Echave Arizmendi Protector
Echave, Arizmendi y Cia (Echasa) · Pistol · Discontinued · 1920
Also known as: Protector 25, EA Protector
Overview
The Protector is a Spanish .25 ACP vest-pocket semi-automatic pistol built by Echave, Arizmendi y Cia of Eibar in the interwar years. A close copy of John Browning's Fabrique Nationale Model 1906/Colt Vest Pocket, it is a blowback striker-fired design distinguished chiefly by its grip medallion and the 'Protector' trade name. Compact, concealable and inexpensive, it was one of countless 6.35mm pocket pistols turned out by Basque gunmakers around Eibar after the Ruby military contracts of World War I expired.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 368 g (13.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 116 mm (4.57") |
| Barrel Length | 54 mm (2.13") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 230 m/s (755 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 86 J (63 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 7 m (8 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | 6 Grooves, Right-Hand Twist |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Hard Rubber |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .25 ACP · primary — also known as 6.35x16mm Browning, 6.35mm Browning, .25 Auto
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Magazine Disconnect
- Features: Fixed Sights, Vest Pocket Size
Production
Production years: c. 1920-1936
Produced in large but unrecorded numbers among the many Eibar pocket-pistol trade names of the period.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Designer: Echave, Arizmendi y Cia (after Browning Model 1906)
Discontinued: 1936
Notes
The Protector name was applied to 6.35mm Eibar-type pocket pistols by Echave & Arizmendi and also by Santiago Salaberrin; specifications mirror the Browning Model 1906 pattern they copied.
Background
After WWI flooded Spain's gun trade with Browning-pattern pocket pistols, dozens of small Eibar workshops competed by stamping evocative trade names on near-identical 6.35mm autos; 'Protector' was Echave & Arizmendi's entry in that crowded vest-pocket market.