[ithacaartist]

The early cast zinc alloy Ermas are very close to the size and weight of the Parabellum. Aside from the barrel liner, breech block, and small internals -- FP, springs, pins, etc.-- they're constructed entirely of cast Zamak. Original finish was achieved by a blackening process for zinc alloy castings, with chemistry that's quite different from that used on steel. They're problematic to refinish, so a coat of semi-flat black Krylon or Cerokote is probably your best bet. Your KGP 69A, however, is sort of the reverse, only the grip frame and the trigger are Zamak. Each series has its foibles and potential issues.

The earlier ones are indeed sensitive to both ammo and how the mags are tuned. Good that you've found an ammo it likes. The several I have prefer CCI MiniMags and Remington Thunderbolt. Some of them work best with round nose ammo, others like hollow points. Aftermarket mags for the La- and Ep-22 are generally junk, so seek and obtain factory originals, which are robustly built, hold their tuning better, and have springs that seem to last forever.

Whatever you do DO NOT run them with Stingers, Velocitors, or any other rounds rated hyper-velocity -- or you will be contacting me for a new front toggle link! Even a round or two will over-stress the action with too much energy and the "ears" of the front link where it attaches to the breech block will snap right off.

For the best chance at reliable feeding. make sure all the feed lips are straight and smooth. The rear lips should be parallel, and the front lips adjusted to allow virtually no lateral play as the round rises amd moves forward. Sometimes adjusting them to allow a slight "tickle" of resistance to the round's passage between them will minimize a stovepipe or nose-up jam with the tip of the bullet dug into the sharp upper edge of the breech.

One excellent acquaintance I've made in my Erma "travels" is Holger Schlemeier, who has authored what promises to be THE book about Erma-Werke's history and production. The German version of the book is being printed, and an English translation is in the works and should be available in a year or so. He collected serial numbers and proof/importer markings for almost a decade over on Gunboards to establish a data base. Most respondents reported their toggle pistols, but Erma made all sorts of .22, .32, and .380 guns incorporating cast Zamak frames and other parts. Ithaca imported and branded their lever action saddle guns in the 70s, and the Henry .22 rifles are now constructed to that design, which the company acquired, identical except for a slight improvement to the breech block. Iver Johnson, Excam, LA Industries were some of the other importers.

If I'm not mistaken, Beeman was among the last, and distributed KGP series pistols branded to them towards Erma's bitter end. The Beeman pistols have excellent finish and artisan rosewood grips which were installed once they reached the U.S. I bought the last of the plastic factory take-offs a few years ago from Dr. Airgun himself and still have some left. He was having serious health problems at the time, but was still able to do some business in between visits for treatment. I can't find an obituary, so presume he's still kicking. He's an interesting guy with a degree in Biology, and gave his employees Darwin's birthday as a paid holiday. Beeman airguns are of excellent quality.