Beistegui · Pistol
Beistegui Hermanos Model 1914
Blowback (semi-automatic) · .32 ACP · introduced 1914
Also known as Ruby pistol, Eibar pistol, B.H. Model 1914
About the Beistegui Hermanos Model 1914
The Beistegui Hermanos Model 1914 is a Spanish blowback-operated semi-automatic pistol chambered in .32 ACP. One of the many 'Ruby' or 'Eibar' type pistols built by small Basque gunmakers, it copied the Browning FN Model 1903 layout with a fixed barrel, shrouded hammer, and single-stack nine-round magazine. Beistegui Hermanos of Eibar produced large numbers of these inexpensive sidearms during the First World War to fill bulk Allied orders, chiefly for the French and Italian armies.
When France desperately needed sidearms in 1915 it turned to the gun town of Eibar, where dozens of small workshops including Beistegui Hermanos churned out cheap copies of the Gabilondo 'Ruby' faster than any single factory could. The flood of near-identical but subtly incompatible pistols became a logistics headache that has fascinated collectors ever since.
Beistegui Hermanos Model 1914 specifications
General
- Type
- Pistol
- Action
- Blowback (semi-automatic)
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer-fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Calibres
- .32 ACP
- Magazine capacity
- 9 rounds
- Magazine
- Detachable box magazine
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 83 mm (3.3 in)
- Overall length
- 155 mm (6.1 in)
- Height
- 108 mm (4.3 in)
- Width
- 30 mm (1.2 in)
- Weight (empty)
- 0.80 kg (1.76 lb)
Barrel
- Rifling
- Right hand
- Grooves
- 6
Materials
- Barrel
- Steel
- Receiver / frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- blued
Performance
- Muzzle velocity (typical)
- 300 m/s (984 fps)
- Muzzle energy (typical)
- 200 J (148 ft·lb)
- Effective range
- 25 m
History
- Introduced
- 1914
- Discontinued
- 1925
- Production status
- Discontinued
- Country of origin
- ES
- Designer
- Beistegui Hermanos
Features
- Fixed sights
- Shrouded hammer
- Browning pattern action
Safety
- Manual safety
Specimens are typically marked '7.65 1914 MODEL AUTOMATIC PISTOL BEISTEGUI HERMANOS - EIBAR (ESPANA)'. The maker's pistols were sold under several trade names; quality varied widely across the 45-plus firms making Ruby-type pistols, and magazines were often not interchangeable between makers.