[ithacaartist]

Hi Bill,

For the past several years, I've collected Erma toggle guns--which also means that I trouble-shoot and work on them.

I agree with your observation about others' misconception/confusion about who made what, Stoeger of Erma, and have noticed regularly that some listings on auction/classified sites mix the two in their descriptions or titles.

The largely-Zamak-constructed toggle pistols by Erma did not set the scene very well for toggle pistols, that's for sure. Zamak, particularly with a little age, can be brittle, for sure. The same problems and remedies found in your Stoegers also happen in Ermas. I would observe that the Ermas may be a bit fussier than Stoegers to tame into acceptable reliability.

I would disagree that there is any delay to the action of any toggle gun other than those of the original Parabellum design, or copies of it, such as the Houston Lugers or the 70s' Mausers. There is nothing to lock the chamber in battery, retard the motion of the breech block, or move the barrel extensions, on the Stoeger or Erma wannabes.

One Erma model your description does not address is the KGP series, begun in 1968, and lasting until the bitter end of production in the late 80s-early 90s. These models are constructed with only one Zamak component (aside from its cast trigger), albeit a major one--the grip frame. Since there is no relative motion between the grip frame and upper on these, the only wear evident will be caused by assembly/disassembly. The KGP series was a new design then, supplanting the actions of the earlier La- and Ep-22s, and tend to be more dependable and easier to cure of maladies in function. They have their own foibles, not the least of which is their tendency to throw their extractors, but generally have much better adherence to the look/lines of an original Luger. They are, however, scaled down. The KGP-69, which is the .22lr, is about 3/4 size, and the KGP-68A, which came in .380 and .32 auto, maybe about 2/3 scale.

Aside from brittleness, Zamak is also problematic to refinish. Blackened at the factory, the original finish is almost impossible to reproduce, and a coating-style finish such a Cerakote would be the most reasonable method of rehabilitating one. I wish that Erma castings were all-aluminum, like your Stoegers!