A local shop has a 6 inch blue Astra .44 Magnum DA revolver on the shelf looking for all the world like a model 29 at first glance. I was surprised how good it looked.

The dealer mentioned last year that he had a "Terminator" that he couldn't sell despite many lookers, so I expected to see a 3 inch revolver with an $800 price tag. No to both. $490.

My old Standard Catalog says made 1980-87 with no production numbers given; a little late for the Dirty Harry sales crush. That reminds of the High Standard Crusader that should have been successful in an attempt to fill the supply - demand gap but never made it to production.

-- now with a couple of pictures --

Bonus points trivia question: What long-running TV LAPD cop carried an Astra Terminator 3 inch for a couple of seasons in the 80's?

Attached Images

	Astra .44 6 in RB L.JPG (112.7 KB, 365 views)
	Astra .44 6 in RB R.JPG (98.7 KB, 299 views)
	Astra .44 6 in RB cyl 1.JPG (98.1 KB, 238 views)

I have a stainless Terminator. Great gun, but a real handful with full power 44 mag loads.

Basically an N-sized frame with a K-sized grip. The hammer-spring preload adjustment system (which also adjusts trigger weight of course) is really ingenious.

Fred Dryer carried one in the series Hunter.

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THAT I didn't know about. How's it work?

If you look at the attached photo, the ring a the bottom of the grip frame slides out of the frame sideways. There are 4 different holes drilled around the perimeter, and each one is a different depth. The 4 different holes range from around 1/16" deep to almost 3/16" deep, and they are the "seat" for the hammer mainspring.

If you seat the spring in one of the shallower holes the spring is more pre-compressed which increases the force of the hammer fall, and thereby increases the weight of the trigger pull as well.

If you seat the spring in one of the deeper holes, the spring is less pre-compressed and that lightens the hammer fall and trigger pull.

To change it you just slide the ring out of the frame, choose the depth of hole/amount of pre-compression you want to use and slide the end of the spring retaining rod into that hole then slide the ring assembly back into its hole in the grip frame.

Really simple to use, and as I said, very ingenious. You can set it to have the lightest hammer fall and trigger pull, and if it reliably ignites all your ammo, great. If it doesn't and you get light strikes, adjust it to the next shallower hole and try again. When you get to the lightest setting that reliably ignites all ammo primers with no light strikes, that is the setting to use.

Mine has never failed to fire, even at the lightest setting, and I would estimate the DA trigger pull at around 6 pounds.

And just for grins here are a couple of photos of mine...

Attached Images

	gripsoff.JPG (80.3 KB, 388 views)
	DSCN2578-1.JPG (48.1 KB, 277 views)
	DSCN2575-2.JPG (144.5 KB, 272 views)

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Also used by George Clooney in From Dusk till Dawn.

Attached Images

	IMG_0474.JPG (151.3 KB, 221 views)
	IMG_0475.JPG (90.5 KB, 213 views)

Been Looking For One For A Long Time....

Just bought this Astra Terminator Friday. Local pawn shop had it. Some finish wear, but solid and clean otherwise. Got it for short money too.

The two pictured have notably different profiles; I'm guessing BC38's is a later, revised edition.

I have a stainless Terminator. In almost new condition with the box. Mine says “TERMINATOR” on both the gun and the box. I was on a quest to find one and paid a decent amount to get mine.

I’ve noticed that some are marked “Terminator” while some are not. Mine looks like the stainless one that BC38 has.

Here's a funny little tidbit for you.

When I found mine at a LGS for $350 a few years ago, I posted on here asking about them and had a BUNCH of people tell me all the Spanish guns were junk and not to waste my money!

After reading about the history of the Terminator and that they were built by John Jovino with the Astra 44mag as the base gun, I decided it was probably a worthwhile purchase, so I bought it anyway.

I'm glad I did...

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I put an Astra Terminator in my 2019 book, Turn Red Tomorrow. Didn't know about the connection to the show Hunter, but I did mention its appearance in From Dusk Till Dawn.

Hollywood likes big handguns because they show up much better on screen than the compacts and belly guns.

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Psalm 27:2

Next time we go shooting at Boggs Pit, I'll have to bring mine along and let you shoot it, seeing as how you put it in your book and all!

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Sounds good! I'm pining to go out there myself.

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Added pictures to first post.

I heard over and over again, "Astra guns are junk!". Funny thing is, I've had a bunch of them and not one of them had any issues at all. Only one I have left is a black A75 9mm, and if you shot it blindfolded, you would think it's a little Sig P series in all steel. Just a great little gun. No pic of it, but here is the .40 A75, that was just unpleasant to shoot, but looked and functioned great.

