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Posted: 3/12/2008 2:32:55 PM EDT
| 9mm or .22. Glad you bought it? Any issues? |
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Had a Calico, sold a couple years ago to fund another project, at the time wasn't really feeling the pistol caliber carbine thing. I sort of regret it now. Mine was reliable and accurate, it fed and shot the ever type of 9mm I threw at it. The only problems I had were when I failed to wind the drum enough. It was as accurate as any other 9mm carbines I fired and with crazy light, even with a loaded 100 round drum. I really liked mine, regret selling it. |
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In the mid 90s I had almost one of each, 22 pistol and rifle, and 9mm pistol and rifle. They were fun, sold them all sooner or later. I JUST received a 9mm carbine 951 and a 9mm pistol 950. They are both brand new, I was also able to buy 5 - NIW 100rd 9mm mags. The carbine seems to be the newer style. The only thing that I can seee for sure is that the safety lever is larger and curved. The pistol has the old safety lever, but unlike my 90s version, it has the 3 threaded mount points on either side of the magwell area for mounting a scope mount or sling swivel. I will get out to try them in the next couple days. I look forward to playing with them. The ones I had back in the day were very reliable, the 9mm was more reliable then the 22, but the 22 wasn't bad. They all seemed pretty accurate as far as "Pratical Accuracy" for what they are designed for. I could hit bowling pins at 50 yards about as fast as I could pull the trigger and line up on the next pin. Fun stuff. They are just toys.......they are built well enough, but not as robust as an AR, AK, etc... I may do a post with some pics and a range report once I get them going. Some people still seem to have a little interest, but I think most have never been in contact with them. A few have had bad experiences.....but I think there is a lot of "My brother's cousin's boss's wife had one and it sucked...." Not alot of first hand reports. |
| I have owned just about every model. Sold the .22's as well as the muzzle braked 9mm carbine when I thinned my collection but kept my 9mm pistol and rifle. They are by far my favorite guns to shoot. I too never found anything the 9mm's wouldn't function with and the recoil is almost non-existent. I would be a very happy person if Calico would make a .45 ACP and would have a can on it so fast peoples' heads would spin. They are unique and a pleasure to shoot. |
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I should have mentioned.......they are actually NEW, but I do not think they are recent production.....but as I mention, I am not 100% sure. All of the items I bought are diferent in some way from the original ones I had in the 90's, yet there may be slight differences in the VERY NEW PRODUCTION models. There is a place in Minnesota that sells Calico stuff...he lists on Gunbroker all the time. DKmags or something like that. I can check later today. |
The distributor we use, Davidsons, lists them as available. Check with your local gunstore or FFL holder, they can probably order them for you. |
 I have the liberty 2 9mm carbine, my opinion is that it is an awesome concept but a poor execution. It is a novelty gun, if it had a chance to mature it could have been something, it is not what i would consider a "service grade" weapon. Mine is a little more finicky then previous posters and I would constantly have light primer strikes, i also had issues with the "striker" cracking because it was made from cheap pot metal, happened more than once. Fun to own won't sell mine P.S. also have to be extra cautious about making sure the mags are unloaded because of how you can release the spring tension, little difference in the sound of a round rattling around and the follower, had a bad experience with this trust me. |
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My FFL guy has a license at Davidson's, but I can't get a hold of him right now...... When I check out Gallery of Guns (Davidson's retail website) I cannot find Calico listed. I also looked for American Industries, that is what they went by in the old days....I can't find anything. What do I need to look for? |
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I had the new 9mm carbine out very quick today before dark for a test run. I loaded 1 of the 50 round mags to capacity with some 115 grain S & B 9mm ammo I bought for $10.99/box. I loaded the other with Winchester Wallyworld White box 115 grain 9mm. I was only shooting holes in the snowbank about 15 yards away, but I was able to adgust the sight to hit "Minute of Grapefruit" in the snow....haha. It ran perfect through both mags and all 100 rounds of reletive cheap 9mm ammo. Like mentioned before, the recoil is pretty non-existant, I believe due to the compensator and the inline design. I realize 9mm doesn't kick much anyway, but recoil and muzzle jump was much less then my AR 9mms and WAY less then the strangely hard recoiling Storm I have. I also really like the downward ejection. You don't really think about it, but when I am out ditch test firing, I am typically on the wrong side of the vehicle and end up running a few brass into the car/truck to start...not a problem with this one. I am going to buy the nylon baggy brass catcher, it is just too easy to keep brass to reload that way. I still have to run the 9mm pistol, and also try my FIVE 100 round mags. I may only use 3 of the 100rd mags and try sell the other 2.....we'll see. ADDED: Also, there is no crap blowing back in your face, both my Storm and my AR 9mms do this to some extent. Will I sell my AR 9mm....HELL NO, would I maybe consider selling my Storm now...Maybe 
