Monday, March 25, 2013

Disappointing.

Linoge had a less-than-stellar impression of the USFA ZiP .22LR.

I guess I've been fortunate in the guns I've reviewed. None have blown up on me - heck, not even an unplanned disassembly. The worst I've had is a pistol that wouldn't take down properly (S&W M&P9 compact, and Smith & Wesson handled it fantastically - they sent a shipping label so I could ship it from my house and had it returned, fixed perfectly, in two weeks). Linoge actually had a firearm go 'splodey on him. Fortunately, it was a .22LR so he wasn't hurt, but his interaction with the company left a lot to be desired.

Go, read, and decide for yourself whether the response from the company was fair or not.

That is all.


Posted by at
Labels:

6 comments:

Dave H said...

Whether it's fair or not is open to discussion, and I can see both sides of it. But as a product design engineer, I want to see EVERY unit that failed in the field in the first year (or more) after introduction. If there is indeed a design flaw, my company is facing death by a thousand product liability lawsuits. If there isn't a flaw, we still need to be able to explain to the customer (and any potential customers he may influence - for a blogger this is substantial) what happened, why it happened, and how to not let it happen again.

Do other guns allow the striker and firing pin to operate with the bolt out of battery? I'm not a firearm designer but that seems like a bad idea to me.

March 25, 2013 at 1:29 PM
Anonymous said...

I see someone studied at the "It's not Defect, is a Benefit!" school of marketing.


Gerry

March 25, 2013 at 2:49 PM
Linoge said...

Dave - I have been unable to replicate the results of my "fingertip experiment" with any other semi-automatic firearm I own (Walther PPS, TT-33, CZ-52, Baby Eagle, 10/22, AR-15, and M1A). The reaction I have received from gunsmiths when discussing those results seem to indicate firearms Should Not Do That (TM).

March 25, 2013 at 4:47 PM
Dave H said...

Linoge: That's what I thought, but I wondered if someone knew of an exception. (You can add Sig P238, Ruger LC9, S&W MP40c, and Hi-Point JCP 40 to the list of "do what they outghta.")

From the photos you posted, I wondered if it wasn't even the firing pin that lit off that round. It looked a bit like the bolt face itself slammed the base of the canted cartridge and dented it enough to ignite it.

March 25, 2013 at 6:10 PM
Linoge said...

In both events that appear to be out-of-battery discharges, I distinctly remember pulling the trigger, which would seem to preclude a slamfire (I was not shooting that quickly, and would have noticed if a round went off prematurely). Likewise, the entirety of the bolt is polymer, and I wonder if it could actually manage to set off a round.

March 25, 2013 at 6:45 PM
Dave H said...

Ah, I didn't realize the bolt is polymer. I think you're correct then, they were most likely out-of-battery discharges.

March 25, 2013 at 9:29 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)