Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Astra A-75 45acp

There's an Astra A75 sitting in a local shop. The owner offered to come waaaay off the price if I was interested. Does anyone on the 'fire have experience with this model Astra? Appears to be a nickel finish, all steel and not a bad looking pistol. What little real info I can google up would seem to indicate they were/are very good pistols, but the info is spotty at best.

thanks,
dave

^

I had one years go and it was a very good pistol, kind of a Sig/Browning clone if I remember. I might even have some spare mags if you end up with it,

Have a pair of A70 9mm - basically the same but SA instead of DA/SA. REALLY like them. A little steel heft in that small package makes for a good shooter. Grooming mine for CCW use.

I think I'll wander over there Monday and see what kind of deal I can work on this pistol. It's pretty stoutly built and it ain't a pocket pistol but it should be a good carry weapon.

Interested to hear what the trigger on the A-75 is like.

The A-70's trigger is reputed online to be "good"; my cromo A-70 is good, the SS was a little crunchier. Just picked up the SS A-70 from the smith for trigger job. Trigger went from merely "OK" from factory to now "pretty darn good"

I personally don't have any experience with the Astra, but KevinGibson has had some good things to say about Astras in general. Here is one thread (not specifically addressing the A-75 though), https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth..._Slightly_obscure_and_quirky#Post5574108

In the above link, Kevin has a link to an article he in which he favorably compared the A-70 to the Star Firestar- which I did own one of for a couple years in the hard chrome finish that Star called, "Starvel". It was a good, reliable gun.

Thanks for the link. And I'll let y'all know about the trigger.


d.

Looking forward to your report. I might be considering one myself.

I had an A75 in 9mm and it was a very nice pistola. The trigger stacked up a fair amount on the end of its travel but that darn thing shot well, and I was too immature to understand what I had

I traded off an A-100 in 45acp to a buddy of mine. Very solid performer and shooter. Designed very much like the sig line, but less $$$...Mags were always hard to find, but a nice pistol.

dave

If the deal is right I think I'll snag it. It has been well cared for and all indications are that it has been fired little.

I looked at the pistol again this morning. I think we're coming to a meeting of the minds on it. It's even cleaner and lower mileage than I thought after the first look. And it's stainless, not nickel, with polished flats. I believe I'm going to get it. I'm not crazy about the trigger but I have felt worse. DA is pretty good. SA feels kind of long and mushy, almost like a two-stage.

d.

Oldrooster,

The A75 is the DA version of the A-70. The frame is opened up quite a bit to make room for a lot more parts, so that lightened up the frame some. I know that the 9mm & .40 A-75 was offered with an aluminum frame as an option, but I�ve never seen one (doesn�t mean they�re not out there) The .45 ACP is just sized up to accept a bigger hole in the barrel, it�s not too far off of a Glock 36 in the size department, but much heavier, especially if it has a steel frame. The safety on the A-75 works as a decocker, I like it. The DA action is stiff, but not horrible. SA trigger pulls is noticeably stiffer than the A-70�s (it should be noted that the A-70�s & A-75�s were imported by Interarms and European American Armory, and that for some reason the Interarms guns have a better fit and finish, as well as trigger pulls).

Spare magazines are not cheap, running between 30.00-40.00. My Astra A70 fits well into a 1911 holster, but the larger trigger guard of the A-75 precludes a 1911 Holster. I�d look at holsters for the Taurus Millennium Series pistols in .45 ACP for a close fit.

Astra was a quality manufacturer, you can bet it�s a good pistol. By today�s standards its going to be a bit on the heavy side, and understand that should you break a part (quite unlikely), you may have some challenge finding a replacement.

If you get it, let us know how it all works out�I�ve yet to see anyone unhappy with that series of Astra pistol.

I'd love to see a photo when you get it, I wasn't aware they were ever offered in Stainless.

Kevin,

The scarcity of parts and somewhat pricey magazines are the reason I'm really pushing the seller on the price. The pistol is all stainless and it does have the heft of a steel pistol. But all in all I kinda like it. At first I thought it was a nickel finish but I looked at it carefully again today and I'm sure it's stainless. I was wondering about a holster but you've answered my question. I'll let you know if I get it and post a pic.

Dave

...I've no expierence with the A75 but my A100 in 45 acp is a great gun. It's accurate and never a hitch with hard ball or conservative hollow points.Astra built some good guns for the $!