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| The rear sight is on the mags with all the 9mm carbines and pistols. The older ones just have a 2 dot white notch, the newer ones have the 2 dots notch and flip to a ghost ring. My carbine came with the flip rear sight and the pistol came with the notch only style. All the 100 round mags I received have the flip style dual apeture rear sight. I plan to order just the top rail "ribbon" that has the new sight built in to update the one 50rd mag. |
Sorry, my bad. It's RSR who shows them available in their 2008 dealer's catalog. They show the 9mm's and the .22 rifle. It's under the heading for Calico Light Weapon Systems. |
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Took the pistil out just now for the first time. I loaded up 1 of the 100rd mags with the same combo of 50 S & B and 50 Winchester White box. 100 perfect rounds. Very low recoil and there is no muzzle jump. I was shooting it like most would shoot an AR pistol. I held it up near my shoulder with my check resting on the mag. I had no sights to use in this position, but I plan to either buy the factory scope mount or figure something out on my own. I had the factory mount on my old pistol LONG ago and with a reddot and that mount, you can rest your check on the mag and get the perfect cheek weld/sight picture. Due to the low recoil, it is actually very user friendly to shoot in this manner. I'm haveing a blast with them so far..........more fun then I did back in the early 90's. It's a bummer that is now costs $20 to fill the 100rd mag, and it only cost $10 about a year ago......still cheaper then 5.56. I need to re-visit the .22 carbine and pistol again as well. I have big plans to try re-work the 22 carbine and replace the forearm and front sight with a railed AR handguard and mount a reddot further forward then the factory mount. The .22s become less "Neat" with the factory scope mount on, because they hinder them to pivot open due to the bolts on the scope mount. More to come........ 
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 I just saw one of these for the first time today at a pawn shop for around 350ish +/- $25 IIRC. talk about a weird looking gun. was the 22LR version...kinda neat and intriguing. Doubt that price was very good....they had Norinco SKS's for 250 un tapcoized and one for 289 that had a tapco T6 stock. They did have a SKS D (ak mag version) for $315 cept it had a scope mount welded onto the top cover with some crappy bushnell scope on it.
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I have the M950... 9mm pistol. Love it, never had any problems with it except for one thing... the ejection port is facing down... so hand placement is critical if you don't want to catch that hot brass. Luckly I bought a brass catcher and it solved that issue. My toy... soon to be my fiancee's toy when we get married. It's her favorite gun to shoot.   Here's a bit of trivia... Spaceballs used the Calico rifles as their laser guns. |
| well if anyone wants more info on that calico I saw shoot me an IM and I can go check it out again tomorrow. I don't mind passing on a good deal to someone since there's a good chance in this area it will sit in that case like the WWII bring back luger, and 2 early 1900s 1911's and US property marked 1911 and 1911a1 which have very reasonable prices I might add. |
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It was a pretty simple mod. I cut the front end of the factory forearm off as square as I could get it with my power miter saw. It gets cut right in front of the molded in "Squares" that the stock rails go into. I had to machine a nylon bushing that has an inside diameter the same as the outside of the barrel, and an outside diameter that is the same as the inside of the handguard. Yes...it is a MI 2 piece free float handguard, it is the midlength version. I had to machine a groove (just remove enough material) in the lower ring of the handguard mounting piece....the half circle that clamps to the rear around the barrel nut. I have to remove enough material where the calico cocking lever runs. I attached the nylon bushing (it is about 2.5" long) to the barrel with 2 set screws. If they end up not holding securely enough, I will figure something else out. They seem to be very solid. I machined it to a very tight tolerance to the barrel. Then I drilled one hole at the 12 o'clock location on the handguard about midway front to