Astra 600/43: A Straight Blowback 9mm for the Wehrmacht
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When Germany acquired a land border with Spain after the French capitulation in 1940, they took advantage of the opportunity to purchase Spanish firearms, and have them delivered across the French border to the town of Hendaye. A German inspection office was set up there for use with both Spanish arms and Unique pistols. The first purchases from Spain were Astra 300 and Astra 400 pistols - the 300s were fine, but in .380 and .32 caliber. The 400 was a more suitable service sidearm, but it was chambered for the 9x23mm cartridge which Germany did not use. So in 1943, a couple of German engineers visited Astra to see about production of a pistol more suited to the Wehrmacht use.
The result was the Astra 600/43, basically a model 400 rechambered for 9x19mm. It used a Navy pattern of magazine release instead of the 400’s heel release, and was generally much more what the German military wanted. Germany ordered 41,500 of them, and production began. The first delivery was in May of 1944, and a total of 10,500 were delivered to Hendaye before Allied advances into France made further deliveries impossible. These 10,500 guns were inspected at Hendaye, given WaAD20 proof marks, and distributed into the German military system. Astra continued to produce the guns through 1945 despite the inability to deliver (Germany had paid for them in advance, after all), and by the end of the war they had nearly 50,000 available.
Some were sold on the Spanish civilian market, and a few small sales were made to militaries worldwide (Portugal, Chile, Jordan, Turkey, etc) as well as the Spanish government. But the bulk of the guns remained in inventory or storage until 1951, when the West German Police adopted the gun, and bought everything Astra still had (45,350 approximately). These were later amalgamated into the Bundeswehr inventory in 1956, before being replaced by the Walther P1 in 1961.
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The commander of the ship I was serving in, had a very old chromed astra 3000 with Falange markings on it. When he was sent to another ship, I thought it would be a nice detail to give it a good cleaning and servicing. These Astra Cigar type pistols were very rare, and I was certain no one knew how to disassemble them, but I had been reading gun magazines since I was 11 and recalled tha in one issue of "Guns & Ammo" was a disassembly guide for the Astras. So, I took the gun without permission (yep...)Went to the aft. deck, did the cleaning, and while reassembling the knurled barrel cap pointing upwards, it slipped from my fingers, sending the cap and recoil spring 15 meters in the air. I think my heart stopped right there. Then I heard the "clink" of the part hiting the ground of the dock, and ran there to eventually find both parts undamaged. There were like 75% chance of the parts falling into the water and getting lost forever. Later I served in the spanish marines first battalion as a support gunner, then the Reconnaissance Section and even tried the special operations course(where I lost consciousnes due to a sever hypothermia); but that day, with the commanders Astra, was the scariest day of my life, HAHAHA
gave me a heart attack just reading it lol
That is an awesome story
*The barrel is 15mm shorter, not 15 cm. We appreciate your continuing efforts to metric, we really do.
It's cm now
God has spoken
Gods son.
Jesus is God too. That's how the Trinity works
MFW I accidentally start a religious war.
@calska140 Who assumes metric is difficult? Metric is easier and simpler. That's the whole point.
I have an Astra 600 and absolutely love it. If I were to go into battle during World War II, I would so prefer to take one of these into battle than the famous P08 Luger. The Astra 600 is so much more reliable than the Luger. The Astra 600 is one of the most underrated handguns of the Second World War. Thumbs up Astra!
This gun is so accurate! Better than many I have>.
How bad is recoil
@@Theonederboy The recoil on the Astra is not that bad. One of its downfalls is its overcomplicated disassembly process.
@@Theonederboy
Recoil is a little more substantial than a Luger.
I do find the gun easier to use though.
Accurate although the grip angle isn’t typical and the trigger is heavy compared to modern guns.
Not as good as a modern SIG or Beretta or the plastic-framed striker-fired guns, but French Fan is right - it is very good for its time. I like the 1911 and High Power better. The Vis 35 and P-38 have merits, but the 600/43 is reliable, accurate, and more protected from damage or dirt than those others.
