Matchguns MG2 setup

Tycho · Post by **Tycho** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 9:02 am

Matchguns offers factory weights that go into the slide cover. Consists of two metal plates that can be mounted together or individually, and two screws. That's what the two threaded holes on top of the barrel or there for (at least I assume that the new versions have these holes, too, I stopped tracking the evolution at about 30xx). The Matchguns set is about 22 gr in total, if you machine a steel plate that uses every mm of available space, you can get that up to about 26 gr. Good place to put weights, very close to the bore axis, and very close to the chamber.

There are virtually dozens of combinations of weights for the MG2, with at least four different barrel shrouds out there, each of which can be further adapted by adding side plates or steel / tungsten bolts. The old square block weighs in somewhere between the ergal block with brakes and the steel block with brakes, and for normal sport pistol, nobody needs the brakes. To get the most out of the slide brakes, one needs to match slide weight and recoil spring strength anyway. I've got an older prototype of a MG2 with a 2-brake-shroud and a medium-weight slide, that is fantastic to shoot, and has totally different springs than any production MG2 I've ever handled. Also remember that slide weights are radically different between earlier versions and the newest RF slide, which also plays into the weight / balance question.

jbshooter · Post by **jbshooter** » Sun Nov 16, 2014 2:01 pm

So the sliding rods are slide brakes are they. I thought they were designed as pushback mass for the recoil to react against and that they would still be retracted in their housing after recoil before the slide slammed home again. A time-lapse movie of this would be interesting to see.

PFribley · Post by **PFribley** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:50 am

Conradin. Who did you go thru to get your mg2 here in the states???

paulNZ · Post by **paulNZ** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:58 pm

PFribley wrote:Conradin. Who did you go thru to get your mg2 here in the states???

With 300m people and the biggest firearms market in the world it's difficult to understand why there isn't a stable supply/service chain for these pistols in the states.

sobakavitch · Post by **sobakavitch** » Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:23 pm

. . . .

deadeyedick · Post by **deadeyedick** » Sun Nov 23, 2014 9:09 pm

With 300m people and the biggest firearms market in the world it's difficult to understand why there isn't a stable supply/service chain for these pistols in

This would certainly appear to be an opportunity missed.

ghostrip · Post by **ghostrip** » Mon Nov 24, 2014 8:22 am

i tend to agree with sobakavitch. precision pistol shooters are the minority and not in the usa only. at my country we have much more shooters that are not in to precision. they just get a glock or 1911 and go to small ranges (basically a field or pit) for practicing. 10m/50m require much more work (right now we only have only two operational 50m ranges. one at athens and one at the island of crete).

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 7:47 pm

OK, I finally got mine today, and spent 3 hours testing the most basic function.
Counter weight wise I don't think I will ever be able to answer you since in Northern California ranges seldom allow RFP to be shot. I bought this pistol more for fun and also for the electronic trigger. Unless the few NorCal RFP shooters (John Bickar, are you reading this?) willing to do a test, I don't think anyone will be able to give you an answer.

To be honest while the design was really cool and unusual, and works well, it was a bit of a disappointment. The pistol is NIB so while it is not dialed in at all, on the other hand certainly is not illegally set up such as trigger weight. The electronic trigger did its job, crisp, but unfortunately nowhere near as crisp as a Pardini mechanical. As for electronic comparison, off my three other electronic arms (plus others that I used to try), there was also no comparison. The best electronic trigger I have is my Armbrust, but the Morini is not that far away. My love of electronic trigger is that I hope the feel of crisp is an advantage over the extremely complex feel of mechanical linkage (trigger finger > multiple sears>main spring...fire). For mechanical while you really feel every part during the process of firing, any slight change you will also feel it but you may not be able to pinpoint where. Electronic? In Morini's case, for example, the feel ends at the solenoid. The MG2E RF ...is the only one that I cannot even FEEL the solenoid clear. The feeling is more like plastic to plastic. That really defeats my personal preference. I prefer the feel of metal to metal, including solenoid.

The other reason for electronic is dry fire. The advantage is supposedly you still need to "rack" the Pardini with the dry fire plug in order to dry fire, while the MG you don't have to. Like a Winzeler you just keep pulling the trigger, as fast as you like. The only usefulness is that it only help you concentrate on the trigger pulling and ignore other stuff (or be lazy). But the most important part is that it helps you to get used to the "unnatural".."no clear solenoid" feel when you shoot the pistol for real If you really like that feel, this pistol is for you.

I will start testing ammo when I have time. I will write another report. I don't have enough skills to do groupings to report anything useful, but perhaps using different brands of ammo to compare will be a good test. If any of you locally can send me a box of RWS R-50 that would be good. Eley and Lapua I have it covered. Today I tested CCI. I cannot give it a review until I start to shoot other stuff.

Finally, unlike Pardini or other guns, you absolutely must read the manual and understand the MG2E well before you do anything. The manual is not that great, so you will need to do some self-exploration. Try to NOT read the English part of the manual, it will just confuse you more. Youtube can be of great help, especially if you are fluent in Russian.

I believe I am the only person that owns a MG2E RF in the USA. If I am not, please PM, I need tips! This is because I got it from Neal, and he was the only importer known to have bring MG into the US. You do have to convince him and offer him a lot if you want him to import you one NOW. It is a lot of headache for any potential importer based in the USA to deal with MG. I have the suspicion that the medicine for migraine is costlier than the money you will pay him.

Leon · Post by **Leon** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 10:35 pm

"I believe I am the only person that owns a MG2E RF in the USA."
Very brave ( or foolish ) of you. Sort of thing I would do.

