Erma 22 carbine..?

[ithacaartist]

John,

I'd say this area is the correct venue for your question.

I have several Erma .22's, the most recently obtained is the ET-22 which has a checkered forestock and an 11+" barrel, for which I paid around $350. Gunbroker has a couple listed in the $600+ range, and although some are with box, papers, etc., I personally would not buy one for that much.

Their reputation is not the best because most models are diecast frame and uppers, which is not as durable as steel. One could anticipate that this would lead to the early retirement of the pistols, due to wear. The front toggle links are susceptible to breakage--I've already broken two; one on each of my La's--due to the pot metal construction and poor design of the casting which is quite thin in the area the breakage occurs. No big problem, factory newbies available from Bob's Gun Parts @$35; but I wouldn't want to break one every day, nor continue to shoot it with a load which would result in this.

Ermas are magazine sensitive, and the mags that I've found to be the best are original factory in the best shape possible. This means that the feed lips have not been bent by (ab)use and the spring is still strong. Triple k or other aftermarket mags will be a crapshoot because the feed lips, followers, and springs are slightly different compared to an Erma mag. Some are listed on GB as well, but I will not pay more than $35-40 for one, regardless of condition. A few in good condition are listed for much more, but I consider them overpriced.

Ermas are ammo sensitive. We've discussed this on some fairly recent posts. The Erma 22 action needs a round with enough oomph to cycle the action completely, but too energetic a round will beat the mechanism to death quickly. So, one must experiment to find the mfgr., format, and load that his/her pistol functions the best with. Mine seem to like 40 gr. slugs and an fps rating between 1000 and 1200, though this may be overkill for the ET because of its longer bbl. High velocity rounds will work, like the Velocitor and Stinger, but I think it was the few experiments with Stingers that broke those toggles. The difference is audible!

I have shot a couple of mags through mine and although it seems a little more forgiving than the La-22's, it is still mag and ammo fussy. I have not shot it enough to establish its ammo preference, but it seemed to handle CCI sub-sonic and Mini-Mags.

Whether you want it as a shooter or collectible would perhaps make a difference in what you'd want to pay for one. A pristeen boxed rig with original paperwork and accessories, if any, would be the most "collectible", for sure, but they are a minor collectible. I wouldn't buy one for an investment at this point, preferring instead to spend the same money on a real Luger, albeit a shooter in this price range. If you want one for a shooter, get one cheap, don't sweat the cosmetics, and shoot the H-E-double hockey sticks out of it. If your intent, as mine was, is to gain experience in ferreting out problematic aspects of a fussy little gun's function as a challenge, you are on the right track. The Erma's toggle action differs from a real Luger's in that the breech is not locked by the toggle train--it is a blowback, and the toggle jumping up and down is effectively a cosmetic thing, alternative to a slide. The actions are similar enough to present the same sorts of problems you'd find in the Luger system, in sotr of a concentrated way. The boys above are correct: lots of failures--feed, fire, eject, stovepipe jams, etc. until you get it dialed in with a good mag and the ammo it finds tasty! Even then, do not expect 100% reliability.

If you made it this far, I hope this helps.

David Parker