@@Theonederboy Recoil is minimal, even with the 9mm Largo. (Largo is similar to .38 Super in size). .38 Super brass can be used to load Largo ammo. Ive had the Largo, and am still searching for a decent 600 in 9mmP.
Darn... he didn't catch his mistake and correct it with a note. Now the comment section fills with corrections, that everyone following this channel could easily deduce themselves, knowing it was a measly tounge twist.
Coolio Bob yeah I agree he even said half an inch. Everyone thinks they're so amazing by picking up his mistake
Enjoyed the review Ian. I had a captured Astra 600/43 SN: 27xxx in Baghdad, Iraq in 2008. No Waffen proofs, one mag and shot decently. Stories that gun could tell. As a Type 03 C&R FFL wish I could have brought it home but no go with ATFE
The Astra 600. A gun so nice they sold it twice!
I have one! Last shipment before Germany was overthrown. My serial number is around 6500.
How'd you get it?
Speaking of spanish guns, i wonder when Ian will find some *Llama* pistols to show us. Granted, they are not very exceptional guns but they seem to be very 'forgotten' ones :)
Alaric Balthi “yama”
he just did it 1 month ago
@@MitchellCH no! its "Llama ,like "flame in english ,the logo is a torch,but is posible in another country "yama ? I dont know
There is a good reason why they are "forgotten." They were extremely POORLY made. I bought one in 1984 in Texas (brand new) and after 50 rounds the extractor flew off on me! LOL! It cost about $178.00 back then.
@@MitchellCH Understand your trivia before trying to correct people with it.
This gun Astra 600/43 was use by the french Army in Vietnam(1945/1954) specialy in foreigne Legion
This is because many Foreign soldiers of French Legion were older Spanish Republicans and many of them knew well these Pistols.
The first allied company to enter in Paris during WWII were Spanish Foreign company of French Army, Old spanish Republicans
I know that, but it's also because the french Army used many guns of Werhmacht forces ! And the Astra is one of them near P 38, COLT 1911, P 08, GB 35 Browning, STAR B, etc …..
I have an Astra 600 that just missed the 10500 range. It's a little hefty compared to other 9mm pistols but fun to shoot. Thanks for making this video, Ian. There isn't really a whole lot of information on these pistols.
One this you should know is an easier way to disassemble the slide. If you pull back on the slide and engage the manual safety it will hold the slide in the correct disassembly position.
Here in Spain you can have one Astra 400 for 500$...
Tomás Marco Mercado I managed to pick an Astra 400 up for $40 plus another $40 for the parts to fix it. One of my friends workers was doing a side job at some house that some people had bought and there was a box of junk the former owners had left and they told the guy take it he can have it and in the bottom of the box was an Astra 400 with no grips no magazine missing most of the pins and with a loaded steel case 9x19 jammed in the chamber. By some miracle all the internal parts were still in it even though the pins were missing it was also a missing the safety. I made the grips and for the first time ever doing that they turned out really nice they look better than the original military grips. It's a military marked 1941 made gun with matching serial numbers in surprisingly good shape with most of the finish. The guy that found it was from Mexico and he had no interest in it at all he just wanted some beer money LOL. It's one of my favorite pistols very high quality very nice Machining
In addition to a stiff recoil spring, the 400 has a stiff hammer spring and the geometry of the hammer offers additional resistance against the slide's rearward movement. This is how both the 400 and 600 manage relatively powerful cartridges like the 9mm Parabellum and 9mm Largo in a blowback design. Also, these pistols have a fairly unusual design feature in that they are assembled with little "L" pins.
It's kinda cool that the guns are marked with Guernica on it considering the fact that the germans bombed it during the Spanish civil war
Because everything was obliterated except for the Astra factory.
You know the stereotypical image of a house being blown to shit and only the door remains? That was pretty much Guernica, with the Astra factory still standing.
