TargetTalk

Can anyone tell me anything about the ap40 competition match grade pistol. Looking for the goods and bads.
Thanks

Its a great solid pistol. It lacks adjustability of other pistols, but will put everything in the same hole, just like most target pistols. I chose an FWB P44 based completely on adjustability and the fact that its a mechanical gun, I dont trust electronic ones.

They are a fantastic gun with about zero parts and service available now. I would be worried that one purchased would be a paperweight soon.

Once I went Steyr, I sold mine and never looked back.

The college team I help coach has twenty one Hammerli 480K's that were converted to use the AP40 cylinders. The conversion uses a modified version of the AP40 regulator. I believe the mechanical design of the AP40 (frame, barrel, trigger, sights) is based very heavily on the 480K, so they should be quite similar.

The pistols we have are very accurate, and the trigger is excellent. I just tested one yesterday with a chronograph, and the velocity variation was 3 fps. The spec on a Steyr is 10 fps.

The bad news is that support and parts are very hard to get. When the AP40 was a current product, the importer and service guy was Larry Carter in Maine. When he passed away in 2018, all of his parts & tools were purchased by Red Feather Outfitters in Ohio. They have a few parts, but no knowledge of how to do any repair work. At this point, I think 8 of our pistols have leaks. My plan is to take one apart this summer and see if I can figure out how to fix them.

You can get in-date cylinders for the AP40 if you want to compete at matches that require that. You can get grips from Rink.

They will easily hold their own against Steyrs, Pardinis, Morinis, etc. One of our students shot a 562 with one at the National Collegiate Championships last year. If you can get one at a good price, the question is how long it will continue to function until it becomes unrepairable.

Gwhite.
With your leaking cylinders depressurised. Manipulate the sealing valve and get a few drops of synthetic oil into the can. roll it around, I find that the seals move around and reseal more often than not. The dry environment inside the cylinders doesn't let orings and seals find their neutral axis as easily as when there is a bit of synthetic oil being blown thru the gun.... My P44 responded wonderfully when onecylinder did bad things.

spektr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 2:20 am Gwhite.
With your leaking cylinders depressurised. Manipulate the sealing valve and get a few drops of synthetic oil into the can. roll it around, I find that the seals move around and reseal more often than not. The dry environment inside the cylinders doesn't let orings and seals find their neutral axis as easily as when there is a bit of synthetic oil being blown thru the gun.... My P44 responded wonderfully when onecylinder did bad things.

That's good to know. I tried that with a Benelli Kite and it didn't work, apparently because of the material they use for Kite O rings. I forget what the material is, White will no doubt recall, but Kite O rings basically turn brittle and crack apart after five years or so.

spektr wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 2:20 am Gwhite.
With your leaking cylinders depressurised. Manipulate the sealing valve and get a few drops of synthetic oil into the can. roll it around, I find that the seals move around and reseal more often than not. The dry environment inside the cylinders doesn't let orings and seals find their neutral axis as easily as when there is a bit of synthetic oil being blown thru the gun.... My P44 responded wonderfully when onecylinder did bad things.

The problem isn't the cylinder valves. If the cylinders go bad, it's usually the gauge end that leaks. We've had to buy new ones to compete in big matches, so we have a fair number of working cylinders.

The 8 pistols that are out of action are leaking, typically out the back of the regulator into the trigger area. I tried blowing oil through them, with no success. We also have some with low velocity. There is a special tool to adjust the regulator, and I need to make one. I'm not sure if they have just gone out of adjustment, or something lese is wrong in the regulator.