Obregón Pistol
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- 127 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.13 kg
- Introduced
- 1934
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Obregón is a Mexican semi-automatic pistol chambered in .45 ACP, designed by mechanical engineer Alejandro Obregón and produced at the Fábrica Nacional de Armas in Mexico City between roughly 1934 and 1938. Strongly resembling the M1911 in profile, it is mechanically distinct: instead of Browning's tilting-barrel lockup it uses a rotating-barrel short-recoil action inspired by the Steyr Model 1912, with a barrel stud that rotates the barrel to unlock three locking lugs from the slide. It also consolidates the 1911's separate thumb safety and slide stop into a single combined lever. Fewer than a thousand were made, making it a scarce collector's piece.
Designed to combine the familiar handling of the M1911 with a rotating-barrel lockup, the Obregón is one of the rarest .45 ACP service-style pistols ever made. Its near-identical 1911 silhouette hides a completely different internal mechanism, and its tiny production run has made surviving examples highly prized by collectors.
Often called a 'Mexican 1911' because of its close external resemblance, but its rotating-barrel lockup and single combined safety/slide-stop control set it apart. Magazines are interchangeable with the Colt M1911. The Mexican military declined to adopt it during the Depression-era peacetime, so most examples were bought privately by officers and police. Production figures are conjectural, generally cited as 800 to 1,000 units.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Fábrica Nacional de Armas, Mexico City
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- Mexico
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1934 to 1938
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 127 mm
- Overall length
- 216 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.13 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 7
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 253 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 477 J
- Effective range
- 50 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Rotating barrel lockup
Captive recoil spring
Single combined safety slide stop lever
Interchangeable with 1911 magazines- Serial numbered parts
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 128 .45 ACP pistols | 1.13 kg | 1.04 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 129 .45 ACP pistols | 216 mm | 215 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 129 .45 ACP pistols | 127 mm | 117 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 129 .45 ACP pistols | 7 | 8 | Holds fewer rounds than about 70% |
Answers
Questions about the Obregón Pistol
How much does the Obregón Pistol weigh?
The Obregón Pistol weighs 1.13 kg (2.49 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Obregón Pistol?
The Obregón Pistol is chambered in .45 ACP.
How many rounds does the Obregón Pistol hold?
The Obregón Pistol holds 7 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Obregón Pistol?
The Obregón Pistol is 216 mm (8.50 in) long overall, with a 127 mm (5.00 in) barrel.
Who makes the Obregón Pistol?
The Obregón Pistol is made by Fábrica Nacional de Armas, Mexico City (Mexico). It was designed by Alejandro Obregón.
When was the Obregón Pistol introduced?
The Obregón Pistol was introduced in 1934 and discontinued in 1938.
How does the Obregón Pistol operate?
The Obregón Pistol uses a short recoil action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Mexican Army officers (private purchase)
- Mexico
- Mexican police (private purchase)
- Mexico
Provenance
Confidence in this record
78%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/obregon-pistol' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "obregon-pistol", "name": "Obregón Pistol", "manufacturer": { "id": "fabrica-de-armas-mexico", "name": "Fábrica Nacional de Armas, Mexico City", "countryCode": "MX", "foundedYear": null, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "f4eda1cd6e641e31fd00610b9af63dac58d025ab65567010d14e90094bf8fc06" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "MX", "year_introduced": 1934, "barrel_length_mm": 127, "weight_empty_g": 1130, "action_type": "short_recoil"}