Range Report - Mateba Unica 6 (*LARGE IMAGES*) *New image host*

Jarlath

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Well, I finally got to shoot a Mateba Unica 6 that I have always wanted to possess.

Special Thanks to Strangeday who took time out of his busy schedule and came over to the Galt Sportsmen's Club and let me both fondle and shoot his little Mateba as well as his FN Five-Seven

For those of you who haven't heard of a Metaba here is a quote from Wikipedia.
The Mateba Autorevolver (also Mateba Model 6 Unica) is one of the few types of hybrid automatic revolver handguns developed by the Italian gunsmith Sergio Mateba. The revolver is not automatic in the traditional sense of firing as long as the trigger is depressed, but called "automatic", because it uses the energy of a fired shot to rotate the cylinder and #### the hammer for the next shot technically making it a "semi-automatic".

The Mateba Autorevolver's barrel alignment is different from most other revolvers. The barrel is aligned with the bottom of the cylinder instead of the top. This lowers the bore sight (line of the barrel) which directs the recoil in line with the shooter's hand thereby reducing the twisting motion or "muzzle flip" of normal revolvers.
Mateba_Model_6.jpg


Now I'll get right to the point. There are basically two schools of thought on this handgun.
  1. It's a work of engineering art and is extremely desirable to have (aka beautiful).
  2. It's FUGLY beyond all description (aka f**king UGLY with a capital F)

For myself is it Option #1. I personally think it is a beautiful firearm, but then again I find most firearms alluring but we'll leave that for the OT section :rolleyes:

Anyways down to business. And before people ask I shot first and forgot to take images until AFTER the ammunition was all used up.

Anyways.
The Mateba used was graciously loaned by Strangeday for the duration of his visit. The Mateba was nickel plated, restricted class barrel length, and chambered in .357 magnum. I was not concerned with accuracy so much as the action and feel of shooting the firearm.

Mateba1.jpg


Upon first holding the Mateba I noticed two things. Compared to my 6" GP-100 the Mateba felt lighter despite being a bulkier handgun. I really expected to find the Mateba massing in at a almost 4 lbs but in reality it masses only slightly more than my Ruger. The grips are very large and took a bit of getting used to as they extend very high up on the handgun. Smooth and comfortable.


Some of the interesting details about this piece of technology is the fact that it shoots from the "Lowest" chamber in the cylinder. Notice the large solid volumes of metal situated above the barrel.

Mateba2.jpg


At the front end of this handgun's barrel is a threaded section which allows for installation of compensators. Sight adjustment is completely done on the front sight which has elevation and windage adjustment. The sight line for a Mateba took a bit of getting used to as it is easily 1/2" higher than my GP-100 when presented in firing position. Otherwise sights were simple notch/post (w/machined 3-dot) and easy to line up.

Mateba3.jpg


The rear sight shows the detail of the machinework done. Note the two machined dots (milled out, not drilled) and the low profile hex screw which retains it to the upper side of the "slide".
This image gives you an idication of the mechanical differences between a standard revolver and a standard semi at the hammer region.

Mateba4.jpg


Cylinder is a beautiful "minor flute/contoured" shape which has rear facing lockup indents. Indexing teeth and case extraction is done in a typical fashion as with most revolvers. That small metal "Key" fastened to the side of the "slide" is what retains the cylinder when in the open position. IN the closed or transition positions the cylinder is trapped by this key or the backface. Simple and effective.

Mateba5.jpg


Showing the large bulky nature of the upper half of this handgun. Easy to see the added height of the sights compared to "normal" handguns. The mateba is suprisingly well balanced in mass as I found that it was far less "barrel heavy" than the GP-100. Those little wings you see in the pictures are the cylinder releases and they can only be engaged when the hammer is down (not-cocked) position.

Mateba6.jpg


A note about the video. It shows the action of the Mateba as it actually slides back and forth.


The action of the Mateba works as follows.
  1. Trigger pull ignites cartridge.
  2. Recoil forces from ignition force the upper slide assembly (barrel, cylinder) back approximately 3/4" which recocks the hammer.
  3. As the recoil springs move the slide back into battery, the cylinder is rotated/indexed to the next chamber (CW rotation).
How to actually start shooting the Mateba after loading?
Double Action (Not recommended as the trigger pull is ghastly, around 14+ pounds and horrible in travel).
Rack the "slide", which is tough as there are no serrations or true grip areas meant for that.
Single action (Manually #### the hammer)
Push the "slide" against an object as in the video.

Now for the actual shooting section of the review.
The Mateba was fed a diet of factory .357 Magnum ammunition, approximately 150 rounds in under 60 minutes. People state that the design of the Mateba reduces felt recoil alot. I can sum it up in a few words.
They are telling the absolute truth, felt like less recoil than shooting .38 Spec's out of my GP-100. It was ridiculous. I shot this as fast as my CZ in .40 S&W and I was able to reaquire sight picture just as fast. It was to say the least a very humbling experience in mechanics of handgun design.

I can only imagine swapping out the springs for the .38 Special ones and adding the Comp, it would be like shooting .22 Shorts.

Some of the cons.
The cylinder release levers would be in the way of any speed loaders, and occasionally gave issues to clean ejection of spent cases.

When the Mateba gets dirty, it suffers function issues (return to battery being the key issue). Mind you Strangeday said he hadn't cleaned it in nearly 800 rounds prior and UMC is a dirty dirty factory load.

Double action trigger pull may as well be impossible as it is too much and too long (The hammer and slide mechanism are the causes and it is doubtful IMHO that much can be done with that).

The Pros:
Recoil? What Recoil?

Comfortable

Single Action has under 1/4" travel and under 5lbs I estimate. There are overtravel screws and such but I do not think they have been setup yet.

Out of 150 shots, I would bet that all of them hit my IDPA target at 15yds. including the rapid fire strings. (heads, centers, and down 1 zones).

Personal Conclusions:

I am a cheap SoB and a list price of roughly $2K US is a hefty sum to own such a nice piece of equipment. HOWEVER. If I did have the money I'd throw it down in a heartbeat as the Mateba, if kept clean and feed a clean diet of ammunition, is a phenominal handgun in feel and design. If you could get a holster I'd wonder what class it would fall under in IDPA :)

My hat off to Strangeday for picking up a fairly unique and definitely intriguing firearm. Someday I'll hopefully get one.

One of 3 desired firearms confirmed as a to have in the future...

Mateba, Desert Eagle, S&W M&P R8.... Ahh to have goals is nice...
 
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Drool! :D

the only sad part is we won't be able to criticize the reporters who write about "semi-automatic revolvers" being used at the latest Jane-finch townhall meeting any more.

$2K doesn't seem outrageous -i suspect the tolerances have to be pretty close, and that costs $$ to manufacture.
 
Well the good news is there is a guy on Gunbroker selling them.. the problem is that there will be no more....
In the late year 2005 / early year 2006, MA.TE.BA has proceeded to the Italian equivalent of filing Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code bankruptcy, and is thus out of business.
 
Suffice to say that my arm was throbbing after that (another 60 rounds of .357 in my GP-100) after Strangeday left meant agony the next day...

But it was soo worth it....

Let me know Strangeday :) I'll be waiting for it... (I want to extras too :))
 
You are right – I should have said "overlug" :D

There are several "attachments" that can be fitted onto the barrel design currently (most recently) used. Older ones had the "flush look".

Remember that this thing was available in
.357mag
.44mag
.440 Corbon
.454 Casull

Also made a variant known as the Griffone (I believe) which was an 18" barrel and a shoulder stock (aka rifle).
 
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