Spanish .25ACP Paramount pocket pistol

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  • Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    My Dad has a Spanish Paramount .25 ACP pistol he got from his father a billion years ago. I do not know if it ever fired, but it's not now. If you chamber a round (tried a couple types of ammo) by pulling the slide back, and pull the trigger you hear a click but no indentation on the primer. I am thinking damaged firing pin? I googled it, and there isn't much info on it other than it was made between WW1 and WW2, and not a very valuable pistol. I want to try to fix it or have it fixed, but I am not even sure how to take it down. There are a few what looks like punch pins. I don't even know if I can find parts for it, but it's my dad's from his dad, so I am going to try. If I can't figure it out, it's going to my gunsmith, but the value is pretty low on the gun itself, so I will at least look at it.
     

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    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    It looks like a better-than-average "Ruby" type pistol.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_pistol

    That bulbous "safety" lever is typical.

    Most "Ruby" or "Eibar" types are knock-offs of the Colt/Browning 1903 design (the blowback .32). The Basque gunmakers also made .25s like yours. Many were assembled from parts farmed out to small shops: the "cottage system".

    Try this: with the slide locked back, try twisting the barrel 1/4 turn. You may feel it unlock from the frame. If that works, you should be able to ease the slide and barrel forward off the frame.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    Well, got it disassembled. The firing pin is seized up in the bolthead in the pushed back position. I assume it hasn't been cleaned in a long time, an is pretty corroded if the hammer won't move it. Barrel and bore look great. I have some PB Blaster soaking in there now, and I may try a small brass punch on the backside of the firing pin to see if it taps loose. I am not going to go ape on it before taking it to my gunsmith, but my dad evidntly got it from his dad, who got it from his dad, so it's been passed down a few generations. I'd like to save it if I can.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    Got the firing pin out, the pin itself doesn't look corroded at all. The channel was dirty, pin spring "seems" okay. But the pin still won't push thru the channel so I am going to soak some cleaner in it for a bit and see what happens. It's so tiny.
     

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,174
    Outside the Gates
    Cool ... Astra also made a copy of the 03's that looks almost identical ... my dad bought one about 1970.

    Hope you get yours working
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    I'll see if I can find the company I got parts for my Colt .25 Pocket from, they had all the springs and even barrels.

    That's basically a Colt knockoff, so I'd hazard a guess that replacement Colt parts should work for you (hopefully).
     

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    These Spanish pistols were often assembled from parts farmed out to little home piece-work shops. Sort of a Khyber Pass operation. Parts may not interchange. So it's good news the firing pin is intact. Springs would probably be easier to replace.
     

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,174
    Outside the Gates
    I'll see if I can find the company I got parts for my Colt .25 Pocket from, they had all the springs and even barrels.

    That's basically a Colt knockoff, so I'd hazard a guess that replacement Colt parts should work for you (hopefully).

    With the difference in the slide lock and some other parts, I doubt they are the same
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    With the difference in the slide lock and some other parts, I doubt they are the same

    True.

    But hopefully springs and some other parts may be able to be used.


    They're fun little shooters, unless you've been slide-bitten by them before.
     

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    One of the big changes the Spaniards made is that fugly "safety". I think it only blocks the trigger, so it shouldn't be trusted at all.

    The French used about a million .32 Eibar-types in World War One (very popular for trench raids- don't tell me the Poilus didn't have balls), and they found that "safety" would easily get diengaged when the pistols were holstered. Many had a stud added in front of the "safety" to prevent that, as in this photo:

    holstersafety.jpg


    Here's another write-up on the Eibar pistols:

    http://www.forgottenweapons.com/other-handguns/eibar-ruby/

    Yours looks like a commercial export model, probably made sometime after WWI and before the Spanish Civil War.

    I'd kind of like to have a .32 Ruby-type someday. I like the ones with the curved grasping grooves. Supposedly they're curved because they were cut on a lathe. That sounds like a scary machining operation.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    I came across an old pistol once that had the firing pin stuck in the forward position, protruding from the breech-face. If someone had chambered a round, the thing would have gone full-auto.

    Anyway, as I recall, I had to drive the firing pin back out with a mallet and punch. The firing pin channel was packed with crusty crud, which I gently reamed out with a tiny little miniature round file. After a good clean and lube, the pistol worked fine.
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    I tried..., may fail, but always try.

    Hope you get it working right though, They're different, but the little pocket .25's can be a lot of fun - and surprisingly accurate out to about 10 yards. I've got one that's been in the family since 1919, and it'll stay in the family.
     

    Mark75H

    MD Wear&Carry Instructor
    Industry Partner
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 25, 2011
    17,174
    Outside the Gates
    I agree. Mine is accurate beyond 10 yards :) 15 easily ... when someone asks if mine is accurate, I ask how many times should I hit the target in the eye?
     

    BradMacc82

    Ultimate Member
    Industry Partner
    Aug 17, 2011
    26,177
    I agree. Mine is accurate beyond 10 yards :) 15 easily ... when someone asks if mine is accurate, I ask how many times should I hit the target in the eye?

    The little Colt surprised me, I was expecting Minute of Barn at 10 yards with that short barrel. But it held center mass easily, with me pulling the trigger as fast as I could.

    Wonder if the Paramount is going to be a surpriser as well, when it's back to firing condition.
     

    Sirex

    Powered by natural gas
    Oct 30, 2010
    10,380
    Westminster, MD
    It's feexed. Bollinger's fixed it. The firing spring was a tad bent (my eyes must really suck), missing the roll pin retaining the firing pin, and had 1 bad magazine. Working now. My great grandfather's gun is once again working. Very happy.
     

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