ISSC M22 22LR Pistol

[TMan]

Before I get into my comments perhaps you should read the glowering review in Gunblast.com: www.gunblast.com/ISSC-M22.htm

I'd seen the gun at Becky's before, but since it had an exposed trigger, I blocked the hammer with my finger and pulled the trigger. Not a pleasant experience.

Then I read the review in Gunblast .com, and figured: what the heck. It looked good, had two magazines, the rear sight was adjustable, and the little plastic bag had two more front sights for elevation correction. It also appeared to be well made.

Well, it looks good.

I was using a Shoot-N-C target at 7 yards. I fired 3 rounds and there was nothing to "C". I then pointed down below the target and got two rounds at the top of the target. I shot a total of 50 rounds, and then counted the holes in the target. There were 37. Looking at the target made me wonder if I had my eyes open when I was shooting.

So I was thinking of buying a shotgun, guess I don't really need one with this pistol - I can put hits all over the place. However, that wasn't the most annoying feature.

One of the things I like about the pistol is that it "locks" the slide open after the last round. Then you press the button to release the magazine. One of the really cool things about the H&K P7 is that it also locks the slide open. You then insert a magazine and when you squeeze the cocker, it releases the slide and loads the next round.

With the M22 the slide was released when I pressed the button to release the magazine, it also released the slide, which slammed forward on an empty chamber. It isn't like it only did it once, it was consistent. This was not a cool "feature".

It looks to me like a design flaw rather than a part that wasn't right. I think with a little dremel work I can't fix it, but I really should contact the manufacturer first to see if they have an approved fix.

One of the things that did make me laugh was how I mentioned to someone that it was very Glock like, but I don't shoot a Glock worth a crap anyhow.

TMan's recommendation: pass on this one.

[MLB]

I like the idea of a .22 trainer for a carry gun, but like TMan, I'm no fan of the Glock.

The one thing that stuck out at me about the review was the analysis of the slide material:

The ISSC M22 has a polymer frame and metal slide that appears to be steel, but is not. It looks like steel and feels like steel, but a magnet will not stick to it, so it is obviously a non-ferrous metal.

While the best conclusion from Quinn's appraisal and "magnet test" would be stainless steel, my guess would be zinc.

The "machined aluminum extrusion" has me scratching my head too. I wonder what you'd machine. The release hole? Anything on the mags look machined to you TMan?

Sounds like a huge difference in the groupings between yours and the one reviewed. Regardless, I'd have to have a good reason to buy a gun that needs MiniMags to work correctly. Might as well shoot .22WMR for that price.

[TMan]

It is difficult to have a steel slide because of the weight. Don't forget that these aren't very powerful rounds that are driving the action. It reminds me of the Hi-Power with their monster of a slide in order to have blowback action with a 9mm Luger round.

It comes with two springs: one for SV and one for HV. Therefore, you shouldn't need to shoot mini-mags through it. My PPK will only function with the mini-mags. As I've mentioned before, I did put 400 rounds through it without a failure. Whereas with other ammo I couldn't get through a 10 rounds magazine without a failure.

One thing I do like about the pistol is the weight of it. That has always soured me on the Kimber 1911. It just doesn't feel right. Becky likes it though, so I won't get rid of it.

[MLB]

Mar 8, 2010 12:39:08 GMT -5 TMan said:

... It reminds me of the Hi-Power with their monster of a slide in order to have blowback action with a 9mm Luger round.

I'm confused. (about the Browning, not the light slide required on a .22 blowback.)

Mar 8, 2010 12:39:08 GMT -5 TMan said:

... so I won't get rid of it.

I don't recall you ever parting with a firearm. You must have a basement full of them by now. ;D

[TMan]

I'm confused. (about the Browning, not the light slide required on a .22 blowback.)

Like my daughter told me when I said: "I'm getting old." She replied: "No you aren't Dad - you already are old."

At least I got the first two letters right. Make that "Hi-Point" not "Hi-Power".

As to the allegations of me having a basement full of guns. I don't have any guns in my basement. Years ago, before the total enlightning, I moved to Georgia. One of the things I told my wife, and the real estate agent, was that I wanted a house with a basement. She found me one where the house was built into the side of a hill. So the house was 3 stories in the back and two stories in the front. After the divorce we sold the house and my ex-wife bought another house - built into the side of a hill and with a basement. Only time that woman ever listened to me.

When I moved to Texas, I told the real estate agent: "I want a house that has a basement." She replied: "They don't make them that way here in Texas." I replied: "Surely they do if you have one built into a hill." She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face and said: "Hill? What is a hill?"

