Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Astra-Unceta y Cia SA More Info

About the Gun

The A-100 is a compact-service-size all-steel DA/SA pistol with a double-stack magazine, a Browning-style linkless lockup, and a frame-mounted decocker in place of a manual safety. Standard guns are blued, with black plastic grips, a fixed front sight, and an adjustable rear sight. It is the last of Astra’s SIG-pattern A-series.

Production

Production ran from 1990 through 1996.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $425. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $250–$400.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	9 mm Luger
Alias:	9 mm Parabellum
More Info

Analysis

Astra introduced the A-100 in 1990 as a simplified successor to the A-80 and A-90. The A-80 of 1982 had followed the SIG P220 in layout and controls but used a double-stack magazine; it was submitted for Spanish service trials and lost to the Llama M82. The A-90 of 1985 kept the decock lever and added a slide-mounted safety and a two-piece firing pin, which made the lockwork more complicated than the market wanted. The A-100 dropped that slide safety and relied on the decock lever, a firing-pin block, and a hammer safety. A 1993 running change raised magazine capacity. About 54,000 A-100s were built in 9 mm, .40 S&W, and .45 Auto before Astra wound the line down with the rest of the factory in the mid-1990s. The A-series saw some use with Lebanese Forces units, but it never won a major service contract. Used guns trade as inexpensive SIG-pattern steel pistols; parts and magazines are scarcer than for the Swiss guns they resemble.