My new Astra mod. 600 pistol

[Terminator-X]

IMAG0158.jpg

[ankit.arora]

congrates terminator.its really nice. i think its nine shot pistol of astra.i have seen 3000 and 4000 model in india but 600 model is rare in india, how much you paid for it..

[Terminator-X]

Thanx Ankit. This is an 8 shot pistol. Of-course it's rare because it was made for .32 cal in very small numbers, rest were 9 mm's. I got this one in pristine condition for 4.25 lacs. you can get info here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_600

[dev]

Wow that's in a really good condition, looks as if it just came out of the factory. You are absolutely sure that it hasn't been re-blued and touched up? Not trying to hurt your feelings, I am just amazed by it.

[surajshuresh]

ooo nice gun mate...

[winnie_the_pooh]

Nice pistol.It has been refinished but that should not be an issue.

[Terminator-X]

It was built in 1944 by the Spanish for the German army. Barrel is clean like diamond. It's a high quality Astra product with heavy duty Extractor, Firing pin, Internal hammer, Slide etc. It features grip safety, slide safety, magazine catch safety & checkered walnut grips for a strong hold. It's really a man sized pistol made for big palms. Earlier I had a Llama X-A pistol & it was smaller & lighter as you can compare with the photos. This Astra 600 is refinished & blued by a professional gunsmith & he did a splendid job of bringing back the factory finish of a 67 years old military pistol. Regards

[winnie_the_pooh]

heavy duty Extractor, Firing pin, Internal hammer, Slide etc.

WOW.It comes with all that?

It features grip safety, slide safety, magazine catch safety

I am particularly intrigued by the slide safety and the magazine catch safety.All in all,a very safe pistol.

[Terminator-X]

I mean that the Extractor, Firing pin, Internal hammer, Slide etc. are sturdily made for the stringent German army standards.

Magazine catch safety means that if there is a cartridge loaded in the chamber & the magazine is taken out, It will lock the trigger & won't let it fire. This function was absent in my Llama X-A.

Slide safety is the small lever on the left side of the pistol which rotates to 90 degrees upwards locking the movement of the slide & locks the trigger too.

[dev]

Wow man you have some lovely pistols; I agree the gunsmith is really good and I love the way he has restored the pistol to its full glory. How about some photographs of the groups on a target? Will make me feel as if I've shot it.

[Terminator-X]

Wow man you have some lovely pistols; I agree the gunsmith is really good and I love the way he has restored the pistol to its full glory. How about some photographs of the groups on a target? Will make me feel as if I've shot it.

Happy Diwali to all. I'll do this for sure but I've spend all my ammunition at Diwali. I'll get new cartridges in a couple of days & show the results. Meanwhile, see my son holding both the pistols. enjoy the photos.

[james]

Congratulation for your new Pistol.
In absolute terms if you are comparing Llama to Astra then as per my understanding ,
Llama can be carried with a bullet in chamber with hammer down and astra cannot as internal hammer is there .
The safety in Astra is not locking cocked hammer only slide and trigger is locked and not safe to carry cocked.
In urban enviourment , first shot is key to self defence.
In,double action pistol like walther pp, ppk ,Mauser hsc or cz 50,70 ect has advantage as hammer can be decocked and bullet can be safely carried in chamber, just have to pull the trigger for first shot .
Llama has slide release ,helpful in reloading ,i am not sure about astra.
Llama can be fired with bullet in chamber and without magazine , i feel this has its own advantage as in case magazine catch fails and magazine is dropped or magazine is lost ,the pistol will still fire .
This is out of my experience and i may be wrong.
Regards,
James..

[Terminator-X]

Thank you James & I really appreciate your opinion & comparison about both the pistols. Practically speaking about the safety concerns, we're not endangered to carry our pistols with a cartridge loaded in the chamber with the hammer down, All you have to do at the time of danger is to pull the slide to load a cartridge in the chamber & there you go. It's a very unsafe practice to do so & also as we all know that weapons are mechanical things & not faithful as a dog, It can kill it's owner too with a little negligence. Every machine fails whether it's a Nasa's space shuttle or the Star trek's Enterprise. We should be proud about our weapons but never ever be overconfident about it. A trigger is just a mechanism which holds the fire with a small mechanical resistance & it can fail with just a jerk (If the weapon falls for eg.). We do many irresponsible things as a normal day to day chores like leaving a cartridge in the chamber & it remains there which can result in an accident & just leaves a thought that how did this happen? Actually there are many kinds of firearms with many features & functions of their own & we should be concerned of the weapon which we're holding in our hands. Safety comes first whether it's a weapon or a car. I think I'm giving you a lecture but I myself should have got killed with my own pistol (Llama) 3 times but saved (What a luck). Now I know what a weapon is & I respect the power of owing one. Regards

[james]

I totally agree with you ,just check this video link

Our Fine motor skills under stress goes for a toss anyway the best handgun is one that you are confident with.
Regards,
James..

[xl_target]

Actually there are many kinds of firearms with many features & functions of their own & we should be concerned of the weapon which we're holding in our hands. Safety comes first whether it's a weapon or a car. I think I'm giving you a lecture but I myself should have got killed with my own pistol (Llama) 3 times but saved (What a luck). Now I know what a weapon is & I respect the power of owing one.

Then please teach your kid to keep his finger off the trigger any time he handles a firearm. It is important that you teach him this very basic safety procedures now. Please teach him the rules of safe firearms handling when he is young.

Below is a summary of the four rules of safe firearms handling.
http://www.donath.org/Rants/TheFourRules/

Nice handgun by the way, though I personally like the Llama better.
What is interesting is that any information that I can find on the Internet is that Astra Model 600's were chambered in 9mm Luger only.