JG P64

[spareparts]

Got mine, oh about 2 months ago now. It has been problematic. First time out shooting, after the last shot, the slide locked open, but when I say locked, I mean LOCKED. The slide lock arm was getting jammed between the bolt face and slide housing. Was getting chewed up in the process. Took herculean strength to get it worked loose. Then it would lock up again after the next mag. And I had one incident of fail to fire. Full pull of trigger, no bang. So I've replaced:

• Slide stop lever
  Slide stop spring
  Recoil spring (18 lbs)
  Firing pin spring
  Hammer spring (18 lbs)
  Magazine spring (x2)

Got most of the above items from Wolff Springs and the fellow on Gunbroker from Poland (laukert). I had my fears, but he's legit. Got my stuff in great condition, although, I kid you not, the package arrived in New York, then went to HAWAII! Then on to the midwest where I got it. USPS

Haven't had it out yet since these mods installed. I'm not put out by all this, my pistol has seen heavy use and the condition reflects it. It's been interesting getting it back up to shooting condition.

I do kind of like the patina on my pistol. It is very brown, not black at all like most of the others I've seen. So I guess I'm willing to put up with her quirks because of her looks.

[Striknine]

Let us know how everything works out after you take it to the range. Hopefully it's fine now.

[robhic]

I had one of mine lock up like you state. The lock-back lever was really LOCKING BACK!!! And I could NOT get the pistol to unstick. The guy at the indoor range looked at it for me when I failed to get the slide to move and with a flashlight he saw the lever keeping the slide back. Popped down and loose with a screwdriver and the gun went back to working fine ... for about 1-2 more mags then jammed again.

So I took it home after finishing for the day and cleaned the 2 pistols I had used. I then removed the slide-lock lever and the edge was just a tiny bit rolled/peened. So I took a miniature file and dressed down both sides of the lever plus I filed the end just a bit to make it straight and a bit shorter. The face of the slide had a shiny spot where (I guess) it was rubbing and sticking so I cleaned that up a tiny bit, too, and am hoping that will do the trick. Since the gun is a '75 vintage I replaced the recoil spring so maybe it'll give it a bit more resistance.

I haven't had chance to shoot the pistol, yet, but plan to try and get out maybe Tuesday to see if the things I did fixed the jamming back issue.

[spareparts]

robhic, I'm glad to see someone had the same problem as me! Took a brief trip to the range today. First mag went off flawlessly, to my relief. The second mag after the 6th round didn't lock back, and when I inspected it, the mag was sliding out. So I put in a new mag and racked it. Pull trigger, no bang. I found when I racked it, I put the safety on (I'm a lefty, so my right thumb can actuate the safety if I'm not paying attention). Take it off safe, bang bang bang bang bang bang, end with slide locked open, all normal. Reload my three mags, all perform ok, except I get another failure to lock slide after last round with the mag falling out again. It was the same mag as before, one I refer to as "chippy," as the finger rest is chipped. Well I load that mag up again, insert it and make certain it is seated. 6 bangs later, the slide locks open as it should. I think maybe this mag requires a little extra omph to insert and seat, as it is an old warhorse.

So I think the function of the pistol is up to snuff now. The pictured target was at 10 yards and I wasn't really aiming carefully, as I was snapping off rounds quickly to check reliability. Despite that, I'm pretty pleased with the accuracy. And those makarov rounds have a nice little kick don't they? I was shooting Fiocchi 95 grain, but at the end shot a magful of Hornady critical defense 95 gr. Those actually had a lot less recoil, very noticeable.

[Curly1]

Sounds like you got it sorted out, I luv happy endings

[robhic]

...So I think the function of the pistol is up to snuff now. The pictured target was at 10 yards and I wasn't really aiming carefully, as I was snapping off rounds quickly to check reliability. Despite that, I'm pretty pleased with the accuracy. And those makarov rounds have a nice little kick don't they? I was shooting Fiocchi 95 grain, but at the end shot a magful of Hornady critical defense 95 gr. Those actually had a lot less recoil, very noticeable.

