Steyr M40

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matai

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Dec 19, 2008
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Eastside of the Westside, WA
Hey, I'm thinking about buying a Steyr M40 .40 cal off of a buddy of mine. It only has about 200 rounds through it. 100 rounds was from me, I was having a lot of issues though, but I think it was because of the cheap blazer ammo. Do you guys think this would be worth picking up? If so for how much? I like the design and ergonomics, just not sure about the reliability of it.

Thanks
 
http://www.steyrclub.com has a FAQ with a list of common "fixes" (which are usually little things like springs and such).

Steyr USA will also fix some of the 'known issues', such as upgrading the extractor.

If you like it and he's not asking an arm and a leg, they're fine pistols.
 
I wouldn't get a gun you know is flawed. Bad enough when you get one you didn't know had problems, but your jumping into it with headaches.

Blazer is decent ammo, so I'd try another brand before I bought.
 
My limited experience with a .357sig model was failures to eject when the pistol got dirty. The problem with the design is that the extractor is canted down at a steep angle to accomidate the super low bore axis which means there is added friction on the extractor and slide surfaces. Even after a polishing job on the extractor and proper lube, the problem never cleared up 100% when the pistol got dirty.

Other than that, it was an "okay" pistol. The extra steep angle of the grip is a two edge sword. It reduces muzzle flip, but it is an unnatural angle and point shooting is never predictable. Also, a thumbs forward grip is even more unnatural and results in poor pointing. Low bore axis is a two edge sword. It reduces muzzle flip, but that recoil does not just disappear.....it is instead channelled into your arm and you can feel the abuse in your wrist and shoulder. Muzzle flip is a very natural reaction to recoil and opposing muscles in your arm can compensate for it. With a very low bore axis there is less muscle compensation and more bone/cartilage pounding. The trapazoidal sights are poor for any kind of accurate shooting at 15+ yards. There are no definable planes of alignment that you can quickly eye-ball and get consistant accuracy.

If you are wanting a .40S&W polymer striker fired pistol like the Steyr....seriously consider the S&W M&P which is quite a pleasure to use and is actually gaining police/military contracts unlike Steyr.
 
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