I am not sure if this is the right place for this, but anyways...
I recently purchased a Ballister-Rigaud .45 cal (BR) and I was wondering what people could tell me about this gun, other than the fact that it shoots great, only a few 1911 parts fit and the Ballester Molina is the same gun, just renamed and produced in 1938, 3 yrs after the first BR.
It is marked "DIRECCION GENERAL DE ADUANAS" "POLICIA ADUANERA" "202" on the right side of the slide. Also it has a serial # of 141 on the bulge behind the grips on the left side, and on the underside of the slide. The clip that came with it is marked "Z8110". On the right side of the slide it states "Automatic pistol Ballister-Rigaud .45 cal" "Manufactured for H.A.F.D.A.S.A. Buenos Aires" "Pat 48282 - Argentinian Industry" (translated from spanish the best I can do).
For anyone that is looking for a great 1911 style pistol that won't break the bank I would boldly suggest getting a BR or a BM. The metal is a whole lot better, denser, than that of a mid '80's Colt or S&W 1911 style, which holds the muzzel flip down, without adding much weight, by feel. Another benifit of the BR/M is there is no grip safety which I personally like because to me they are very annoying, especially when decocking one handed like I do, and the hammer guard is longer, to minimize the chances of skin removal for people like me with fat hands. Another thing that sold me on it was that to me it looked like a more finished gun, smoother lines, deeper grips, longer mag release, and I can just bearly reach the std slide release with my thumb, which I can not on a std 1911, also this one has the metal browned, so it stands out more, which it turns out is only old / distressed gun bluing.
Hope to hear from someone soon,
Thanks for your help,
Richard Cizik Jr
richard.cizik.jr@snet.net
I recently purchased a Ballister-Rigaud .45 cal (BR) and I was wondering what people could tell me about this gun, other than the fact that it shoots great, only a few 1911 parts fit and the Ballester Molina is the same gun, just renamed and produced in 1938, 3 yrs after the first BR.
It is marked "DIRECCION GENERAL DE ADUANAS" "POLICIA ADUANERA" "202" on the right side of the slide. Also it has a serial # of 141 on the bulge behind the grips on the left side, and on the underside of the slide. The clip that came with it is marked "Z8110". On the right side of the slide it states "Automatic pistol Ballister-Rigaud .45 cal" "Manufactured for H.A.F.D.A.S.A. Buenos Aires" "Pat 48282 - Argentinian Industry" (translated from spanish the best I can do).
For anyone that is looking for a great 1911 style pistol that won't break the bank I would boldly suggest getting a BR or a BM. The metal is a whole lot better, denser, than that of a mid '80's Colt or S&W 1911 style, which holds the muzzel flip down, without adding much weight, by feel. Another benifit of the BR/M is there is no grip safety which I personally like because to me they are very annoying, especially when decocking one handed like I do, and the hammer guard is longer, to minimize the chances of skin removal for people like me with fat hands. Another thing that sold me on it was that to me it looked like a more finished gun, smoother lines, deeper grips, longer mag release, and I can just bearly reach the std slide release with my thumb, which I can not on a std 1911, also this one has the metal browned, so it stands out more, which it turns out is only old / distressed gun bluing.
Hope to hear from someone soon,
Thanks for your help,
Richard Cizik Jr
richard.cizik.jr@snet.net