The Astra 45 Colt DA Revolver

Sarge · December 4, 2016, 01:58 AM

I recently acquired a 6" Astra in 45 Colt. The DA pull on this revolver rivals my late nickel 29. The SA has a little creep but will doubtless be fine after a little sear clean-up. This revolver's cylinder lock-up exhibits utterly no movement at the 'moment of firing' position or even with the hammer at full cock.

I ran three cylinders of my basic 45 Colt load (8.5 Universal/255 RNFP) through it, to get a feel for it. Function is perfect DA or SA and it left deep, centered hits in fired primers. I didn't shoot long as we just fertilized the range pasture with turkey do-do and SCUBA equipment would be needed for anything more. Even under harsh conditions it managed a six shot, 3" 25 yard group on the steel plate with some overlapping bullet splashes. I'm going to have some fun with this one.

mk70ss · December 4, 2016, 07:35 AM

Those early Astra revolvers were great. I always lusted after an Astra Terminator .44 snubby.

Pond, James Pond · December 4, 2016, 02:18 PM

Any thread with Astra in it gets my immediate attention and this was worth it. I like those Astras. Very nice looking gun!!

Sarge · December 4, 2016, 04:02 PM

Thanks guys. I gutted it out today, polished the DA bearing surfaces and cleaned up a substantial burr that was on the single action sear point of the trigger. The gun was dry inside so it got scrubbed & oiled, too. The cylinder was sluggish so I cleaned & polished the arbor, while I had the cylinder out.

My trigger scale only goes to 8 pounds so I can't measure the DA pull, but I'm guessing it about 10 pounds- and it is really slick now. The SA trigger finished at 4 pounds and is as crisp as any S&W I ever owned.

Bore appears to be 0.454" and cylinder throats are YUGE at a uniform 0.458"... at least I won't need this one reamed, LOL.

Sarge · December 4, 2016, 07:52 PM

I got it pretty well dialed in this afternoon. 6 shots at 25 yards including one vertical sight adjustment. All six went into 2 1/2" and the five, fired after the adjustment, spanned 1 3/4". The load is 8.5 grains of Universal with a Lee 452-255-RF sized to 0.454" I believe the old revolver will shoot.

tallball · December 4, 2016, 08:15 PM

Nice! One of my firearms regrets is not buying a beautiful NiB Astra revolver in 44 magnum when I had a chance in 1990 or so.

Model12Win · December 4, 2016, 08:34 PM

NICE! With some PDX1 defense loads and some speedloaders, it'd make a good LEO revolver.

CajunBass · December 5, 2016, 06:42 AM

Nice looking revolver too. Congratulations.

natman · December 5, 2016, 10:39 AM

I have the exact same gun. Mine is nicely accurate too. A definite keeper.

Safestuffer · December 6, 2016, 12:58 AM

Surprisingly high quality with a few neat features such as an adjustable trigger.
Grips are kind of tricky to replace due to that adjustable trigger though...the mechanism occupies the same space in the grip frame that most grips use for the grip screw, and as you can see the k/l frame grips don't exactly fit.
I won't be giving mine up anytime soon.

Radny97 · December 6, 2016, 02:15 AM

I have a couple astras now. Great accurate guns. A 45 Colt is a rare bird. Cool to see them out there in such good condition.

Sarge · December 6, 2016, 08:30 AM

It's pretty hard to find a negative review of these revolvers based on the actual use of them. They are excellent guns and while you see occasional stupid high prices on the web, they have no collector value.

I am severely tempted to shorten this one to 4".

Hunter Customs · December 6, 2016, 09:17 AM

I have a Astra 3 inch barrel 44mag round butt.

My son came out one day and we took it out for some shooting, after shooting some full house 44mag loads he commented that shooting it you could feel the ground shake.
I just laughed and said no that's just the muzzle blast from the short barrel.

I'll have to say the Astra 44mag is the most comfortable handgun I've ever shot in that caliber with full house loads.
Sadly I'll be departing its company as it will be one of the many of my personal guns listed in my farm auction.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter

December 4, 2016, 01:58 AM	#1
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	The Astra 45 Colt DA Revolver I recently acquired a 6" Astra in 45 Colt. The DA pull on this revolver rivals my late nickel 29. The SA has a little creep but will doubtless be fine after a little sear clean-up. This revolver's cylinder lock-up exhibits utterly no movement at the 'moment of firing' position or even with the hammer at full cock. I ran three cylinders of my basic 45 Colt load (8.5 Universal/255 RNFP) through it, to get a feel for it. Function is perfect DA or SA and it left deep, centered hits in fired primers. I didn't shoot long as we just fertilized the range pasture with turkey do-do and SCUBA equipment would be needed for anything more. Even under harsh conditions it managed a six shot, 3" 25 yard group on the steel plate with some overlapping bullet splashes. I'm going to have some fun with this one. __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice. Last edited by Sarge; December 4, 2016 at 02:03 AM.

