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Spanish Ruby need info

4K views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  Ivan Ivanovich 
#1 · (Edited)
Spanish Ruby, I literally have no idea of the maker, picked it up for 250 and shot it and is very accurate depending on how far I was. Too close and it was high, too far and it was low so, just need to get used to this small caliber probably. This is my first milsurp handgun and I'm wanting to know who the maker is and possibly what year it was made? I've also looked online for an extra magazine to no avail as well as an extra barrel. There is absolutely no markings on the magazine. The markings are all on the left side with the serial number, it says Automatic Pistol on the slide, behind that it says caliber 7.65, behind the grips it has an X in a crown looking thing and two lions and P.V. and has a lion on the barrel. It's a nice little handgun and I already enjoy shooting it, just wanting to clear some things up about it. It also has a lot of wear on the slide, curious on if I should/how to clean that up and not sure if its just holster wear? Thanks.
 
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#2 ·
Not sure of the exact maker either, perhaps Bob aka El Jeffe could chime in.
seems lots of Spanish shops marked their products AUTOMATIC PISTOL. It is sure a descriptive term if not original.
It was made after WWI and is not a military pistol but rather a commercial piece.
You should probably just clean the pistol with a good oil and leave it as is. Looks like original finish and magazine. Replacement mags are hit or miss. Would suggest a visit to the Triple K manufacturing website.
https://www.triplek.com/product-category/magazines/

The grips are not original, appear to be reworked from 1911 grips, note the little semi circle notch on one grip.

At $250 you did pay top dollar + for it. But, if it works and you enjoy it then no foul.
 
#4 ·
Will add that based on the proof, it was proofed between 1923 and 1927 timeframe roughly, the Spanish were not as exact with their laws as the Germans, but that is the general timeframe for your pistol. The replacement grips make the identification of the maker challenging, if not impossible. Your only hope is to look for a similar pistol with the same markings and a close serial number, that has the original grips. That MAY reveal the maker. Have you looked under your grips? On rare occasion the maker placed initials there, especially Santiago Salaverria.
 
#6 · (Edited)
What luck you have, that is indeed Santiago Salaverria's makers mark. (SS not S9) His shop was in Ermua and he made your pistol in 1927. he made pistols and parts for many other companies; trade names include GECADO, UNIS, Invicta, and others. He also made pistols for Astra under the UNION and Astra names, including their 12 round pistols that were popular in China. He even made a few of their biggest rival's pistols in that market, the 12 shot Royal!

So, looking at my records now, I have two other pistols with your slide legend, but they are lower serial numbers: 40308 and 46312. They have the same lanyard post and ring but the SS mark is on the right tang and they also have "MADE IN SPAIN" marks.

Member Ed Eve posted his pistol on the forums and shared this photo with me, this is what your grips would have looked like. They were generic grips with a floral decorative banner, popular at the time.
 
#7 ·
That's actually very cool and interesting. So was this a commercial piece or made for the military? I assume the chances of finding original grips are slim to none and what about a spare barrel and a magazine? Probably the same chances as well? I've looked and can find magazine and this site has a spare barrel but only one matches my barrel but does not have the grooves in it at the end. Here is the barrel https://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/587420.htm#587540
 
#8 ·
It is certainly a commercial pistol but is identical in every way to the French contract pistols except for the grips. French contract grips were always wood, post-war commercial grips are nearly always not.

Not really sure why you want a spare barrel. Is the original one worn out and smooth? I doubt you will shoot out the barrel other wise. If you really needed a barrel, your best bet is to find another SS made pistol that closely matches yours. It may take a very long time and much patience to find one. When you do, there is a good chance you will have to do minor fitting by hand to get it to work, and then, I would recommend a gunsmith to check it to ensure it is fitting safely. That is why these pistols all have assembly numbers in the first place. Personally, I wouldn't mess with it if my pistol already had a barrel.

Magazines, on the other hand, shouldn't be too hard to find. ANY 9 round Eibar/Ruby style pistol magazine MAY fit, you will never know for sure until you try it in the pistol. Again, some minor hand fitting may be required, but I have many Spanish pistols accept other magazines. You see, the magazine issue was a big problem during WWI and there was no standardization. I'm not saying that after the war there was good standardization, but there were certainly fewer parts suppliers, and fewer manufacturers as a whole. Many manufacturers used sub-contracted parts, such as magazines, so you will find that many of the post-war Spanish pistols with 9 round magazines will interchange because they were made in the same shop. The French Unique, which is really just a very well made Eibar/Ruby style pistol, will feed out of many of the Spanish magazines, and vice versa.

Since your pistol came with generic grips originally, you should also be able to find something close if not an exact match if you just keep looking at EBay, Gunbroker, and other places. It might take some patience, but eventually something will pop up.
 
#9 ·
Not smooth, but its worn. And as I said it's maybe the smaller round that I'm not used to. I was shooting about 25 yards away and couldn't tell where it was going, when I got to about 10 yards it hit everything I aimed it at. It also come with a holster, but I believe he said it was a reproduction. Reason I asked about a barrel and mag is I'm probably gonna carry this one over my Tokarev sometimes as it's much smaller. Also that is a bad picture, the rifling doesn't smooth out, I just had a flashlight on the other end.
 
#10 ·
The pistol never shot that well at 25 yards in its prime, the .32 has its limits. 10 yards and in is about what it was intended for. A new barrel won't increase the accuracy. If you are hitting at 10 yards with a Ruby style pistol, you are doing better than most.

The holster is not a reproduction, its the real thing, a modern Makarov type holster. Never intended for your pistol but it will hold it very well, and if you wear or break the holster, you can buy another one all day long at gun shows for $5 or $10, so don't feel bad using it. If you had a 89 year old holster to match your gun, I would advise you to leave the holster at home
 
#11 ·
Will repost something here.

" I would NEVER carry it with a loaded chamber ! Indifferent Spanish manufacture, old age and the safety only blocks the trigger . A little bad sear engagement or wear and yes it will fire if dropped."

The Spanish Ruby type autos are neat pistols and pretty solid. There is a lot of differences between manufacture. Remember it is a 90 year old pistol !
Not my first choice for a defensive piece but better than a rock or sharp stick.

There is a sticky on this forum about military use of the Ruby. It is worth reading.
 
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