Astra Cadix

[scott]

I pretty much only know smith and wesson revolvers, but lately I've been seeing 3" astra 38s (like these http://www.leesmags.com/Astra-Police...ion_p_719.html) for sale on GB for just a touch over 200 dollars. For that little, I'm thinking of buying one just to play with.
Has anyone shot one? own one? know anything about them?
My expectation is that they're probably not great, but on the other hand, some of their semis have an okay reputation, it's only 200 bucks, and they apparently take the hks 10A speedloader that I already have a million of.

[w provence]

I've shot one. They are nice. They have recessed cylinders and pinned barrels. I've also got the 44 mag version, it's the same with a 2 3/4 barrel.


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[Joe in PNG]

For $200, it may be worth it just to grab one and shoot the crap out of it.

[JonInWA]

I'm not saying that it's a bad revolver, because I have zero experience with them. For a long-term, more than a "throw it in a drawer" defensive revolver, I'd spend the extra money on a contemporary Ruger or Smith and Wesson. Especially if you plan on using it reasonably regularly/heavily, your ammunition costs will exceed your platform purchase price, and I'd rather have something with a reasonable assurance of withstanding use (and a company(s) with a proven track record of after-sales support).

Best, Jon

[scott]

I've shot one. They are nice. They have recessed cylinders and pinned barrels. I've also got the 44 mag version, it's the same with a 2 3/4 barrel.

Thanks, and nice shooting. Didn't know they made a 44.

I'm not saying that it's a bad revolver, because I have zero experience with them. For a long-term, more than a "throw it in a drawer" defensive revolver, I'd spend the extra money on a contemporary Ruger or Smith and Wesson. Especially if you plan on using it reasonably regularly/heavily, your ammunition costs will exceed your platform purchase price, and I'd rather have something with a reasonable assurance of withstanding use (and a company(s) with a proven track record of after-sales support).

Yeah, for any real use I'd agree. This would just be a toy for all the reasons you mentioned; plenty of practical revolvers in the safe already. Even if it's a toy though, I'd prefer a fun toy, hence the question. If it's a rohm-like POS I wouldn't take it if it were free.

[HCM]

I've shot one. They are nice. They have recessed cylinders and pinned barrels. I've also got the 44 mag version, it's the same with a 2 3/4 barrel.


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The short barrel .44 was the Astra Terminator. I recall wanting one as a kid after seeing it in Gun Digest.

[w provence]

Yes it is. I believe Mag-na-port did some work on several back in the day and Jovino gun shop.


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[HCM]

Yes it is. I believe Mag-na-port did some work on several back in the day and Jovino gun shop.


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Magnaport, Jovino, Austin Behlert, Andy Cannon and others did snubby / round butt "carry" conversions on S&W N frames. These were the inspiration for factory guns like Astra's Terminator, and the runs of Lew Horton 3" Nframes from S&W.

S&W M-29's were scarce and expensive from their introduction but when Dirty Harry popularized them outside gun enthusiast circles things got crazy. This created a market opportunity which both Astra and Llama filled by producing DA .44 magnums. The Llama was called the Comanche.

I think Jovino did some snubby conversions on Astra .44s too. Jovino called their snubby conversions "Effectors."

When S&W discontinued the 25-2 and 25-5 Jovino bought a big chunk of the remaining stock and converted them enmass to round butt snubbies. Another gun I wanted as a kid.

[Sherman A. House DDS]

IIRC George Clooney’s character in Tarantino’s, “From Dusk TIL Dawn,” he used an Astra Terminator.

Some worthless trivia.


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[willie]

Back years ago, this handgun was consdered to be an ok revolver. I never read anything bad about them, and the few that I handled were smooth. The downside is that if you order and receive a defective specimen needing parts, then you have wasted your money. Even one in good shape will have low resale value.