Smokin deals on Grand Power 9mm's/.22's and range reports
- Thread starter sailor723
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It doesn't bother me Sailor but I think buddy wants it to read "smokin deal on 9mm's and .22's, plus range reports and feedback"..... or something?
Just though if you guys were messing with and testing the .22's, somebody that had one and needed help would overlook the good info you guys are providing with the title of the post being what it was.
Right on Leadhammer...... your probably right. At some point a .22 tweaking thread is probably in order.....
I noticed tonight cleaning the guns that the takedown and re-assembly seemed a bit easier and not as stiff. I also noticed that I was wrong about the recoil spring on the X-trim. I was running the smaller inside diameter spring and not the larger. I'll give the larger one a try next time.
I noticed tonight cleaning the guns that the takedown and re-assembly seemed a bit easier and not as stiff. I also noticed that I was wrong about the recoil spring on the X-trim. I was running the smaller inside diameter spring and not the larger. I'll give the larger one a try next time.
Not much to report from last night's range trip with the K22 X-Trim. Didn't get much chance to shoot, but an acquaintance showed up who is an excellent shooter (military trained and I've seen him shoot 1-hole groups at 10 yards in the past) and he was looking at the Grand Power and was stoked that I had one. He loved the feel and trigger and he shot it well. He was disappointed in the reliability issues (last night it was popping live rounds in the air) and coined a new phrase for it:
"Trophy Wife": A great ride but damn fussy at times.
Let's hope with some tuning ideas from the group we can turn this Trophy Wife into the perfect companion.
"Trophy Wife": A great ride but damn fussy at times.
Let's hope with some tuning ideas from the group we can turn this Trophy Wife into the perfect companion.
Have been tinkering with my K22 X-Trim a bit, hopefully take it out soon and see how it's working. The slide to frame fit was already really smooth, nothing to improve there. I did polish the hammer and underside of the slide a bit so the slide moves back over the hammer a little more smoothly. Did a little tuning to the extractor (sharpened it and stretched out the extractor spring). There's not much other tweaking I can think of doing as the overall fit and finish is really good. I think the biggest challenge is the K22 X-Trim slide is pretty heavy @ 270gr. It's a lot of mass to cycle for a .22 round. The K22s slide is only 210gr (measure by tracifan68) which is going to be much easier to cycle.
Did a couple of things to one the mags. The mag spring is a lot stronger than those on mags of my other .22 semi-autos. Doing some rough measurement, they average ~1.5 lbs whereas the K22 spring is ~3 lbs down-force to load the first round. It's a pretty long spring, extends about 2 1/4" below the bottom of the mag. I cut back a coil at a time and measured. Ended up cutting off 4 coils which reduced the down-force to ~2lbs 4oz. Didn't want to reduce it too much more as there is a little stiction in the movement of the mag follower. Will look at that another time. I also tried leaving a mag fully loaded for 24 hours, but so far, it has not changed the spring force.
While I had the mag apart, also fixed the problem loading that 10th round. There's a plastic guide rod attached to the mag floor plate that stops the mag follower - preventing loading more than 10 rounds. Just sanded 1/32" off and now the 10th round loads pretty easy.
One thing I am worried about is the long term durability of the magazine plastic feed lips. Would prefer metal feed lips, but will see how long these last. The good thing is they were pretty cheap @ $16 from Dlask, so I bought a bunch.
Hoping to get out tomorrow and see what impact the changes have.
Did a couple of things to one the mags. The mag spring is a lot stronger than those on mags of my other .22 semi-autos. Doing some rough measurement, they average ~1.5 lbs whereas the K22 spring is ~3 lbs down-force to load the first round. It's a pretty long spring, extends about 2 1/4" below the bottom of the mag. I cut back a coil at a time and measured. Ended up cutting off 4 coils which reduced the down-force to ~2lbs 4oz. Didn't want to reduce it too much more as there is a little stiction in the movement of the mag follower. Will look at that another time. I also tried leaving a mag fully loaded for 24 hours, but so far, it has not changed the spring force.
While I had the mag apart, also fixed the problem loading that 10th round. There's a plastic guide rod attached to the mag floor plate that stops the mag follower - preventing loading more than 10 rounds. Just sanded 1/32" off and now the 10th round loads pretty easy.
One thing I am worried about is the long term durability of the magazine plastic feed lips. Would prefer metal feed lips, but will see how long these last. The good thing is they were pretty cheap @ $16 from Dlask, so I bought a bunch.
Hoping to get out tomorrow and see what impact the changes have.
