Spanish Ruby Pistol, Paramount

Got this at the auction from hell today. First gun buy there in several years.

It does not have any French markings that I can find. Bore is very good. Came with an extra magazine and was in a P35 German WWII holster. Not sure what the story of that is but I'll take it. It was one of the selling features.

Not exactly sure when this one was made, one exactly like it sold on Gunbroker and showed 1915-1918 as the date range. With there being so many of these made by so many companies it's hard to narrow anything down. One other source put it at post war but it has no Spanish proofs on it either which means it was made prior to 1923.

Not all French contract guns were marked, if it is an actual bring back from WWII and was in that P35 holster, it could have been taken from a Frenchman during the war by a German and then captured again but who knows. American soldier could have just grabbed whatever he found but the second magazine would have been difficult to have been found without a holster. The French military stopped using them in the 1920's I think but their police still used them into the 50's. The resistance also used them extensively.

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Any reliable information would be appreciated. Internet sources are confusing. The best information I found came from a translated French page which had some strange translations here and there.

Attempted disassembly of it and had a problem. I cannot get the slide to come off. I've watched several videos and follow the instructions but it simply will not come off. The trigger pull is atrocious taking all my strength to pull it. It does function, the slide operates fine the hammer is hitting the firing pin, etc. Safety works fine. All the numbers I can see which were quite a few matched but did not match the exterior serial number. Every part is numbered 19.

Discovered early French pistols were not stamped. It was only later after they realized there was a parts interchangeability issue that they started marking the frames and magazines so not unusual it's not marked.

I'm wondering if the hard trigger and the slide not coming off are related somehow. Something is hanging up and I've shown bright light all over it and in it and can't see anything. I've even tapped it lightly with a rubber mallet as one video showed another that acted like mine but he did get it off with repeated manhandling. I don't want to break it so am reluctant to do more. Oiled it heavily and hoping something loosens up

As for the holster. it looks like this gun has been in it for a long time. No indication any other gun was ever in it. It never had a P35 in it. There is no wear marks at all for a P35. The spur leaves a distinct mark. This holster is not worn much at all inside which isn't surprising as this pistol is quite a bit smaller than what it was designed for but the wear marks it has match this pistol perfectly. Dark marks where the lanyard and magazine spur touch the leather and light wear where the grips and the rear of the slide. It's also been used as the spare magazine has been taken out and reinserted enough to wear the leather. Hard to tell from the photos but I tried to pull it away so show the lining up of the wear patterns.

Kind of leaves me in a dilemma. I like matching holsters and planned on swapping this one out for my P35 but now having second thoughts. If German used, this is the holster that went with it.

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I was able to diagnose the two problems and they are related. The part that holds the hammer back is worn and the hammer rides higher than it should because of it and this also makes the pull very rough. Not sure it is fixable without making a new part. Welding a new edge on it probably won't hold for long, not that I plan on firing it much. I filed the back of the slide a bit so I can at least get it off. There is a sloped portion which pushes the hammer down as it goes forward. It just didn't work well as the hammer is riding so high.

Every part that has a number including the frame is stamped with 19 so it must be a build number.

Thinking on this overnight, would it be possible to thin the part to get rid of the lip making it full length again at the contact point. It is plenty thick, I just am concerned it will put the entire thing out of whack and either not work or be a hair trigger or an unreliable trigger.

I should have taken a photo of it before I put it back together as it is a bugger to get in and out.

Pivot point in the middle. Top rides along curvature of the hammer and rests in a notch to hold the hammer back. Bottom is pushed by an extension from the trigger on the left side and the right side has a small spring in a drilled out section to hold it in place. Amount needed removed to smooth out is between a 32nd and a 16th of an inch, probably closer to 32nd. Hammer probably needs touched up as well but that is a harder steel and I haven't taken it out as of yet. I don't recall the amount of play between the trigger extension and the sear.

The steel these guns were made of isn't the same as we would expect today. Much softer. Be aware. It doesn't make then unsafe, just prone to wearing out faster than you would expect.

Yes, One source says the lifespan for some was around 500 rounds which isn't much. They are made heavier but do have softer steel. The wear on this isn't bad except for the sear. tolerances are pretty tight. The slide is soft, the frame I didn't mess with but seems harder. The hammer is very hard, sear seems softer. Barrel isn't worn either

Polished the sear and that fixed the trigger issue. I think I'm going to have to make a new sear out of harder steel. It's getting marked up already after a few hand cycles I think I need a better spring also. This one is bent, not square on the ends and doesn't seem to want to stay in place. Should be an easy fix. It at least works now.