Picked up a Hungarian AP-MBP on Aim Surplus.

[LifeInPa]

All I can say is ugh. This is my 8th firearm purchase and this is the first one I really regret making so far. I will list the good before I get into the things I do no like about this pistol. I shot 150 rounds through it yesterday and it had 100% reliability, the recoil is 22LR pistol light, the build quality (With the exception of the frame bluing) is top notch, the frame is made out of some Aluminum/Titanium alloy which means it's tough but won't rust, the barrel is shiny with strong rifling, the safety works great (But I never tried it with a chambered round), I like the feel of it in my hands even though it's a bit small when holding it with two hands and it only cost $200.

Now for the bad: The magazine release is impossible to work one handed, it's placed too far away to thumb it and you have to exert a lot of force on it to release the magazine. The magazine once released does not drop more than a fraction of an inch from the well, it has to be pulled out. The magazine feels really rough going into and coming out of the magazine well. The magazines are hard to reload and on one of the two magazines I got when you load the second or third round the spring gets stuck inside of the frame of the magazine. The front sight post is hard to pick up on, it's barely a tiny numb. The slide also rubbed against the area just after the webbing between my thumb, I looked at it and said this thing looks like it could bite because the beaver tail isn't took long so I carefully held the pistol but I still got a little wear. I don't see it on my skin today though.

Now for the biggest issue, the trigger. I often laugh and call people babies when they complain about the stock trigger on pistols but the trigger is truly horrid on this pistol. Double Action is so bad that it's simply unusable, I kid you not it must be a 25 pound trigger. It takes a lot of strength to pull and the barrel tugs off target when I try. Single Action is better but a lot stiffer than it should be. After shooting 600 rounds through my Romanian Tokerav I really expected a pistol based on a German design to have a trigger at least equal to this but the single action isn't even half as good as my surplus Tokerav.

I shot the pistol yesterday under less than ideal circumstances, sharing a tactical range with guys blasting the range apart with shotguns. So while my overall pistol accuracy was less compared to normal I could barely put shots on paper with this pistol at 10 yards. Surprisingly, my best group was when I shot the pistol single handily as I got a string of four shots about an inch apart. Considering the situation yesterday I am not ready to make final comments on it's accuracy, I think I can shoot it better and get better results when I don't have to worry about guys playing with shotguns shoulder to shoulder with me.

However I have to do something about this trigger and I am going to dab a little white paint on the front sight so I can pick it up better. I am thinking of getting the Wolff hammer spring set for this pistol since it's only $10, they don't make one specifically for the AP-MBP but my research has lead me to believe the AP-MBP and PA-63 can interchange parts, do you PAFOA folks feel the same though? The process of swapping springs should only take 5 minutes so I am going to give it a try. The other thing I would like to know is can I polish the last of the finish off the frame to make it look better? My gunsmith told me he could fix it up for $200 but no way in hell am I going to spend $200 on a $200 pistol. I rather try to polish up the frame on my own, I have a dremel tool but I do not want to make it look worse. I'd also like to know if I can polish the magazine well on this thing so the magazines insert/eject smoothly. While I am at it can I do something about the magazine release so it's not so hard to manipulate?

Also where can I find magazines for this thing? I'd like to get an extra 2-4 depending on the price. In the mean time here are some additional photo's:





Wear on the front of the pistol grip:



Size in comparison to my full sized pistols:

[unclejumbo]

I didn't look but I would imagine there are some tutorials on the internet walking you through some of the things you'd like to change.

I know some pistols aren't designed to have drop free magazines just as some won't fire without a magazine. As for the finish, if it's bothering you that bad, I'd recommend some very fine steel wool and some patience. No quicker way to fuck up metal than a power tool if you aren't sure of what you're doing. I'd consider it part of the character and let it be.

I'd also disassemble the pistol and function test the parts that are unacceptable. Sometimes just watching how they interact with other parts can clue you in to what needs fixed. It may be something as simple as a little metal polish followed by a quality lubricant.

[Asmodeus6]

Kudos for toughing it out and trying something off the beaten path but...

If I wanted something cheap to play with it would have been one of those tp9's or an eaa witness or something. It sounds like you ended up with a handful of historical suck.

As for the spring, not sure, but what's $10 when you've already sunk $200 in the ter-let. Wolff makes springs for hundreds of guns. I'm sure they make things for other guns you own. I'd grab some other stuff while you're on there, and if it works, it works. If not, well you got your other stuff.

