Anybody know anything about an Astra A-100?

G

Gremlin

New member
I paid off a Ruger GP-100 last night (4"bbl, full lug, stainless steel 'what a gun!) and while I was there an "Astra A-100" 9mm caught my eye. It's used but in excellent condition, well maintained, and has a 17 round magazine with it. Felt good, all-steel construction, sort of a Sig looking design to the slide, it seems to be a good pistol.

What bothers me is that I know next to nothing about Astra. I know they're Spanish made because it says it right on the side of the frame--I assume that means they're probably a Tangfolio product. What I don't know is anything else about the gun.

Anybody had any experience shooting them?

This one was tagged $399 but a little talking got them down to $300 pretty quick. I left a $30 down payment and came home to search the web for info. If they're a dog or if that one's overpriced, I can always spend the $30 downpayment on ammo for the Ruger...

'lil help from the gallery would be greatly appreciated!

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Triggers exist to be pulled... again and again.
 
As a matter of fact, the Astra's are really good guns. That model was a copy of the Sig P226 I believe. They copied the features pretty well.

An old salty gun dealer I trust loves the A100 and the Firestar. These are the few guns that did come out of Spain that were well made.

I once owned a Star Megastar in 45 acp. Thing was huge. Almost as big as a Desert Eagle but chambered in 45 acp - 4 pounds. Accurate, reliable, came with a pair of 12 round mags for $450.

I just wasn't shotting it enough so I traded it off. Got a Glock 30 in 45 acp for CC with the money.

There is a website out there that was a great resource to me: http://www.donttouchme.com/star/

Check it out.

I love 9mm's so add it to your collection if you can find some magazines for it. Find out what happened to the other mag - some of the imports only shipped with one mag. I always like to have at least 3. Check out Promag or CDNN for the hi-caps.

For $300, you're not going to find a quality used 9mm pistol with a 17 round mag. Maybe a Glock 17 for $375. But that's plastic and not PRETTY like the Astra.


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The Seattle SharpShooter

[This message has been edited by jtduncan (edited February 11, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by jtduncan (edited February 11, 2000).]
 
Gremlin:

I have an Astra A-70 9mm, single-action, single-stack 8 round magazine. (first gun I ever purchased). After 2500 rounds the firing pin broke, but I think this was a fluke. The gun is utterly reliable, very compact and handy, but not very accurate (3.5" bbl.).

I had an A-75 in .45 ACP briefly, which I traded for a 1911. Also reliable, but I didn't like the double action trigger pull, and the fit/finish wasn't great. I remember that the edges of the plastic grip panels stuck out and bit my hands.

I don't think anyone is importing the weapons any longer (formerly Interarms?) and I have not been able to find a source of spare parts (I expect the slide stop on the A-70 will fail soon).

If you're just looking for a shooter, go for it, but don't expect top-end performance.

good luck,

SA Scott
 
I own an Astra A-100 in .45 ACP and have grown to love it. It is indeed a loose copy of the Sig P226. The main difference is the fact that the takedown lever is on the other side of the frame.

These are no longer imported, so parts support is limited. Magazines can be found, but be prepared to pay. My particular gun shoots well and is overall "good" in terms of quality. Ths finish is a parkerized-looking sort of deal. Fit and finish is good, although mine shows some toolmarks on and in the slide rail area. Also, they are somewhat heavy. This make shooting them easy, but carrying them a bit of a chore.

For $300, not a bad buy. I would not pay much more than that for one, though.
 
I too own a A70; have put only 500 rounds through it with no problems. Payed $215 for it NIB, so I wasn't expecting much. Good bang for the $!
Oops....almost forgot......I saw the 17 rd
mags for the A100 in Shotgun news last month.
I forget who had them..............

[This message has been edited by Dikyllis (edited February 11, 2000).]
 
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