My friend erma

ithacaartist · 05-22-2012, 02:26 PM

Congratulations Ross!

Sounds like you have a keeper, great luck in finding this cooperative individual. Since I last posted Erma stuff, I've acquired a KGP 69. I'm impressed at how cute it is; the little dickens even has a real holdopen and its exterior lines are quite a bit truer to the original Luger. And it works a little better than my La.22's.

If the sub sonics work with yours, stick with those, for sure, to be easiest on your pistol's action. The evidence of over-hammering will appear on the rear toggle's inner curve, which is pounded by the breech block being thrown back with too much oomph; and on the front toggle link, where over-folding of the joint puts marks on the toggle from contacting the breech block. If ammunition with enough power to leave these artifacts on the mechanism is used further, it will spall the rear link in the area noted, and will likely tear the front toggle link into three pieces by ripping the link from the bottom, where it is thinnest/weakest, right up to those contact marks.

My trials with different .22 loads have continued to the extent that Remington Target and CCI Tactical, at 1150 and 1200 fps respectively, have helped my La.22's the most. I'm due for another stint at mag lip alignment, once I have the factory mag alignment mandrel I'm after, in attempt to improve their function beyond about the 85-90% reliability I've coaxed them into at this point.
My ET.22, mechanically a brother to the EP.22, is a bit more forgiving; it digested 40 Wolf Match Target (1050 fps) with only a handful of failures with 10/10 function for one mag. I'm sticking with 40 gr for all these trials.

David Parker

rhuff · 05-22-2012, 05:42 PM

Glad to hear that you got your Erma running good. They can be a bit of a PITA sometimes, but when everything is correct, like the P08, they will function. I agree with David in that I would avoid shooting the high velocity(CCI MiniMags etc) ammo in that pistol. They were not designed around that ammo, and it will accelerate the wear leading to breakage. I am amazed that you Erma will run on subsonic ammo. My 2 Ermas totally refuse to even think about functioning on that ammo....Enjoy!!

05-22-2012, 02:26 PM	#1
ithacaartist Twice a Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Atop the highest hill in Schuyler County NY Posts: 3,401 Thanks: 7,560 Thanked 2,643 Times in 1,393 Posts	Congratulations Ross! Sounds like you have a keeper, great luck in finding this cooperative individual. Since I last posted Erma stuff, I've acquired a KGP 69. I'm impressed at how cute it is; the little dickens even has a real holdopen and its exterior lines are quite a bit truer to the original Luger. And it works a little better than my La.22's. If the sub sonics work with yours, stick with those, for sure, to be easiest on your pistol's action. The evidence of over-hammering will appear on the rear toggle's inner curve, which is pounded by the breech block being thrown back with too much oomph; and on the front toggle link, where over-folding of the joint puts marks on the toggle from contacting the breech block. If ammunition with enough power to leave these artifacts on the mechanism is used further, it will spall the rear link in the area noted, and will likely tear the front toggle link into three pieces by ripping the link from the bottom, where it is thinnest/weakest, right up to those contact marks. My trials with different .22 loads have continued to the extent that Remington Target and CCI Tactical, at 1150 and 1200 fps respectively, have helped my La.22's the most. I'm due for another stint at mag lip alignment, once I have the factory mag alignment mandrel I'm after, in attempt to improve their function beyond about the 85-90% reliability I've coaxed them into at this point. My ET.22, mechanically a brother to the EP.22, is a bit more forgiving; it digested 40 Wolf Match Target (1050 fps) with only a handful of failures with 10/10 function for one mag. I'm sticking with 40 gr for all these trials. David Parker

05-22-2012, 05:42 PM	#2
rhuff Patron LugerForum Patron Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Az. Posts: 2,315 Thanks: 2,748 Thanked 998 Times in 733 Posts	Glad to hear that you got your Erma running good. They can be a bit of a PITA sometimes, but when everything is correct, like the P08, they will function. I agree with David in that I would avoid shooting the high velocity(CCI MiniMags etc) ammo in that pistol. They were not designed around that ammo, and it will accelerate the wear leading to breakage. I am amazed that you Erma will run on subsonic ammo. My 2 Ermas totally refuse to even think about functioning on that ammo....Enjoy!!