Astra 357 Magnum ... please advise ...

[LetsFetz]

At the local gun shop today I saw that Astra 357 Magnum Revolver ... beautiful gun - blued with kinda off-brass hammer and trigger ... 4" barrel and adjustable rear sights (horiz & vertic.) ... just by the looks and feel (I am a bit difficult in that sense and really appreciate good craftsmanship) it appears to be a solid and well built weapon ... no visible flaws ... playing around with trigger, hammer and cylinder, it feels like a piece of real decent precision manufacturing ...

... due to being six year old stock (back then the Rand was still worth more than twice as much as today), it would be quite a bargain ...

... it would be my first revolver and I'd like to use it for target shooting and maybe a bit of IDPA (just for fun) ... 'd sure be a nice bedside-weapon, too ...

I found a pic, which I'm pretty sure, is it ... not so sure about the barrel, though ... thought the one in the shop (4") was longer ...

... does anybody know the make and/or model and can give some advise as to whether it's worth bothering? ... any info would be much appreciated ... thanx in advance ...

cheers and beers
LetsFetz

 

[LetsFetz]

... hmmm ...

... in the meantime I found this:

AİT OLDUĞU ÜLKE İSPANYA
ÇAPI 357 Magnum
357 Magnum
ŞARJÖR KAPASİTESİ 6,6
NAMLU UZUNLUĞU 76 mm.
102 mm.
SİLAHIN UZUNLUĞU 212 mm.
245 mm.
SİLAHIN YÜKSEKLİĞİ 148 mm.
148 mm.
SİLAHIN AĞIRLIĞI 1050 gr.
1130 gr.

... and this:

Ale jejich stopy jsem často nacházel i vysoko v horách, na místech, kde bych jejich přítomnost nepředpokládal. Na medvědy jsem měl revolver Astra 357 Magnum, který mi věnovala společnost C.I.D.

... anybody speak Beludshistan or Tschurangratis?

 

[stans]

Astra was a Spanish gun manufacturer and has been out of business for some time now. Their guns were reputed to be of good quality, but spare parts may be hard or impossible to find.

 

[LetsFetz]

... thanx a lot ... I thought, that nobody is going to answer at all ... I'm not looking for specifics really ... merely want to know about quality, god/bad experiences, etc ... don't/didn't you have any Astra's in the States? ...

 

[Chuck McDonald]

Astra

As previously noted, Astra made decent products... including side arms for the Germans in WW II and for German Police after the war.

Unless this gun is VERY cheap, I would suggest avoiding it like the plague.

Why? Easy, the price of police trade in S&W .357 Mags is so cheap there is no reason not to buy the best.

KY Imports for example, has S&W M13 .357 Mags in the $200 price range...and it is a wonderful revolver.

FWIW

Chuck

 

[LetsFetz]

... thanx again ... regarding the price, it wouldn't be correct to just take the US$/Rand ratio (due to import, tax, duty, etc.) ... but tp give you an idea, you could compare it with paying ca. US$ 150,- for a new gun ... would you buy it? ...

 

[DARTH 44]

LetsFetz
AIT OLDUGU ULKE ISPANYA=Coutry of origin Spain
NAMLU UZUNLUGU=Barrel length
SILAHIN UZUNLUGU=Overall length
SILAHIN YUKSELIGI=Height
SILAHIN AGIRLIGI=Weight total

As for that text it`s neither in Beludshistan nor Tschurangratis
It is in Czech language,and it`s about something like this:
''I used to find their foot-prints both high in the mountains and in the valleys,in places where I`d never expect their presence.
So,when bears may be encoutered I go with my Astra 357,the revolver that has been founded by the society of C.I.D''

AFAIK the Astra 357,44,45 revolvers are of rather rugged construction(unlike Astra`s 38s) but their rear sights are adjustable in elevation only.To correct windage you must move the front sight blade
The Belgian BARRACUDA revolver is almost the same as the Astra 357 except it has fixed sights,and there`s a 9mm Luger cylinder included.

Hope this helps.
Regards

 

[LetsFetz]

... hey darth ... had a good giggle just now ... how come you know all those Chapdalavisdowsn languages ... where you from ?

... and thanks for the advice ...

... getting there - getting there ...

