Ballaster Mollina

[Freightman]

I would recommend Cactus Farmer as a "Gunsmith"and a gentleman of his word. He does great work and we need to support the fine craftsmen that are on this board of which there are many. He can be contacted by PM.

[TAWILDCATT]

dont most 1911 parts fit the BM.:coffee:

[twotoescharlie]

I've got one of those"molested ballirenas", shoots well , no problems feeding or ejecting, but could use a better barrel as the original is about worn out.

TTC

[Papa Foxtrot]

dont most 1911 parts fit the BM.:coffee:

It's a copy, but not exact. There is no grip safety and the frame backstrap is solid. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballester-Molina):


As the Ballester-Molina was designed to serve alongside the M1927 that was currently in Argentine service, it bears a striking resemblance to the Colt M1911A1. The Ballester-Molina and the M1911 share an identical 7-rd magazine, barrel, recoil spring, and barrel bushing. Although many other parts appear identical at first glance, they are not. Many parts are adaptable, however. The Ballester is also known as the "Hafdasa" after the initials of the company that made it.

Edit to add - You may be thinking of the Argentine "Sistema" 45, which was an exact copy of the 1911.

[jh45gun]

Many of the parts fit though some do not. I had one I got the frame and slide really cheap a while back then started finding parts to make the gun up. I finally got it all together and it worked but not that accurate due to needing an other barrel as the one I had was a used one. I should have kept it but I traded it off. Finding the parts that were not interchangeable with the Colt was a real bear it took me over two years to find all the parts and a few I made including the grips.

[rbuck351]

I have one I bought out of shot gun news about 30years ago for $89. It was advertised as a govt model 45acp and it wasn't until I received it that I found out it wasn't US govt that they were talking about. Any way it was loose and the trigger was poor so I had a gun tinkerer smooth the trigger and squish the slide a little tighter. After putting a set of sights from a ruger mkI on it I shot a 25yd 5 shot group a little under 2" from sand bags using the lyman 200gr swc. Very happy with mine.

[Cactus Farmer]

Thanks Freightman. It wasn't 'that' ugly in my opinion. I have fixed a few real pig ears and they still looked a little piggy after,at lease I killed the rust on them.
The trigger repair was just how it is .Parts are unavailable sometimes and you either make them or don't fix the gun. Too many nice old guns are in drawers or boxes when they need to be restored to shooting condition. Repairs are not that hard most of the time. If the broken parts are all there it is much easier to know that it looks like but I have make a part that works even without the broken pieces. Your repair was straightforward. I used my jewelers torch and welded a wafer of 12L14 to the broken trigger and removed the excess.
This refinish should last many years. The engine turning and matteing of the slide is my gift to you and your grand daughter.I hope to see you soon,next Pioneer show or whenever the job allows.
By the way,I shot it yesterday and all three clips feed well and lock the slide open at the last shot.:p

[The Virginian]

Can a 1911 barrel be modified to fit the B-M? Generally how do these guns like cast bullets? Most 1911s I own love them.

[Bodydoc447]

I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong. I think that the magazines and barrels/linkage are interchangeable with the Colt 1911 (the Argentine 1927) but that few or none of the remaining parts are. I think the trigger system is much more akin to the Star series of pistols that the Colt 1911.
FWIW,
Doc

[Cactus Farmer]

Correct;barrel,barrel bushing,link and mags are interchangeable. All other parts are unique to the B-M series of pistols. These shoot as well as any run of the mill 45 and can be improved upon with a better quality barrel,fitted bushing and general tightening up of the barrel to slide and slide to frame fit. Now the caveat. These are not made from Colt quality steel and a diet of hard ball loads will loosen them up rather quickly.. in less than 100 rounds in one case. I told him not to do it and he wanted me to redo it......why......he'd just shoot it loose again!:wink:

As for cast boolits, they are as good as any ROM 45, a better barrel will improve it some but it will never be a Gold Cup.:coffeecom