WW-I "Ruby" Pistol....Made in Spain For The French

[1srelluc]

I picked-up a Esperanza y Unceta (later named Astra) M1916 .32 acp pistol. The were made in the Basque region of Spain. It is in very nice shape with a excellent bore....9-round magazine....It came with a holster but it's not French issue.

This one has French .mil acceptance stamps and is one of the better made examples if the ilk. It's said up to 45 different companies made the "Ruby" and quality ranged from excellent to abysmal. The well made ones are very good and dependable shooters.

They used to be one of the few WW-1 pistols that were affordable to collect but in recent years the better examples have soared in price. I felt really lucky to get this one for $180.00.....Ten years ago I could have bought two or three at that price.

Here's a great link on the "Ruby".

Spanish Eibar/Ruby Pistols

 

[Maxdeath]

Nice.
I have a dozen French WW2 rifles with only a few scratches from being dropped. Sorry could not help myself

 

[1srelluc]

Nice.
I have a dozen French WW2 rifles with only a few scratches from being dropped. Sorry could not help myself

I "purged" a few years back and sold off all my French rifles. About the only thing I kept was a French marked German byf-45 P-38 pistol the the Germans made for the French when Mauser was under French occupation after the war.

 

[Shawnee_b]

Nice. Looks like a little 1903 colt influence there.

 

[1srelluc]

Nice. Looks like a little 1903 colt influence there.

That's pretty much what it was based on, just simplified.

I was sort of surprised when I looked up The Rubys on GunPorker. The French property marked ones from what would later become Astra (like my example) and Llama are better than $500.00 once shipping is tossed in.

The lesser quality brands are over $200.00 so it looks like I did OK on it.

 

[Shawnee_b]

Oh heck yeah you did OK. I like 1903 influence in other pistols, heck even the Tok T33 is related.

I also have always liked 32acp, good little cartridge.

Gunpork has gone nuts, just like gunshows. Not just porker but many sites. Try to get a redmans barrel liner in 22lr. Sold out everywhere but you can find them inflated on the auctions. Well TOTW believe it or not has many sizes but approx $8 an inch!

 

[1srelluc]

Oh heck yeah you did OK. I like 1903 influence in other pistols, heck even the Tok T33 is related.

I also have always liked 32acp, good little cartridge.

Gunpork has gone nuts, just like gunshows. Not just porker but many sites. Try to get a redmans barrel liner in 22lr. Sold out everywhere but you can find them inflated on the auctions. Well TOTW believe it or not has many sizes but approx $8 an inch!

Barrel relining has become very popular of late. My Smith must have a dozen waiting to be relined in different calibers....He said all of a sudden it just took off. Good to see folks are interested in saving the older rifles with bad bores.

I picked-up a 1925 Winchester Model 92 (24" round barrel) in .32-20 this morning. I have it apart for cleaning right now. It was right dirty but had a excellent bore once I finally got it clean. Honest wear otherwise. I'll post it up later.

 

[Shawnee_b]

Barrel relining has become very popular of late. My Smith must have a dozen waiting to be relined in different calibers....He said all of a sudden it just took off. Good to see folks are interested in saving the older rifles with bad bores.

I picked-up a 1925 Winchester Model 92 (24" round barrel) in .32-20 this morning. I have it apart for cleaning right now. It was right dirty but had a excellent bore once I finally got it clean. Honest wear otherwise. I'll post it up later.

It's pretty simple. I got motto. "reline a barrel, save history" Why not? Cept liners getting pricy and rarer. On the 22 K hornet I want to build I can liner and tube a barrel or buy a 224 bbl. Maybe $200 to tube and liner, $250 for a 4140 bbl. No brainer really.