 

[Jim March]

Let's all remember LetsFetz is in Africa, so "availability issues" apply, in spades.

At the equivelent price mentioned, ya, I'd probably snap it up. I'd go easy on the full-house loads, firing just enough to know where they printed.

LetsFetz: I assume you've seen the "revolver checkout thread"? On the off chance you haven't: http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57816

I would definately run through that on a critter that was hard to find gunsmiths or parts for...

 

[LetsFetz]

Hi Jim

... much appreciated ... you nailed it, regarding availability ... I'd like to lay hands on one of them S&W's, but chances are slim to none, that it will ever happen ...

... regarding your thread - I thought I've done some good search work ... obviously not that good, cause I missed that one (looks like I missed the forrest by looking at all the trees) ... I started reading from the screen and after a couple of lines I printed it out for reference ... great stuff ... thanks a lot ...

 

[hjrocket]

ASTRA 357mag DA

I have had an ASTRA 357 DA revolver w/6" barrel for about 23 years. It has fully adjustable sights and is the best and most accurate revolver I have ever fired. It is really well made.
(I haven't shot many revolvers) As a guide, I have been trying to sell mine for $125 for six months with no takers---so Astra does not have much resale value!!!!

 

[LetsFetz]

hjrocket: why are you selling it?

Jim: went through your manual last night ... magic stuff, really ... wondering, whether this came out clearly - the Astra lying at the dealer is brand new - out of the box! ... still, I'll do all the recommended testing ...

... another thing regarding value (maybe of interest) ... the dollar value I gave, is what it would cost (based on the Rand price at the dealer) in the USA before making its way to Africa ... hence, before adding shipping, import tax etc. ...
... affordability wise, an average earner (let's say a mechanic) puts down a third of his salery for such a gun (= Rand 3000,-) ... new stock Glocks and HK's (ca. Rand 12000 to 15000) for example exceed an average monthly salery by far ... that's Africa

... I bought my CZ75B for Rand 5000 two month ago ... the new stock is now in the shelf for Rand 9.500

 

[warhammer357]

Didnt Browning market their revolvers in Europe for awhile back in the seventies and eighties?

 

[hjrocket]

LesFetz

Why selling???
I just took up pistol shooting 6 mos ago after a 20year lapse, and I am now into semi-auto pistols BIG TIME and sold off all my revolvers (4 out of 5 that is) to buy SA pistols. Glock,Sig sauer, IMI Eagle, etc etc.

 

[Jim March]

LetsFetz: we've had recent reports of people doing the "checkout" you now have on brand new S&Ws, finding a barrel/cylinder gap of around .008" - .009" and having S&W tell 'em "inside of .010" is still in-spec" .

We've had reports of out-of-timing brand new Rugers, S&Ws and various Taurii...

Upshot: I don't buy a gun without doing at least minimal timing, cylinder play and barrel gap checks. New, used, or barely farted on, I don't care .

On that Astra, given the caliber and barrel length, if everything else is OK and the barrel/cylinder gap is .004" through about .006", I'd still buy it. Not past that I don't think. Where the gap REALLY matters is on a snubbie .38, where you need all the velocity you can possibly get. My personal critter of that type runs a .002" gap, just where I like it .

If the gap is too TIGHT, .001" or you use dirtier powder than me and want a bit bigger than .002", no problem at all as long as the gap thickness is the same top to bottom. Take it home, and very gently polish the back face of the barrel with a fine knife sharpening stone. Go slow, do even strokes, take it down as needed with frequent checking. It's the one possible serious problem that's not only easy to fix at home, you WANT to do that 'cuz the factory would probably unscrew it a full turn and leave you at .007" or whatever :barf:.

 

[LetsFetz]

... ok, let's see ... I gotta do that in 'millimetre' ... ghee, I think it was about twenty years ago, when I last used one of them thin metal set thingies, stowed in a handle - (like a pocket knife) - we used to adjust the 'interrupter' (is that the english name for it?) for the ignition timing of our bikes ... a "feeler gauge" you say ... that's the one to use, right? ... anyway, in millimetre that would be ca. 0.05 (0.002") to 0.15 (0.006") - riiight!? ...

... well, the good news is, that the dealer has not only that one revolver lying under the counter ... in fact they still got six of them in stock ... should be possible, to find one amongst them, which is A1 - shouldn't it? ...