[LifeInPa]

I didn't look but I would imagine there are some tutorials on the internet walking you through some of the things you'd like to change.

I know some pistols aren't designed to have drop free magazines just as some won't fire without a magazine. As for the finish, if it's bothering you that bad, I'd recommend some very fine steel wool and some patience. No quicker way to fuck up metal than a power tool if you aren't sure of what you're doing. I'd consider it part of the character and let it be.

I'd also disassemble the pistol and function test the parts that are unacceptable. Sometimes just watching how they interact with other parts can clue you in to what needs fixed. It may be something as simple as a little metal polish followed by a quality lubricant.

I appreciate the tips, I broke down the pistol and the internals look great like it was never fired before. I have actually saw pictures of this pistol broke down and I am confident I can replace the spring. For now the finish on this pistol can stay, I am more worried with the trigger.

Kudos for toughing it out and trying something off the beaten path but...

If I wanted something cheap to play with it would have been one of those tp9's or an eaa witness or something. It sounds like you ended up with a handful of historical suck.

As for the spring, not sure, but what's $10 when you've already sunk $200 in the ter-let. Wolff makes springs for hundreds of guns. I'm sure they make things for other guns you own. I'd grab some other stuff while you're on there, and if it works, it works. If not, well you got your other stuff.

I actually had a craving for something in 32 ACP, I really wanted something that was striker fired but my only options were Saturday Night Specials or historical pistols which are much more expensive. I know getting into this pistol to expect a heavy trigger but I had no idea it was this bad. I decided to order the hammer spring pack for the PA-63 and see if they work like other people have said. It only cost me $13 with shipping so hopefully it makes the trigger nicer.

[paul641]

I have a FEG PA 63 and except for shaving the web between my thumb and index finger I like it. I would love to shoot the all steel military model to compare thr recoil between the two

[LifeInPa]

I have a FEG PA 63 and except for shaving the web between my thumb and index finger I like it. I would love to shoot the all steel military model to compare thr recoil between the two

I don't know how far you're from me but I often shoot my pistols at the Pocono Pistol Club or Easton Game and Fish, you're welcome to shoot my AP-MBP. It's a very light recoiling pistol.

[Delkal]

I have the 9x18 version. As someone else mentioned it is the only gun I had that makes your hands bleed. The recoil will skin your thumb web. Luckily my trigger isn't that bad.

My pistol has a bare aluminum frame. Don't think it was ever painted. You can see from AIM's pics the paint doesn't last. My pistol also had scratches marks on the chamber under the ejection port (but it wasn't painted). I took off the slide and polished it with emery paper. Nice and shiney and it looks great. Just an idea.....

[LifeInPa]

I have the 9x18 version. As someone else mentioned it is the only gun I had that makes your hands bleed. The recoil will skin your thumb web. Luckily my trigger isn't that bad.

My pistol has a bare aluminum frame. Don't think it was ever painted. You can see from AIM's pics the paint doesn't last. My pistol also had scratches marks on the chamber under the ejection port (but it wasn't painted). I took off the slide and polished it with emery paper. Nice and shiney and it looks great. Just an idea.....

Yeah thankfully the recoil is so light it just left a red mark on my skin, I knew just looking at it that the slide could easily bite my hand if I didn't keep on top of it. But emery paper is all it takes? I might just do that, I just want to get the left over paint off the frame without making the metal look beat.

[Delkal]

But emery paper is all it takes? I might just do that, I just want to get the left over paint off the frame without making the metal look beat.

My frame was never painted so I didn't do that. I think FEG make 2 tone models. I just polished the barrel so when you looked thru the ejection port it was nice.

I would be careful taking emery paper to my whole receiver. Depending on your type it could look great in a hurry or you could be polishing forever and it still not look good enough.......... I know, for my type, once I started I would be polishing for days and still be cursing......

From what I saw you might want to try some paint thinner (or scraping it with your fingernail) first. Then the original aluminum finish would be OK.

[Yellowfin]

Absurdly heavy trigger and mags not dropping free seems to point to a mag disconnect safety like the Hi Power. Will it fire without a mag in it? If not, see if you can remove the mag disconnect, that could improve things a lot. As for frame refinishing, anodizing could be an attractive option.