Armas De Guerra - Jubala?

[Leadslinga]

Does anyone know anything about this handgun? It appears to be from Brazil possibly. My mother showed it to me today. It belonged to my grandfather who was a Korean War veteran who passed away about 30 years ago. I did some searching on the web and found nothing. It fits in the palm and has a mag release on the bottom. Appears to hold 6 but there are no markings designating what caliber it is. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bigjohn]

pictures would help alot

 

[Leadslinga]

Here's a picture of it.

http://postimage.org/image/8ytuhje4v/

 

[StantonCree]

Looks like a copy of the colt pocket gun. Colt guns were copied by Latin countries (with patent rights) to the best of my knowledge but others here will have way more knowledge of the 1911 history.

Look into the colt 1908 vest gun seems like a clone.

 

[GNLaFrance]

It looks like a copy of the Colt Vest Pocket without a grip safety and with the slide lock/safety above the trigger. Most likely chambered for .25 ACP/6.35mm Auto.

I'm coming up empty with searches - I guess it's not a common brand/model.

It might be just a cheap knockoff, or it could be good quality - you'd have to find forums for collectors of old pocket guns and ask about it. Take good pics and describe all the markings on it.

Have a gunsmith who is familiar with early 20th century autos take a look at it and clean it before you shoot it.

ADD: It looks a lot more like this Modesto Santos Eibar Spain -- Model 1916 Pocket Pistol .25ACP

 

[Threeband]

It's a "Ruby" type or "Eibar" type knock-off of the Colt. Yours is a .25 Auto. Most were .32 ACP.
During World War One, and until the Civil War of the 1930s, small shops in the Basque region of Northern Spain churned these things out by the bazillions. Many were sold to the French Military during WWI.

Many were produced by pieceworkers, often working out of their homes using simple tools. Notice the concentric curved grasping grooves on the slide? They were cut on a lathe, not a milling machine. The ugly, simplified safety locks only the trigger- not as secure as John Brownings design.

You can lock the slide open using the safety. Then twist the barrel a quarter turn to unlock the lugs. Now if you release the safety, you can ease the slide, barrel, and recoil spring forward off the frame.

There were many, many variants of these "Eibar" type pistols (named for the town of Eibar, where many were made). Pistols of the World, (Hogg and Weeks rev. ed. 1982) lists a Jubala pistol made by Larranaga and Elartza of Eibar, Spain. Caliber 6.35 mm / .25 acp o/a length 110 mm barrel 53 mm 6 round magazine.

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



By the way, these "Ruby" type pistols have always represented to me the futility of any attempt to utterly ban firearms.
The "Eibar" pistol and the STEN submachine gun are probably the easiest guns to manufacture. For a moderately handy guy with a little basement workshop, these things are probably easier (and safer) to manufacture than is Meth. And you see how successful attempts to ban meth have been.

If guns are ever banned, and the supply of stolen and "diverted" firearms is limited, then look for the reappearance of the STEN and the "Ruby".

 

[Leadslinga]

Thank you all for the information! It is greatly appreciated. I will have a gunsmith look it over in the near future.

 

[august1410]

JUBALA is a tradename used by Larranaga y Elartz.

 

[smores]

It looks like a copy of the Colt Vest Pocket without a grip safety and with the slide lock/safety above the trigger. Most likely chambered for .25 ACP/6.35mm Auto.

I'm coming up empty with searches - I guess it's not a common brand/model.

It might be just a cheap knockoff, or it could be good quality - you'd have to find forums for collectors of old pocket guns and ask about it. Take good pics and describe all the markings on it.

Have a gunsmith who is familiar with early 20th century autos take a look at it and clean it before you shoot it.

ADD: It looks a lot more like this Modesto Santos Eibar Spain -- Model 1916 Pocket Pistol .25ACP

I have personally seen one of these where the grooves in the frame for the barrel to lock into all shattered, due to poor heat treatment. I would try to have it hardness tested and evaluated with someone who has a lot of experience with evaluating proper heat treatment.

Personally from what I've seen of the foreign copies of these Colt guns, it's a neat conversation piece but I would never shoot it.