Astra cub .22 short

[STEINBVG]

Originally Posted by ithacaartist

John Martz came up with that, IIRC.
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Yes, I saw the patent files.
Not sure if Werle or Lugerman use similar setup.

I would like something that doesn’t need the frame or existing parts mods...only drop in , sort of plug and play substitutes or additions.
That is an engineering motto I try to follow if I can.

I,m not sure I,m ready to go after the Luger yet, but Astra cub is my cheep and forgiving canvas for mechanical improvisations.

Thanks for looking and commenting.

[STEINBVG]

Don,t get guys all emotional with my silly antics, but I,m just a curious 52 yo physician who has discovered more joy in exploring weapons, experimenting, designing, , ballistics, gunsmithing more than shooting or collecting.

Just want to share my findings.

1) my original Astra slide seems to have more than .05” head space, thus with all things being equal: firing pin/spring, extractor the ignition is not consistent with some ammo.
The alternative slide works like a champ, I believe it has head space about right, somewhere in the .04-.045 “ range

As you can see even with the naked eye the top one is bigger.

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Question, would a bit longer firing pin compensate for the extra head space and make it more reliable? Or that is not good enough fix?


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2) just for fun I tried to shoot .22 blanks and make them cycle. They won,t feed in any of my .22LR weapons- too short to feed. But with .22 short Astra cub setup they are practically the same size and manually feed /cycle just fine.

Like in Hollywood I made a choke, an adjustable one for my threaded barrel and screwed in the set screw gradually closing the side hole ( the same diameter as barrel)and increasing back pressure. When I closed about 2/3”- the gun started to cycle and quite reliably.