Any experience with Morini CM22 or Matchguns MG2?

[Scepter]

Hello everyone,
Does anyone have any experience shooting these guns or has a reliable third party information (friends, shooters at the range, test/reviews, etc) regarding them?
I am going to buy a pistol for standard shooting comp and I need to choose between these 2 and in the case of CM also between alu and steel version.
Unfortunately I don't have an access to them to try shooting or holding. I know I cannot go wrong with either, but I'd like to hear any particular things about them that you may have to say. All the opnions are very welcomed and much appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Sergio

[deleted1]

I owned one of the first imported into the states and I was very impressed with (a) Trigger, (b) grips and the adjustments, (c) the sights, (d) the hold, (e) recoil control---I really liked the gun and thought it was a keeper after a (1) Baikal, (2) Hammerli 208s, (3) Unique DES 69U---I started shooting the gun and began experiencing severe jams that required the barrel removal in order to clear. A dialogue began between myself, Don Nygord and Morini---which ended in my returning the gun for a refund. In all fariness the fault lay with the tubular magazine, in that the cartrdige catch was not beefy enough and allowed rounds to pour into the gun jamming the interior. In all fairness, I have been informed that this problem has been addressed with modifications to the magazine and the gun now performs "flawlessly." If I didn't love my Pardini SP & HP, and felt the need for another Standard Pistol I would get another MG2 tomorrow.

[ab]

If you are going to use the pistol for standard match I would not get the morini alu. In some ways I like my pardini more. The morini has a very low sight line which takes some geting use to. The morini grips are very thin between the thumb & forefinger. I also overtightened the stud that holds the grip on, it breaks very easy. The sights are perfect, it shoots one hole groups at 25 mts. Mine wheighs 1213 grams, so they are quite heavy, but not really front heavy.

[Pradeep]

Definitely try the FWB AW93 if you can as well, the balance is very nice.

[Scepter]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I have shot AW93 for a year by now and while having achieved some progress with it I feel it is not the right gun for me. I have certain criticisms and prefer to keep looking until I find something that suits me better.

[Fjodor]

[quote="Scepter"]Hello everyone,
Does anyone have any experience shooting these guns or has a reliable third party information (friends, shooters at the range, test/reviews, etc) regarding them?
I am going to buy a pistol for standard shooting comp and I need to choose between these 2 and in the case of CM also between alu and steel version.
Unfortunately I don't have an access to them to try shooting or holding. I know I cannot go wrong with either, but I'd like to hear any particular things about them that you may have to say. All the opnions are very welcomed and much appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Sergio[/quote]

Yes, I have relatively long experience with the CM22 (steel version) and the CM32. My .22 is in the low serial number range. It is an ingenious gun, involving some enginering solutions seldome seen.
On the positive side the gun has attractive looks. The balance is very front heavy, which is probably beneficial for rapid fire. The trigger unit is nice, with full adjustability and with adjustment locking screws. Good!

The sights are nice, but with unsufficient lelevation adjustability. Is you are using a low hold on the target, then you will have to grind the front blade down guite a bit. With the CM .32 this is worse even.

Well, Scepter. you have experienced jams, you said. Well, you are not alone in that respect. The reliability of functioning av the CM22 is not satisfactory. Part of the problem was related to the magazine followers. These were exchanged with plastic followers with a slightly different feeding angle. The functioning improved, but was still not reliable. The gun has a tendency to only half-cycle, then it will put the fired enty back into the chamber. This does happen with different brands of ammo, both mild target ammo and standard velocity ammo.
This is a pity, because this gun would be a very nice one, with the sight and functioning flaws corrected.
It seems to me that this guns are still prototypes, that need thorough tuning before they come of age.
Does anybody else have experiences with this gun? Please bring your information.

Regards,

Fjodor

[Tony]

I just bought an MG2 and have been shooting it everyday for a week now. It does shoot well and I have had a few misfires from the ammo or dirty chamber. Great trigger and recoil. The grip takes a littl getting used to. All in all I am very happy with it.

Tony

[Guest]

I owned one of the first imported into the states and I was very impressed with (a) Trigger, (b) grips and the adjustments, (c) the sights, (d) the hold, (e) recoil control---I really liked the gun and thought it was a keeper after a (1) Baikal, (2) Hammerli 208s, (3) Unique DES 69U---I started shooting the gun and began experiencing severe jams that required the barrel removal in order to clear. A dialogue began between myself, Don Nygord and Morini---which ended in my returning the gun for a refund. In all fariness the fault lay with the tubular magazine, in that the cartrdige catch was not beefy enough and allowed rounds to pour into the gun jamming the interior. In all fairness, I have been informed that this problem has been addressed with modifications to the magazine and the gun now performs "flawlessly." If I didn't love my Pardini SP & HP, and felt the need for another Standard Pistol I would get another MG2 tomorrow.

This is an answer to the letter from Bob Riegl, dated Mars 6.

There is obviously a slight confusion here. Morini does not make a model named MG2. But Matchguns do. Morini and Matchguns are not quite the same.
The Morini CM 22 does not have a tubular magazine, it has a short single column magazine. But Morini made a gun with a tubular magazine some years back. It never became a winner.

Regards.