The condor legion was ordered to devastate all civilian buildings and leave the factory and bridges. The spanish fascists wanted it, and also wanted to kill and terrorize as many republicans as possible. After the bombing, troopa just marched and occupied the city. After guernica, the north was lost.
Interesting fact: Fascist newspapers said that guernica burning was scorched earth policy used by the republicans.
The Noobinator Cool? Quite sad I think.
Fun fact for those with no logic, many nations got involved in that civil war.
USSR France and others supported the communists and leftists.
Germany and Italy supported the nationalists.
The communists lost a lot of public support due to massacring priests and raping nuns and even those who were not really pious were disgusted with how the communists/liberals/anarchists ie soyboys acted.
There were very few from the right on the ground and most help the vast majority was through materials and weapons.
For the left it was both with huge support from the banks and imperial states like The French and British empire, the USA and the USSR.
The nationalists won.
I really love these 600/43s. I was surprised the first time I fired one how well they handle and shoot despite the clunky appearance. Those slide serrations are really sharp but make charging the pistol a lot easier than most blowback 9mms. I think these were genuinely good pistols and it's a shame they don't get much recognition.
4:45 Uh, Ian, 15 centimeters is far more than 1/2 an inch... ;-)
Vegas Cycling Freak 15mm
Obviously... but he said 15 centimeters.
Grünkohle REALLY!!!
If gun Jesus say's CM it ckearly must be so and you must be sadly misled my dear.
Ian should just stick to Imperial. It's not like you can't just open another tab and convert if you want the precise metric equivalent.
Yay! Ian does the first pistol I ever shot! I like my pipe wrench! Mine's a high serial number, so never used in the war, but it's still neat.
My old man has one of those. I tried at the range and it works great. Wasn't aware of the story behind them - will go and check for those German logos asap. Thanks Ian! 👍🏻
Please Ian can u make a Astra Falcon 4000 review ?
So hang on a moment...Astra got paid in ADVANCE? And when the German customer went down to well deserved defeat, they STILL made the rest of the order? Is it just me, or would a sane company have just gone; "non delivery, sue me, oh you cant, you got hung at Nuremberg", and pocketed the cash? Or is that immoral?
What a deal for Astra; they got paid twice for the same pistols.
The sights almost seem like they were an afterthought. Makes the sights on the G.I. 1911 pistols look pretty good in comparison.
i dont own any guns but i love this channel. is that weird?
i think not, same also for me.
Same, though I do own a vast arsenal of swords/spears/axes/halberds/ect.
Those I can -play- practice with in the street in front of my house, a submachine gun... not so much.
Nope
Mee too
This channel gives not only a review of a weapon but adds in very interesting nuances to history that we may or may not have known before.
Basically Ian is a professor of history with a specialty in firearms instead of politics.
Aw crap, I was looking to score one under $250 ... but this video just crushed any chances of that! X-)
I know its an older video but after watching this I chose to snag up a Astra 600/43 serial # in the 24000 range that didnt have waffen marks nor import marks into the US so I was ok with it. Good price and Wolff makes spring kits for the recoil spring and mags rebuilds so I ordered those of course. Keep up the good work. Finding affordable unique collectables in 9x19 is my new hobby. So far you've helped me and the Astra 600/43 and the Helwan & a Beretta 1951 (Very different fit and finish)
My serial is around 17000 and doesn't have the waffen mark but does have the Astra seal at the top of the barrel and early production markings. Fortunately I was able to get it at a great price because I don't think the seller realized what he had.
I sold a minty Astra 600 last year. Had I known you were going to review one, I would have held it for the boost this video will give! For what it’s worth, Interarms used to bring these things in by the barrel...literally. Still more useless trivia...these pistols have a raised lug at the bottom of the breech face, much like some fixed firing pin open-bolt subguns.
