Post by TMan on Jun 12, 2005 19:46:02 GMT -5
The Accelerator is a .22 WMR semi-automatic made by the people at Excel Industries in Chino, CA. These are the people that also make the Accu-Tek AT-380 II. The web-site for the gun can be found at: www.excelarms.com/pages/2/index.htm .
I waited for a long time after placing my order until my dealer, after numerous phone calls, received it from the manufacturer. She left me a message that my "ugly gun" was ready to be picked up. So I picked it up in what she previously called my "ugly car" - the Honda Element.
I just had to open the box and handle it while she was doing the paperwork, and I was amazed at the weight: 3lbs 6oz, and it was solid. Pulling back the slide my fingers slipped and I pinched myself, but no blood. The magazines were made of metal and had a funny little piece of metal in with each one. Hmmmm, guess this is one you need to read the manual for. (Read the manual and it made no mention of the little hooked piece of metal).
Here is the gun along with the magazine and the little hook:
So, I took it home, put in a "snap-cap" and pulled the trigger. Arrrgh, what a god-awful trigger: big time creep. I was a little disappointed at this point, and I put it up on the top shelf of the closet.
Several weeks have passed, and being somewhat short of guns to shoot, I decided to take it to the range today. I'd bought a box of PMC .45 Long Colt for my little "derringer" so I brought it along with several boxes of CCI Maxi-Mag TMJ ammo for the Accelerator. They stated in the manual that the gun required 200 rounds to break it in.
When I went to load the magazine, I noticed that the magazine follower had a hole through it. I inserted the straight end of the little metal thing into it and then pressing down on the curved part it moved the follower down. Ahhaaa, a clever little magazine loader. (Wonder if they have any Japanese working there - I'd expect them to come up with something clever like this.
Okay, take aim, pull the trigger. Dang that was loud. Put on ear-muffs. Try again - much better. I pulled several of the first shots before I got to the point that I was comfortable and started putting the rounds into the center ring. Whoa, I was impressed. For a .22 WMR this thing had virtually no recoil. The muzzle energy of the .22 WMR is 195 ft-lbs, which is right up there with 200 ft-lbs for the .38 Special. Considering the less than desirable characteristics of the trigger, I was putting a lot of rounds in the 10 ring.
During the 50 rounds that I shot, I had one round that failed to fire because of a weak firing pin hit. I re-chambered the round and it fired okay the second time. Otherwise, the operation was flawless. It did have one rather unusual thing that it did: after each round a spring inside the gun, probably the recoil spring, would oscillate. No big deal, but a little annoying.
This is what the pistol looks like after the last shot is fired and the slide is retracted (the preferred way of retracting the slide. ;D )
After the 50 rounds I then decided to shoot a box of ammo through the Taurus 85 because it shoots .38 Special. Wow, it recoils worse than any of my .357 Magnums.
Then I had a real acute attack of stupidity and started shooting the Bond Arms with .45 Colt. Big mistake. I don't know where my bullets were going, but they weren't hitting the target. Suddenly there was wood splintering and my target assembly fell to the ground. Okay, so it shoots a little high. The range officer wasn't pleased and I was done for the day. Should have stuck with the Accelerator.
Then I went to clean up my brass and go home. Where the heck are the casings for the .22 WMR? Low earth orbit? Apparently, they ejected forward and into the grass. At least they didn't burn or cut me like some other firearms have done.
One of the odd things I noticed about the pistol is the feed ramp. Apparently it is just cosmetic. I can't see how the bullet could ever contact it with the design of the magazine follower. Don't know if you can see it well enough in this picture or not:
Since the Accelerator comes equipped with a scope mount, I later plan on putting a red-dot scope on it, but I'll break it in first. I think I'm going to enjoy shooting this thing.
Modified to add:
I've completed the break-in of 200 rounds. Whenever I read a manufacturer say that a pistol needs X number of rounds for break-in, I think: I'm going to have problems. Well, there were absolutely no problems. It performed flawlessly and I'm very pleased with the one exception - the creepy trigger.
After a hundred rounds of shooting it, I did notice the weight. It reminded me of my Ruger MK II with the 10" barrel. However, I must admit that the Accelerator, shooting the .22 WMR, is more fun to shoot.
