Grandad's old pistol

[scatter shot]

Astra 600/43 9mm. Manufactered in Spain in 1944 under contract with the German Army during WWII.
My earliest memory of this gun was around in 1968. Grandad loved to ride the sandy, back roads of Southern Georgia, stopping at the numerous borrow pits to shoot snakes, pine cones and a few recently emptied bottles of whiskey. It's also where I learned to drive a manual with three on the column.
When he passed in 2000 I came into possession of several of his guns including this one. This gun is still tight and shoots very well for a gun that is 74 years old.

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[Jscrapmetal]

That’s cool.

[lil red]

Awesome. Great shape for a gun that age

[Chuck the Duck Slayer]

I got one as well but its not a 9mm its a 32. in about the same condition. I haven’t fired it though

[scatter shot]

I shoot standard, white box ammo out of mine with no hiccups.
I don't use +P in it even though it could probably handle it with no problem. I's a stout piece of iron, also known as "the pipe wrench" in it's day due to it's shape.

[WoodieSC]

Cool piece and story.

[gooseaholic]

Guns like that interest me the most. They all need a little history to make them more interesting. All guns have a cool factor, but the stories are what make them.

[Swamp Rat]

Those are neat guns for sure.

[ecu1984]

Love it - and your story of early memories.
My dad use to ride the dirt roads with me on Sunday's and we stopped at every little bridge and looked for a moccasin to shoot or an old bottle.
He had a 67 Ford pickup with three on the column and I was doing most of the driving by the time I could reach the pedals.

[scatter shot]

I gave this pistol to my son for Christmas. He was pretty jacked to have his great grandfather's old pistol.

[MediaGuy]

That gun is in incredible shape. Lucky guy.

[JABIII]

Niiiice....

[scatter shot]

Passed down another one of granddad's guns to my son today.
A Steven's 311A 12 gauge built October 1966. Grandad was the original owner of this gun and I remember him winning many a Turkey shoots with it when I was a kid. There was one shoot where they were giving live birds to the winner and walking back to the car, grandad would throw another Turkey into the trunk of his oldsmobile with the other two birds, take a deep swig of Seagram's 7 and close the trunk with a war whoop and a smile.

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[WNM]

I missed this the first time around. That Astra is a neat little gun, and the history makes it better. A friend sold me an Astra .357 that survived his grandfather's trailer explosion (or maybe he got it from him right before the explosion) in Belton or something to that effect, equally as Anderson County. It's a well made gun.