Adding a Waffenamt increases the value? I'm going to stamp one on my F250 Power Stroke diesel engine block. 😁
Nice deal for the Spaniards... They got paid twice from the Germans for the same guns! :)
What I can't understand is how comparatively easy it looked to rack back the slide on this handgun, but the Dreyse 9mm needed a fancy mechanism to disengage the recoil spring. Is the Astra 600's slide much heavier than the Dreyse's?
So german army and police buy or develope spanish pistols and rifles(cetme/g3) in the 50s and 60s and now its Spain who buy or made german weapons for their police and army(usp and g36)
The economy of Spain and its prestige was better under Franco
Now spain is just a place where brits and tourists take drugs and piss in your streets.
And your economy is now in debt and you make fuck all.
@@jewberggoldstein7112 Economy of Spain better under Franco?. Ha. Haha. Hahahahahahahahaha. Hahahahahahahahahahahhaahahhaahhahaahaha...go tell that to my parents, grandparents and uncles, those who had to live through the post-civil war hunger, and the disaster that was the 50's isolationist economy policies followed by Franco. Spanish economy only started to grow for good in the second half of the 60s and that only because at that time the whole world was booming, lots of foreing investment came into the country, and finally the isolationist policies were gotten rid of.
As problematic as spanish economy has become in the last 10-15 years (mostly due to absolutely abhorrent socialist party economic policies in the early 2000s that totally fucked us over when the crisis hit in '08 even while the Socialist Party was denying a crisis was happening even while it was ongoing, with the resulting "marvelous" results), it's economy is FAR better than what it ever was under Franco.
As for prestige goes, well if you think a regime that was held in a similar status internationally in the 50s as the later south african apartheid was in the 70s-80s had "good prestige", well, think it over. Many foreign countries refused to trade with Spain because of the far right regime in place, and only US intercession in the 60s (because they desperately needed their bases at Torrejon and Rota) made other countries change their point of view to a certain degree.
As for Spain being a place where foreign people come to take drugs and piss on the streets, I guess that speaks volumes about the splendid education of those tourists and the countries they come from. Not so much about the country they go to only because it has splendid weather they want to enjoy, for a change from the shitty constant rain and fog they usually have to live with where they usually come from. In the meantime they leave thousands of millions of euros in our businesses, hotels, restaurants and resorts....only for the priviledge of spending some days around quite beautiful places. I'd say there are worse kind of economies than those, but that's up to you to decide.
So yeah...you know pretty much jackshit and your post shows it clearly.
In the 50s Germany had barely any heavy industry capability beyond what was demanded for the task of rebuilding a country in ruins. When you have dozens of major towns to rebuild, with an industry that was mostly razed to the ground by bombings and invaders and has to be rebuilt mostly from scratch, getting weapon manufacturers going is pretty down on the priority list of things to do.
So it's only normal they resorted to buying stuff from a market they knew well. The Astra 600 they knew because...well, they existed only because Germany wanted them in WW2, so the germans knew the weapon well enough to purchase it. As for the CETME it was a plan B solution after FN refused to license the FAL to be produced in Germany. Because the G3 would've never been more than a side note in history, to begin with, had FN agreed to that license. That they didn't is the only reason why the decision to adopt the FAL was reversed, and that Germany went with the G3 rifle instead.
The german designers who had worked in the Cetme rifle were back in Germany at the time so they obviously knew first hand what a good alternative for the FAL was, and they had just founded H&K. licencing HK to assume production in germany was not a problem for Spain, so the rest was a paved road for the adoption of the H&K modified rifle in german service. Rest is history.
Yet many people forget it insisting on how Germany adopted and modified a spanish rifle...when the "Spanish" rifle was in fact an evolution of a german one (StG45), and designed mostly by germans. The development was funded by Spain, but the design work was done by germans. So the CETME was not that spanish, after all.
@@jewberggoldstein7112 nothing awkward about that nom de stupid at all, heh?
Bought one a few days ago. In very good condition. For a pistol that was made almost 80 years ago, I think it looks fantasti . Not a single dot of rust. And got it for just 350 bucks! Haven't fired it yet, but I'm already looking for an Astra 300. If I could find 9mm largo ammo, I would definitely buy an Astra 400.