Glad you seem to have fixed the problems and found what else you think may be causing others. I, fortunately, have had NO mag problems. Even with the 17# hammer spring installed (which I was told could and had caused mags to come loose...) I've not had problem one related to mags. And for function's sake, I, too popped off shots rapidly to make sure the pistol wouldn't choke - especially with those Hornady rounds same as you used. I was concerned that large(er) HP might be a problem for this older gun but mine all ran perfectly with the large-mouth HP and the smaller (I believe) PPU or Fiocchi HP, too. It IS a snappy pistol! If I didn't know what I was shooting I don't know I could tell the difference from a full 9mm round.

And I also found it pretty accurate at close range with those little sights. All-in-all I like these pistols a lot. I just hope I have as much luck as you did fixing the lock-back lever jamming problem! I think I'll get my chance tomorrow.

Just for fun, I found the thread I posted the day I had the slide lock-back problem. I STILL don't know how or why what the range-guy did fixed the jam initially. I now think it was just maybe a fluke: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5731

[robhic]

OK, took the slide-locking pistol out today and after about 2 magazines, the slide (even with all I did to address the problem a week or so ago) locked back AGAIN! Not quite so bad, as I was able to pull it back and reload without much trouble. I did see the slide-lock lever is jamming right past a small rim on the face and it looks like the lever goes past this rim and it forces the lever to wedge against the slide/bolt face on that side.

I thought about trying to bend the lever but that seems to invite disaster. I may, in the future, grind just a tiny bit off the slide rim but I'm gonna think about that a bit. I switched slides between the 2 1975 vintage pistols I brought with me and both worked fine. I put them back and went home.

Think I'm gonna leave this alone for a while and think about grinding the slide. It might wear in by itself. We'll see.

[spareparts]

Robert, I replaced the slide stop lever completely. That seemed to do the trick for me. That, and the magazine springs. Is it possible you have a mag with a really weak spring and it doesn't overcome the resistance of the slide lock lever spring? If that lever doesn't come all the way up and fully engage the bolt face, it can slip off and that's when it's getting bound up between the frame and the slide.

[robhic]

Robert, I replaced the slide stop lever completely. That seemed to do the trick for me. That, and the magazine springs. Is it possible you have a mag with a really weak spring and it doesn't overcome the resistance of the slide lock lever spring? If that lever doesn't come all the way up and fully engage the bolt face, it can slip off and that's when it's getting bound up between the frame and the slide.

I looked around for a new lever and couldn't find any except one guy on Gun Broker who has a $60 parts kit that I don't really want. The locking takes place with any magazine of 5 used so I don't think that's an issue. Those mags work in the other pistols. When I look in with a light, the lever is up all the way, and resting against the outer edge of the bolt face. I've decided any grinding is OUT!

I'm going to take it down and true the rear edge of the lever. I noticed the beginning of a burr/peen/roll on the outside of the lever (again!). Also noticed that the face is straight but the stop-lever engages it at a slight angle when raised. I might file the lever to a tiny bit of an angle so it engages FLAT and I'm gonna scrape and clean that face of all gunk that's on it, too. Like Norm Sutton says: 99% of the problems with these pistols is caused by lack of cleaning (or something to that effect). I'm gonna do some cleaning!

[spareparts]

I'm really liking this pistol. Question is- should I get another? If so, from whom? Mine was from JGSales. It is a... ...less than pristine example. But it shoots without failure (now that I've done a complete spring overhaul and replaced the slide lock lever). Was thinking maybe I'd get lucky and get an example from mid- to late 70's?

[robhic]

I'm really liking this pistol. Question is- should I get another? If so, from whom?

http://www.aimsurplus.com/ Is where I got mine from, initially. They seemed to have an excellent supply as I got 2 - 1975s and a 77 from them. They have a deal where you can pay extra to select the best out of 5 if you want. I also bought early (2 months or so ago) so their supply was fairly new Not sure the terms now but I got $250 no tax, no shipping. Shipped to your FFL dealer and whatever charge they had so not such a bad deal.