Author: Grumpy

Welcome everyone to the 156th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only has a Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

In our last edition, our poll showed that you, the readers, by the narrowest of margins decided the rising sun-themed Glock 43X was a hot gat.

HGFC – Last Samurai or Wanna Cry? — Poll Results

At this time the original auction remains up with this Japanese-themed gat still up for grabs.  We hope someone can find it in their heart to adopt a narrowly certified hot gat.

In this week’s edition of HGFC, we look at a Federal Engineering XC 220 chambered in .22LR. As is tradition, this retro takedown gat is currently up for sale on GunBroker for $1,699.99 Starting Bid or $1,699.99 Buy It Now.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP?

Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

Let’s see what the Staff had to say about this week’s offering:

“Yes, making things out of sheet steel is not a good look, but when you poke random swiss cheese holes into it the aesthetic is somehow not improved.” – Hop

“If you take it apart there’s no reason to ever put it back together again” – Eric B.

“Looks like an MG42 fetus” – James Reeves

“Is Royal Nonesuch making firearms again but in smaller caliber?” – Nick C.

“Or for that price you could buy several 10/22s that don’t look like a schizophrenically cobbled-together pipe gun from Fallout.” – Will P.

“Would rather wear a shirt with a picture of Mohammed in downtown Tehran than own this gun.” – Pete

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

Selling this very unique gat is GunBroker seller SandSGunsSOMD, located in Huntingtown MD.  Let’s see what they had to say about this retro takedown rifle.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

RARE!

Federal Engineering – XC 220 – .22 LR.

Excellent condition – rifle – 16.25″ rnd, compensator barrel – walnut pistol grip – Parkerized/black – frame retains about 98% Parkerized finish with loss to sharp edges – remaining parts retain Parkerized finish with minimal wear showing minute handling marks – Markings: crisp & legible – fixed sights semi-auto – four 32 round magazines – Excellent bright and shiny bore with visible rifling – black cloth case – SN: 797

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

This rifle is a mixture of strange, cool, and just straight-up bizarre.  Based on the information I was able to gather, these were made in various calibers including 9mm, .45ACP, and of course, the .22LR during the 1980s.  Once you look at it like an 80s gun, some of the aesthetics start to make sense.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

The front of the rifle looks like it drew inspiration from the Colt Commando, while the back half features a Valmet-esque stock that screws into the rear.  All of this paired with a very interesting angled pistol grip makes for a very curious-looking rifle.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

A quick glance at the safety and trigger makes this look like an AR-15 crossed with a Sten submachine gun.  It’s confusing to look at, and oddly fascinating at the same time.  Some of the features make sense, while others like the rear peep sight are just bizarre.

Certainly, this is a very interesting piece of history, and probably a valuable one.  But is this worth the $1,700 asking price?  As always, I leave it up to you, the readers, to decide.

HOT GAT or FUDD CRAP? Ultimate .22LR Takedown or Inevitable Breakdown?

I recently picked up a S&W Model 61 thanks to my friend Paul. I did not know much about the pistol other than “it is the Taxi Driver sliding pistol”. I was intrigued by the lower bore axis and slide design. Of course, I had to film it in slow motion.

The Model 61 slide design and low bore axis barrel intrigued me.

As I mentioned earlier, I did not know much about the Model 61 so I was unaware of its short-lived production run and its notorious reputation for being unreliable. However, I figured at the bare minimum I could film a malfunction and we could learn a lot. Here is the video I shot.

My friend Jerry was the trigger man while I operated the Chronos 1.4. We got lucky and the Model 61 shot two whole magazines without issue. We used CCI Clean ammunition. You can see the pink-coated bullets for breast cancer awareness.

Due to the slide and breech block design, the slide has a protrusion at the bottom rear. You can see it in the photo above where I pushed the slide back with my thumb. You can see it in the screencap below too. This prevents the shooter from choking up on the frame to lower the barrel more into the hand.

Even though the Model 61 looks like it has a low bore axis, it is not that low due to the design of the frame and slide. However, there is not much recoil from the firing of the .22LR cartridge. It is only when the slide reaches the end of its travel does it cause the Model 61 to climb. The closing of the slide causes muzzle dip and helps to bring the pistol back on target.

I have not seen another Model 61 in person and this one has not malfunctioned yet but I think I might know why it could malfunction from the slow-motion video I shot. Rewatch the second half of the video where I filmed from slightly behind the ejection port. Watch the ejection of the brass. The extractor and ejector seem to be working pretty well but the brass looks like it hits the grip panel on its way out.

This takes away some of the energy the brass had to fling out of the ejection port. I have seen similar malfunctions in slow motion by centerfire firearms where they had a failure to eject and often it involved the extractor or the brass hitting something that prevents it from ejecting all the way out.

According to Unblinkingeye.com, this Model 61 is an original with a serial number B76XX. It is not one of the improved revised Model 61s. There will be more slow-motion videos to come of other firearms. I hope you enjoyed this.