Getting back to the M22: last night I tried bending the slide stop lever up a little, it contacted the bottom of the block that holds the firing pin. (Don't know what to call that block - bolt?). Anyhow, I had to restore it to where it was originally (plastic hammers are wonderful tools).

{Jesse "the body" Ventura, former professional wrestler and former Minnesota governor is on Fox and Friends. I was shocked at seeing him. His body is another victim of this thing called gravity - his chest has dropped about two feet}

To make matters worse, the area on the "bolt?" where the lever contacts it, has a slight negative bevel to it.

Another thing I don't like is the absence of a parts explosion. Umarex has an explosion for their "Colt" M4/AR-15, which when you look at all the parts, strikes the fear of God in you. Don't get anywhere near the inners with a tool - this thing is complex.

I'm faced with jumping into this thing blindly in order to remove the lever and file some material off the top of it in order to get the lever to raise higher, or sending it back to them. No need to tell me. I know what the smart thing would be. Hey, maybe I'm not stupid because I always know what the smart thing would be, I just don't do it. Maybe my friends (both of them) are right - I'm just an a$$-hole.

[MLB]

I had no intent to pry (with the basement comment) TMan, feel free to ignore me totally should (when) the need arise(s).

A .22 blowback handgun can't be all that complicated. Especially for someone who has taken apart more handguns than the average person has handled. I'd think that with the liberal use of a digital camera at strategic reference points, you should be able to deconstruct the little plinker with vigor.

[TMan]

MLB, you weren't prying!!!

Well, I just got back from the range after finding out that I did a real Bubba job on this pistol. It wouldn't eject. However, if I operated the slide manually, then it ejected just fine. The lever is definitely sliding on the bottom of the bolt.

I then switched to the lighter spring, and went to even stronger HV ammo. After 30 rounds, it started working quite well, and Ed put 20 rounds through it without a failure. Of course the slide still goes forward when you release the magazine. I could probably live with that if I was getting accuracy out of the gun.

I just found an explosion: www.issc-handels-gmbh.at/download/CG_englisch_16.06.pdf

Another problem is that it is difficult to manually lock the slide open. I could remove some of the material from the top of the slide stop lever, but although that would fix the manual lock open problem, I doubt if the empty magazine would make it rise up higher. This seems like a real design problem. I've sent an e-mail to ISSC here in the US and see what they say. It may end up going back to them.

[TMan]

Here I am replying to my above reply. Wonder how long it will be before I start talking to myself.

Anyhow, I heard back from them and they want the gun back. Here is their exact reply:

Please do not try to fix the problem yourself. It is a simple fix, involving changing the insertion of the slide stop lever, but we really need to do it for you under our warranty rules. The good news is that we pay shipping both ways (although the gun has to be shipped both ways to a licensed FFL) and we do the turnaround very quickly, usually in 2-3 days at the most. So please send us back your home address and we will get a shipping label out to you right away. Thanks.

Apparently they have heard of my reputation and don't want me working on it myself. ;D The FFL's in this area charge $35 each way, but Becky will do it without a charge so I can't complain too much. They do it on the cheap via USPS vs UPS, which is why you have to go through a FFL.

[TMan]

It's back!!! Sort of like the red-tip photinia (cut the sucker down because of 1)tired of listening to wife complain about it being so tall, 2)snow damage). Now from the stump arises new growth.

Anyhow, time passing on and no gun, I e-mailed them and they quickly replied stating that the gun was done, but the FFL that mailed the gun to them had not included a copy of their FFL. I then e-mailed a copy to them and they promptly sent out the repaired pistol.

When I picked it up, I was showing it to a customer, who noticed that there wasn't a front sight. That makes it difficult to focus on the front sight when there isn't one. When I got home, I removed the foam from the case and the sight was underneath the foam.

I mentioned this in an e-mail and got a response that they don't glue the front sight. You are expected to find the one (they ship 3 different ones) that works best for you and glue it to the gun. I guess I missed that in the instructions.

At this point, I'm not sure if I would recommend this gun or not. Although their turn-around time was great (unlike the 4 months from S&W for the PPK/s), they did make me go through a FFL to mail the gun back to them. Henry didn't do that on the Survivor rifle, which cost less than half what the ISSC cost.

It is a cute little 22, and I suspect it is better than the Mosquito, but time will tell - if I ever get enough time to really test it. Mayber I will because I'm opening the range at 8AM instead of 9AM now that the weather is warmer, but not many people show up.

Anyhow with the customer service that ISSC USA is providing, I wish them luck with the product and I hope they are successful.