I have heard a lot of good things about them, and they are relatively cheap, so I went ahead and got one. I ordered it from AIM Surplus for $239, plus $20 for them to "handpick" a nice one for me. They are available from a lot of other places right now, too, and I have seen some at the local gun show.
It came with a cleaning rod and a spare 8-round magazine. Maybe the extra $20 was worth it, because the pistol is not very worn. The front corners near the end of the barrel show finish wear like it has been holstered some. There are a few light scratches here and there, and a few worn spots, but the finish is in very good shape. The ugly brown plastic grips show modest amounts of wear along the edges. The trigger itself looks more worn than the rest of the gun - maybe it isn't the original trigger, or maybe I am just not seeing the other signs of wear. Everything functions properly. The barrel and the rest of the "innards" do not show noticeable wear. There was so much thick grease inside that it leaked out a little bit from the trigger area and some areas along the bottom of the slide.
It is a big steel gun with a 5" barrel. It looks a lot like a 1911, but with no grip safety. Correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe that the "B" model came in 9mm Largo, locked at the breech like a 1911, and field stripped (maybe?) like a 1911. The "Super B" is a somewhat improved version. (Maybe?) it came in more than one caliber. Mine is 9mm Parabellum. The Super B locks at the breech like a High Power, and it has a takedown lever that lets you field strip it very easily.
I have a big hand and this pistol fills it up well. I can easily get all of my fingers on it. Normally I can easily operate all of the controls on a full-sized pistol, but I have to shift my grip on it a little to operate the slide release with my right thumb.
The magazine isn't particularly easy or difficult to load. It is a metal 8-round single-stack magazine. The slide is easy for me to rack and the hammer is easy to cock. The safety is like a 1911's.
The sights are old-style non-adjustable military sights. They are a bit small for a modern pistol, but bigger than the ones on my old-style High Power clone (FEG). I could see them just fine.
The trigger is pretty good for an old-school military trigger. It didn't feel heavy or gritty to me. The recoil is gentle for a 9mm. I guess it's the nice heavy slide, but the recoil felt to me like it was slower than most 9mm's.
My shooting with it was so-so. I can easily put all eight on a paper plate all day long from 7 yards. From 10 or 15 yards (I misremember which) I needed a paper plate a few inches wider. I shot it better than my (somewhat disappointing) new Ruger SP101, but my Browning Buck Mark totally outclassed it, and my Rossi 720 44 special outshot it noticeably and consistently.
I am not a great shot. A few of my handguns fit my hands (and probably bad habits) so well, and have such good sights and triggers, that they make me look like I know what I am doing. There are plenty of perfectly accurate handguns which I shoot poorly. This one was below average for me, but not terrible. I will improve with it over time.
I had three failures to eject out of 50 rounds. They were early on in the 50. All I did beforehand was wipe the worst of the grease out of it, so I am not necessarily blaming it on the pistol. I'll clean it out thoroughly and try some different types of ammo and see how it goes from there.
It came with a cleaning rod and a spare 8-round magazine. Maybe the extra $20 was worth it, because the pistol is not very worn. The front corners near the end of the barrel show finish wear like it has been holstered some. There are a few light scratches here and there, and a few worn spots, but the finish is in very good shape. The ugly brown plastic grips show modest amounts of wear along the edges. The trigger itself looks more worn than the rest of the gun - maybe it isn't the original trigger, or maybe I am just not seeing the other signs of wear. Everything functions properly. The barrel and the rest of the "innards" do not show noticeable wear. There was so much thick grease inside that it leaked out a little bit from the trigger area and some areas along the bottom of the slide.
It is a big steel gun with a 5" barrel. It looks a lot like a 1911, but with no grip safety. Correct me if I am mistaken, but I believe that the "B" model came in 9mm Largo, locked at the breech like a 1911, and field stripped (maybe?) like a 1911. The "Super B" is a somewhat improved version. (Maybe?) it came in more than one caliber. Mine is 9mm Parabellum. The Super B locks at the breech like a High Power, and it has a takedown lever that lets you field strip it very easily.
I have a big hand and this pistol fills it up well. I can easily get all of my fingers on it. Normally I can easily operate all of the controls on a full-sized pistol, but I have to shift my grip on it a little to operate the slide release with my right thumb.
The magazine isn't particularly easy or difficult to load. It is a metal 8-round single-stack magazine. The slide is easy for me to rack and the hammer is easy to cock. The safety is like a 1911's.
The sights are old-style non-adjustable military sights. They are a bit small for a modern pistol, but bigger than the ones on my old-style High Power clone (FEG). I could see them just fine.
The trigger is pretty good for an old-school military trigger. It didn't feel heavy or gritty to me. The recoil is gentle for a 9mm. I guess it's the nice heavy slide, but the recoil felt to me like it was slower than most 9mm's.
My shooting with it was so-so. I can easily put all eight on a paper plate all day long from 7 yards. From 10 or 15 yards (I misremember which) I needed a paper plate a few inches wider. I shot it better than my (somewhat disappointing) new Ruger SP101, but my Browning Buck Mark totally outclassed it, and my Rossi 720 44 special outshot it noticeably and consistently.
I am not a great shot. A few of my handguns fit my hands (and probably bad habits) so well, and have such good sights and triggers, that they make me look like I know what I am doing. There are plenty of perfectly accurate handguns which I shoot poorly. This one was below average for me, but not terrible. I will improve with it over time.
I had three failures to eject out of 50 rounds. They were early on in the 50. All I did beforehand was wipe the worst of the grease out of it, so I am not necessarily blaming it on the pistol. I'll clean it out thoroughly and try some different types of ammo and see how it goes from there.
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