turned up on the range this morning, right out of the box and owned by a shooting pal who lives and works in Singapore [no privately-owned guns in Singapore - period].

We spent around half an hour trying to get it to feed regular CCI Mini-Mags. The mags worked perfectly on another gun beside us - a cheapo S&W M4 lookalike. Actually, the first round that we managed to chamber all the way was a FTF, and was securely stuck in the chamber. Knocking it out was not an option, but using a thin-bladed blade on my Leatherman finally did the job. Blood was shed, however. Mine, as the helper, 'natch.

There seemed to be a small burr on the chamber right where the ramp is located, and once the case got that far, that was it....finally prising it out of the chamber, it showed a deep scratch indicating the position of the burr.

Anyhow, we persevered, and after about a hundred or so dummy loading and ejectings, it seemed to have sorted itself out, and fired cases showed no scrape marks thereafter. As I left he was emptying rounds downrange like the last few minutes at the Alamo.

However, folks, let's just make a small point here. I don't know what it costs in the USA, but here in UK this is a $1700 .22rimfire rifle, FGS. Surely the manufacturer does a function test before their product leaves the factory? We are still trying to figure out how the Birmingham Proof house got it to work for their compulsory proof test, but I guess that's another story - maybe THEY caused the damage somehow - who knows?

Anybody else had less-than-happy experiences with a brand-new gun like this?

tac

Local range got a couple in. Shot one for 500 rounds to "test" it and put it in the rental area. They had much better luck than you, and it's quite a bit less expensive over here.

quote:

Originally posted by josp:
Local range got a couple in. Shot one for 500 rounds to "test" it and put it in the rental area. They had much better luck than you, and it's quite a bit less expensive over here.

Isn't just about everything?

Remember, I live in Oregon for part of the year....

Best

tac

I had to look it up, but it looks like it may be the same Tippman company that makes paintball guns, or a subsidiary. At least they're both located in Ft. Wayne, IN, on Adams Center Road. I've been by the factory a few times, and know they make a great paintball gun...but I didn't know they made firearms.

FWIW, the MSRP on their website is $549...your friend is paying quite a bit of markup for a toy .22!

Yep, it’s the Tippman in New Haven, about 90 minutes from me. Recently bought back by the Tippman family.

tac, couple of questions. Does *every* import to the UK run through the proof process, or is it only samples? Also, does that Tippman get fiddled into a single shot, charge after each, or can it be left as a semi-auto?

quote:

Originally posted by striker1:
Yep, it’s the Tippman in New Haven, about 90 minutes from me. Recently bought back by the Tippman family.

tac, couple of questions. Does *every* import to the UK run through the proof process, or is it only samples? Also, does that Tippman get fiddled into a single shot, charge after each, or can it be left as a semi-auto?

Every US-made firearm that comes into any of the fourteen members of the CIP organisation has to be subjected to proof before it can be sold on the commercial market. This is because unlike the CIP member states, the USA does not have any kind of formalised gun proof test facilities - proof houses, as do all the CIP member states. Proof laws in the UK and Italy, for instance, go back to the 1500's, and all guns were tested, or proofed, to ensure their safe manufacture and fitness for use. Obviously, if they failed, then they were not fit for use.

The Tippmann in question, like every other .22LR rifle/carbine, is a semi-auto. Only centre-fire riles and carbines that operate manually are permitted in UK. No semi-auto rifles or carbines since 1987 in the aftermath of the Hungerford Massacre. Shotguns are exempt BTW.

tac