JO.LO.AR. Pistol

A left-side view of the JO.LO.AR pistol, manufactured by Hijos de Calixto Arrizabalaga of Spain, from around 1924 to the mid-1930's. The special cocking lever on the right side of the handgun is also visible in the photo. This example appears to be chambered in 9mm Largo.

The JO.LO.AR. pistol is a semi-automatic handgun of Spanish origin. It appears they were manufactured by Hijos de Calixto Arrizabalaga, located in Eibar, Spain..? Some sources have claimed the handgun was made by Star, but this may just be a confusion as they were also located in Eibar, Spain.

It was basically an improvement of the "Extractor Model Sharpshooter" pistol, which was already a planned upgrade to the standard "Sharpshooter" model - also made by Hijos de Calixto Arrizabalaga. The gun was outfitted with a special lever allowing for easier one-handed operation, and was then renamed. The handgun's name comes from the designer of the lever, Jose Lopez de Arnaiz.

It would be produced in various calibers, including .25 ACP (6.35x16mm), .32 ACP (7.65x17mm), .380 ACP (9x17mm) and 9mm Largo (9x23mm), though most of the pistols were chambered in .45 ACP (11.43x23mm) and exported to Peru.

Note: Many sources refer to the handgun as the "JoLoAr" or "JO-LO-AR", however we've only come across photos of the handguns marked as "JO.LO.AR" on the slide. More info might be needed.

Years of Manufacture

The JO.LO.AR was made from the mid-1920's (1924 when patented?) to the mid-1930's, according to Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons. Exact years have been hard to properly pin down.

Notable Features

The JO.LO.AR pistols have a distinctive lever ("palanca") on the right-hand side of the frame, allowing the user to carry the handgun with the chamber empty, while being able to ready the pistol for firing with a single hand. This made it popular with the Peruvian Mounted Police, who rode on horseback. Another interesting thing to note, is the complete lack of a trigger guard, despite it being present on the gun it was derived from. Not to mention that this is a very rare design choice to begin with.

Collector's Value

Apparently, many of these pistols were sold in the United States as surplus and are now considered collectible. As of creating this article, a recent auction on Gunbroker saw one of these pistols (chambered in 9mm Largo) sell for nearly $1,600 USD! One auction from 2016 at Rock Island Auction Company saw a particular example go for a massive $14,950, however it appears this could have been an export model for the Peruvian Mounted Police, chambered in .45ACP. As a result, this may have added a large amount of collector's value, or perhaps the gun simply sold for more than it was truly worth.

Additional Information

• 9mm Largo
• Hijos de Calixto Arrizabalaga

External Links

"9mmLargo.com" - An excellent resource for information and photos on the JO.LO.AR pistol. While the site itself is no longer available, the above link to the archived site by Archive.org allows it to be accessed!

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