Most of my information comes from the writings of Robert T. Shimek, a contributing writer to Guns & Ammo Magazine, and from my own ownership of a Ballester-Rigaud.
Guns & Ammo Magazine put out a number of Surplus Firearms special issues that covered the M1911A1 and its variants, among many other surplus firearms. If you can get your hands on these issues, they provide a wealth of information on the variety of surplus firearms on the market.
The Ballester-Molina has been described as an "unauthorized copy" of the U.S. M1911A1. While the engineering concepts are similar to the M1911A1, it is not even close to being an exact copy. In fact, except for the magazine, parts between the two firearms are not interchangeable.
In the late 1930s, the Buenos Aires firm of HAFDASA developed the Ballester-Rigaud. The name was representative of their line of handguns. It is believed that the name Molina was later attached to honor an engineer with HAFDASA who contributed a lot to the development of the pistol. My personal piece happens to have "Ballester-Rigaud" on it, and has all matching serial numbers.
From a distance it is difficult to distinguish from the Colt design. Up close, though, it can be readily identified by a couple of different features. One of these is the lack of the grip safety. The backstrap for the Ballester-Molina is a one-piece design. The irregularly spaced slide serrations are another readily identifiable feature, as are the ribbed hardwood grips. Overall though, if you like the looks of the M1911A1, you should like this pistol.
Another not so apparent difference is that the trigger, instead of being a bar that moves straight back, is pivoted at the top. It makes for a very smooth trigger pull. The sights are military style and virtually useless, but can probably be changed to something workable by a good gunsmith. I personally do not use the sights, preferring instead to point where I want the bullet to hit keeping both eyes open. I believe that the M-1911 design lends itself nicely to that style of shooting.
The pistol did keep some of the Colt features, such as the Colt/Browning-style locking system, including link. Also the barrel bushing, recoil spring guide, recoil spring plug, and recoil spring. These and many other features lend themselves to the Colt look.
Field stripping of the pistol is almost identical to the M1911A1. The one big difference is that you don't have to draw back the slide, or align the slide stop with a special notch, to remove the slide stop during disassembly.
My pistol has stamped on the side "Gendarmeria Nacional," indicating it was used by Argentina's Border Guards. Many came out stamped with "Policia Federal," "Provincia Presidenta Peron," and " Policia Maritima" markings. Typically, the gun bears the Argentine national crest on the right side of the slide.
The British bought the Ballester for its SOE (clandestine operations). It is said that the serial numbers for these arms were preceded by a "B-".
The Argentines also made another version of the pistol. It was the M1927, and was licensed by Colt. Widely accepted, it is also a fine shooter (I wish I had one), but again the parts may not be interchangeable because of differing tolerances between pistols. A good gunsmith should make the call there.
It is believed the all Ballesters were completed by the late 40s, and that fewer than 100,000 were made. Many of the firearms importers are offering the Ballesters at decent prices.
In closing, I would like to emphasize that my experience with this firearm has been a very good one. However, any time one buys a surplus firearm it should ALWAYS be checked by a qualified gunsmith prior to shooting.
Enjoy your Ballester, and good shooting.
Skip Burns
Skip, I very much appreciate this, many thanks!
Update on this subject
The following information was brought to my attention, by another Internet friend.
For the Ballester Molinas, the barrel bushing, recoil spring guide, recoil spring plug, and recoil spring for a typical M-1911 would fit them fine.
And as for the M-1927, these are exact copies of the Colt 1911, so every part should interchange.
Minor fitting of parts might be required with both the Ballester Molinas AND the M-1927, as is normal with any M-1911.
I would like to thank Charles Buckner [arebelson@excite.com], for this clarification.
One more thing, Charles was kind enough to give me the following information, for those of you seeking parts for the Argentinian BM. Parts for these pistols can be obtained through:
Tower Armory Corp.
12286 SW 131 Ave.
Miami , FL 33186
e-mail at: towerarmory@hotmail.com