GSG 5 damage

[Keef]

I have just stripped down the GSG5 that a club member said there were pieces of metal falling out of!

There is a cover on top of the breech block. This was fractured in three places and one of the securing screws has come out. The whole of one front corner was broken off and what appears to be guide rails on each side were broken away.

The rear of the breech block is heavily worn, indented and burred up where it works against the hammer to cock it on rearward movement. That appears to be impact damage from the bolt hitting the hammer.

There is a cross bolt described in the parts list as a locating pin. This appears to work as a bolt stop and it is impact damaged by the bolt hitting it with heavy indentation and burrs set up.

Points to look at when buying or stripping for cleaning.

[flintlok]

That does surprise me at all. I bought an STG 44 from American Tactical, the same folks who distribute the GSG5. The gun is constructed of pot metal forgings. They are durable enough however it are not constructed of steel at all. The guns looks good and it shoots however I wouldn't expect lots of life out of these things. On my gun the steel screws lag into pot metal. The barrel isn't screwed into steel it's fitted into a pot metal lug the "dogged" down into the pot metal receiver by the holding pressure of the receiver screws. I bedded my barrel into place with AccuGel but that's a poor man's fix. The only thing the that steel on the gun is the modified Atchisson device assembly and I would question the quality of steel that was used in its construction. Cosmetically the gun looks nice but that's about it. I wouldn't buy another such product. The Ruger 10 22 is a much better gun and cheaper.

[Deallad]

One of the guys at our club bought one, the barrel is so thin its shocking, the flex in it was quite scary if the flash hider works loose the barrel bends all over the place.

I suggested he sold it and buy a Ruger 1022 he did, now he can hit the target in the centre every time.

Another guy was going to buy a GSG 1911 after looking at the build quality changed his mind

GSG stands fro " GERMAN SHIT GUNS " and nothing else, truly shocking quality.

You also give up the will to live if you try and strip it for cleaning

Mike

[flintlok]

Yup, the barrels are straw thin. I was amazed to see how thin the things were. There's not all that much that went into those guns.

[Deallad]

I measured the one my mate had and was gobsmacked it was about 2mm thick (about a 1/16th of an inch in old money) and to give strength where it goes bang surrounded my die cast monkey metal the type they make children's toys out of. Sadly I did not get to him before he bought it

I cringe when members say they like them as an armourer you cannot beat a nice bit of thick steel for your barrel,

I always say buy a Ruger 1022 and i'll turn it into almost anything you want and when you get bored i'll turn it into something else.

Mike

[Yessir]

Pieces of pot metal junk . I could understand why people went for them when they first came out though as they seemed pretty cool at the time.

[Keef]

Some pictures of the damage:

Breech block cover fractured across corner. Note also the beat damage to the front of the bolt nearest camera.:



Screw hole damage on cover:



Broken guides on cover:



Breech block damage caused by striking hammer on cocking:



Damage to bolt buffer:

[leadpig]

common problem, the original screws are utter shite and come loose, the bolt assembly then smashes itself to pieces
you can get aftermarket bolt kits for them and i did, this stopped that problem, but mine has suddenly decided to stop feeding

[Deallad]

Thanks for posting the photos Keef,

I put a note in the club that they will be checked prior to being fired, it just might stop someone getting injured or killed by the dam things.

Regards
Mike

[leadpig]

these work
http://rrages.com/screws/net.htm

[Fenrir]

I've had one for a few years, pretty much since they first came out and I have to say it has been pretty good for what it is. With the right ammo (greasy) it has been reliable and as accurate as you could expect for what it is. It is an absolute pig to strip and clean so for the most part it has been blasted with carb cleaner when it has got too gunked up to feed properly. Which is usually good enough for another five hundred rounds or so.

Would I get another one? - No

Do I regret buying it? - No

I have put thousands of rounds through it and had a huge amount of fun whilst doing so.

[leadpig]

I've had one for a few years, pretty much since they first came out and I have to say it has been pretty good for what it is. With the right ammo (greasy) it has been reliable and as accurate as you could expect for what it is. It is an absolute pig to strip and clean so for the most part it has been blasted with carb cleaner when it has got too gunked up to feed properly. Which is usually good enough for another five hundred rounds or so.

Would I get another one? - No

Do I regret buying it? - No

I have put thousands of rounds through it and had a huge amount of fun whilst doing so.

i agree my mrs put 300+straight through mine on a few occasions and i shot shed loads through it, but it seems there is a time when they simply have had enough,mine will no longer feed properly even though everything seems fine, its back at the rfd/gunsmith again, if it wont play ball again it will be sold for parts
did i enjoy it, hell yes
would i buy another, NO

[Keef]

I've just contacted the new distributor and they will not have any spares for six weeks plus.

Does anyone know who the previous importers were?

[1in9]

The distributor used be The Tunnel, not sure if that has changed?

http://www.thetunnel.co.uk/

I believe they will do parts direct though, worth tapping them up service@germansportguns.de

[Keef]

The importer is now Edgar Brothers but as yet they have no spares.

I have sourced some spares from York Guns however.