Beyond_Visual_Range
New member
For those haven't heard, Century International Arms is running a March Special on Argentine Ballester Molina .45ACP for $159.87. It's C&R so I decided to risk it. It's not a Colt Systema, it was a loose copy of M1911A1. It can exchange barrel and mag with 1911A1, but most other parts can't made to work without some fitting. Here's some detailed info if you're not familiar with BM.
http://www.cruffler.com/historic-september99.html
It's rated FAIR, and overall, it looks fairly good from the outside. There are a couple of scratches and one impact dent on the slide. 50% bluing, not too bad since there wasn't any rusting. The markings are clear and crisp, but CIA didn't put their import mark parallel to the original slide marking; it appears to have a 30 degree tilting upward. I wonder if this was a slip up or if Century stamped all their Ballester this way, please let me know. They included 3 mags, 2 fit fine, but one has some minor surface rust. The other one is too tight for me to push in right now, maybe after some cleaning up the mag well.
The biggest eye sore is the wood grips. They're very worn, with scratches, and loose around the grip screws. I'll try to salvage them if I can, but probably have to replace them from the looks of them. Here's my question, does 1911 standard grips fit the Ballester Molina? If not, does anyone know a place to get BM grips other than CDNN? They're out of stock. I dont' have a 1911 to compare with, but it appears I may have to trim the left panel for the safety cut, but otherwise they look very similar. The key is the panel screw holes, as long as those line up, I can do the trimming myself.
The internal looks excellent, much better than the outside, no rusting or pitting of any kind, and not too dirty. The slide action is very smooth, I really like it. The hammer cocks with ease, no binding or stiffness, but now I see what a "bite" it could do if I'm not careful. How does the safety work? I can't engage it while the hammer's uncocked? I think a manual on M1911 operation would really help. Please point me to one if you know. The takedown's simple and intuitive. The bore's shiney, rifling very crisp, kinda makes me wonder how much they've shot this thing. The best part of it is the grip size. The single-stack can't feel better than this! I have a TZ99 doublestack, but that's slightly wider than I'd like. The Ruger P90 I have is singlestack but it's way wider than it should be. For its width, they should've made it doublestack. Ruger are built tough, but definitely not ergonomically designed. This M1911 type of grip feels just right for me. Other than the loose panels sliding abit, it's like a natural fit. Browning's a genius!!
Overall, I'm pretty happy about it. I've only bought brand new pistols before so I wasn't at all impressed by its look when I openned the box. In fact, the only used firearm I've gotten is the other Century Special Yugo SKS, so I don't have alot to compare with. For the price I think it's a good one. I've dry fired her, and it felt very comfortable. It's mechanically in excellent condition, I just need to refinish the exterior. How would you strip the original blue? Is there some chemical or would the Dremel felt polish wheel do the trick? I want to strip it and either leaving it bare like I've seen one pic of Ballester Molina, or do Oxpho-Blue job on it. But I'm leaning toward the shinney kind, if I find a way to keep it from rusting.
So....please let me know if you have any comments, questions, or answers to my questions.
BTW, the pistol is 50XXX, but it didn't match the barrel, maybe that's why the barrel looks excellent. That puts it mfg date somewhere in the Late '40s. There are still a few days left in March, so if you didn't already have a Ballester Molina, or M1911 type, you will do well to pick one up. It's a good deal on a shooter.
NOTE: This is Century's picture on BM, not my actual pistol, but they look very close in exterior condition.
http://www.cruffler.com/historic-september99.html
It's rated FAIR, and overall, it looks fairly good from the outside. There are a couple of scratches and one impact dent on the slide. 50% bluing, not too bad since there wasn't any rusting. The markings are clear and crisp, but CIA didn't put their import mark parallel to the original slide marking; it appears to have a 30 degree tilting upward. I wonder if this was a slip up or if Century stamped all their Ballester this way, please let me know. They included 3 mags, 2 fit fine, but one has some minor surface rust. The other one is too tight for me to push in right now, maybe after some cleaning up the mag well.
The biggest eye sore is the wood grips. They're very worn, with scratches, and loose around the grip screws. I'll try to salvage them if I can, but probably have to replace them from the looks of them. Here's my question, does 1911 standard grips fit the Ballester Molina? If not, does anyone know a place to get BM grips other than CDNN? They're out of stock. I dont' have a 1911 to compare with, but it appears I may have to trim the left panel for the safety cut, but otherwise they look very similar. The key is the panel screw holes, as long as those line up, I can do the trimming myself.
The internal looks excellent, much better than the outside, no rusting or pitting of any kind, and not too dirty. The slide action is very smooth, I really like it. The hammer cocks with ease, no binding or stiffness, but now I see what a "bite" it could do if I'm not careful. How does the safety work? I can't engage it while the hammer's uncocked? I think a manual on M1911 operation would really help. Please point me to one if you know. The takedown's simple and intuitive. The bore's shiney, rifling very crisp, kinda makes me wonder how much they've shot this thing. The best part of it is the grip size. The single-stack can't feel better than this! I have a TZ99 doublestack, but that's slightly wider than I'd like. The Ruger P90 I have is singlestack but it's way wider than it should be. For its width, they should've made it doublestack. Ruger are built tough, but definitely not ergonomically designed. This M1911 type of grip feels just right for me. Other than the loose panels sliding abit, it's like a natural fit. Browning's a genius!!
Overall, I'm pretty happy about it. I've only bought brand new pistols before so I wasn't at all impressed by its look when I openned the box. In fact, the only used firearm I've gotten is the other Century Special Yugo SKS, so I don't have alot to compare with. For the price I think it's a good one. I've dry fired her, and it felt very comfortable. It's mechanically in excellent condition, I just need to refinish the exterior. How would you strip the original blue? Is there some chemical or would the Dremel felt polish wheel do the trick? I want to strip it and either leaving it bare like I've seen one pic of Ballester Molina, or do Oxpho-Blue job on it. But I'm leaning toward the shinney kind, if I find a way to keep it from rusting.
So....please let me know if you have any comments, questions, or answers to my questions.
BTW, the pistol is 50XXX, but it didn't match the barrel, maybe that's why the barrel looks excellent. That puts it mfg date somewhere in the Late '40s. There are still a few days left in March, so if you didn't already have a Ballester Molina, or M1911 type, you will do well to pick one up. It's a good deal on a shooter.
NOTE: This is Century's picture on BM, not my actual pistol, but they look very close in exterior condition.