Damon555 said:
As far as not valuing functionality I'm not quite sure why you think that I don't....
Because your only comments about the gun -- all negative -- were about appearance. Your comments about "how cheaply made it actually is" were clearly subjective. And, unless you've got some background in engineering or otherwise know something about gun design and construction, that judgment is based on aesthetics, not function. Put simply, functionality wasn't addressed and seemed to be of no interest -- it certainly wasn't a deciding factor when you tuned the gun out. You said, above, that only metal 1911s appeal to you. It's your money, and there's certainly no reason to buy something that turns you off -- but a great-looking gun isn't always a great-shooting gun.
As for cheapness, I doubt that the PMR-30 is more "cheaply" made than a number of other guns (including made by SIG, S&W, or Glock) that sell in the same general price range -- or for less. Most of the guns in those price ranges are also polymer-framed guns. And, of course, none of those guns are .22 WMR weapons..
Damon555 said:
My comments were strictly a first impression based only on how the gun looked and how cheaply the entire package presented itself.. .Ever since shooting my first 1911 I've been an all-metal gun kinda guy.....that will never change...
As you say, your comments were about appearances -- "first impression based only" -- and how the entire package presented itself. Not how it performed.
The PMR-30 is a relatively unique design -- a "hybrid" action that combines features of both locked breech and blow back designs. I don't know of any other handgun that does that, and I've not encountered any other .22 (be it short, long, long rifle or WMR handgun that has a
30-round magazine that actually works while still fitting in a handgun-length grip. (That feature alone is a bit of a breakthrough, like Saive's design of a double-stack mag for the FN Hi-Power.)
* The PMR's performance (factory trigger, weight, capacity, accuracy, great sights) seems better than most .22 handguns available for anywhere near the price, and far better than any .22 WMR handgun available now or in the past, be they steel, alloy, or plastic.
*The PMR-30's 30-round mag was based on the Grendel .22 WMR design (created by George Kellgren who was founder of Kel-Tec. Kellgren also had a hand in other very innovative designs and designed many firearms earlier for Husqvarna and Swedish Interdynamics AB. The designs from Kel-Tec aren't just something a "tinkerer" threw together as part of a hobby.
I like 1911s, too, but to so much that I won't consider, even try, use, or own other weapons.
In the meantime,
if you find a metal 1911 that shoots the .22 WMR round and has more than a 10-15 round magazine, we can then compare functionality, accuracy, and value for the money spent. (I've got a CZ Kadet Kit mounted on a tuned CZ-85 Combat frame, and it is the best .22 I've owned, but; the PMR-30 puts it to shame.)
It would be great if a firm like Marvel could creat a conversion kit for a center-fire 1911 that could handle the .22 WMR round, but the round is just too long for the 1911 grip frame. They'd have to build the whole gun to make it work.
Note: Rock Island just introduced a 1911-like gun called the XT22, in .22 WMR. The XT22 is limited to a 14-round mag, and weighs twice as much as the PMR-30. I'm pretty sure the Rock Island gun isn't really a pure 1911 design -- but it may have more metal than the PMR-30. That said, I'd love to see a shootout between the Rock Island XT22 and the PMR-30..
Buddy says "here shoot this" ran a 30 round mag at a 12" gong 50 yards out 28/30, first two low. Half the weight of my M&P 9 with 17 rounds.