... I arranged for tomorrow evening to have an hour at their indoor shooting range and I'll tell the guy to bring all of them ... that's right ... I'll do the 'Jim March' first, to short list 1, 2, 3 etc. and then shoot the ones, that pass the test ...

... thanks again - and - I'll report back how it went ...

... just by the by - I'll shoot the CZ 97B (also old stock - thus a bargain - and that's the last one in stock) tomorrow, too ... but then - that's gonna be an easy decision ... it's basically decided already ... ... pssst - don't tell my SO

 

[DARTH 44]

...hey LetsFetz...what made you have such a good giggle???I just tried to help.
No.I don`t speak Chapdalawisdowsn languages...but I`ve got a Chapdalawisdowns-English dictionary
357Mag. Astra was introduced in 1972.They must have upgraded their adjustables,as the Astra 357 I had handled in early 90`s had its RS elevation-adjustable only.

Where am I from?...
I`m from Europe

Do you speak Suahili(spelling)?

 

[LetsFetz]

Darth,

... I had to laugh about myself, cause the last thing I expected, was that the article I found (which I didn't have a clue what it was talking about) had anything to do with bear foot prints ... ...

... I'll see tomorrow, but if I remember correctly, the one in the shop also had adjustable RS only ...

... Owambo, Ovahimba, Xhosa, etc. nope ... struggling enough with Afrikaans and English, as is

 

[DARTH 44]

Yeah, that dude must be either a very good shooter or a goddamn optimist to take a 357 Magnum for bear
What`s your decision about that Astra?

 

[Lone Star]

Fetz-

In the US, the Astra had its fans, but didn't get a lot of press in the gun mags. Can you find a review in "Magnum" or another South African magazine?

Generally speaking, those who owned them here seemed to like them, and one "off brand" gun test magazine that was run by some dealers, I think, recommended the Astra as being quite solid value, unlike the Llama equivalent, which often had timing problems. (As have practically all revolver brands.)

At the Rand equivalent of $150 US, I'd grab that gun! I'm pretty sure that if you look over all six the dealer has, one or more should check out just fine. Probably most will.

The only review I could find of an Astra revolver on short notice comes from, "Great Combat Handguns" by Leroy Thompson and Rene Smeets. It reviews the M680 snub .38 very favorably. The accuracy at 15 meters was 74mmX50mm. I think that was for a six-shot cylinderful. The writer, probably the Belgian Smeets, said that this was unrealistically far for a snub .38, but I've shot S&W Chief's Specials well at much greater distances. I don't whether this group was shot in double-action or S.a. mode. I'm pretty sure it was fired on a silhouette, and would have been better had the writer fired at a bullseye target.

The company was well known among arms enthusiasts; it was Astra-Unceta Compania of Guernica, Spain. Their somewhat tubular-looking M400 auto in 9mm Largo (Bayard Long) was the official Spanish military sidearm until officially replaced by the Star Model Super in 1946. Some Astras soldiered on for some years after. Many of those and the smaller M600 in 9X19mm have been sold here in the US. Astras that I've handled have impressed me as being well made, but Spanish metallurgy has had a poor reputation, largely due to cheaper makes sold here before WWII. The Llama Comanche and this Astra .357 had to pass Spanish proof, and I've never heard any bad news about their strength, although it's possible, I suppose, that cylinder timing might wear sooner than on US revolvers, if the action parts were softer. But I don't know that they were!

The book mentioned shows the gun with sideplate off and the tool marks and machining look about as good as on most US revolvers made since at least the 1960's. I suspect that a drop of Break-Free or Rem Oil (if you can get these lubes there) in the action and some use of the gun will provide a pretty smooth action. The gun tested by Smeets did shoot high, but one could adjust that with different ammo, and/or holding the front sight low. At typical defense ranges, it should handily hit a misbehaving tsotsi (thug) in the heart with no problem! Anyway, the .357 you like has adjustable sights; the .38 didn't.

Thanks for sending us Charlize Theron; the least I could do was to answer your question! Hope this helps.

Oh, for the European who wanted to know if you speak Swahili, which he didn't know how to spell: that tongue is spoken far to the NE of your apparent abode, where Zulu, Tswana, etc. would be more useful. But he was quite nice to provide that translation.

Lone Star