I bought a P10F suppressor ready because it was on sale and in stock. I decided it was finally time to cover up the bare threads so I started shopping for gun
bling accessories.
I wasn't convinced I was going to like a comp'd gun, or if it would be reliable with the ammo I shoot, so I initially looked at cheap-o micro comps on ebay. For around $35, you can get a teeny-tiny KKM ripoff single port glock comp (shaped like a brick). The small size was tempting as was the price. Google-fu also turned up two P10 specific compensators: the Primary Machine
Micro Stealth Comp and the Parker Mountain Machine
P10C Compensator.
Both comps are effectively the same price: the PM micro stealth was $90 and PMM P10C $100, both before shipping and tax. Both are specially shaped for the P10 slide chamfers and both are single port designs. The only "real" difference as far as I was concerned was the mounting system: PM uses setscrews while PMM uses timing shims. Both require threadlocker or else the comp will work loose. The PMM has a guide rod cover and "ears" that are designed to keep the comp from spinning off if/when it works loose.
After weighing the cost and appearance, I decided to spluge and go with the PMM compensator. I think the ears and timing shim mounting system, as well as the overall appearance pushed me over the edge. I feel like the PMM comp looks more like a finished package from the factory and less "gamer" or "race" than the usual comp'd gun.
PMM took 5 days to ship the package (they warn you about delays in handling due to volume) but USPS got it to my home in 3 days once they got it out the door. They ship in a small flat-rate box with a bit of packaging to keep the goodies from bouncing around inside the box.
I don't have much range time with it, but these are my first impressions. I have no affiliation with PMM, PM, or sketchsville ebay sellers and paid for the product with my own money.
First ImpressionsUpon opening the package, I was pretty happy with what I saw.
Nice machining, generous radius and chamfers on edges and corners, except for the "ears". The "ears" are almost blade sharp so you really do not want to catch your finger between the front of the slide and the back of the comp when the slide returns to battery. Some pictures for scale...
The comp serrations match the slide serrations, but let's be honest, those are purely cosmetic. You can't rack the slide with the barrel and they really only give an assailant a better grip on your gun. That said, they look perfect and contribute to the overall cohesive look and feel.
The threads are clean, but the lead could probably serve to be higbee'd to eliminate cross threading into the aluminium. It hasn't been a problem yet, but it would be nice to see on all muzzle devices.
The anodization is supposed to be hard anodization which I can't say I've ever explicitly felt, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The matte texture feels more like rattle-can than traditional color anodize, but from what I've read, that's normal for hard anodization. The weak point in the finish is at the edges of the ears where the anodization on the knife edge is already starting to flake off. Everywhere else, the anodization looks even and solid. I do wish the finish matched gloss of the nitride of the slide, but I think the hard anodization will wear better at the end of the day and i can live with it.
The blind bore for the guide rod is oversized, probably to allow for timing misalignment, but they could probably have made it tapered to better align the comp on the guide rod if it breaks loose during firing.
The PMM logo is laser etched into the anodization on the front of the guide rod block. It's a little gritty, but what can you do, eh?
All in all, everything is solid and with no moving parts, not a lot can go wrong here.
PMM include 3 each of 9.9, 2.0, and 5.5 thou shims and a teeny-tiny vial of rockset.
InstallationSo, despite the internet complaints about having to shim-time a muzzle device, it really wasn't that hard. Out of the box, the comp was timed almost perfectly, but was 1 revolution too close to the chamber for the breech block to return to battery. Some quick math showed I needed at least 36 thou (0.036") worth of shims to get the comp to back out one rev. Using 3x 9.9 and 3x 2.0 shims I got to about 10 degrees off 12'oclock in the right direction. The installation instructions say to shim to 15 degrees then crank to 12'oclock, but I figured the threadlocker was doing all the work so there was no need to go ham. 10 degrees to 12'oclock took about all my hand strength without resorting to a vise or wrench and then lined up perfectly.
While the shim stack is kind of excessive, I would much rather they cut the thread seat too deep like they have, rather than too shallow. This way, the comp can be placed as close to the front of the slide rather than leaving an unsightly gap if your barrel threads end further from the front of the slide.
I cleaned the threads up with IPA, applied an insufficient amount of blue loctite (242), and spun the comp on. I plan on cutting a 37 thou brass shim for the permanent installation in a week or two, so I didn't want to have to fight too hard to get the comp off just yet. I don't know what people are on about, but timing with shims really isn't voodoo. Set screws seem like a poorer alternative in every way, but that's just me.
On a side note, Primary Machine doesn't seem to be impressed by timing shims, but I can't say I agree. If red loctite is enough to hold on a PM comp without setscrews, why wouldn't the same hold true for the PMM comp? I imagine he has a wealth of experience that I could never hope to match, but I have to call BS when I see it; I understand he has a product to sell, I just wish he didn't have to resort to ragging on a competitor's product over a non-issue.
Bump on this I'm very interested in this comp, they make some models with multi ports but the p10 comp only has 1, I think that's one of the reasons the primary machine one is so effective because it has 4 holes cut in it, however I hate set screws on my comp and would vastly prefer the pmm type of mounting style. Any other opinions out there?
Do a little digging on their mounting. It's not all it's cracked up to be and a lot of people are having issues with it. You can use the Primary Machine comp without set screws and it will never come loose if it's that much of an issue. Make sure barrel threads are degreased and use all the red loctitie included with it and it will never come off until you want it to.
To be entirely fair, the PMM comp ships with rockset, and Raining_Brass doesn't seem to hold rockset in very high esteem. I did find a
video of someone who had a glock comp break loose during firing but the guide rod retention did its job and the comp didn't fall off. It could just be the rockset isn't up to the job.
At the RangeI took my shiny new comp to the range and put 100 rounds of Winchester W Train, 147 gr @ 950 fps (140 PF) through it. I was slightly worried that the gun wouldn't run reliably with the larger, slower bullets: a lot of the roland special guys warn about using anything less than hot +p. I was all ready to have to go home and rip the comp off in frustration.
Much to my surprise, the gun ran like a top. No issues whatsoever in 100 rounds. 100 rounds isn't very many, but seeing as the gun only has 350 rounds through it, I would expect the gun to freak out more during the break in period. I checked the comp after firing, and the loctite seems to be holding strong. I probably won't get around to making the new shim before my next range trip, so I hope I can put at least another 200 through it with the blue loctite and see if it breaks free.
It might be placebo, and I don't really have a way to A/B test, but I
think I could feel a difference. You can definitely see the hot gases shoot up out of the port (the W train powder runs pretty clean in the barrel and internals, but has lots of very gritty smoke) and all that gas has to be doing something. I'm no speed shooter, but I would describe the overall effect as a gentler total experience. The closest thing I've shot to a race gun was a RDS Canik TP9SFx, and the P10F with the comp blew it out of the water. (to be fair, the stock P10F blew the Canik out of the water when I tried them together before the comp).
For anyone who cares, here are the dimensions:
Comp length (w/o ears) = 1.119"
Comp length (w/ ears) = 1.233"
Comp width = 1.025"
Thread bore = 0.586"
Thread seat depth = 0.301"
Thread = 1/2-28
Comp barrel exit bore = 0.378"
Comp weight = 29.19 grams
0.036" shim stack weight = 0.27 grams
Overall length (comp to back of slide) = 8 5/8"
(I apologize for mixed units and presentation.. but it doesn't bother me enough to convert them
)
On a side note, with the comp and the rentention block on the second rail slot, the gun barely fits in the Blackhawk Omnivore.
