Mg2

[Aetherpulse]

Where would I go if I was interested in a Matchguns MG2? I can't seem to find anything anywhere.

Baron Swodeck

[Gwhite]

Where would I go if I was interested in a Matchguns MG2? I can't seem to find anything anywhere.

Baron Swodeck

What country are you in?

[Aetherpulse]

USA

[Gwhite]

Contact email is: Kang Chua <MatchGunsUSA@hotmail.com>

[Aetherpulse]

Thanks so much!

[Ramon OP]

Slow mo shot https://youtu.be/ZvMrdq6DZ-M

I was just shooting by one a couple days ago. The owner complained about the charging system because it is too easy to press the part that discharges the rounds and sends them flying. He had a couple issues with shots not firing, maybe linked to the dry fire mechanism. He said that it is a pretty gun but that he would not buy it after his experience.

[Aetherpulse]

Funny, I've been researching these and haven't seen an complaints about the magazines. From the videos and forums it seems to be no more or less problematic than any other high end target pistol.

Is there something I don't know?

Baron

[Gwhite]

Between my wife & I, we have 3. All told we've probably got 20,000 rounds through them. I have only accidently bumped the release lever on the magazine a couple times & launched rounds. Part of the secret is to get a "speed loader":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdjuTIjqudc

The magazines are carbon fiber, and because they are tubular and sit forward of the breech, they don't get very dirty. I don't recall cleaning mine more than once, and I've never had a malfunction attributable to the magazines.

The MG2's have their quirks, but the magazines aren't a big deal. One issue is that if you forget to disable the dry fire button, the pistol will not fire (no surprise there...). However, you now have to cock the pistol, which it can't do with a loaded round in place. There's a bit of dance you have to go through to clear a loaded round, but it's not overly complicated once you've got the hang of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgK72uW0y7g

[deadeyedick]

The magazines are carbon fiber, and because they are tubular and sit forward of the breech, they don't get very dirty. I don't recall cleaning mine more than once, and I've never had a malfunction attributable to the magazines.

The MG2's have their quirks, but the magazines aren't a big deal. One issue is that if you forget to disable the dry fire button, the pistol will not fire (no surprise there...). However, you now have to cock the pistol, which it can't do with a loaded round in place. There's a bit of dance you have to go through to clear a loaded round, but it's not overly complicated once you've got the hang of it.

[Gwhite]

I've spent a LOT of time playing around with different extractor & ejector configurations, so I've had considerable practice dealing with jams. One additional tip to make like easier:

If you have to clear the pistol, you need to remove the magazine, and then dump out the loose round in the carrier. If you remove the magazine with the pistol held normally (barrel above the action), the loose round can (and usually will) fall bullet first into the trigger mechanism, and can be a pain to get out. However, if you roll the pistol on it's side and tilt the muzzle down slightly, the loose round will slide out just fine.

[deadeyedick]

As GWhite has mentioned there is a learning curve of do’ and don’ts that makes ownership of the MG2 more tolerable. But in nearly all cases it results in a “ love hate “ relationship in which you have to live with the inner demon telling you that it may malfunction on the next shot.

I have owned five MG2’s and one MG4. With the exception of the MG4 all .22’s worked a lot more reliably with weight added to the slide. Why they are not manufactured like this is a mystery.

[kbc]

I have shot GSP and Pardinni SP (New) extensively. Now MG2 is my primary target pistol. I like them all for different reasons. Here is a short description of MG2.

• It has very good balance and not nose heavy. May be this is why it is also forgiving.
• Its grip is thinner and a little longer than Pardini SP grip. Thus it is more suitable for my small but long hand. My hand's length is almost the length of a large hand.
• Its trigger guard provides plenty of space for trigger finger to extend forward.
• It has a more complex mechanism than GSP and SP. So it takes some effort to get acquainted with its operation.
• It needs more frequent cleaning than GSP.
• It is an Italian gun, so it may not be suitable for everyone. Just think of the Italian cars from the 20th century. lol

If you like to know more details, then read the following.