Had one many years ago
Which sold me on the quality and economical Astra I now have an a 90 and then a 100 both fine pistols
is it just me, or is this the inspiration for the "spud gun"? this my be a UK only thing.
Looks like it could be actually
5:50 "Guernica" ...how ironic. I wonder what Fritz thought of that when he was issued one of these.
Bombing town of Guernica, Condor left the factory intact.
Been trying to get one of these in Australia sadly though no aus forces brought any of these back so none here for sale :/
Hope you'll do a video on the successor to the Astra Model 600, the Model 800 Condor. The 800 retained the basic blowback design, but moved the safety and magazine release, did away with the grip safety, and added a hammer and loaded cartridge indicator. The trigger is also much improved. Development took place in the 1940s, but the Spanish military did not adopt the pistol. Only some 11,400 Model 800s were later made for the civilian market between 1958-68. It's only rarely encountered in the US today. It is far easier during disassembly to remove the barrel lock, bushing, and spring with the slide fully forward. This will decompress the mainspring and prevent injury and parts loss.
I learned about that model just a few days ago. Didn't knew they existed! Those are very rare. I couldn't find any for sale on GB or online anywhere.
Interesting that the Germans used these pistols... in every photo I've ever seen of a WWII German soldier, they either had a Luger or a P-38.
Vegas Cycling Freak the Germans used all sorts of handguns obtained from allies or conquered nations. The Wehrmacht was far less homogeneous than most people think. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_firearms_of_Germany
Oh I know very well that they pretty much used anything that they captured, just don't recall ever seeing a picture of a soldier with one of these handguns. I suppose for propaganda purposes they only took pictures of soldiers with German made weapons.
That is a big reason. Posed military photos almost always have them holding k98ks mp40s and p38s. I have seen pictures of them using browning hipowers and polish Vis-35 pistols aswell though. Not as common though
Vegas Cycling Freak yes, the Germans also hardly pictured the lifeline of their supply chain, the horse. Soviets also didn’t like to picture vehicles and weapons given as military aid from decadent western countries :)
Gabemando pretty funny to know that one of the most successfully expanded militaries of the time, both technologically and in training, still relied on livestock to move their supplies
Hey, Ian next time you do a Q&A could you cover why 9x19 is so ubiquitous from England to Germany?
Zed Hiro i thought he had previousky
He might have, and if he did I apologize and withdrawal the question. Although I can't remember anything covering it, and I am usually pretty good about that sort of thing.
Zed Hiro its a good question, though
I can answer this extremely easily, honestly it's a topic not worth an entire video. 1. It's cheap and effective with fairly low recoil. 2. NATO. That's about it. Also I'm pretty sure he's covered it before, possibly in a Q&A?
Ryan Gosling I'm not the only one lol, a few other frequent commenters have their pic as a random screenshot of Ian making a funny expression, in the style of the almighty spef
I really appreciate your attempt to pronounce the Ñ. You do it well.
dang i searched yesterday to see if you had done a video on this, i was re-watching the gold damascene video and was wondering about this gun
Thanks for the información ' mean a lot
In 1968, I was Navy finishing air intelligence school in Denver. I was going to be assigned to a Navy squadron that flew missions out of Japan and Vietnam. I went to a store in Denver that sold used and new firearms. I had never known about Astra, but I purchased the 600 model. I carried it with me to deployments in Danang over two and a half years. I generally did not carry it during the day, but would have it with me after dark. I used it at military shooting ranges regularly and found it to be accurate. Either before I got out of the Navy or shortly after, I sold the few firearms I had. We had young children at the time and didn’t want to deal with potential danger of weapons in the house. Of all the weapons I did sell, I only regret selling the Astra.
So, why was this blowback 9mm successful whereas the Dreyse 9mm needed all the recocking paraphernalia and was ultimately a poor pistol? Was it just the heavier weight of the Astra's slide? You didn't appear to have much difficulty in pulling the slide back.
