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When it came out, the American shooting public for some reason just didn't seem to care.
But man, what an AWESOME little pistol, almost looks like it was designed by JMB himself. The upper half looks Sig-ish, and the lower half looks kinda like a Star model B. Single action with pivoting trigger gives a downright decent trigger pull of just under 5lbs with a pretty crisp break. Sights are small but stand out good. The shape and feel of the grip is simply outstanding, especially for the ladies. In fact, I've never seen a pistol with such universal love from the female gender. Literally every last time I've taken a woman shooting and I've had an Astra A-70 it was their favorite, and often I get offers to buy the gun. One time, about 15 years ago, I let the lady talk me out of my beloved Astra A-70.
Now that my little 105lb 12 year old daughter is a handgun shooting fan I decided it was time to get another Astra A-70. She just lit up the target when I put my LW Commander .45 in her hands, so I knew if I put a gun with even better ergonomics and nearly as good of a trigger, in a more size appropriate package into her hands that magic would happen; and I was right. When I brought it home, it was a cold drizzly day outside. I said I had something to show her. She pulled out the magazine and drew back the slide (just like dear ole dad taught her), without me even having to remind her. The first thing she commented on was how easy it was to operate the slide. After checking it, she took a good grip, assumed a two handed firing stance and let a dry one go. She looked at me and said "load up a magazine…I know it's cold and wet outside, but I gotta shoot at least one mag through it." Who was I to deny her. After the first 4 rounds kicked a can 4 consecutive times, she just turned to me, smiled and said, "This one's mine daddy." That was my intention all along. I'll probably keep it as my car gun, but when we're out at the range, it's hers.
She really wants to personalize it, so I may have to find some extra grips because she wants to Duracoat her grips lime green…hey, she's a girl, what can I say.
Guys, I'm here to tell you; if you can find one, and they're not easy to find. This is one of the best bargains going in a defensive pistol. My first pistol saw thousands of rounds, and this one has already seen hundreds, with many different bullet weights, sizes, and shapes…she just gobbles them all up and clusters bullets into a group worthy of any Browning Hi Power or 1911. They typically go for around $300 when you find them because most people don't realize the quality of Astra. For some reason the American shooting market thinks Spanish pistols are junk, and I'm cool with that; more Star's and Astra's for me (you can have the Llama's with a couple of exceptions).
http://www.armyrecognition.com/images/s ... sh_640.jpg
But man, what an AWESOME little pistol, almost looks like it was designed by JMB himself. The upper half looks Sig-ish, and the lower half looks kinda like a Star model B. Single action with pivoting trigger gives a downright decent trigger pull of just under 5lbs with a pretty crisp break. Sights are small but stand out good. The shape and feel of the grip is simply outstanding, especially for the ladies. In fact, I've never seen a pistol with such universal love from the female gender. Literally every last time I've taken a woman shooting and I've had an Astra A-70 it was their favorite, and often I get offers to buy the gun. One time, about 15 years ago, I let the lady talk me out of my beloved Astra A-70.
Now that my little 105lb 12 year old daughter is a handgun shooting fan I decided it was time to get another Astra A-70. She just lit up the target when I put my LW Commander .45 in her hands, so I knew if I put a gun with even better ergonomics and nearly as good of a trigger, in a more size appropriate package into her hands that magic would happen; and I was right. When I brought it home, it was a cold drizzly day outside. I said I had something to show her. She pulled out the magazine and drew back the slide (just like dear ole dad taught her), without me even having to remind her. The first thing she commented on was how easy it was to operate the slide. After checking it, she took a good grip, assumed a two handed firing stance and let a dry one go. She looked at me and said "load up a magazine…I know it's cold and wet outside, but I gotta shoot at least one mag through it." Who was I to deny her. After the first 4 rounds kicked a can 4 consecutive times, she just turned to me, smiled and said, "This one's mine daddy." That was my intention all along. I'll probably keep it as my car gun, but when we're out at the range, it's hers.
She really wants to personalize it, so I may have to find some extra grips because she wants to Duracoat her grips lime green…hey, she's a girl, what can I say.
Guys, I'm here to tell you; if you can find one, and they're not easy to find. This is one of the best bargains going in a defensive pistol. My first pistol saw thousands of rounds, and this one has already seen hundreds, with many different bullet weights, sizes, and shapes…she just gobbles them all up and clusters bullets into a group worthy of any Browning Hi Power or 1911. They typically go for around $300 when you find them because most people don't realize the quality of Astra. For some reason the American shooting market thinks Spanish pistols are junk, and I'm cool with that; more Star's and Astra's for me (you can have the Llama's with a couple of exceptions).
http://www.armyrecognition.com/images/s ... sh_640.jpg
