Steyr GB disassembly help/instructions

[JT-AR-MG42]

Could use a little help finding finding out disassembly instructions for the Steyr GB.

Picked up a nice one with the box, but no manual.

I do have extensive (or I used to think so) firearms savvy, but this one has me stumped. I tried locking back the slide and rotating the right side lever to vertical, but not getting the slide to come off.

Just don't want to break or bend something.

Any instructions or place to find them would be appreciated.

Thanks, JT

[James K]

First make sure gun is empty and remove the magazine.

Turn the lever on the right side until it is straight down. Look at the spring guide under the muzzle of the barrel and you will see that as you turn the lever down, the guide retreats back, unlocking the barrel bushing. Turn the bushing 45 degrees in either direction and pull it forward and out of the slide. Remove the recoil spring and guide as a unit. (Do not attempt to disassemble that unit!)

Now pull the slide back all the way, lift it straight up in the back, and slide it forward off the frame/barrel unit. Reassembly is in reverse and straightforward except to make sure the inside end of the spring-guide unit goes into the hole for it in the frame.

Further disassembly is NOT recommended.

IMHO, a gun made for collecting, not shooting. A licensed copy of an earlier design, made in the U.S. as the Rogak, is a total POS, but also collectible.

Jim

[JT-AR-MG42]

Just curious about the no shoot.

It seems like most guns I own are hard to get parts for. I am curious as to the GB and what parts it might go through. It looks plenty beefy!!

When I talk about shooting it, I mean a few mags every couple of years when I remember/find it in one of the safes.

Thanks again, JT

[jsbethel]

Here is a manual - http://stevespages.com/pdf/steyr_gb.pdf

I love shooting my GB - very accurate and shoots anything.

[James K]

The action is tricky and was hard to get working. At that time there was sort of a fad (or maybe some military requirement) for a fixed barrel pistol in 9mm P. The HK7 and the Steyr GB were part of that. Both tap gas from the barrel, the HK to oppose a piston and hold the slide shut until pressure drops, the Steyr to blow the gas forward to act against the inside front of the slide and do the same thing.

The trick is to balance the gas escape in such a way that the breech doesn't open too soon. The early Steyr that Rogak copied had that problem and Rogak finally ground off the extractor to keep from tearing through the rims of cartridges. (That didn't work either, and the Rogak is a POS - a collectible POS, but a POS nonetheless.)

Ultimately, the tricks don't really work that well. Both the HK and the Steyr get dirty, and the HK gets hot. Hi Point achieves the goal with a heavy slide; Astra did it with a heavy slide, heavy spring, and a wicked mechanical disadvantage in the hammer. In the end, most high power pistols use a locked breech and almost all use some version of John Browning's tilting barrel.

Jim

[Lurch37]

The Steyr GB is an interesting pistol for sure and feels really nice in the hand. I couldn't believe how dirty it got after only about 30 rounds though! Spare magazines are hard to find and when you do they are pricy. I don't think it would be harmful to shoot a couple mag fulls once a year.

[James K]

Hi, JT-AR-MG42,

Sorry to be so long in replying; I just got back on here after getting tied up on other sites.

I didn't mean not to shoot that GB either because of its value or because something might break. I just meant that I don't see it as a practical gun. As you say, it is "beefy" which also means it is HUGE! And, IMHO, awkward as heck. In other words, not, to my mind, a practical gun.

I have fired mine, but not extensively, and see no reason not to, but I don't think I am going to stick it in my pocket for a stroll downtown.

Jim

[Lurch37]

but I don't think I am going to stick it in my pocket for a stroll downtown.

Come on Jim, where's your sense of style?

[JT-AR-MG42]

I did get a copy to finally download on my dial up!

Jim, I have to agree it is a big'un. Looking forward to torching off a few mags.

But you are talking to a guy that ( 10 years ago ) carried a Gold Cup in a boot holster for about three years. The limp is almost gone now, and the therapists think someday I'll walk without the low swinging motion to the leg.

I be clear, JT

[James K]

Actually, Lurch, I am afraid of being charged with manslaughter when my pants fall down and the cops laugh themselves to death.

Jim