Stumbling across this video because I’ve never heard of this pistol until a few days ago when a friend at work wanted to show me a pistol he had but didn’t know exactly what it was. It was rusted the only cleaning in the past 50 years was a little break cleaner to make sure it shot, and then left outside. Since then I’ve given it enough Lucas to last the next 10 years ripped it apart and brushed its teeth. I know these guns aren’t highly sought after but it shocked me at how smooth the rails are and how well they shoot. They may not be worth much now but they’re still a piece of history that can be preserved and I think we all should respect that anytime we come across things from the past.
Guernica is pronounced Gher-knee-kha. The u is silent it just gives the g a hard sound.
The military in Spain call the Astra 400 pistols ("puro" = cigar) because the form of the barrel, sorry for my bad English
In regards to field stripping the astra 400& 600, the safety lever on the left side is built so it will lock the slide in the correct location for dismounting the barrel. You just need to put a little pressure on it as you slowly move the slide back and it will rotate up and position the slide. I have owned Astra's for almost 40 years. They are rugged and usually accurate guns. I don't ever remember having one malfunction.In regards to the 400's, some of the early ones cannot use 38 ACP because the recess in the slide for the base of the cartridge is too small. Later on they made that recess a little bigger so you can use the 38 ACP. BUT, NEVER shoot 38 SUPER in these, it will crack the slide.
Hey Ian love these videos keep up the lovely work
Just got one today. 1945 dated. In excellent condition for the age and a pretty neat design and build.
how would you describe the trigger since it is a single-action pistol yet also has a magazine safety?
Been waiting for a video on the 600 for a while haha.
I bought a Astra 600 from a gunshow around 2012 for $500. Pretty decent shooter for the period and interesting looking and historically.
Few years after buying it I was just doing some research on some of the guns I owned and noticed some markings on my guns grip, and turns out mine was a West German Police issued gun, which makes sense because it has some signs of wear that are consistent with being carried in the holster for a good period of time (Some very minor pitting where the back is exposed to the elements while holstered if it is being worn).
Thanks for the great videos as always!
Just by coincidence, I saw one of these in an episode of "The Ministry of Time" a couple of days ago.
You've improved your German pronunciation tremendously over the past years. Though one thing that you still get wrong is the E at the end of Pistole and Patrone. The E is pronounced like "M'e'eeh, I don't care for this"
For disassembly could you not first unthread the recoil spring cap then pull the slide back and rotate the barrel? Seems it would make it much easier to deal with the heavy recoil spring unless there is something preventing going in that order.
Another interesting thing about them is the 2-piece firing pin
That you can shoot across the room by dry firing
i wouldnt mind having one of these. it would be interesting as a carry gun, more interesting than a boring ole glock. i have no problems with glocks they are good guns but every one knows what a glock is. open carry this and people will ask about it.
If you get a chance, could you do a video on the Astra Cub?
A weapon for Men, loved and discovered during spanish civil war by german pilots of Franco Legion Condor who bought many.
Thanks for the video! I just got one! Sr # 56000 range all matching even the clip.
Fuuuuck... i wish they keep developing this handguns, could be a good friendly competitor with the Beretta m9.
This reminds me of that Yugoslavian Serbian 380acp pistol.
You're telling me there's a straight blowback 9mm pistol from WWII that exists and functions fine and isn't bulky? WTF is Hi-Point's excuse?
Unrelated question: after WWII, the German army turned in all of their weapons, I know the air-force weapons were destroyed, but what about the army ones (minus what was taken as trophies or by allied soldiers)?
the German army's problem solver
ASTRA 400 9X23 ,9X19....
The Germans during ww2 really used a lot of foreign arms besides Domestic product arms
And they had a lot of headache with a parts for repair.
