A friend from AR15.com recently sent me a note and said, "Please send me a copy of your C&R License, as I have something for you."

I did, and he sent me a Christmas present.

Here it is.

And here.

It is a Ballester-Molina (sometimes called the Ballerina Molester by gun nuts ), in .45 ACP caliber.

It is a copy of the 1911 Colt pistol that was made by the Argentina government from 1938 until 1953, for use by their military and police.

When I opened the package, I almost passed out, as this is one of the finest examples I have ever seen. He apologized that he had it re-blued, as he feared that would lower the collector value.

I assured him that I couldn't care less, as I never intend to sell it and I like pretty pistols. He said he didn't shoot it and wanted someone to have it that would appreciate it and shoot it. He asked to remain anonymous in this write-up, and I agreed.

(Just as a side note, where else but in the gun community and on a great Internet site like AR15.com, would you meet such nice people that they would send such a gift to someone that they had never even met in person?)

The Ballester-Molina was made to be used as the main pistol for the Argentine military.

It was made in Argentina, and modeled closely after the 1911 Colt.

But it has some differences that are easily seen by those that are familiar with a 1911.

The serial number on mine indicates that it was made between 1944 and 1953.

The hammer is completely different from most 1911 pistols.

The grooves cut into the rear of the slide are a very distinctive arrangement of 3 grooves, a space, 3 grooves, a space, and 2 grooves.

It has no grip safety, but has a very elegant sweep to the rear of the grip area.