A gunsmiths view on the chinese 9mm Broomhandles?

[Peter M. Eick]

Anyone have an opinion on the 9mm recent manufacture 9mm chinese broomhandles? I saw a detachable magazine one today and it was used but looked pretty nice as a shooter.

I understand the concern is the quality of the steel used in construction. This one appears to be machined from one block of steel and pretty well made. Both my dealer and I think it is machined and not stamped and welded.

I guess the big concern is the bolt locking block failing and taking the bolt in the face. Since this is used I am not sure how much of a problem that is, but I guess I should probably replace it.

I am not looking for a collector, but just a toy for the range. I understand it is a delicate beast and parts can be very hard to come but, so I am sort of gambling here, but my dealer says they will give me a 30 day warantee so I am reasonably protected.

Any other advice or comments?

 

[Wildalaska]

We have seen several of them. the quality varies from horrendous to OK, but even the OK ones have problms. They generally need to be completely rebuilt before you shoot them...

One thing to look for is "peening" where the bolt stop goes...

My best advice...stay away....

Wildishootmy1912commercialregularlyAlaska

 

[Peter M. Eick]

That is what I keep thinking, but the gun is neat looking and a lot cheaper then a real mauser.

I figure this is probably a pretty good one, but who knows. I think I will go back and look at the bolt stop and surrounding metal one more time, but I am leaning toward "pass" on it.

I do not like the idea of buying something with no support and parts that are hard to come by/buy.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Sunray]

"...the concern is the quality of the steel used in construction..." Hi. It's funny how a guy will whine about the QC of a Chinese pistol as he sits playing with a Norinco 305. Or a Chicom SKS. I had a look at the early 305's that came in up here. The QC was so bad you couldn't field strip it. It's nearly 20 years now and I still wouldn't touch a Norinco or Polytech product.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Well I ended up trying it out as an experiment.

First 12 rnd mag went in 2 burst fires of 5 rnds, 5 rnds and 2 rnds. The hammer was following the slide down. I noticed that the safety was half on, so I flicked it all the way.

Next the 25 rnd mag went in 2 quick burst. The first was about 9 shot burst when I flicked the safety off (and left a nice imprint in my finger). The second burst was a bit longer maybe 11 shots but I had a good grip on it. Finally the last 2 shots went when I was trying to clear the slide. OUCH!

Ok, so here is my learnings. One, I still have 10 fingers and there was no blood, just a bunch of bruises.

Two, I like the broomhandle, it is fully machined but it needs to be fixed.

My dealer exchanged it no questions asked and said that I could get it back after they work it over and get it fixed.

Interesting that there is no importer marks, the frame faintly says it is a 45 frame but the gun is 9mm. It has been shot a lot, but the metal did not look upset.

I will be interested to see what their smith says when they get it fixed.

FINALLY, IT WAS A REALLY COOL GUN! To bad about the full auto problem.