If my Remington Model 81 had a baby it would look like this gun.
what is the 'X' marking before the date and parabellum marking? you skipped over that one
Learned to shoot automics with one. Terrible trigger and poor sights....but reliable and well made.
Do these pistols have good reputation in the us? here in Spain are expensive and is hard to find surplus 9 largo (for the model 400) some people claim that the model 400 can shoot 9mm luger.
Since both rimless cartridges use the cartridge case mouth to ensure headspace, I assume the 9mm Luger cartridge would go too far into the barrel chamber for the firing pin to reach the primer, the case being 4mm shorter than the Largo. Ammo Encyclopedia states the 38 automatic can be safely fired in the 9mm Largo chamber since both cartridges have similar dimensions and pressure limits.
I have both a 400 & a 600, as always you should only use the correct ammunition in any firearm. But to your question, way back in the 1960s I had another 400 that a marine had brought back from Vietnam. When I bought the pistol from him for $30 it came in a shiny patent leather 1911 flap holster and with a box of 9mm LUGER ammunition. I shot up that box and several others without incident (appearantly God does lookout for the foolish). The extractor would hold the cartridge in place, until it didn't. Now I had a pistol with a live round stuck in the too long chamber. I have read that some 400s will shoot 9mm Largo, 9x19, 38 ACP and 380 Acp. I have also heard if you put jet fuel in your Yugo it will do 0-60 in under 8 seconds. Your mileage and or ER bills may vary.
would anyone care to explain why germany needed so many pistols, machine guns and extra rifles I understand, but why in the world did they need that many pistols
So basically germany paid twice for those pistols, nice business model.
In the early 1960s a large number of these guns came onto the US used pistol market and they were very cheap, like 10 bucks. That low price gave them the reputation of being badly made which was not deserved.
400000 pistolas astra fueron incautadas por la resistencia francesa cuando iban en un tren hacia alemania año 43 44 .
How come Spain went with the Lago round and the Italy went with the Gesile?
Spain adopted the 9mm Largo in 1905, when they bought Bergmann-Bayard Model 1903 pistols. 9mm Parabellum wouldn't exist for another 3 years. They stuck with the Largo for decades afterward, because it's what they already had.
Spain adopted 9mm during Morroco Colonial Wars, yes 1905-1928
I thought the 9x19 mm was too powerful for strait blowback?
It’s weird, when it comes to WW2 I never really think about Spain. I guess I assumed the were friendly with the allies, had no idea they were collaborating with the Germans
Best review..beside other just shooting...my respect
A gun dealer near me has one of these and I FUCKING WANT IT.
A Cigar (un puro)
The Germans loved pistols! Seems everyone in uniform wore one.
If you're keeping up to date with the "WW2 Stories" YT channel's account of German POWs, the one titled "Germany Was Never The Same Again After Our Catastrophic Defeat" has a part where one of the POWs hides his Astra during his capture, and buried it while in captivity and then went back years later to reclaim it. Pretty interesting.
I'm a little curious about my Astra semi in 9mm I keep in my nightstand. The 19 round magazines seemed excessive, so only charge them to about ten. I hope under loading the magazines will imporve performance in the unlikely need.
I have a couple of these. They're nice pistols except for the slight trigger bite. Didn't manage to get a Waffanant marked one, though. I managed a Portuguese navy and German Police ("LBPN") version, though.
I used to own a very nice post war example marked LBPN (Lower Saxony Barracked Police) that included a second magazine, cleaning rod and black holster also marked LBPN and with the the name of the officer it was issued too. Great shooter, but I was talked in to a trade for an Argentine Model 1927 in all original condition. These were the licensed M1911A1 version and not the Ballester-Molina. To this day both of us thinks we got the better end of the deal!
Ian,
I never thought I would say this but... you are doing it wrong.
to take apart a "Spanish water pistol" clear the weapon and remove the magazine.
