Through the sheer grace of coincidence, I managed to acquire the only two roller-locking handguns in existence (I think?), within the span of about 2 weeks. I saw the CZ-52 at a pawn shop for $250. I saw the HK P9S on Armslist for... more than that.
So... Merry Christmas me.
To be clear, the CZ-52 is roller locked and the HK P9S is roller delayed. In most respects, they're nothing alike. Other than fact they both have rollers and they're both neat. And that gives me an excuse to make a thread on PF about both of them.
HK P9S
Damn. This thing can shoot. I've heard it described as a "one-hole gun." I see why.
The accuracy feels very direct. Very intuitive. Like there's less of a "proxy" between your point of aim and your point of impact. And I suppose that makes sense--the P9S uses a fixed barrel. But unlike a straight blowback gun, the P9S has a telescoping bolt/breech face with little rollers on it... which lock into little nooks on a trunnion that extends back from the rear-end of the barrel. So, the rollers slow down the cycle and that helps keeps the pressure contained... while also making every shot feel silky smooth. You can see the little half-moon "nooks" there in the center of all that metallic complexity--that's where the rollers live, when in battery.
The single-action trigger is also fantastic. Very light. Very crisp. Even shooting fairly fast, I was holding tight patterns on the target. I put 150 rounds through it. 100% reliable. 100% accurate AF and fun to shoot.
Interestingly, some digging on HKPro revealed that this was one of the Malaysian police imports that (I guess) came in through Centerfire Systems in the last few years. But it's been completely overhauled. Refinished. Buffer replaced. Small parts/springs replaced. New trigger guard. There's no serial number on the barrel or the slide. They may not even be original to the gun. But hey... the thing can freakin' shoot. So who cares.
CZ-52
This poor thing was a sight for sore eyes. Rust. Holster wear. Barely any of its original 1950s phosphate finish left. But I've always thought the lines and the proportions of the CZ-52 were gorgeous. And for the price... what the hell.
I cleaned it up and replaced the recoil spring before shooting. I put 100 rounds through it. Mag dumped as fast as I could pull the trigger. It fired, fed, extracted and locked back every time. And the thing is... so much fun to shoot. You get a big blast from the 7.62x25 round. But hardly any recoil. In a way, it's the exact opposite of the P9S--you feel very insulated from the shot. And the recoil impulse. So you just want to keep blasting away... and, in my case, hit absolutely nothing.
Unlike the P9s, the CZ-52 is a locked-breech pistol. In a way, the rollers kinda perform the same roll (ha!) as the locking block in a Beretta 92. In battery, they lock into recesses in the slide, then they get pushed out of those recesses (inward) to unlock the slide from the barrel. It feels somewhat like a Beretta 92, I guess? You get a very relaxed, very "attenuated" recoil impulse.
I'd get some decent accuracy for a few shots with the thing... then I'd start getting flyers. The bore has some light pitting here and there, but the rifling is still clear and sharp. I think it can probably shoot better than I was shooting it. Plus, after a certain point, I just started blasting to see if the thing could handle rapid fire. It did.
Anyway... fun times. Figured some of you guys might enjoy these blasts from the past. I think both guns are fascinating from an engineering standpoint. In fact, you might say... I like how they roll.
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Originally Posted by MattyD380