[scausi]

I owned one of the first imported into the states and I was very impressed with (a) Trigger, (b) grips and the adjustments, (c) the sights, (d) the hold, (e) recoil control---I really liked the gun and thought it was a keeper after a (1) Baikal, (2) Hammerli 208s, (3) Unique DES 69U---I started shooting the gun and began experiencing severe jams that required the barrel removal in order to clear. A dialogue began between myself, Don Nygord and Morini---which ended in my returning the gun for a refund. In all fariness the fault lay with the tubular magazine, in that the cartrdige catch was not beefy enough and allowed rounds to pour into the gun jamming the interior. In all fairness, I have been informed that this problem has been addressed with modifications to the magazine and the gun now performs "flawlessly." If I didn't love my Pardini SP & HP, and felt the need for another Standard Pistol I would get another MG2 tomorrow.

This is an answer to the letter from Bob Riegl, dated Mars 6.

There is obviously a slight confusion here. Morini does not make a model named MG2. But Matchguns do. Morini and Matchguns are not quite the same.
The Morini CM 22 does not have a tubular magazine, it has a short single column magazine. But Morini made a gun with a tubular magazine some years back. It never became a winner.

Regards.

The match pistol is desinged & made by Ceaser Morini of Morini fireams try googling it

[ghostrip]

My experience with MG2 has been a positive one. gun shoots well, has low recoil, excellent sights, superb factory support. it can also be order with steel or alu front weight to alter the balance from very light front to very heavy front). cm22 is also a very nice gun. my dentist has one. it is a very light pistol (the all alu version). it's recoil is more noticeable than the mg2. it loses on grip adjust-ability (mg2 is like an air pistol left-right and rake adjustability). both will fire most stuff. you can also try a look at walther SSP.

PS. Also Morini the company and morini the man are not the same thing. At some point Cesare morini left the company morini and went to work with SAM. He also left SAM and went to Matchguns.

[David Levene]

The match pistol is desinged & made by Ceaser Morini of Morini fireams try googling it

Cesare Morini left Morini Competition Arms in 1995.

He was never involved in the CM22.

[Spencer]

let's get this straightened out:
- Matchguns S.r.l. (i.e. Cesare Morini) makes the MG2 in Italy
- Morini Competition Arm S.A. makes the CM22M in Switzerland

Morini (the man) used to be part of Morini Competition Arms (the company).

[Spencer]

Part 2

I have seen very few problems with the CM22M variants - I cannot say the same about the MG2 pistols.

CM22M:
- I know of some broken ejectors (mine is still OK after more than 3 cases (15000+) rounds)
- magazine lips are softish metal and can be bent if mishandled
- the Torx screw that holds the upper to the frame can (will) work loose if not properly tightened. I use my AHG torque wrench set at 3Nn and have no problems.
- if you are of light frame, maybe the 'Alu' version: I have the 'steel' for my beloved Rapid Fire Pistol event.
Other than that, enjoy!

[Ernie Rodriguez]

I have both the CM22M RF and the Matchgun MG2 and they are both very reliable and accurate. Initially the MG2 had some teething problems but Matchgun company sent me a new bbl/slide assy and it works flawlessly now.The CM22M is a steel unit and is less than two years old.Cheers.

[paw080]

Hi Sergio, I bought a Morini 22CM RF about 8 months ago; and I have been shooting

Club monthly Bullseye matches with it since the end of December. It has run every

22LR ammunition flawlessly, that I've thrown at it. NRA Bullseye is a lot like the

ISSF Standard Pistol event. The Morini is more than accurate enough for the event;

I've even enjoyed several 95-98 rapid fire scores. The recoil spring is easily adjusted

thanks to Spencer's Morini 22CM RF guide(much better than the Morini manual).

I almost ordered an MG2 from Neal Stepp, but when He mentioned that he had

5 MG2s to send back to the factory for warranty work; I ordered the Morini.

I have a medium size hand, I got the medium grip. I at first, felt that the grip was a bit

small, but now it feels great. Good luck and if you have an easy access to Matchguns,

you cannot go wrong with either choice.

Tony

[TomAmlie]

I bought an MG2 a number of years ago and I love it. It has performed flawlessly, with zero faults.

I bought an MG5 2 years ago, and it has been a grave disappointment. It has never functioned properly, and although Stafano tried to diagnose the problem via email, and we sent parts back and forth a few times, it has amounted to nothing more than an expensive paperweight...it gets no use whatsoever. It makes it especially difficult trying to get things from the US to Europe, but if you've got easier access to service, I would not hesitate at all to buy an MG2. If you have any questions about the ability to get the gun serviced in case of design or manufacturing flaw, I'd steer clear.

[TomAmlie]

To repeat: I love my MG2; sights, trigger, grip adjustment, recoil, etc., etc. You just need to be aware of a risk that you may have some headaches. If I had bought my MG5 first there's no way I would have considered the MG2, and I would have missed out on a great standard pistol.

[brakarzac]

Wife currently owns the Morini CM22RF model, this is her 2nd in 3 years and still gives a lot of problems. Feeding and ejecting problems constantly and now the trigger is messed up. Has been cleaned, inspected and repaired by importer, problems still repeat. She is now changing over to the Hammerli SP20

I owned the MG2 RF last year, brilliant recoil and control, absolute nightmare cleaning and finding ammo to work reliably through the pistol. When it work it was amazing, best ever, but that was only with running Eley Tenex Pistol. Eventually sold and brought a Hammerli SP20, have not had a problem since except a couple shots in 10k rounds.

I would recommend stay away from both and buy the Hammerli!!!

Cheers
Brad

[deadeyedick]

I second Brads suggestion.

[Brian James]

I own an early MG2 and a MG2RFE, the MG2 series of pistols have under gone quite an evolution. The current generation of pistol is quite reliable, but requires more care and attention that your average pistol. However, its brilliant to shoot.

Brian