The "Sig Sauer Max thingy" may look 'good' in the ad., but believe me it isn't! Cheap looking, child's toy-like 'nickel' finish; flimsy plastic, stick mag that sometimes auto-ejects with just the inadvertent brush of a finger; ultra thin plastic grips that ping off too readily; non-field strippable if you get a jam and the one I tried was probably THE most inaccurate of any blow-back BB pistol I've shot. I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture.......
The early castings suffered from zinc pest, but this has been overcome by developing new alloys. Some early Schimel air pistols have had a problem with degradation, but I have not seen it in any of the ones I have worked on which are over 50 years old. Lawrie Amatruda who has worked on over 100 of these has come across it. Zamak name was changed to Mazak in UK using Morris Ashby's initial when he got the rights to manufacture it here. What I was trying to indicate that I have worked on hundreds of air pistols and had a lot that are rusted solid (especially Webleys) through lack of care. On the other hand I have had air pistols like the Smith and Wesson 78G and 79G that have been neglected for years in a shed and they are like new. I am now fed up with this thread so will not be commenting again.
Baz
Two old Schimels nearly my age (I'm 72) in better condition than me.....https://i.imgur.com/nwYKI1o.jpg
Last edited by Benelli B76; 18-08-2018 at 06:44 AM.
BE AN INDEPENDENT THINKER, DON'T FOLLOW THE CROWD
I have one of these which is very good and robust reliable and blowback works great the only thing that lets it down is the matt finish which might be accurate for wartime issued weapons . I had one of the umarex pellet versions with the 8 shot revolver magazine it looked very nice but the grip safety broke so I took it back where I bought it and swapped it for the umarex beretta ie the one the us forces replaced the colt 1911 with.
I got the Umarex A1 Government pellet firer in the end and I'm very happy with it. The blowback models are fun to shoot but I am currently wresting with which calibre powder burner to get (.22lr cheap to run, 9mm faster with reasonable ammo costs, .45 acp cos its short, fat and slow, just like me) so the recoil isn't as important in the co2 one.
Better to admit you walked through the wrong door than spend your life in the wrong room
I have ordered one of the above from mays of London they are supposed to be very good according to the reviews etc I own a Remington rac 1911 4.5mm steel bb which is as you say very loose and the finish is poor it is quite powerfull though.I will let you know when I get it.