Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
The modern Spanish Arms industry started when one company copied the Colt M1903 and called it the Ruby pistol. The French purchased a ton for WW1, and dozens of Spanish firms produced them. This started a theme we can trace throughout Spanish handgun production and into guns like the Astra Model 80.
This theme sees the Spanish arms industry taking established designs and producing slightly modified copies. It’s not directly cloning guns and selling them. They are never identical to their inspiration. Even the Ruby pistols used longer grips and nine-round magazines.
Table of contents
A glance at the Astra Model 80 will make you think you’re looking at a SIG P22x series. Upon further inspection, it’s easier to see that the gun differs from the SIG series here and there. There are several P22X series guns, and it seems like Astra aimed to copy the P220.
How The Model 80 Is Like a SIG
The biggest similarity is the general resemblance. The SIG P series has a fairly distinct design, and the Astra imitates it well. It’s more than looks. The Model 80 is a DA/SA gun, meaning the first shot uses a double-action trigger, but subsequent shots are single-action.
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Like the SIG P series, the Astra has a frame-mounted decocker placed on the left side of the grip. Press it down, and the hammer drops into the double-action position. It’s very SIG-like.
It’s also an all-metal design, much like the P series. It’s hefty, feels solid, and even the grip feels very SIG-like in its shape. The Model 80 uses a European-style magazine release, but so did the early P220s.
How It’s Not Like a SIG
The lockup is different. It doesn’t use a single lug on the ejection port. Rather, it has locking lugs like a Hi-Power on top of the barrel. It’s certainly not using the SIG system.
Astra positioned the take-down lever on the right side rather than the left. The chamber contour comes rounded rather than squared, and the hammer also has a rounded design.
The gun came in 9mm, .45 ACP, and a few were made in .38 Super. Mine is 9mm, but the .45 ACP version is the more interesting gun. It used a nine-round double-stack magazine.
SIG wouldn’t create a double-stack .45 ACP til years later with the P227. The 9mm variant holds 15 rounds in its double-stack magazine. The A-80 has a compact design, and it reminds me more of a P228 than a P226.
Contours and Controls
The gun feels solid in your hand. The contours of the grip allow for a high hold on the gun. While it’s beefy and steel, the grip doesn’t feel overly thick or obnoxious. It sits well, and you can establish a nice grip on the gun.
The SIG-inspired decocker is always brilliant. It’s positioned perfectly to make decocking easy. Of course, that assumes you’re right-handed. My thumb has no problems reaching the decocker with a firing grip. It drops the hammer with a stout click that’s unmistakable.
The European heel magazine release has never been popular with Americans, and on a full-sized gun like this, it’s a bit silly. On tiny guns, at least a heel release helps keep things thin. It’s not a deal breaker, and you’re unlikely to ever actually need to reload in a civilian defensive scenario. If so, you’ll be on the news and either get an award for bravery or go to prison.
Overall, the Spanish made a stout little weapon. It does have a generally ergonomic feel with a great grip and a tough-to-beat decocker. The heel magazine release sucks, but we can deal with it. The gun weighs a ton, so the carry ergonomics aren’t all that fantastic. It’s also thick, much like a SIG series pistol.
Shooting the Model 80
All metal guns have the benefit of lighter recoil than most guns. We get a lighter recoil but more muzzle rise. There isn’t a stiff rearward feeling that affects your wrist or hand. Rather, it is an upward motion that seems exaggerated compared to modern handguns. Much like the SIG, the gun keeps a high bore axis, but it also has a heavy slide.
The hefty slide racing rearward tends to tip the weapon up and rearward. That’s on full display here, and the Astra Model 80 wants to get away from you. You have to crank down your grip, and if you give it any slack, it’ll run away like a Mustang. The Model 80 needs to be broken and tamed with a firm grip.
It’s an interesting little gun to shoot and certainly a departure from the standard polymer frame pistol. The Model 80 will give your hand a good workout. The double-action trigger is obnoxious. My Lyman scale tips out at 12 pounds, and this trigger exceeds that. It must be close to 15 pounds. The single action delivers a much lighter pull, but no one would mistake it for a 1911 single-action trigger.
Triggers aren’t nearly as closely related to accuracy as people think. It matters when the trigger is so bad that it can affect your grip. In this situation, the double-action trigger can affect your accuracy and your grip a fair bit.
Ringing Steel
Bill Drills and similar speed and accuracy-based drills are harder to pull off with the Model 80 than a more modern handgun. The mix of recoil and a rough double-action trigger makes it tricky to control the Model 80 and keep it on target as it spews 9mm projectiles.
Overall, the accuracy isn’t anything to write home about. You’ll hit your target, but this isn’t a gun you’d measure groups with and feel good about. It’s okay, just not impressive.
At 25 yards, I can hit the B8 target in a standing position, but there is no guarantee that it will hit the black. You can make torso shots easy enough, but headshots might feel challenging beyond 15 yards.
The sights are fine. The rear sight has a small white stripe between the posts. The white stripe on the rear sight aligns with a white stripe on the front sight. The front sight presents itself for quick acquisition and is small enough to get on target without obscuring it.
If you can get the sights on target, you can nearly guarantee it will go bang. In my shooting, I had no reliability concerns. That’s a staple of Spanish pistols. They might not be fancy, but they’re reliable.
The Model 80 overall isn’t difficult to shoot, it’s just more difficult than your modern handguns or even some of its contemporaries like the Beretta 92FS. It’s not a bad gun. It’s just below average.
The Model 80 – Worth It
The Model 80 is of typical Spanish quality. It’s well-made, reliable, and fine. It’s not the most accurate, modern, or easy adding, but it will go bang when you need it to and out the bullet close enough to where you want it.
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If you can get one for a few hundred bucks, it’s a great buy and a decent defensive firearm. They haven’t been imported for years, but they show up every now and then at gun shows and pawn shops and could be a worthwhile companion.
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Travis Pike is a dedicated firearms writer, a Second Amendment Advocate, and a subject matter enthusiast for all things firearms. He is an amateur competitor with dreams of one day not coming in 4th place at a local defensive match. If he’s not putting text to word processor, he’s likely spending time with family, enjoying Florida’s Nature Coast, or drinking hipster beer. As the resident Florida man he has a preference for obscure guns and calibers.
Experience
- Hunter – Long time deer and hog hunter in the swamps of Florida
- Instructor – Volunteers to teach basic firearm safety classes to kids, adults, and cats
- Wannabe Competitor – Has recently dipped his toes into competitive shooting and has happily discovered an expensive hobby.
- Marine – Served five years with the infantry before transferring to the First Civ Div.
I love my .38 Super A80. Except for the heel mag release and the expensive/unobtanium mags. That said, it’s a keeper.
I owned an A-80 in .38 Super, accurate and dependable, but heavy as hell.
Bought an A100 in .45 ACP years ago. Odd and cool.