Astra A-100

The A-100 design is a further development of Astra's earlier A-80 and A-90 models. The A-80 was originally patterned after the SIG P220.

• Name — Astra A-100 • Origin — Spain • Type — Semi-automatic pistol • Is Ranged — yes • Wars — Lebanese Civil War • Manufacturer — Astra-Unceta y Cia SA • Production Date — 1990–1997 • Weight — 985 g • Length — 180 mm • Part Length — 95 mm • Cartridge — * 9×19mm Parabellum •.40 S&W •.45 ACP • Feed — Detachable box magazine: 17 (9×19mm Parabellum), 13 (.40 S&W), or 9 (.45 ACP)

The A-100 is a recoil-operated, locked breech design with improved Browning-style linkless locking. The lock up is similar to the Browning High Power or CZ-75 with locking lugs on the top of the barrel which mate with lugs in the slide (not with a single lug in the ejection port like a SIG P22X.) The pistol's safety features include a manual decocking lever, firing pin block, and hammer safety. The A-100 lacks a manual safety, but depends entirely on a deliberate pull of its trigger to fire it; in this way it is similar to the SIG P22X series of pistols. The double-action trigger pull is relatively long and heavy, thereby precluding the need for a safety as the probability of an inadvertent discharge is low. The A-100 resembles the SIG P228 and is similar in overall size and dimension, but differs in several respects with regard to frame shape. The A-100 is also slightly heavier than the SIG, owing to its all-steel construction. Additionally, the A-100's chamber contour as visible when the slide is fully forward is rounded whereas the SIG design is squared. The configuration of the hammer is also different, with the A-100 having a rounded hammer provided with a lanyard hole and the SIG having a more conventional spur hammer. Magazines are not interchangeable between the A-100 and SIG pistols, however many holsters made for the SIG P229/228 fit the A-100 satisfactorily. The various A-series pistols were submitted unsuccessfully as contenders for Spanish military contracts beginning in the 1970s. The Lebanese Forces political party named the A-80, A-90, and A-100 as a few of the many semi-automatic pistols in use by that organization's members.