards. Target 4 is rapid fire shooting one hand held waist high. All smiles.

 

[Monac]

Like many Italian designs, the Galesis are graceful and pleasing to the eye. After 40-odd years during which Glock-blocks have become almost universal, I am not surprised that people find the Galesis an attractive novelty. Especially when they are as minty as igotta40's and Claus's. Heck, I wouldn't mind getting a Galesi 32 or 380, just because they are so good looking.

But Galesis and Rigarmis did not get much attention or respect when they were new. I think they would have been considered the kind of gun that GCA 68 was intended to keep out. And like many inexpensive guns, quality seems to have been highly variable, so it was random chance whether you got a good one or a bad one. Maybe more of the bad ones have been junked over time, but time and wear will have have taken their toll on the good ones.

Rigarmi and Galesi were connected. I think the "Rig" in Rigarmi stands for "Rino Galesi". But you can look it up on Google and learn more about it than I know.

 

[Old Dog]

Like many Italian designs, the Galesis are graceful and pleasing to the eye.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess To me, it looks like the smallest and skinniest Hi-Point I've ever seen. It's actually not bad-looking in kind of a Mauser HSc sorta way but it's clearly not designed by Pininfarina. The fit and finish looks quite good though, and I am a sucker for pretty much anything Italian (food, cars, cinema, guns, women) if I saw that pistol in the counter I probably would've bought it immediately. A bonus that it shoots decently, too.

Upon further review, its looks are kinda growing on me...

 

[ilgac]

I have yet to find out if this one is a keeper or a stinker, I’ll post again when I find out. I liked how it looked so I grabbed it. Sometimes that’s all the excuse I need. From what I could learn, it’s a model 506/b, made in 1968. I could be wrong. Anyway it pairs well with the Beretta. View attachment 1133687View attachment 1133688View attachment 1133689

I have it’s big brother, Armi-Galesi Model 9 .32ACP/7.65 Browning

Mine is well made and reasonably accurate. Definitely a keeper.

 

[igotta40]

Wow is that stamped 1964, or 1954? Nice!

 

[ilgac]

Wow is that stamped 1964, or 1954? Nice!

1954 with no import marks. I’ve had it almost 20 years.

 

[Monac]

Thanks very much, ilgac! I was looking for a good picture of a Galesi 32 or 380 to post in order to show why I thought they were so good looking, and yours are better than any I found. I did find one really interesting one, though. This is Galesi's "long-slide" variant of the 32, and it's engraved: https://www.icollector.com/GALESI-MODEL-515-RENAISSANCE-CALIBER-7-65MM_i33100468