Last call for Erma parts

[ithacaartist]

Originally Posted by hayhugh

Wondering if anyone has run across (when shown on diagram) item # 45 loading gadget? I have an Irma KGP 68A and find that the magazine is almost imposable to load without one!

Might be one of the reasons these guns did not succeed...

Hugh,

Although I have several KGP 68 pistols, I only have two of the original loading tools. If you snag one of the cheap-o repro tools from eBay, you can file out the "lip" that catches the follower button and use it on the Erma mags. Remove the lip completely because any remnants of it will wedge between the follower button and the mag body and bind.

The cast zinc alloy grip frame, the tendency they have to throw off their extractors, weakness/vulnerability of certain other parts, and the sometimes deficient reliability in feeding and cycling all let to their ultimate downfall, I think. The 1968 NFA's criteria for import and demands of the market in the 90s probably didn't help, either.

The first printing, in German, of Holger Schlemier's book about Erma history and production is supposed to be completed around the end of the year, so we can look forward to having many Erma questions addressed, and some myths dispelled. An English version should follow in about another year.