Help importing parts to the US?

[ithacaartist]

Ross,

Better search for the recent postings I've made about Ermas before you jump onto this one...

Ermas seem to be a crap shoot as to whether or not you wind up with one that is not an effective single-shot, or jam-o-matic. I bought mine basically for the challenge, having heard so much about their lack of reliability, ammo fussiness, mag sensitivity, propensity for breaking toggle parts, etc. If you love to tinker, these would be the cranky little guns for you to play with. As I've suggested before, you'll likely get lots of practice clearing the action from feeding, firing, extracting,and ejecting woes! Well...with the possibility of taming the beast, or almost, by the end of your trials. Then they are pretty sweet, and accurate, too. I've been tweeking mag lips and experimenting with ammo for the past couple of months--just ordered another assortment of ammo from Midway today to see if I can dial it in any closer than the ~80-90% I'm able to get now with the right mag, ammo and lots of lube.

OK, parts... Sarco has some for the conversion kits. Bob's Gun Parts, as you've discovered, is another possibility. But their selection is spotty, at best, even though each co. apparently scarfed up remaining parts from the Erma factory's demise. eBay, Gunbroker, Gunsamerica, etc. all have a little something from time to time, so my advice is to keep looking. I've had some luck discovering obscure auctions and classifieds if I keep going several pages in on a search, beyond where the results seem relelvant; you just never know. Keep Googling away, and eventually something will surface for you. Most Erma parts in these odd listings seem to be coming from guns that are being broken up and parted out. This works out for the seller, but not very economical for the buyer, unless you gotta have it, and it ain't too much to spend. Sometimes you'll see somewhat complete sub-assemblies up for grabs, like an entire top end or toggle train, or breedh block w/firing pin or ejector, etc., and these can be a better deal.

When you get it in hand, clean the little dickens thoroughly, lubricate it liberally, and try it out to see what you have. Start with Standard velocity rounds, or maybe slightly in the sub-sonic range. At this point, I'd recommend NOT exceeding fps rating of 1200, otherwise you risk hammering the pistol to death from the inside out. Use lots of lube on the mag and ammo--shake it and wipe off any gross excess before insertion.

If you get feeding problems, it's possible either mag or ammo is the offending area; perhaps a combo of the two. Ejection problems would center more on ammo, and possibly the extractor/its spring. Best mag bet is a factory original, regardless of capacity, as their feed lips were the original design. Bob's and others sell the repros, like the Triple K mags-- recognizable in a listing's pics by the green plastic follower and shiny aluminum bottom which is machined, not cast--, um, not quite as good. I've encountered another maker of them but the mag is unmarked. The knock offs just don't have the same geometry as the originals. The better the condition of the mag, the better, too. But we can cross these various bridges when/if they are encountered.

Oh, and by the description of it, better not pay more than ~$125 for one that raggedy, as it may, indeed, require an unobtainable part. In that case, the best for everyone is to part it out; you'll get out from under it OK, and others will have access to the parts they might need.

DP