How are the K100 Xtrims performing?? Just got mine. I get the advantages of .22's for learning and plinking but I cant stand the reliability issues which is why Ill never get a gun I expect to perform in .22
Edit: ^^ When it comes to semi-autos! A good bolt action in .22 can make for a very nice set-up.
Edit: ^^ When it comes to semi-autos! A good bolt action in .22 can make for a very nice set-up.
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Looking forward to your next report VanMan. I figured the 10th round issue would be pretty easy to resolve and that should also help let the cartridges sit properly in the mag. I noticed when you have to jam in the 10th round things look a bit wonky. I agree with your concerns about the mags long term durability. The mags seem well made but maybe a bit lacking in quality control. Having to jam the 10th round in because of a long follower block is pretty bad tolerance control when you consider the margin between 10 and 11 rounds. I will be taking mine apart to make that correction and smoothing out what ever I can to help the follower's "stiction"
The inconsistency of how the top round sits in the magazine is definitely causing some problems. The feed problems caused by the change in angle range from jamming the case into the chamber at an angle that doesn't allow it to feed and deforms the cartridge so as to be unusable, to the other end where the cartridge pops right out of the ejection port straight from the magazine bypassing the barrel altogether!
Hopefully Grand Power can provide us with some recommendations on how to improve the reliability of the magazine. I wonder if they are made in house or buy a third party?
Regardless who ever is making them should tweak the design a bit and increase the quality control! These are great guns and they deserve great magazines.
The inconsistency of how the top round sits in the magazine is definitely causing some problems. The feed problems caused by the change in angle range from jamming the case into the chamber at an angle that doesn't allow it to feed and deforms the cartridge so as to be unusable, to the other end where the cartridge pops right out of the ejection port straight from the magazine bypassing the barrel altogether!
Hopefully Grand Power can provide us with some recommendations on how to improve the reliability of the magazine. I wonder if they are made in house or buy a third party?
Regardless who ever is making them should tweak the design a bit and increase the quality control! These are great guns and they deserve great magazines.
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.22lr revolvers, pump and lever actions are also nice for being able to shoot any .22lr they are loaded with..... it sure is nice in today's market of "buy what ever is on the shelf"
That said and based on my first range trip, I'm pretty confident these guns can be made to run reliably.
Thanks VanMan for the info and the heads up on the mag discount. I just ordered several more so I can experiment.
As for the followers "stiction", a while back I came across a site (now long gone) that had a guy in England fiddle with the mags to make them smoother. He found that the little ammo loader helper knob caused problems and was binding in the slot. So he cut those off. He also rounded off the edges of the follower to make it ride better. I can't remember what he did about the spring, but I believe he cut off a few coils.
As for the followers "stiction", a while back I came across a site (now long gone) that had a guy in England fiddle with the mags to make them smoother. He found that the little ammo loader helper knob caused problems and was binding in the slot. So he cut those off. He also rounded off the edges of the follower to make it ride better. I can't remember what he did about the spring, but I believe he cut off a few coils.
For the 9mm Grand Power handguns, a tip I got from Canuck223 was to use synthetic motor oil as lube. With the rotating barrel, I had the "bright" idea to use some of the lithium grease on the end of the barrel that rotates against the slide. BIG mistake. The barrel locked up solid after ~400 rounds. I have tried Frog Lube, Fireclean, G96 and Gun Butter. All reduced the carbon buildup, but using synthetic motor oil worked the best.
Here's a pic of the barrel lubed with lithium grease after ~400 rounds of Blazer 115gr
Here's a pic of the barrel lubed with synthetic motor oil after 500 rounds of Blazer 115gr
The pic on the left is the barrel fresh out of the gun. The pic on the right is after a quick wipe with a paper towel. The remaining carbon cleaned up real easy with a bit of Hoppes #9
Here's a pic of the barrel lubed with lithium grease after ~400 rounds of Blazer 115gr
Here's a pic of the barrel lubed with synthetic motor oil after 500 rounds of Blazer 115gr
The pic on the left is the barrel fresh out of the gun. The pic on the right is after a quick wipe with a paper towel. The remaining carbon cleaned up real easy with a bit of Hoppes #9
True!! Ill go as far as saying .22's work well in most manual loaders. Semi autos fail and fail again. Im sure not for all but in too many platforms that I don't feel comfortable with the calibre. Aside from the cost efficient plinking I see no reason to tamper with the .22 round.
awesome, thanks
Got my K22S today. It certainly looks and feels like a well made gun. If the weather is decent I'll try to get to the outdoor range tomorrow.I was a little surprised to see that there was an extra recoil spring in the case. I was under the impression that that was only the X-Trim. It shipped with the smaller spring installed so i guess that's what I'll go with.
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