Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Astra-Unceta y Cia SA More Info

About the Gun

The Model 400 is a large, heavy all-steel single-action blowback service pistol with Astra’s tubular slide, a concealed hammer, a grip safety, and a frame-mounted thumb safety that also locks the slide. Standard guns are blued, with checkered wood grips and fixed blade-and-notch sights. It is the full-size 9 mm Largo companion to the compact Model 300.

Production

Production ran from 1921 through 1950.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $50. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $450–$750.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	9 mm Largo
Alias:	N/A
More Info

Analysis

Astra introduced the Model 400 after Spanish army trials to replace the Campo-Giro. Pedro Careaga’s design was adopted in 1921 as the Pistola de 9 mm Modelo 1921 and issued to the army, Carabineros, prison service, and navy. It stayed the standard Spanish service pistol through the Rif War and the Civil War; the Guernica factory supplied Republican and Basque forces until 1937 and Nationalist forces afterward. About 106,175 were built. In 1941 Astra delivered roughly 6,000 guns to Germany in the 92,851–98,850 serial block; those pistols generally carry no Waffenamt, and marked examples should be treated with caution. Chamber and feed problems with German 9 mm ammunition on the long Largo chamber led directly to the shorter Model 600 in 9 mm. The Spanish Army adopted the Star Model A in 1946, but Astra kept the 400 in private production through 1950. Remaining military stocks reached the civilian market in the late 1950s and 1960s. Used guns are common as Spanish service pistols; documented German-contract examples in the accepted serial range bring more than ordinary issue guns.