My reborn Astra Terminator .44

No Quarter · Dec 10, 2014

I was not pleased to find that my .44 Mag Astra Terminator had a broken firing pin. I searched high and low for a replacement.

Well, I decided to see if I could find something that would work. After looking at the exploded drawings of an Astra .357 and comparing them to an Astra .44, it appeared that many of the parts are compatible. I took a chance and ordered a firing pin for the .357 from Numrich.

To my surprise, it fits and more importantly, WORKS! So, this gun was treated to a full break down and cleaning and a bead blast finish.

I think it looks AWESOME. These were great guns back in the day and certainly led the charge of snubby big bores. Championed by John Jovino and distributors like Lew Horton, it is a little part of handgunning history.

Here she is:

6518John · Dec 10, 2014

I'll be-- is that barrel pinned?

No Quarter · Dec 10, 2014

Pinned Barrel AND Recessed Cylinder!

WC145 · Dec 10, 2014

The Terminator was a quality piece and you've got a fine looking example there. Astra is to be credited with being one of the first manufacturers to come out with large frame/short barreled big bore revolvers when the factories began to recognize that there was a market for such guns that was being filled by gunsmiths like Austin Behlert and shops like the John Jovino Co..

As far as the Terminator being championed by John Jovino and Lew Horton Distributing, I've never heard before. Care to elaborate?

No Quarter · Dec 10, 2014

Sure! John Jovino customized S&W big bores and Astras as well to the short barreled configuration. After a while, Astra started to manufacture these big bore snubbies by themselves to Jovino's specifications.

Lew Horton distributed the Astra Made, Interarms-imported Terminators during the 80's.

Google "Astra Terminator Jovino" and you will lot's of other information about these and other large bore snubs of the era.

NQ

Watchdog · Dec 10, 2014

Now that's a wicked looking little gun. I see you had it Mag-na-ported, too.

colt_saa · Dec 10, 2014

The TERMINATOR is a great little offering. My dad and I had them in 44 Magnum. Mine was blue and his was the INOX finish.

Then I found one in 41 Magnum. Sold my 44 in a heartbeat.

No Quarter · Dec 10, 2014

The .41 mag version was the first one I ever owned. I pawned it for beer and babe money when I was on leave from the Marines.

At the time, it was ABSOLUTELY worth it (beer was cold and the girl was warm!). As the years went by, it had become one of my most regretted firearms sales. I would love to get another blued one in .41mag some day. I keep looking!

goldenlight · Dec 23, 2014

I have one of the S&W 3" 629's sold by Lew Horton. It is a real handful with full power factory loads. But, I reload for it, so I have some nice loads that hare heavier than a 44 Special, and lighter than 44 magnum.

With what I call 'reasonable loads' it's fun to shoot, accuracy is very good, and they have enough power for any reasonable need. It came with the beautiful wood combat finger groove grips on it, but it is much more comfortable to shoot with the Pachmayr grips just like Colt Saa's, just above.

I never knew that Astra made these 44 magnum snubbies. I'm guessing they didn't make a lot of them, as I've NEVER seen one at any of the literally hundreds of gun shows I've gone to. I would buy one in decent condition in a heartbeat, if I ever saw one.

ImprovedModel56Fan · Dec 23, 2014

Astra has made a lot of fine guns (even some sold as Colts). Glad to see that you got one of them.

SPEEDGUNNER · Dec 23, 2014

That is an awesome looking pistol. I just picked up an ASTRA A-100 at auction, it is a finely made and robust 9mm with a 17rd capacity mag. Copy of Sig P228. Decent manufacturer back in the day.

WPWarhawk · Oct 20, 2015

I just picked up an Astra 44, but mine is slightly different than the ones in this thread. Mine is more of a model 29 clone.

loc n load · Oct 20, 2015

Terminators

Astra also made the terminator in 45 colt....here's mine.

BC38 · Oct 20, 2015

WPWarhawk said:
I just picked up an Astra 44, but mine is slightly different than the ones in this thread. Mine is more of a model 29 clone.

Other than the finish, that one looks just like mine. Mine is the INOX (another name for stainless steel) version. I'll bet you if you take the grips off it you'll find that they are K/L frame round butt in size. That's the biggest physical difference between these and an M29. The M29 has regular N frame size grips, and the Astra has K/L frame size grips.

WPWarhawk · Oct 20, 2015

Apparently John Jovino was behind the original Astra Terminator and his shop cut down some of these guns. Mine has nice bluing on most of the gun, but no bluing at all on the crown, making me wonder if it was cut down.

BC38 · Oct 20, 2015

WPWarhawk said:
Apparently John Jovino was behind the original Astra Terminator and his shop cut down some of these guns. Mine has nice bluing on most of the gun, but no bluing at all on the crown, making me wonder if it was cut down.

That was my understanding. I forget where I read it but I read somewhere that they couldn't import them with a short barrel due to some part of the GCA of 1968 definitions of a Saturday Night Special, so they brought them in with the longer barrels and then Jovino's shop modified them.

I figured that if a shop like Jovino's was willing to put the effort into modifying them to market them as a custom gun, they had to be pretty decent quality. I got mine in about 90% condition for $350 for father's day this year. Try finding another big bore magnum snubby of decent quality in that kind of condtion for that price. Heck, you can't even buy a beat up bulldog in 44 special for that price.

BigBill · Oct 21, 2015

Astra firearms are highly regarded in Europe as quality firearms. The company not too long ago was sold to a company in Switzerland. They were offering a new 1911. It wasn't cheap but very well made. I believe every part was forged steel.

BC38 · Oct 21, 2015

BigBill said:
Astra firearms are highly regarded in Europe as quality firearms. The company not too long ago was sold to a company in Switzerland. They were offering a new 1911. It wasn't cheap but very well made. I believe every part was forged steel.

LOL, that's pretty much what I learned from my research - and from feedback from people who do or have OWNED one.

But when I was deciding whether or not to buy one I asked for opinions and got all the usual "feedback" from people who hadn't owned one.

You know the spiel - "Spanish guns suck", "Spanish guns are junk", "Spanish gun makers were all cottage industries", "out of business = no parts", "save your money and buy <insert model here>", blah, blah, blah.

While those opinions are valid for some Spanish gun makers, Astra doesn't seem to be one of then. Neither does Star. BUT the comment about parts being hard to find is valid. However it's just as valid for a LOT of other guns out there - including the really old Smiths.

jimmyj · Oct 21, 2015

Any information why the Astra's firing pin broke ?

WPWarhawk · Oct 22, 2015

Some better pics of the Astra Terminator

I have been watching for one of these for years, and found one Monday at a small town Arkansas pawn shop. I believe this is an early gun, possibly one of the Jovino conversions.

Astra 44 Magnum, is not marked TERMINATOR anywhere. This one has a frame profile more like a S&W than others I've seen.

It does have Pachmayr compact grips, barrel length is just a hair over 2 3/4 inches.

Five screw type frame, there is a screw underneath in front of the triggerguard.

Pinned barrel, and front sight base

Recessed chambers

No bluing on the crown, this is what makes me think it could have been a cut down Jovino gun.

The rear sight is broken, I'm going to have to find a replacement, or more likely have this one welded up. Lockup is very tight, when the hammer is cocked this is no movement of the cylinder at all. I'm anxious to shoot it.

My reborn Astra Terminator .44

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