Quality of Calico firearms

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Snowdog

Snowdog

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I'm sure some here remember Calico handguns and rifles in .22LR and 9mm.

I'm under the impression the manufacturer is now either defunct or moved on to other things. These things aren't made anymore, are they?

Here are my primary questions concerning these firearms:

What was the quality of Calico firearms? Were they constructed of cheesy pot metal and plastic or well made with quality components?

Second, I suspect the 9mm was a blowback just as the .22LR model. Am I wrong?

Finally, what were the primary issues with the 9mm model (design wise, costs and contracts aside) that would prevent a department from having seriously considered it as a potential “entry†weapon?


Thanks in advance.
 
I managed a store that sold them from '88 - '90. They worked (never had one returned for failure to function) and seemed to be of generally good quality . . . actually, a pretty solid value. IIRC (and I might not), the 9x19s had some sort of roller-lock.

"Entry" weapon? LE Depts are conservative, and this design was newfangled. Loading the mags was a PITA. The stocks were stupid and flimsy.
 
There are some known spring issues with the Calico 9mm mags. I don't know if the same issues apply to the .22 guns.

Interestingly enough, Calico is specifically mentioned on the list Gander Mountain maintains if firearms that they will NOT buy used from customers. The list is made up of manufacturers and models that they have had problems with in the past. Jennings, Byrco and Lorcin are also on the list, for example.

At the store where I'm working part-time, we have a Calico 9mm tagged for repair for a customer in the gunsmith area. I'm not certain what the particular problem is, but I did see a notation that the gun is still waiting for a part to be fixed.
 
They're generally reliable but not operator proof. You must know how many turns of the handle to wind up the magazine otherwise the tension won't be right. Normally, if you load the magazine to capacity, this is no problem. If however you have only a partial box (less than 50), you're going to have to play with it to figure it out (and I never did). The other flaw is the selection of plastics. I had one magazine drop and hit the concrete. Crack! Calico replaced it free of charge (remember, these were the days when black guns weren't evil in CA). I suggested that another plastic or polymer (or synthetic) be found that is sturdier.

As to the firing mechanism, the 9mm Calicos featured a delayed blowback ala HK. Think of it as a simplified version though that didn't lose the operational features.

The frame itself is of anodized alloy and is very light.

Field stripping was simple and the first time I handled it, I was able to disassemble it without consulting the manual. As a firearm, it is almost ambidextrious (safety wasn't on the one I handled - maybe later ones were?). Its downward ejection made it conducive for either left or right hand operation and the cases land at your feet (easy for pick-up, especially with a box or bucket placed beneath the ejection port).

One nifty thing was their magazine loader. Now, loading the magazine wasn't hard as there was a tension spring that you unwound (by pressing a button) to facilitate ease of loading. With the loader, I was able to load 50 rounds in about 11 seconds (I think possibly less).

The rifle design was a natural for a bull-pup. I wish they'd consider one.

It was a fun gun. :)
 
I was looking at 22lr version at a local shop and they wanted $1800 for it. But they also wanted $249 for the Pheonix HP22, and $189 for their Hipoint .380's.:rolleyes:
 
I've been happy with mine. I DID have a problem about round 250, when a part broke, but they fixed it for free. (Seems they had a heat treat problem at one time.)

If you get one out of the box, instead of used, be sure to disassemble and clean it before trying it out, though. Mine still had chips in it from machining.

I'm kind of ticked at UPS for leaving the box on my front porch, though, when it came back. :what: Darned good thing I live in the country.

So, they're still in business? Cool! Hopefully we'll soon be seeing some new products. Maybe a new carbine in some round with more "umph"?
 
I've always been intrigued with the helical magazines. Does anyone have basic price ideas on any of their products?
 
"The rifle design was a natural for a bull-pup. I wish they'd consider one."

Agreed, too bad they don't spin the magazine 180 and mount it over the barrel.
 
I was very surprised to hear that Calico is still in business. They used to be made here in Bakersfield, CA and their logo has been off their building for a long time. A shooting buddy of mine was a very good friend of the owner of Calico (he has 3 Calicos, each s/n 0001!) and we toured the plant a few years back. Got to fire a full auto 9mm into their test tank. (It was a test for functioning, not accuracy.) Anyway, I see to keep going, they've moved to Nevada.
 
I know almost nothing about them; but did see a .22 Calico slam-fire as the owner was trying to empty the magazine by racking the bolt repeatedly.
 
Had a .22 pistol for a while. Fun, but took way too long to load.

The 9mm with a quick loader obviously doesn't suffer from that problem ...
 
Well, if I ran a company like Calico, I'd sure as heck not want to be situated in California. Nice climate there, so long as you're not talking legal...

I've never had any slam fires myself, but it would never occur to me to empty the magazine that way. It's not THAT difficult to do manually. Though I generally do it by using the ammo. :D

Here they are:

Calico Light Weapon Systems, 1489 Greg Street, Sparks, Nevada 89431-5914. TEL and FAX: 775-358-6000 or FAX (after hours): 775-828-5472 (no web site). Currently sells/supports Model M-110, M-100FS, Liberty 50 and Liberty 100 to the public. Offers M-960 for military and police purchase.

Don't seem to have a web page of their own.
 
There is NOTHING like a looooooooong 100 round burst from my Calico to irk the sissies!! Never had a jam in thousands of rounds!:)
 
never owned or tried the 9mm version but did own the 22 rifle version.the folding stock was flimsy,the plastic helical form that held the 22 ammo in the magazine.. bubbled and warped (well...It did have many fast mag dumps)and the plastic buffer that set in the back of the receiver, usually self destructed after 2-3 mags through the gun,often enough that I called them and ordered 10 spares,finally gave up and put in the last new one and a new thing in the mag and sold it
the thing on the end of the barrel had no real purpose other than appearance...looked great in that goofy scifi movie though.
paid 280 for it new and ended up selling it for 200 bucks at a show.
design not bad,I like the idea of having the mag set on top and the "10/22 like bolt " with the angle cut on the bottom. it couldve used more durable materials in the 22 version and got rid of that goofy thing on the barrel tip.
the customer service was excellent though,,they sent the plastic thing for the mag free and 1 new buffer,I ordered 9 more.
 
The stock and the sights are the only complaints I seem to read about the things on a fairly regular basis.

Other than that, they make a great firearm for cheap campy Sci-Fi movies :)


I see yet another Bakersfield native has made their way to the forum, what is that 5-6 of us now? A co-worker used to have a friend who worked for Calico.

Seems everyone here is somebody who knows somebody.
 
Hey, thanks, Got!

I've got the M900 Liberty 1, and it's a fun gun. Wouldn't mind picking up the brass catcher and a scope mount, though. And a bunch of new magazines, and a patch, and maybe one of those .22 pistols....

Too bad the pistols really aren't suited for concealed carry...
 
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