Well, maybe not illegal, but definitely an alien . . . .
Gentlemen, my first Ballester Molina. A nice example methinks. To the untrained eye, she looks just like a 1911, but at several points along the way, I was reminded of just how much of a 1911 this one ain't!
No grip safety, non-removable "mainspring housing," pinned trigger, thumb safety will engage, cocked or not . . . . . .
Serial number dates it to around 1949 from what I can determine by my limited research.
Props to a good guy off another forum for helping me out on a barrel bushing for this one. When I received it, the bushing was stainless, which stuck out like a sore thumb. This one is a "Policia Maritima" or Argentinian Coast Guard issue. Not all matching parts, the barrel and bushing being the most obvious, but everything else looks good.
This one has the smallest import stamp I have ever seen. At first, I thought it was lacking one. It's almost a "micro stamp."
Anyway, enough typing. Onto the photos . . . . .
Gentlemen, my first Ballester Molina. A nice example methinks. To the untrained eye, she looks just like a 1911, but at several points along the way, I was reminded of just how much of a 1911 this one ain't!
No grip safety, non-removable "mainspring housing," pinned trigger, thumb safety will engage, cocked or not . . . . . .
Serial number dates it to around 1949 from what I can determine by my limited research.
Props to a good guy off another forum for helping me out on a barrel bushing for this one. When I received it, the bushing was stainless, which stuck out like a sore thumb. This one is a "Policia Maritima" or Argentinian Coast Guard issue. Not all matching parts, the barrel and bushing being the most obvious, but everything else looks good.
This one has the smallest import stamp I have ever seen. At first, I thought it was lacking one. It's almost a "micro stamp."
Anyway, enough typing. Onto the photos . . . . .