• GSP - When my college shooting coach let me shot his new GSP in the 90s, the new gun "wow" effect made me buy one from him immediately. No transition time in switching from SW Model 41 to GSP. I still like this pistol. It shots all kind of ammo.
• The new gun "wow" effect - When you first shoot a new pistol, you most likely will shoot much better scores in the first few strings than using your old pistol. This effect gradually fades away because you become less conscious on your techniques. I learned this from Erich Buljung.

Years later, I had a bone marrow transplant for treating leukemia. The treatment made me lost some muscle mass that I have not been able to recover back. So GSP started to feel very nose heavy after about 30 slow fire shots. Then I had to switch to cross eye shooting because of cataract in the right eye due to a scleral buckle procedure. I noticed the pistol sight alignment recovery time is a tiny bit longer when shooting cross eye due to several factors (too long to discuss here). So I wondered if changing to Pardini SP (with steel dampers) will help with the nose heavy and the sight recovery time. So I bought a Pardini SP to try.

• Pardini SP - Easy transition from GSP. Grip angle is not an issue since I also shoot 10 meter air pistol. There was still quite a good amount of "wow" effect. Its rear sight is rigidly mounted on to the frame, unlike the GSP. I modified its grip to account for cross eye shooting. But over time, I didn't notice I am shooting better comparing to using the GSP. I don't notice any improvement in sight recovery time either. I like the feel of its trigger as I squeeze it, but the trigger guard is too close to the trigger for me because I have long hands. SP is a beautiful pistol, and also very reliable.
• MG2 - Thanks to the local BE shooters, we were able to made a group purchase of MG2 by sharing the overhead cost. No "wow" effect at all when I shot it the first time. I was actually a little disappointed and wondered if it was a mistake to buy it. Its grip was not comfortable and its recoil characteristic was different from GSP and SP. After shooting it for two to three weeks, at about 3x per week, I started to get use to its grip and recoil. It is very well balance and is not nose heavy. Most importantly, it is very forgiving. Since then it has been my main pistol. I love using it for dry fire because it has a dry fire mode. Its sight recovery time is so good that I can keep all 5 shots in the black (on NRA Standard Pistol 50 ft target) in 4 seconds. I know someone can keep all 5 shots within the 9-ring in 4 second string.
• MG2 vs MG2 EVO - EVO is just a differentiator for pistols made after 2018. The only differences are how the barrel and slide cover attach to the frame. Basically they are the same so the factory still refers the EVO as MG2.
• MG2 Rapid Fire (RF) comes with a counterweight with 6 removable tungsten dampers. Its housing is made of aluminum.
• MG2E has electronic trigger. It makes dry fire much easier because the slide doesn't need to be racked. At the end of the 1st stage, the engaging length (travel between end of 1st stage till the release of the hammer) is about 14 microns. This length is about 70 microns for mechanical trigger, and varies depending on how the release levers are set. The secondary release level in the mechanical trigger needs to change after about 100,000 shots due to frictional wear. Electronic trigger doesn't have this issue. I prefer mechanical trigger, no electronics and battery to worry about.

The above is just my personal experience in shooting MG2, Pardini SP, and Walther GSP. Hopefully it helps provide a better understanding on MG2.

Cheers,
Kang

[B Lafferty]

Try
https://www.newenglandairgun.com/matchgun.html

[Gwhite]

Try
https://www.newenglandairgun.com/matchgun.html

That's strictly their air guns. The MG2 is a .22, and as far as I know, New England Air Gun doesn't sell any firearms.

[B Lafferty]

Try
https://www.newenglandairgun.com/matchgun.html

That's strictly their air guns. The MG2 is a .22, and as far as I know, New England Air Gun doesn't sell any firearms.

Right. I missed that. I will not post here until finishing my second cup of coffee....second cup of coffee....

[Aetherpulse]

I find that at least 3 cups of coffee are necessary for proper integration into the real world...