December 4, 2016, 07:35 AM	#2
mk70ss Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2008 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,598	Those early Astra revolvers were great. I always lusted after an Astra Terminator .44 snubby. __________________ Say when.....

December 4, 2016, 02:18 PM	#3
Pond, James Pond Senior Member Join Date: July 12, 2011 Location: Top of the Baltic stack Posts: 6,079	Any thread with Astra in it gets my immediate attention and this was worth it. I like those Astras. Very nice looking gun!! __________________ When the right to effective self-defence is denied, that right to self-defence which remains is essentially symbolic. Freedom: Please enjoy responsibly.

December 4, 2016, 04:02 PM	#4
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	Thanks guys. I gutted it out today, polished the DA bearing surfaces and cleaned up a substantial burr that was on the single action sear point of the trigger. The gun was dry inside so it got scrubbed & oiled, too. The cylinder was sluggish so I cleaned & polished the arbor, while I had the cylinder out. My trigger scale only goes to 8 pounds so I can't measure the DA pull, but I'm guessing it about 10 pounds- and it is really slick now. The SA trigger finished at 4 pounds and is as crisp as any S&W I ever owned. Bore appears to be 0.454" and cylinder throats are YUGE at a uniform 0.458"... at least I won't need this one reamed, LOL. __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice. Last edited by Sarge; December 4, 2016 at 08:40 PM. Reason: dimensional typo corrected

December 4, 2016, 07:52 PM	#5
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	I got it pretty well dialed in this afternoon. 6 shots at 25 yards including one vertical sight adjustment. All six went into 2 1/2" and the five, fired after the adjustment, spanned 1 3/4". The load is 8.5 grains of Universal with a Lee 452-255-RF sized to 0.454" I believe the old revolver will shoot. __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice.

December 4, 2016, 08:15 PM	#6
tallball Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2014 Posts: 2,444	Nice! One of my firearms regrets is not buying a beautiful NiB Astra revolver in 44 magnum when I had a chance in 1990 or so.

December 4, 2016, 08:34 PM	#7
Model12Win Junior member Join Date: October 20, 2012 Posts: 5,854	NICE! With some PDX1 defense loads and some speedloaders, it'd make a good LEO revolver.

December 5, 2016, 06:42 AM	#8
CajunBass Senior Member Join Date: May 6, 2005 Location: North Chesterfield, Virginia Posts: 4,767	Nice looking revolver too. Congratulations. __________________ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

December 5, 2016, 10:39 AM	#9
natman Senior Member Join Date: June 24, 2008 Posts: 2,607	I have the exact same gun. Mine is nicely accurate too. A definite keeper.

December 6, 2016, 12:58 AM	#10
Safestuffer Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2013 Posts: 101	Surprisingly high quality with a few neat features such as an adjustable trigger. Grips are kind of tricky to replace due to that adjustable trigger though...the mechanism occupies the same space in the grip frame that most grips use for the grip screw, and as you can see the k/l frame grips don't exactly fit. I won't be giving mine up anytime soon. Last edited by Safestuffer; December 6, 2016 at 01:10 AM.

December 6, 2016, 02:15 AM	#11
Radny97 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2015 Posts: 1,021	I have a couple astras now. Great accurate guns. A 45 Colt is a rare bird. Cool to see them out there in such good condition.

December 6, 2016, 08:30 AM	#12
Sarge Senior Member Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: MO Posts: 5,457	It's pretty hard to find a negative review of these revolvers based on the actual use of them. They are excellent guns and while you see occasional stupid high prices on the web, they have no collector value. I am severely tempted to shorten this one to 4". __________________ People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice.

December 6, 2016, 09:17 AM	#13
Hunter Customs Senior Member Join Date: March 26, 2005 Location: Osborn, Missouri Posts: 2,697	I have a Astra 3 inch barrel 44mag round butt. My son came out one day and we took it out for some shooting, after shooting some full house 44mag loads he commented that shooting it you could feel the ground shake. I just laughed and said no that's just the muzzle blast from the short barrel. I'll have to say the Astra 44mag is the most comfortable handgun I've ever shot in that caliber with full house loads. Sadly I'll be departing its company as it will be one of the many of my personal guns listed in my farm auction. Best Regards Bob Hunter