numich has snail drum mag's again

[crazywolf]

I needed a hold open latch spring and did a little looking around and saw that they have the snail drum in stock again.so one's on the way.crazywolf

[lugerholsterrepair]

YUP! Numrich has them listed! Tough to find though in their on line lists..had to go to "New Items" Same price as last time too!! $399 for a drum and loader!

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/ad/980980.htm

[DavidJayUden]

I'm going to try it again. The last one ended up going back after being deemed "hopeless". We'll see.
dju

[dz]

David What was wrong with the loader and drum you returned? How is the quality? David

[DavidJayUden]

Dave:
I forget all the details, but it would not feed, and the retaining slot in the mag was in the wrong place. I sent it down to GT to see if there was any hope of salvation, and after looking it over he gave it the thumbs-down.
Rather than me putting words into his mouth, let's hear the details from him. G. T?
I'm trying it again as an unbridled act of pure optimism. And that they will take it back with a full refund if I'm not happy with it. And I do plan to return it in a hearbeat IF it is also unfunctional.
Bottom line is that I'd like to have one as a shooter. If it works.
dju

[Arizona Slim]

Originally Posted by crazywolf

I needed a hold open latch spring and did a little looking around and saw that they have the snail drum in stock again.so one's on the way.crazywolf

Thanks Craig, I missed out on the first go around and after reading some of the positive comments from other forum members was anxious to give one a try. Jut put my order in a few minutes ago.

Lon

[crazywolf]

your welcome lon.I've hear good and bad but hey compared to 1200 to 3000 for a real one.I'm willing to take a chance.hope to get a real one when I have the $ but hopefully the one I got comeing works and I can play with that one and then later get a real one to complete my artillery rig.crazywolf

[lugerholsterrepair]

I have had several of these through here when they last came out and wrote a LENGTHY report . Even if you threw away the drum the loader is worth $400

[Arizona Slim]

Originally Posted by lugerholsterrepair

I have had several of these through here when they last came out and wrote a LENGTHY report . Even if you threw away the drum the loader is worth $400

My thoughts exactly Jerry, other repro's going for around $600. and I would bet these are all from the same manufacturer.

Lon

[nukem556]

Well, I wouldn't want to buy a loader without a functional mag to use it with! It's very tempting.....link to previous evaluation?

[Arizona Slim]

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Default Artillery drum range report!
OK guys..A good Friend here in Yuma, Bill Baumbeck and I took a new Numrich Arms drum and loader out of it's package this afternoon. I was impressed right from the start. Both items are very high quality. Finished in a gloss black paint? The loader is very smooth in operation. Good strong spring. Nothing is in the white or straw finished seperately like an original. It's all black. The handle seems to be cast? There are mold lines along the sides. The body appears to be folded sheet steel. The mag locking spring works well and smoothly.
The drum is really a thing of beauty. VERY close to an original in so many ways. It has the same gloss black enamel paint finish as the loader. It is B/N marked. The loader has no markings. The quantity numbers spaced along the rim are correct..not like the rusty repro loaders that we have observed for the last few years. I could go into great detail about many things..construction details etc but would rather not here. One thing I will mention..it has NO serial numbers front or back. This fact alone will help seperate this drum from an original.
Next it was time to load. I slipped the loader onto the drum and it fit like a glove. locked right in. I used some of my reloads so as not to make my test too easy. FMJ 9MM loaded with 4.8 grains of Red Dot powder. All 32 rounds loaded up smoothly. There was no getting in 33..when I hit 32 it stopped. I unlocked the lever and was ready to head out to shoot. The lever lock worked very well. Locked into it's slot and when tension was placed on the handle it popped right up to release it.
Bill and I made a short drive out to the edge of the bombing range to test fire..I used my old Mexican shooter beater..a 1916 DWM 4 inch. Barrel is pretty much shot out but it is a sure feeder. Spits out bullets with regularity.
I seated the mag into the pistol and tugged on it to make sure it was properly in place and fired off 15 rounds. Had a jam I am pretty sure was the fault of a slightly overlong cartridge. `Kicked it out and fired off the rest. SUCCESS! A working drum!
One thing to consider is that this was right out of the box. I didn't oil it..just loaded and fired it. I am all kinds of pleased with this set. The price is one any Luger collector can afford and initially the quality seems impressive. I can't say what might happen after 500-1000 rounds. All I know is it works first time out.
This will open up a new experience for many collectors who always wanted a working/shooting drum but didn't want to buy one for $1500-2000 with a $500-1500 loader.
I have no affiliation with Numrich Arms and the sale of these drums..but I highly advise anyone who wants one..or who thinks they might want one in future or even if you have no use for one now..BUY THIS! Your crazy if you don't. It's the ONE Artillery accessory that has been a long time coming but now it's here..That and you can use it on any Luger 4-6-8 inch.
On an aside..it WILL affect the original drum and loader market. There is a segment of collectors who mostly like original items and I am one of those but considering the good price and the fact that they are high quality and work. It will fill a very necessary niche, those who want to load and shoot a drum at a reasonable price.
__________________
Jerry Burney
636 Scenic Lane
Howard, CO 81233

[email protected]

928 342-7583 (CO & AZ) Year Round
71

nukem556, here is Jerry Burney's Range report on the repro Snail drum and loader.

