Quote:
Originally Posted by RPKESQ
It is gas retarded blowback.
Gas from propellant combustion is syphoned off from the barrel slightly ahead of the chamber and used to keep the action locked until the projectile is out of the barrel and the bore pressures are within safe limits for action unlocking.
The gas cylinder is located under the barrel and over the trigger gaurd area. Since very hot gases are fed into this area it becomes very hot. Hot enough to burn flesh in short order with rapid fire.
Robar it.
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Interesting. Not being all that into the autoloaders, I wasn't aware that such a small example was gas operated. I thought that only something the size of a Desert Eagle would have the room needed for this method of operation.
Actually, from this situation as I understand it, it may very well be too small of a pistol to make effective use of this action. If overheating the frame above the trigger finger - to the point of causing injury to its operator - is truly a problem, it sounds as though H&K may have forced the issue a bit. Maybe they should have gone with a more traditional method of delaying blowback, like the tried and true toggle link.
Oh well; while I was mildly surprised to learn of this condition, I suppose it will never affect me. My Peacemakers won't ever do this...