[B Lafferty]

I find that at least 3 cups of coffee are necessary for proper integration into the real world...

Yes. There are days like that.

[Ricardo]

My most common problem with my Evo is stovepipes, with Eley, Norma-Tac and Aguila ammo; I have yet to try SK, and CCI has been nothing but trouble for me. I saw that comment about adding weight to the slide to make the gun more reliable and wonder if this is related to cycling speed. I was wondering if a lighter or heavier slide spring would slow down the cycling to give the ejected case time to get out before the slide returns to battery. Alternatively, is it worth trying softer-shooting ammo or faster? I'm not mechanically inclined, in case it's not obvious.

[Gwhite]

I would try SK Standard Plus. That is supposedly what the factory uses to test fire the MG2's. I have some old Wolf ammo that was made by SK, and it definitely works best of the ammo I've tried. I've experimented with recoil springs, but it only has a minor effect. The MG2 slide is lighter than any other .22 I know of, but with the right extractor, they should work fine.

I'm still studying the optimum extractor design for these things. I have have examined 3 examples that work flawlessly. And then there's my first MG2... My best guess is that your problem could be fixed by a properly fitted extractor, but just getting a replacement part won't do it. All the ones that work well have been modified by hand at the factory, AND they started with parts that have more metal in some useful places than the replacement extractors I've received.

Based on the latest EVO I have (which works great), the current extractors they are starting with at the factory are "shorter". You definitely want the gap between the back of the extractor tip and the face of the slide to be ~ 0.15mm (0.006"). If the gap is too large (your extractor is too long), you can fix it with a shim in the back, but that requires some fussy mechanical inclination.

I've been doing some experiments. I had extractors that were all virtually identical to the naked eye (all of them require shimming to get the gap small). One worked great for a while, and then started jamming. One was re-ground from an old extractor, and it was even worse. On the third one, I started with a new extractor, and carefully ground and polished it as best I knew how. It worked fine. Even under a microscope, I couldn't see what the critical difference(s) were.

I think I've figured out what is going on, but I need to do some more tests. I've found Aguila to be fussy, and I have lots of it, so I test with that. Even if I can fire my typical 60 round test without a jam, it's important to know how many cases are bouncing out of the pistol by hitting the bevel on the right hand slide rail. I coat that with black marker before each session, and then count the hits under a microscope when I'm done.

I need to go through my notes carefully, reconstruct things in detail and make some drawings, but here's roughly what happened:

I adjusted the angle of the tip on extractor #2 by ONE degree, and went from five jams down to one (in 60 rounds). Another degree, and the jams went away, but I was still seeing that cases were bouncing off the slide rail occasionally. Another degree, and the hits on the slide rail were reduced and moved higher. Another degree, and the impacts on the slide rail vanished.

I have a fourth extractor I hope to test tomorrow that I'm trying the same adjustments to. If that works the same way, then I will write it all up.

[deadeyedick]

Hello GWhite and others having trouble with their MG2’s. I found after exhaustive testing as GWhite is going through that every MG2 I had owned worked flawlessly when I replaced the standard RF minimalist slide with one from the original standard MG2 pistols.
They were much heavier and allowed my pistol to cycle as intended.
My last MG2 was a RF version with electronic trigger and would decide to play up for no known reason whenever it felt the need to have a tantrum.
I first installed the heavy ( and the original pistols had much heavier slides than the standard ones do now ) which cured the problem.
I then added lead to either side of the slide rail on the slim RF slide and found the same good behaviour.
The importers told me that they were aware that the heavier slides performed miracles but Cesare Morini had set his mind on keeping the RF slide as light as possible and would not change. I believe that explains why standard versions rarely gave trouble but the RF version with the extremely light slides were a headache.
Make of this what you want but it corrected my problems in every instance.

Good luck in finding a 2005/6 standard version slide but adding weight ( bringing the slide weight up to about 140 grams I think ) should prove whether this fix may be the right solution for your problem as it was with mine.