Astra's are generally not junk, but are some of the better Spanish made firearms. Star was another good Spanish firearms maker. Llama's, on the other hand, range from good to really bad.

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"All Spanish guns are junk" is one of the bits of "gun lore" that has convinced me that at least 50% of the "expert" advice seen in gun forums is pure hooey, stated in error at some point in the distant past and mindlessly parroted ever after by those wishing to appear expert.

I have owned at least eight Astra guns I can recall through the years, including two Terminators, and without exception they were all excellent guns. No doubt there have been bad experiences with Astras for some folks -- but then, I can say the same about Colt, S&W, Ruger, etc., etc.

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Pisgah

The biggest issue with Astra and Star firearms these days would be spare magazines and spare parts.

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Astra made some spectacular revolvers in my opinion.

When you compare Spanish or Brazilian guns to S&W's, COlt's or Ruger's of the same era, I think you'll find that all of those Latino knock offs are sub standard firearms. Not that they're junk, just lower quality, with the exception of Taurus; which are absolutely garbage.

If someone is satisfied with his choice in guns, that's what matters. Desirability and resale value are indicators on any gun, but every manufacturer makes good, mediocre and bad guns. The chances of getting a good one are higher with products that cost more.

I have a Taurus 658, a 8 shot .357 with a 3" non-ported barrel. I would put it up against any S&W revolver, old or new. Several friends of mine have model 66 Taurus guns, and they have zero issues with them.
Here is a bad pic of my 658:

Well, are you going to buy it?

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

For that price I would snag that bad boy up.

There is NOTHING wrong with Astra's or Bersa's. Heck my wife had a Rossi in 38 in 1983 that shot better than my Smiths did.

I have a stainless 6” cut down to a Terminator-like profile, love it. You should definitely pick that one up - I’d buy another in a heartbeat.

(Oops, zombie post… sorry!)

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Would you elaborate on that statement with some specific comparisons and enlighten us?

Not the OP but I see the older Spanish guns as a comparison to the current Turkish shotguns. If you shoot trap or skeet the Turk guns are junk that will barely last 10,000 rounds. If you shoot birds and consider 100 rounds a year an excellent season you can have a different perspective. In the later case 5,000 rounds represents 50 years.

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Front sight and squeeze

The original post is 4 1/2 years old.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

That maybe, but still did he buy it?

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No, I wasn't in the market. Merely a fun topic for discussion.

Well, just FWIW, five years ago I would have been really tempted to buy that one for under $500 - at the very least I'd have made a serious offer on it.

I only have one Astra in 44magnum - the Terminator that I bought ten years ago in 2015 for $350, and I have always felt like I got a bargain when I bought it.

I also sold a 4" M29-2 with its wooden display case, tools, and papers in around the 2020 timeframe for $1,600

I'd certainly have been happy to turn around and buy a 4" Astra for 1/3 of what I sold the 29-2 for. I'd LOVE a chance to buy that 4" Astra today if I found it for sale for less than $500.

But hindsight is always 20/20.

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Another “expert” opinion

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Who are those guys?

I've never experienced any problems with any of my Spanish or Brazilian weapons in over 30 years.

Could be an expert opinion. We don't know the poster's background or how much experience he's had with these guns.

I’ve had no issues with any of mine
Maybe I’m just lucky

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Who are those guys?

I and my friends have owned a few, but not many Spanish or Brazilian guns. No one had complaints that I heard mentioned. I had a Star Model 28 and would have felt comfortable carrying it in combat if needed.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

When I was working security in the mid '80s several of my coworkers had Taurus Model 65s. The guns all had a weird yellowish hard chrome finish and the trigger pulls were garbage. One of them went back to the factory after the trigger broke in two.

BS as I've actually worked on all the revolvers , inside in some ways a Taurus is superior , I've had Scandium Smiths crack their frames and never had a Taurus titanium do that.

Well a 40 year old Taurus is not indicative of current production.
I’m not saying Taurus is the epitome of handgun manufacturing, but I would not call them “garbage.”
I have 4 currently, and none have given me any problems.

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I won't deny the worst gun I've ever owned was my first gun, a Taurus 83, just a mess, timing was off out of the box, and it leaded up so badly you had to pound the lead out of it every cylinder you shot. They fixed the timing, but in two trips to FL, they "missed" the barrel issue the first time, then said it was "normal" the second time and refused to do anything about it. All you had to do is look in the barrel and see it. That was bought in 1977.

But as far as newer Taurus revolvers go, they seem to be reasonably good, and none of the 66's has had any issues at all. Neither have most of my Taurus semiautos, and the ones that have have been sight related, like one had the front sight screw stripped on it new out of the box. A slightly larger diameter screw solved the issue without Taurus' involvement.