Concerning my previous comment about the ramp: during recoil, it is common for a bullet to nose-dive. I seriously doubt this would ever happen on the Accelerator because of the weight, but they probably put it there just to make sure if someone limp-wristed the gun it wouldn't jam.
This gun is a real joy to shoot.
I waited for a long time after placing my order until my dealer, after numerous phone calls, received it from the manufacturer. She left me a message that my "ugly gun" was ready to be picked up. So I picked it up in what she previously called my "ugly car" - the Honda Element.
I just had to open the box and handle it while she was doing the paperwork, and I was amazed at the weight: 3lbs 6oz, and it was solid. Pulling back the slide my fingers slipped and I pinched myself, but no blood. The magazines were made of metal and had a funny little piece of metal in with each one. Hmmmm, guess this is one you need to read the manual for. (Read the manual and it made no mention of the little hooked piece of metal).
Here is the gun along with the magazine and the little hook:
So, I took it home, put in a "snap-cap" and pulled the trigger. Arrrgh, what a god-awful trigger: big time creep. I was a little disappointed at this point, and I put it up on the top shelf of the closet.
Several weeks have passed, and being somewhat short of guns to shoot, I decided to take it to the range today. I'd bought a box of PMC .45 Long Colt for my little "derringer" so I brought it along with several boxes of CCI Maxi-Mag TMJ ammo for the Accelerator. They stated in the manual that the gun required 200 rounds to break it in.
When I went to load the magazine, I noticed that the magazine follower had a hole through it. I inserted the straight end of the little metal thing into it and then pressing down on the curved part it moved the follower down. Ahhaaa, a clever little magazine loader. (Wonder if they have any Japanese working there - I'd expect them to come up with something clever like this.
Okay, take aim, pull the trigger. Dang that was loud. Put on ear-muffs. Try again - much better. I pulled several of the first shots before I got to the point that I was comfortable and started putting the rounds into the center ring. Whoa, I was impressed. For a .22 WMR this thing had virtually no recoil. The muzzle energy of the .22 WMR is 195 ft-lbs, which is right up there with 200 ft-lbs for the .38 Special. Considering the less than desirable characteristics of the trigger, I was putting a lot of rounds in the 10 ring.
During the 50 rounds that I shot, I had one round that failed to fire because of a weak firing pin hit. I re-chambered the round and it fired okay the second time. Otherwise, the operation was flawless. It did have one rather unusual thing that it did: after each round a spring inside the gun, probably the recoil spring, would oscillate. No big deal, but a little annoying.
This is what the pistol looks like after the last shot is fired and the slide is retracted (the preferred way of retracting the slide. ;D )
After the 50 rounds I then decided to shoot a box of ammo through the Taurus 85 because it shoots .38 Special. Wow, it recoils worse than any of my .357 Magnums.
Then I had a real acute attack of stupidity and started shooting the Bond Arms with .45 Colt. Big mistake. I don't know where my bullets were going, but they weren't hitting the target. Suddenly there was wood splintering and my target assembly fell to the ground. Okay, so it shoots a little high. The range officer wasn't pleased and I was done for the day. Should have stuck with the Accelerator.
Then I went to clean up my brass and go home. Where the heck are the casings for the .22 WMR? Low earth orbit? Apparently, they ejected forward and into the grass. At least they didn't burn or cut me like some other firearms have done.
One of the odd things I noticed about the pistol is the feed ramp. Apparently it is just cosmetic. I can't see how the bullet could ever contact it with the design of the magazine follower. Don't know if you can see it well enough in this picture or not:
Since the Accelerator comes equipped with a scope mount, I later plan on putting a red-dot scope on it, but I'll break it in first. I think I'm going to enjoy shooting this thing.
Modified to add:
I've completed the break-in of 200 rounds. Whenever I read a manufacturer say that a pistol needs X number of rounds for break-in, I think: I'm going to have problems. Well, there were absolutely no problems. It performed flawlessly and I'm very pleased with the one exception - the creepy trigger.
After a hundred rounds of shooting it, I did notice the weight. It reminded me of my Ruger MK II with the 10" barrel. However, I must admit that the Accelerator, shooting the .22 WMR, is more fun to shoot.
Concerning my previous comment about the ramp: during recoil, it is common for a bullet to nose-dive. I seriously doubt this would ever happen on the Accelerator because of the weight, but they probably put it there just to make sure if someone limp-wristed the gun it wouldn't jam.
This gun is a real joy to shoot.
