Astra 400

rballi

I have heard alot of different things about this pistol. What all rounds will this pistol actually cycle? I know what the book says but I have heard alot of different things.

rballi

I recently got an old Astra 400. Never intended to. Turns out to be interesting. Serial numbers match, doesn't appear to have been hurt. Serial is very close to 100,000. Chamber says "9mm&38. Top rear of slide says:
Unceta Y compania
Guernica, Espana
Pistola de 9mm (38)
Modelo 1921 (400)
proof mark on left top of trigger guard is burning bomb with 'I'inside.

My questions are - is this one of the high quality ones, or one of the not-so-high quality ones, and is this "9mm&38 chambering 9mm bayard/largo (and are 9mm bayard & 9mm largo the same) - I'm new and ignorant, so any help would be welcome.

rballi

I just picked up an Astra 400. Also called the "Water Pistol"? The slide says 1921 (400), it has the astra logo on the top front of the barrel. Matching serial numbers of 90,### and wood checkered grips. I know the gun was made from 1921-1945; what is the approximate year of mfg of this gun? What is the -real- scoop on the ammo it can fire? I've found info that it can shoot 380, 9mm para, 9mm largo, bayard, 38 super, etc. The barrel says 9mm/38. Can it shoot modern more "common" calibers & ammo?Roy

lrarmsx

The gun will shoot all of those calibers, but it really isn't set up to handle the power of the 38 super. It can handle the 38 auto, but the super is more than youshould be subjecting it to. As for the age, I don't know that there is a book to get the exact date of production. The range you give is correct. The .380 is a bit light some times to eject reliably. Remember any caliber that is shorter than the chamber, you are relying on the extractor to hold the cartridge while the round is being fired. If the extractor does catch the rim on feeding it will deep seat into the chamber. Additionally you may eventually break your extractor and need to replace it. Magazines are still available and so is the actual 9mm Largo ammo.

v35

Some years back, the American Rifleman had a good evaluation article on this pistol and the many cartridges it can handle. Maybe they can send you a reprint. I've wanted one since but never bought one. Apparently a company copied their chamber dimensions a few years ago and adapted them to a revolver cylinder to enable it to shoot a variety of ammo.

Der Gebirgsjager

Serial Numbers started at 1 and went to 105,275 so your specimen is later rather than earlier. There used to be quite a bit of surplus ammo on the market, some corrosive some non corrosive, and CCI makes 124 gr. FMJ in their non-reloadable Blazer line. Starline makes new, reloadable brass. The multiple caliber/cartirdge story has been going around for many, many years. In actuality it is poor practice under any circumstances because, as stated above, it the cartridge is shorter than the 9mm Largo for which the pistol chambered it is unsupported by the mouth of the chamber; and, as stated above, only held against the slide face and firing pin by the extractor. What you have here is purposely created bad headspace--perhaps a necessity if the Indians are coming over the hill and you're out of the proper ammo; but otherwise a very bad idea. Also, as stated above, .38 Super is a really bad idea. Although you will find this information perpetuated as being a truth, individual 400's will often not fire some or all of these inappropriate cartridges and it can be dangerous in others. You will find few people that have actually tried it. I attempted to fire 9mm Luger in one of my specimens (a lot of years ago when I was younger and dumber) and it would not fire at all. Another point of interest it the disassembly of the pistol. New owners that don't bother to obtain disassembly instructions (see The Gun Digest Book Of Firearms Assembly/Disassembly Part 1: Automatic Pistols) look at the pistol and believe that the knurled portion around the muzzle screws out. After trying to unscrew it for awhile they concluded that it's in really tight and apply a tool (channel locks, large pliers, pipe wrenches) to this part and seriously damage it. The shiney barrel bushing immediately around the barrel muzzle must first be depressed and held down, then the barrel bushing lock (knurled part) can be turned a half-turn and will come out. Control it, as it has a powerful recoil spring behing it. You will then observe that the knurled part is actually held in by a double lug arrangement and is not threaded at all! There's a very good article on the Astra 400 in the archives of Cruffler.com. You will enjoy this pistol. They are highly accurate, very reliable, and of unique design.

rballi

I know I really shouldn't have, but I did. After searching the web, I found various info on the ammo shootability of this gun. I found reccomendations to shoot, and not to shoot ammo other than the 9mm largo. At noon today I loaded one factory 380 in the mag and it chambered with no problem. I fired it from the other side of a wall in an indoor range; no problem. I loaded two 380's in the mag, the firs shot jammed on the way out, and the last left the slide open as is should have. I examined the spent cases and noticed a slight bulge, but no splits and no dirty stuff around the cases. I did the same with 9mm fmj reloads rated at 1150fps. No problems, no jams, no case damage. I'll buy some 9mm largo for further testing.

Tailgunner1954

Theres a 5 page article on this subject (ammo interchange) by George Nonte Jr in the 1971 gun digest if you want a copy of it send me a E-mail.Tailgunner@M33Access.com