Let me get into a little more detail then my first response.
This isn't even a 70 year old gun. This is a lawyer imposed redesign of a 70 YO gun cobbled together from a mix of parts kits and new parts.
It sucks that IO isn't fixing their obviously not working right product. You are in the right expecting some better response and expecting the gun to work as designed.
But (and this is a Sir Mix-a-Lot level but)
Your time and aggravation are worth something. Surely you have things you'd rather be doing other than arguing with IO's CS division.
Also, this is a range gun. You won't (or shouldn't) be relying on it for HD, hunting, or honestly anything that matters. This gun is designed, marketed, and sold as a close replica of a WWII sub machine gun. It's for collecting and target shooting at the range.
Thirdly, you obviously wanted this design, as you shopped for and ultimately bought one. So they can sit on their AK offer and rotate. If you wanted an AK there are plenty to choose from.
So sum it all up in some free internet wisdom: (worth every cent you payed)
You asked what I would do. I would either look at the assembly until I figured out what (besides that cross pin) wasn't working and make or modify the safety to work, or I would decide that was too much trouble and remove the whole mechanism.
Either way, I'd take my PPS-43 to the range and enjoy shooting it for what it is. A near (but not perfect) replica of a sub-gun. On a range where you aren't even loading it until you are ready to fire, and will be unloading it on the line as soon as you are done, who cares about the safety? I wouldn't let this keep me from enjoying what is obviously a recreational firearm.
One thing I absolutely wouldn't do is spend even another minute of my finite life arguing with a company that it seems invested in not really caring about you. Go shooting instead.
This isn't even a 70 year old gun. This is a lawyer imposed redesign of a 70 YO gun cobbled together from a mix of parts kits and new parts.
It sucks that IO isn't fixing their obviously not working right product. You are in the right expecting some better response and expecting the gun to work as designed.
But (and this is a Sir Mix-a-Lot level but)
Your time and aggravation are worth something. Surely you have things you'd rather be doing other than arguing with IO's CS division.
Also, this is a range gun. You won't (or shouldn't) be relying on it for HD, hunting, or honestly anything that matters. This gun is designed, marketed, and sold as a close replica of a WWII sub machine gun. It's for collecting and target shooting at the range.
Thirdly, you obviously wanted this design, as you shopped for and ultimately bought one. So they can sit on their AK offer and rotate. If you wanted an AK there are plenty to choose from.
So sum it all up in some free internet wisdom: (worth every cent you payed)
You asked what I would do. I would either look at the assembly until I figured out what (besides that cross pin) wasn't working and make or modify the safety to work, or I would decide that was too much trouble and remove the whole mechanism.
Either way, I'd take my PPS-43 to the range and enjoy shooting it for what it is. A near (but not perfect) replica of a sub-gun. On a range where you aren't even loading it until you are ready to fire, and will be unloading it on the line as soon as you are done, who cares about the safety? I wouldn't let this keep me from enjoying what is obviously a recreational firearm.
One thing I absolutely wouldn't do is spend even another minute of my finite life arguing with a company that it seems invested in not really caring about you. Go shooting instead.