Lon

[lugerholsterrepair]

Lon, Thanks! I subsequently got another Numrich drum and it worked well after I polished the follower. The drum magazine slot that holds it in the pistol is mis positioned a tad I think and does not help the hold open to stay back well enough.
The main coil spring is also some small bit weaker than an original..I have done no actual tests on this but it seems so when you have a Numrich and an original side by side to play with.
A good Friend, George Fortier tried winding the coil spring on a Numrich one additional turn and met with disaster of a sort. It appears the drum housing for the spring was lightly welded to the drum housing and the welds broke loose! There's quite a story there!
All of these things are really of small concern if you are wanting a drum to play with at the range.The two Numrich drums I was able to test worked.
For years NO reproduction Trommel snail drum loader was available anywhere for less than $500 and many a time I saw them sell for a lot more than that. Original loaders were a stone bargain at $800 and last one I saw sold cheap was $1200 and they go WAY up from there IF you can find one for sale.
The Numrich loader is VERY well made. The BEST repro loader I have ever seen on the market in 2 decades. Like I said above..if you bought the set, threw the drum away..the loader would still be a bargain!
Here's a deal I doubt anyone will take me up on but I would pay $200 for any Numrich drum. You keep the loader..I get your drum ..we both get a bargain! I would LOVE to fill one of my reproduction P-Kasten boxes with 5 of these drums!
All in all I am surprised these are being offered at this price..The last batch were decent enough for the average range shooter.
Have fun out there!

[Arizona Slim]

Thanks Jerry, I'm looking forward to receiving the one I ordered and I will keep your info on file in case I have to make any necessary changes. Your range report from last April gave me the inspiration to give one a try.

Lon

[DavidJayUden]

A couple of other things that I recall being deficient on my first try: The body of the magazine seemed to be undersized or formed incorrectly, and standard length ammo would not lie correctly onto the magazine follower. It had to point up in the tube.
Also under load the lower front plate would contort a bit under pressure from the spring on being wound tightly.
So I've got my fingers crossed that this one will be the "new and improved" version.
dju

[lugerholsterrepair]

David, standard length ammo would not lie correctly onto the magazine follower. It had to point up in the tube.

Surprisingly if you load ANY Luger magazine the ammunition is angled up pretty well.

[DavidJayUden]

No, this baby was so short that the entire stack REALLY pointed up.
Trust me, this one was not ready for anything more than looking at.
But we'll hope for better this time around.
dju

[lugerholsterrepair]

David, I would have loved to inspect that drum. I know there must have been some variance in the magazine bodies on these. One of the first complaints that came up was that the mag bodies could be tight in some pistols. I guess they could be too small and loose too!

I tried 2 different Numrich drums in many pistols and they fit well and loose in some Luger's and tight in others.

Remember my offer! Here's a deal I doubt anyone will take me up on but I would pay $200 for any Numrich drum. You keep the loader..I get your drum ..we both get a bargain! I would LOVE to fill one of my reproduction P-Kasten boxes with 5 of these drums!

[cirelaw]

Jerry do their loaders work with legit drums?

[lugerholsterrepair]

Yes! Eric, they do. The only problems I have ever seen with loaders is the original AEG loaders are a tad tighter than Bing and AEG's may or may not fit your Bing.

The Numrich loaders..IF they are the same as the last batch are superlative. The fit well, are made well and smooth as butter. They even got the main cross screw right which I have NEVER seen on a repro loader. These are a shaft and threaded on the end..just as an original Bing. Before these came out this screw was always threaded stem to stern! Always a sure sign of a repro.

[Kitkat041836]

Take Jerrys word on this one.I have one of the repo drums and
they work just fine.I have fround in my test they may have an
adavange over the real drums. The cutout for mag on these
is a bit high and will not let your hold open work after the last
round has been fired from your drum but that would only count
if you were in combat and hav another snail drum fully loaded
and ready to go.I found that with the notch on the repo I could
have a live round in the chamber I could put a fully loaded repo
drum in the gun with the chamber closed as long as I did not
unlock the winding leaver untill I had the drum locked in place.
This gave me 32rd plus 1 in the chamber for a total of 33rd.
I could not do this with a orginal drum as the notch on the tube
was in the lower position so the hold open would work on the
last round.I unlocked the winding lever after the drum was in place and was able to fire all 33rd with no problem.
Thanks,George Fortier