Good luck with it and hope it goes well for you....

sobakavitch · Post by **sobakavitch** » Sat Nov 29, 2014 11:54 pm

. . . .

deadeyedick · Post by **deadeyedick** » Sun Nov 30, 2014 12:17 am

The problem has nothing to do with it being difficult dealing with Matchguns. Stefano Calzetti at Matchguns wil go out of his way to satisfy any MG owners needs.
The problem exists in the fact that since 911 moving firearms or pertain parts from ( or in some cases within Europe ) require export and import permits.
The current generation of Matchguns are in my opinion the Lamborghini's of the pistol world, however having an Importer that is dedicated to supporting every pistol he/she sells is imperative. As I said in an earlier reply we are fortunate to have that very situation here in Australia.

jbshooter · Post by **jbshooter** » Sun Nov 30, 2014 1:55 am

I enjoy shooting both my MG2 and MG4.
I have just fitted both with new Rink grips with 7 degree offset. Wish I'd bought them in the first place, don't need putty anymore to steer the gun.

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 11:55 am

sobakavitch wrote:Why is it difficult dealing with Neal in dealing with Match Guns?

Neal is super, he did everything right and beyond!!.
It is just that to deal with Match Guns as an importer since Neal needs to deal with Gehmann from Germany as MG has the wisdom to denote Gehmann as their exporter to the USA. Neal did not explain why, but he did express it was a headache to deal with Gehmann about MG. Remember importing firearms into the USA can be a very complicated process.

The migraine medicine is about what Neal himself will need if he has to import another MG again. I am implying that Neal will not deal with MG anymore. I should be clearer.

You may as well import it yourself...

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Mon Dec 01, 2014 11:59 am

When I mean I believe I am the ONLY person who owns a MG2E RF, I means MG2E RF. Maybe there are people who have MG2, MG2E, MG2 RF MG4 MG5 etc.

M Owens · Post by **M Owens** » Thu Dec 04, 2014 2:33 am

I just imported two Matchguns; MG2 RF& MG2E RF on my FFL for personal use not for sale as I don't have an importers FFL. It took me a year to get them because of a clerical error but it would probably take 6 months to import one. The excise tax and shipping added a considerable amount to the price of the pistols. It was a lot of work to import these but Matchguns were great in the process and I know Stephano would go out of his way to help any owner. I may in the future get an importers license and import a few Match Guns for sale.

Thank you for your time,
Matt Owens
Owens Ordnance

deadeyedick · Post by **deadeyedick** » Thu Dec 04, 2014 7:07 pm

Nice pistols Matt ! Congratulations.

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:31 am

M Owens wrote:I just imported two Matchguns; MG2 RF& MG2E RF on my FFL for personal use not for sale as I don't have an importers FFL. It took me a year to get them because of a clerical error but it would probably take 6 months to import one. The excise tax and shipping added a considerable amount to the price of the pistols. It was a lot of work to import these but Matchguns were great in the process and I know Stephano would go out of his way to help any owner. I may in the future get an importers license and import a few Match Guns for sale.

Thank you for your time,
Matt Owens
Owens Ordnance

Matt, what are the items that are placed in the upper left slot in the box? BTW, my MG indeed lacks a full cleaning rod, so Stefano is going to send me one.

When I received mine, everything is placed in the lower left slot. The screwdriver, wrenches, and the cleaning rod. I could not figure out why there is a upper left slot that is empty.

Congrats. Let me know how the pistol do using CCI.. That is the ammo I have been using, the gilt version. Contrary to my other postings, I do not always use the highest grade ammo, as people think I do.

deadeyedick · Post by **deadeyedick** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:59 am

Matt, what are the items that are placed in the upper left slot in the box? BTW, my MG indeed lacks a full cleaning rod, so Stefano is going to send me one.

When I received mine, everything is placed in the lower left slot. The screwdriver, wrenches, and the cleaning rod. I could not figure out why there is a upper left slot that is empty.

These guns are inspected by customs at various points and what started out in a particular cutout may not be in the same place at the end of its journey. Also I t is not unusual for bits and pieces to go missing during its transit from point A to point B.

My pistol will cycle on CCI however due to the different specifications between European and U.S. ammunition I find it works more reliably with something like Eley Club.
Also the tubular magazines were lengthened internally recently to allow for the longer OAL length of US ammunition. Being placed end for end the OAL added up after five rounds had been inserted and the new mags comfortably accommodate the U.S. rim fire.

M Owens · Post by **M Owens** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:09 pm

I have not shot them much maybe 200 rounds each with eley edge just received them mid november orderred them last november. The mg2e rf came with a allen wrench set, screwdriver, 2 soft springs, 2 magazines, and a battery and cleaning kit. The mg2 rf came with 2 extra allen wrenches and no battery otherwise everything is the same. I am working on making a fastfire mount for them right now and you can see the prototype on the pics of the MG2E RF, the final version will be more refined. Here are some more pics.

Thank you for your time,
Matt Owens
Owens Ordnance

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:40 pm

M Owens wrote:I have not shot them much maybe 200 rounds each with eley edge just received them mid november orderred them last november. The mg2e rf came with a allen wrench set, screwdriver, 2 soft springs, 2 magazines, and a battery and cleaning kit. The mg2 rf came with 2 extra allen wrenches and no battery otherwise everything is the same. I am working on making a fastfire mount for them right now and you can see the prototype on the pics of the MG2E RF, the final version will be more refined. Here are some more pics.

Thank you for your time,
Matt Owens
Owens Ordnance

Crap, I am missing the soft spring then. Another email to Stefano is now warranted... :(

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