I always kind of regretted not grabbing an FM Detective Hi Power clone when I had a couple of opportunuties but, honestly, after the horrible experience I had with a full size FM, I wasn't exactly kicking myself. The reviews of the full size Girsan have been mostly positive so, when I ran across a deal on a PI, I jumped on it.
My out of the box impression was very good. The fit and finish is surprisingly good - especially for a gun that was well under $500 otd. It has that classic Hi Power grip, and the balance is outstanding. The three dot sights are large enough for my old eyes to easily pick up, and all mechanicals were smooth and positive. The trigger was the typical heavy, gritty 6 1/2 lb. factory pull, but that was expected.
There were a couple of surprises when I stripped it down. First was taking out the guide rod and spring. The shorter barrel and components make getting it out almost impossible. I finally got it out by turning it sideways, and then there was just barely enough room to lift it over the barrel lug. The second surprise was that the loop on the end of the guide rod isn't a loop at all - just a partial one at the top and bottom. I suppose this is their way of making the disassembly/assembly easier, but it's still a bear. Getting the spring and rod back in is virtually impossible. Trying to get the rod into the hole at the steep angle is an excersise in futility. It took about 20 minutes to finally install it, after which I pulled it out, took a couple measurements, and drilled a hole through the rod so I could compress the spring and hold it there with a pin - kinda like a 1911 bull barrel.
I pulled the mag safety and did a basic fluff 'n buff on the fcg. That took the pull down to a fairly clean 5 lbs. 1 oz. Figured I'd shoot it for a while before I did anything else. And that's where the dissapointment comes in. It ran flawlessly, but the poa/poi is waaay off. The first shots, at 10 yards, were 5" low and 3" left. And it did that with three differnt types of ammo, from a bench on a bag rest. To get it to hit center, I was holding at the top of the target and 2 1/2" right. So, I'll be calling EAA first thing Monday morning. Wish me luck!