Place it on safe
Stand the pistol on the hammer cover and butt so the muzzle is up
press the small ring between the knurled lock and muzzle down to un lock the knurled ring and hold it
twist the knurled ring keeping it under pressure (to control the recoil spring) and then ease the knurled ring and lock ring off the muzzle.
turn the barrel to unlock it and remove it and the spring from the front of the open slide.
take off safety and remove slide.
assemble in reverse order
Same same for 300 and 400,
Love your videos and am jealous that you are living the dream with respect to gun stuff.
Using the Wife's account,
Robert Hollingsworth
I don't find my Astra 400 awkward to handle at all. True, the grip angle is a little odd but you get used to it quickly enough.
Since you've done an Astra 300 and an Astra 600 can we look forward to an Astra 400 review in the future? Interesting bit of trivia about the Astra 400, the old TV series "Mission Impossible" used this gun a lot to arm bad guys. It also put in an appearance in the science fiction series "Firefly". They didn't even have to dress it up. Its appearance is weird enough to look normal in a science fiction setting.
I had one of each I had a late 600 in an early 600 and I was using them is shooters and they both developed cracks at the bottom back of the ejection port and I had them repaired by a competent gunsmith and the repairs didn't last so I sold them for parts this is 35 years ago or so but until that happened they were pretty much trouble free and never had any type of stoppages or i didn't have to fuss with them to make them shoot. they were pretty reliable, just as a clarification though they did not develop the cracks at the same time it was a couple of years apart.
FYI Ian in the video you state that the early pattern goes to about 15,000, however my example 165xx is of the first pattern you show in the video, with the exception that it is missing the waffenamt. It is marked pist.patr.08. I'm guessing my gun was one that was made when it was still expected to go to Germany via France but didn't make it out in time.
I seem to remember an issue of Guns & Ammo back in the 1980s describing these Astras as a “plumber’s nightmare” in appearance. Thanks for explaining the good quality of this design.
Blowback is more reliable than any other system because there's no failure to extract. 9mm + blowback seems the ideal combination for a service pistol, I'm surprised it wasn't more popular.
My guns serial is in 16,900s and it has the first style of company name with just 2 lines. Wonder if some just were mixed in later, or if the switch took place around 17k instead?
The 400 is a Browning design , so the 600 is a second generation Browning design , same for the 300 and the FM/ Browning 1922 in 32 and 380 .
Another great video IAN! I knew of the Model 400 in 9mm Largo but not the 600! An amazingly simple design, IMHO:)-John in Texas
I have an astra 400 with a stamp on the trigger gaurd that looks like a "Mercedes" symbol. Does anybody know what that stamp represents?
Ironic that a gun made for Germany comes out of Guernica, a city which Germany bombed to hell in the Spanish civil war just a few years prior.
Looks a bit like the old Diana Mod. 2 pop out pistol I had as a kid.
So basically Astra got paid twice for the guns they sold after the war? Good deal if you can get it especially as it doesn't sound like the German police got a particularly large discount.
You can see it used in the Spanish series "Morocco: Love in Times of War", it's on Netflix right now
ike the Astra 400, it would be a blowback pistol sure to shoot. Although there will always be some idiot who will put a 9mm cartridge + p
Hi Ian, it's "Gher-knee-kah"
This so much, in Spanish the U is muted when it's after G and before an E or I. Like in "Guerra", "Guitarra" or "Guevara".
Es que Ian no habla una palabra de castellano. Ya sabes tú: una persona que habla dos idiomas es bilingüe, si habla muchos es poliglota, si habla uno solo es yanqui!
RobertoDonatti No puedo hablar mucho español (o castellano, estoy un americano, todo es español para mi) pero entiendo. Es la verdad. La mayor parte de nos yanquis no podemos hablar más que íngles, porque no es necessario. Tambien es porque estamos perezoso.
Para los Españoles tampoco es necesario hablar Ingles...pero hay algo que se llama cultura y nos preocupa algo!
Si tu hablas español yo soy el papa Francisco. Eso lo ha escrito una máquina como hay Dios
The nickname in Spain for this gun is "el puro"... the cigar...