back. This lines up with a tapped hole in the same 12 o'clock position in the nylon bushing. This holds the forearm from rotating. The semi-final product looks a bit different then what is pictured. It has the small (10x 24) machine screw through the top of the handguard, and I added a 5" YHM rail extender under the aimpoint clone. It needed to be raised about 1/2" and the YHM piece fit the bill perfect. The only thing I plan to do now is machine a slot in the YHM rail and slide it back to act as an attachment point to the front "Strut" of the receiver.......that will hold is perfectly secure for rotation and forward and aft movement......IF NEEDED.....I may do it anyway just to know that it CAN"T move anywhere. I am picking up a 22 carbine version tomorrow and I have very similar plans for that. I also have a simple mod to the 22 stock that I THINK makes it way better. These calico guns don't get the credit they deserve......they actually have alot of potential. I like this mod because you can mount a reddot further forward and it doesn't interfere with the mag inserting and changing like the factory "Saddle" style mount does. Same idea with the .22 carbine......this way of mounting will not interfere with the mag, and will also allow it to be broken down and pivotted open, like it supposed to be. Added......I own page 2 |
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ChinoUSMC: How solid is the laser mount? Is it solid enough to mount an optic on it in a similar location as HK_Dude's set up? I almost looks like you could mount a red dot with in an AR mount and a flash light in front of it. HK_DUDE: Thanks for the description. I am tempted to register my Calico as a SBR. I think a standard carbine or even pistol rail might work well. I also agree that the Calico doesn't get the credit it is do. It is kind of like the Daewoo rifles that are great, but few people know about them. The Calico is very interesting design. Too bad the 1994 AWB killed it's momentum. Hopefully, Calico will get rolling again and it will catch on. I just received my Calico a few days ago, but so far, it is one of my favorite designs. A day at the range will be the true test. If it runs well, I could see myself spending alot of money on magazines. Has anybody ever suppressed a Calico? I have a SWR Trident-9 on order. I would think the Calico's recoil system would work great with it. After all, the HK P9S has a reputation as a great suppressor platform and it works on the same system. A handy, suppressed, 100 shot 9mm carbine definitely has great appeal to me. |
one of the guys at the "Crime council" in the Crow had one. |
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Did your Calico come in a factory box? I got one off of gunbroker, the seller said it was factory new but it just came bubble wrapped in a generic box. Calico is impossible to get a hold of on phone or email. So far I like it. Fit and finish is not the greatest about what you expect from a typical mid tier American manufacturer. There are way too many parts in this thing though, it would never make a good combat weapon. Some springs are too stiff and some too soft (trigger is horrendous, the mag clamps are too soft). My telescoping stock is a real bitch to move, it took 2 people new, I polished the insides and lubed it up, now it is still stiff but manageable. |
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Mine did come in a factory box, but mine was supposedly new old stock. This may sound very strange, but I actually like to use my middle finger on the trigger with the 9mm carbines, and let me pointer finger (typical trigger finger) lay flat along the gun. I think it is due to the higher grip/lower action arangement of the stock. This way my pointer finger can lay along the bolt realease too, if I have the bolt held open on a fresh mag I can puch the release and fire in a split second.....and that is what a person need for those pesky soda cans The bolt seems very stiff, but it runs perfect, so I have over looked that. My mag catches seem to be very firm.....at least I think they are. I find the stock way easier to manipulate with the 59 round mag in place insted of the 100 rd mag....with the 100 rd mag in place it is had to hold the stock and press the stock realease with the thumb of the same hand. The factory comp is amazing efficient....I realize it is just a 9mm, but that things works. It may be a combo of the low bore to grip axis and the comp, but it honestly shoots like a 22. And I do have other 9mms that have a very oddly stout recoil. It doesn't hurt by any means, but they seem heavier then they should....ala Storm and Keltec folding 9mm carbine. Added.........I would be willing to trade one of my 100rd 9mm mags to someone for their 50 rd 9mm mags.....plus a small amount of cash my way. If anyone is interested. |
How do you mean? A pre-ban put in a new stock? Does it say "Liberty 1" on the left side of the mag cradle?
Yep, I think it's because those other subs are blowback where the Calico is roller delayed. My sub2000 is brutal for a 9mm. |
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