Argentina’s Open-Bolt Pocket .22s: the Hafdasa HA and the Zonda

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! Originally made by Hafdasa (Hispano-Argentina Fábrica de Automóviles S.A.), the HA pistol is a .22 Long Rifle caliber, semiauto only, open bolt pocket pistol. It was produced in the 1950s, right at the end of Hafdasa’s existence (coincidence?). When the firm shut its doors, a group of employees took the basic design, improved it in a few ways, and creased a new company called Armotiv SA to produce it under the name Zonda. The Zonda has a floating firing pin instead of the HA’s fixed one, and a creative safety machinist which simply cams the magazine down when engaged. As an open-bolt gun, if the magazine is too low for the bolt to pick up a cartridge, it cannot fire. Both the HA and Zonda are quite rare today, as not many were originally made or sold. If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http:/