Extar EP9

[thom]

I have been closely following this thread. Now I have a question. What is the difference in this pistol and a CAA MCK? The barrel is only 4.5 inches, not much more then the pistol that you put in it.
Thanks
Thom

[h8pvmnt]

The MCK requires a pistol. This is a standalone AR style pistol with AR controls and accepts Glock 17-18 mags. The Extar cost less than a GLock and a lot less than a GLock and the mck.

[Ballistic Therapy]

The Extar has a 6.5 inch barrel and is much cheaper , considering you need the CAA MCK + a Glock to put in it.

[h8pvmnt]

I took the new Extar EP9 to the range. Very disappointing, i had high hopes after all the glowing reviews and reports. I took the supplied OEM Glock gen 5 G17 mag and 2 OEM Glock 33rd mags i had laying around. Loaded up with new factory 115 Gr 9mm and found what i bought was essentially a single shot AR pistol. Must have sent me the California model. The gun would fire but the bolt is dragging on the top round in the magazine such that it will not function correctly until about 5 rounds left in the mag. The spent case ejects and a new round loads but the disconnector is not caught like the bolt is short cycling. If you cycle by hand the disconnector sets right every time. The bolt feels very tight even without a mag inserted. I started with 15 rounds in the G-17 mag and only 25 in the G-18 mags. I took apart and only thing i see is a lot of brass/copper on the bottom of bolt carrier where its dragging on the mag. So low and behold buy a 400.00 AR pistol and you get what you pay for. Email sent to Extar. I am sure they will take it back to fix but i have lost the zeal at this point. Stay tuned as another bad gun story unfolds.....

[Ballistic Therapy]

Well that sucks.
The one I got worked great.
The magazines I used were all new. Not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.
I would think Extra would warranty it , but it still sucks.
If I read it right Extra wants you to pay the shipping which sucks also.
Let us know what they say.

I was thinking about it later and after the cost of the gun + tax + shipping + 2 new magazines + angled forward grip + red dot I have right at $700 in this gun.
So it really is pretty expensive for what you get.

[knockonit]

yip, i ;ve yet to get mine back out and test fire, its on the list for next week, am hoping its the flashider if not, well back in the box it goes. and mr mailman.

oh well.
Rj

[h8pvmnt]

was thinking about it later and after the cost of the gun + tax + shipping + 2 new magazines + angled forward grip + red dot I have right at $700 in this gun.So it really is pretty expensive for what you get.

Now you tell me lol..... I knew what i was getting into when i bought it. I am a sucker for a good deal but as we all know there not always what they deem to be. Another friend has one that the hammer broke on. Easy fix but plastic fire control parts just seems like a bad idea. Add an upgraded FCG to the cost and boom now your pushing $800.00

[Bullzaye]

Well, I've fired two of them, straight out of the box. New mags, old mags, all seemed the same. Slow fire, rapid fire, no issues, fed everything, fired fine, no problems.

I think we probably only put about 200 rounds through each of the two. So, not exactly a thorough test. But...so far, so good.

I don't see it as being really fair to complain about the cost of angled fore grips and red dot sights...very few ARs come with optics, better to charge less, and let the end user decide on sighting systems. And, it seems pretty obvious from the site that these things aren't included, so all it takes is a bit of simple math to ascertain what your expected final cost will be.

[h8pvmnt]

Dear Michael,
Thank you for your purchase of an EP9.
We are sorry to hear that you were having troubles with your first trip.
The recoil spring is heavier than a lot of customers are used to, as this is a direct blow-back firearm. The spring will compress slightly with use, and that can help with issues.
Do you happen to know which brand of ammunition you were using? We have seen the issue that you are describing happen with some lower velocity ammunition, such as Federal, Winchester, or Remington. Especially when using the cheaper "white box" offerings from these brands. In order for safe direct blowback operation, the EP9 has a heavy bolt and buffer. When the spring is brand new, and the pistol has not been used aside from test firing, these lower velocity ammos will not provide enough energy to send the bolt far enough back to reset the hammer. My suggestion would be to try some Tula steel cased or Wolf steel cased, as those have proven to have very consistent power from our testing.
Not all EP9s require this kind of "break in period", as spring weight varies slightly from the manufacturer. We hope that these tips will work for you. We do not want the EP9 to be "ammo picky" but that is sometimes the consequence of the bolt, buffer, and spring weight; which were chosen for the safe operation of the pistol.
We are looking forward to hearing back from you, and wish you some happy shooting!

The response from EXTAR seems reasonable. I was in fact planning to go back and try different ammo tomorrow. Never considered the wolf as its not allowed to be used at C2 Tactical. But i will try it out with some blazer brass or whatever i have beside the range ammo i was using.

[Ballistic Therapy]

Did they tell you where you can find some different ammo to try ?

[h8pvmnt]

LOL good point.....

[rockbronco]

I don't see it as being really fair to complain about the cost of angled fore grips and red dot sights...very few ARs come with optics, better to charge less, and let the end user decide on sighting systems. And, it seems pretty obvious from the site that these things aren't included, so all it takes is a bit of simple math to ascertain what your expected final cost will be.

I agree, I do not really factor those into the cost of a gun as they are very user specific. Same with mags, I always end up buying 4-5 mags for each gun. Most factory mags for pistols get pricy too. The only thing different then a pistol would be no irons that prevent you from using it out of the box but then again most ARs dont have irons either. I still thing the price of admission with the Extar is cheaper then most anything out there, and its different which is cool.

Bummer on your issues h8pvmnt, Here everyone is saying theirs are great and you and knockonit end up with lemons. Keep us posted on results of different ammo...be interested if that actually fixes your issue.

[h8pvmnt]

Took the Extar back to C2 with some Blazer Brass and it ran 100%. The WWB and Freedom Munitions 115 Gr stuff i was using before still will not cycle it. Interesting thing is the range ammo works 100% in every other 9mm we took including a buddy's PSA 9mm carbine, my new Shield 9 Plus and my wife's Pink Gen 4 G-19. Put 100 Rounds of the blazer brass through the extar, then tried a mag of the Freedom and nope wont cycle it. So guess ammo was the issue, just strange that that same ammo works fine in anything else we tried.

[knockonit]

PCC are really subceptable to the pressur on the blow back, my reloads run it fine, but we designed them to run sub guns, while its just plinking ammo they run every thing,

i'm hopeing to get out wed to see about the alighment of flashider to barrel and or........................time will tell, don't wanna put a product on that takes a year to get till its squared away
happy monday
Rj

[delta6]

WOW.. What a day! Free 9MM, all day at the range. Thank you Extar EP9