Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Astra-Unceta y Cia SA More Info

About the Gun

The Model 300 is a compact single-action blowback pistol with Astra’s tubular slide, an internal hammer, a grip safety, and a frame-mounted thumb safety. It is a scaled-down companion to the Model 400, built in blued steel with checkered walnut grips and fixed blade-and-notch sights. The magazine catch sits on the lower left grip rather than in the heel.

Production

Production ran from 1923 through 1947.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $35. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $550–$1,000.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.32 Automatic
Alias:	7.65 mm Browning
More Info

Analysis

Astra introduced the Model 300 in 1923 as a pocket-size version of the 1921 army Model 400, chambered in the more common .380 Auto and, shortly after, .32 Auto. The .380 Auto gun was taken up by the Spanish prison service and, from 1928, by the Spanish Navy; other Spanish police, port, and service units used it through the 1930s. Condor Legion experience in the Spanish Civil War led to German orders. From late 1941 through July 1944 Astra delivered about 85,390 pistols to Germany—roughly 63,000 in .380 Auto and 22,390 in .32 Auto—nearly half of the 153,085 guns built. Most of the German .380 Auto examples carry a WaA251 acceptance stamp. Production ended after the war, and the updated Model 3000 took its place in 1948. On the used market the 300 is collected as a Spanish service pistol and as a German foreign-contract sidearm; WaA-marked guns and high-condition early commercial examples bring more than plain late guns.