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| The MIM locking block |
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| The locking shoulder looks fine |
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| The breechface of the separate pinned-in breechblock (a la classic SIGs) |
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| The crosspin which serves as the unlocking surface for the barrel's lower lug to cam against. Also the axle for the slide stop. |
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Marvelous. An inexpensive pistol that shoots well and holds up well; who could ask for more?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cleaning, may I ask: on ARs, do you have a number of rounds after which you clean, or is this a 'when it starts giving trouble' thing?
The breech face itself appears to be part of the slide, with the pinned in components being the firing pin, extractor, etc. being housed/attached to a block that gets pinned in behind the breech face. I have not yet attempted to drift out the roll pin, expecting that it will require seven hands to reassemble. Certainly, if there is a joint between the breech face and the slide, it is difficult to find.
ReplyDeleteFirehand, you need to clean your AR every time you check it out of the armory, otherwise your drill instructor will thrash you severely! Nah . . . . I'm more and more of the opinion that as long as you keep it lubed, you're "clean enough."
ReplyDeleteLooks good. Great just to see the MIM parts lightly polished from use. I understand some people get the vapors from MIM, but well made parts, from quality materials, hardened properly should be expected to perform well.
ReplyDeleteComparing ammo price to firearm prices, I'm seriously considering buying a gun for the sole reason that I've got a couple of hundred rds of ammo and nothing that shoots that particular caliber....
ReplyDeleteDang.
ReplyDeleteYou are making it hard for me to not buy a new Walther.
BGM
MIM'll getcha kil't on the street!!
ReplyDelete@Firehand: Drill Sergeant Dailey said he never cleaned his guns.
ReplyDeleteYes, he said "guns", but he made it clear he was speaking of his personal arsenal.
Pretty sure a guy who claimed that the "other" nine snipers in the US Army* were lousy shots could be said to have a personal arsenal.
As for how often you should clean your AR, it depends a lot on the ammo you're using, but you should probably clean it before it stops working...
*This was 1980, and there may well have been only 10 snipers in the US Army at the time. I sure wasn't about to gainsay Drill Sergeant Dailey...
Looking around the web, I've seen everything from "If you fire it, strip it and clean it" to "If it starts not working at times, clean it". And the opinions on lubing one...
ReplyDeleteOn the original subject, makes me wish I could talk myself into buying one of these pistols, looks like a winner.
og,
ReplyDelete"I have not yet attempted to drift out the roll pin, expecting that it will require seven hands to reassemble."
I know that on the classic P-series guns, SIG recommended replacing the roll pin securing the breechblock every 5k rounds, although I'm personally familiar with a couple that exceeded that number by an order of magnitude. The breechblock on one came to a sorry end.
Makes very good sense. Plus, a skilled operator can drive out a roll pin with a new roll pin, so it shouldn't even require disassembly.
ReplyDeleteI did manage to confirm that the PPX slide and breechface are indeed one piece, the pinned in MIM block merely contains all the fiddly bits that allow it to be a gun.
The slide is machined apparently in two operations out of billet. It's one of the nicest bits of machining I have seen. The first clue is the lack of sharp inside corners in the breechface, and on mine (which is cleaner having seen only a couple hundred rounds) it's very easy to see where the function block ends and the breechface begins- yet another little easter egg that makes me feel better and better about my purchase. The solid breechface giving it the resistance to force it requires, the inserted block doesn't have to withstand hardly any pressure.