American Arms PX

JimmyDee · January 23, 2002, 07:45 AM

Okay, someone brought me one of these "Design by Erma Werke" 22LRs and it doesn't go bang every time you pull the trigger.

I stripped it and everything seems like it ought to work - coil mainspring is strong, function seems correct, etc.

I got to looking at the slide and was wondering whether the striker is a bit short: it's an inertia firing pin and only .025" of the striker extends beyond the safety cross bolt. Perhaps I could relieve the sholder on the striker? I've got plenty of room; when Safe the end of the striker is .100" inside the bolt.

I thought, "Looks like it should be just like a Walther." I was expecting to push the striker in, remove the cross bolt, then remove the striker. But I was wrong.

It seems that there is another piece of steel, visible from the bottom of the slide, that's retaining the striker. Hmmm...

Am I on the right track? Any disassembly instructions? I can't find a web site or discover any contact information, so here I am.

[Actually, this looks like a nice little piece - a decent combination of steel and alloy, rather cleverly designed for manufacture and durability. Seems a wasted effort, though...]

George Stringer · January 23, 2002, 08:51 AM

JimmyDee, before doing anything to the pistol you might try some different ammo. There is a lot of cheaper ammo that has duds in the box. I use CCI only for testing rimfires because that way I know the failures to fire aren't the ammo's fault. If you find that the pistol does this with all ammo then you might relieve the notch shoulder. George

JimmyDee · January 23, 2002, 09:59 AM

George,

Thanks for the suggestion. In fact, I ran a few different 22LRs through it. They all cycled when the round ignited - even the standard velocities.

You know, I think I half figured it out while trying to describe my problem here. Sure enough, that "little piece of steel" is what the firing pin return spring pushes the striker against. I simply had to push the striker well past the safety bolt 'til it cleared that ???? piece. (Ain't like a Walther - I actually like this better once I figured it out. The slide seems to be powdered metal with a steel bolt face pressed in. The ???? part I'm talking about is immediately behind the piece providing the boltface and is captured by the striker.)

Once I got the ???? out, it looked like a bin part: cast steel with a digit stamped in it; this one happened to be Size #1. The dimension in question measured .0719; I figured I should have found .072 and decided to take .005 off. Once I squared up the new face and polished and blued it I ended up at .068. (Vise grips and file -- it's too small!) So the striker, instead of extending .025 past the bolt, is out .029.

I've got to wait 'til I get a chance to warm it up; I'll let you know how it works.

Thanks again, George.

JimmyDee · January 28, 2002, 01:19 PM

Okay, I checked it out this weekend with a few boxes I had lying about. Federal Classic: it didn't like these at all; failures to extract, failures to feed, and one misfire. Remington Subsonics: a few failures to extract, failures to feed. Remington Thunderbolts: it liked 'em! 100rds and no failures. These were the three types I had trouble with the first time out, so putzing with it seemed to help.

But, you know, I really can't think of a good use for this pistol other than dog training - and there are better alternatives for that.

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January 23, 2002, 07:45 AM	#1
JimmyDee Member Join Date: December 30, 2001 Location: Memphis, Tennessee Posts: 79	American Arms PX Okay, someone brought me one of these "Design by Erma Werke" 22LRs and it doesn't go bang every time you pull the trigger. I stripped it and everything seems like it ought to work - coil mainspring is strong, function seems correct, etc. I got to looking at the slide and was wondering whether the striker is a bit short: it's an inertia firing pin and only .025" of the striker extends beyond the safety cross bolt. Perhaps I could relieve the sholder on the striker? I've got plenty of room; when Safe the end of the striker is .100" inside the bolt. I thought, "Looks like it should be just like a Walther." I was expecting to push the striker in, remove the cross bolt, then remove the striker. But I was wrong. It seems that there is another piece of steel, visible from the bottom of the slide, that's retaining the striker. Hmmm... Am I on the right track? Any disassembly instructions? I can't find a web site or discover any contact information, so here I am. [Actually, this looks like a nice little piece - a decent combination of steel and alloy, rather cleverly designed for manufacture and durability. Seems a wasted effort, though...]

January 23, 2002, 08:51 AM	#2
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	JimmyDee, before doing anything to the pistol you might try some different ammo. There is a lot of cheaper ammo that has duds in the box. I use CCI only for testing rimfires because that way I know the failures to fire aren't the ammo's fault. If you find that the pistol does this with all ammo then you might relieve the notch shoulder. George

January 23, 2002, 09:59 AM	#3
JimmyDee Member Join Date: December 30, 2001 Location: Memphis, Tennessee Posts: 79	George, Thanks for the suggestion. In fact, I ran a few different 22LRs through it. They all cycled when the round ignited - even the standard velocities. You know, I think I half figured it out while trying to describe my problem here. Sure enough, that "little piece of steel" is what the firing pin return spring pushes the striker against. I simply had to push the striker well past the safety bolt 'til it cleared that ???? piece. (Ain't like a Walther - I actually like this better once I figured it out. The slide seems to be powdered metal with a steel bolt face pressed in. The ???? part I'm talking about is immediately behind the piece providing the boltface and is captured by the striker.) Once I got the ???? out, it looked like a bin part: cast steel with a digit stamped in it; this one happened to be Size #1. The dimension in question measured .0719; I figured I should have found .072 and decided to take .005 off. Once I squared up the new face and polished and blued it I ended up at .068. (Vise grips and file -- it's too small!) So the striker, instead of extending .025 past the bolt, is out .029. I've got to wait 'til I get a chance to warm it up; I'll let you know how it works. Thanks again, George.

January 28, 2002, 01:19 PM	#4
JimmyDee Member Join Date: December 30, 2001 Location: Memphis, Tennessee Posts: 79	Okay, I checked it out this weekend with a few boxes I had lying about. Federal Classic: it didn't like these at all; failures to extract, failures to feed, and one misfire. Remington Subsonics: a few failures to extract, failures to feed. Remington Thunderbolts: it liked 'em! 100rds and no failures. These were the three types I had trouble with the first time out, so putzing with it seemed to help. But, you know, I really can't think of a good use for this pistol other than dog training - and there are better alternatives for that.