The Twitter account for KommandoStore just revealed that in 2020 they are going to be the exclusive importer of Mateba Firearms into the US. No details have been provided so far on how many models may be part of the import deal, however, it is clear that the 6 Unica Autorevolver, presumably in .357 Magnum, which KommandoStore posted with their announcement, will be amongst the first.

We are pleased to announce an exclusive import relationship with Italy's legendary Mateba firearms company. We are now taking deposits on our first shipment of Unica 6 Autorevolvers slated for Q1/Q2 2020. pic.twitter.com/Cika35zgkI — Ivan (@kommandostore) December 1, 2019

To those not familiar with the design, in simple terms, the Mateba Autorevolver 6 Unica is a peculiar revolver with the barrel, cylinder and upper frame forming a slide reciprocating upon recoil over the grip frame. The recoil motion, less than an inch, recocks the hammer, while the return to battery, thanks to a recoil spring, rotates the cylinder to index the next cylinder a fresh at the 6 o’clock position, ready for a single action shot. The result is a low recoiling revolver essentially operating as a DA/SA seiauto pistol.

On a side note, it s a common mistake to call the “6 Unica” the ” Unica 6″, however, the moniker in the correct order sounds in Italian like “You’re Unique” in English. This meaning gets lost inverting the position of the words. Hopefully KommandoStore will use the original Italian name in future.

This news may sound odd to those believing that Mateba revolvers are a thing of the past, but, as reported last year by TFB, Mateba still exists, although it is no longer located in its birthplace, Pavia, as the brand and licenses have changed ownership a few years ago. The new company is now called Mateba Italia and it is located near the city of Treviso. Italian geography aside, there’s a few differences in the product catalog from the previous incarnation of Mateba to the current one.

One very interesting point, is that Mateba Italia not only brought back to market the latest design of Emilio Ghisoni, the 6 Unica Autorevolver, but also the earlier, and less commonly known, 2006M and MTR8.

KommandoStore has not yet released American prices, however, a quick glance at the European ones can clarify that we are not looking at models competing with your average Ruger revolvers. The Euro prices are higher than the ones almost a couple of decades ago, yet they may be lower than the current value of older Mateba pieces.

Yours truly bought a .454 6 Unica in the early 2000s (detailed review coming in a few weeks) and he’s excited to see the design brought back to international market, as well as curious about the newer pieces. We, here at TFB, will keep you updated – in the meantime let us know in the emts