Jiminez

[mr surveyor]

well, I finally had the opportunity to handle some of the fine NIB Jiminez firearms. My new best friend (local gun shop owner) decided to keep a couple of "affordable" firearms in the safe for the occassional buyer that just couldn't affford better quality weapons. After all, the poor folks among us are just as deserving of being able to defend themselves as any of the rest of us (I think the whole damned "Saturday Night Special" legislation is racist, bigoted and.... o.k., that's another discussion). This dealer does NOT get into trades for junk, but will occassionally take a high end weapon on trade (that's how I got my Kimber SS Compact), and deals mainly Beretta, Kimber, Ruger,  various AR "black guns", and a few other of the better quality firearms. Anyway, that's a brief description of this country gun shop owner.  His desire to accomodate the occassional lower taste or lowere budget buyer led him to get a few Jiminez pistols in the shop. First thing he did was to take the JA25 to the range and discovered it seemed to have major feed problems. Since I had asked him about a .25 cal, he decided to call me to let me know "the gun you ordered is here" The problem he described sounded somewhat familiar, so I offered to "tinker" with it a bit and test it at the range. After stripping it down the feed problem was very obvious - the same stove black paint (or whatever the cheap coating is) was covering the feed ramp, and in the chamber. A bit of 400 grit sand paper, some q-tips and a bit of CLP went a long way. My son and I put 50 flawless rounds through it, and the darned thing is amazingly accurate. I would doubt that it would be able to withstand more than 500-100 rounds in it's life, but for a person needing a little pal at home it should be fine.

Today, he called again and requested I check out one of the Jiminez .380's he just got in. I did the same thing, this time in his shop, on his bench, before taking it out to test fire. I did not get a complete polish on the ramp before taking it out, but got the paint off and made some attempt to brush the grain towards the chamber It did occassionally need a little help chambering the first round, but cycled flawlessly on it's own. We put a full box of Rem FMJ's through it, and just like the JA25, the thing was amazingly accurate, and recovery between shots was no problem. We were only shooting at 3 yards, to make sure we could see and account for every shot as fired, but a couple of times I was able to point a 2 inch circle and rapid fire all 6 rounds into it.

I really do NOT care for the lack of quality, or the design of the guns, but they do have their place. I have a very close friend that because of various events in his life lives almost in poverty and has let himself go to the point that arthritis and a few other maladies are nearly killing him. He lives in an older neighborhood that is "on the decline", and often feel he may someday need to defend himself in his home. I have let him try to rack the slide on various pistols, and cock the hammer on various revolvers, but his wrists and hands just don't want to play nice, and he couldn't afford anything I showed him anyway. The P32 was an almost, but not quite on racking. The little JA25, even though it is a less than desired handgun, should be easy for him to handle, and if he can load, chamber and put the thing on safety (probably not the best safety either) he should at least be able to squeeze off a few rounds if he ever needs to. I'm planning on giving it to him after the holidays are over.

For the record, he can't handle a shotgun either. Tried that too.

Anyhow, this was intended to be a range report on alternative quality handguns.

(I want one too )

[michaelfm]

They are not as bad as you might have heard. Here is a link to an excellent F&B website on the JA .380

http://concealed-carry.5u.com/

I recently acquired a Jimenez JA Nine, which used to be known as the Jennings Nine and Bryco 59. The gun is extremely accurate, and reliably feeds JHP.


http://www.bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=141

For $100 bucks, you can't really go wrong. There is a need for affordable firearms. Jimenez fills the void nicely.

[oldgranpa]

Cool!!

Here's a link to my old report on the old site....

http://www.ktrange.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=5098

My only concern is don't carry it loaded with a round in the chamber. The firing mechanism is "striker fired" and while it has a safety, there is only that little lug holding the firing pin back. It might not happen but if the lug breaks or gets a hard enough jolt, it might fire.

Cheers,
og

[Kahrdriver]

If you find one used a Bretta 950B jetfire in .25ACP would be about ideal for a disabled person.  The tip up barrel makes them easy to load and make safe and they are very reliable.

[michaelfm]

The little Taurus PT25 is also very similar to the Beretta, as well.
I agree with OG, do not carry a round in the chamber in the Jimenez guns. I probably will never carry the JA Nine anyway, since at over 32 oz with a fully loaded mag, this baby is real hefty. Makes a good extra piece to carry in the truck. And if my truck gets broken into, I won't lose any sleep over losing a $100 gun. The F&B guide also applies to the JA22 and JA25 as well. The JA Nine is slightly different, but many of the same techniques also apply. The JA Nine has a nice adjustable sight feature, and a slide lock hold open on the last round. Won't take the place of my P11, but can have a lot of fun with it for minimal bucks. These guns do have a place. Many people can't afford a Kimber, Sig, H&K, etc, or even a Kel Tec for $250. But most can put together $100 just to have something for home protection. And the finish work can be done with minimal tools ands cost, just a few hours of your time.

[Wyoshot]

I picked up a jimenez ja 9mm the other day. I bought a heritage arms 22 pistol and the gun shop owner basically threw it in with the purchase. I was thinking to myself, "Wow two guns - a 9 and a plinker for $200.00. Not Bad!" Then I researched the ja 9 when I got home. I was shocked by all of the negative press. So I took it out and shot it. 3 rounds, jam. 5 rounds - jam. Unfortunately that was all of the ammo I had with me that day. I looked at the info in this thread, but I had already taken it to my uncle. (I asked him to take it to the next gun show and trade it. He told me he could probably fix the mag issue.) So I am waiting to get it back or get a replacement gun. I will let you all know if it comes home.

[whkento]

Hey, welcome Wyoshot. 

I'd have to agree that there's a need for inexpensive SD pieces.  I'm interested in hearing more, though I must admit I've mostly read / heard they're pretty unreliable.  I'm thinking a couple of shots before jamming is better than zero... 

[shooter10]

I have no experience with the Jimenez, but some with the Bryco and Jennings, plus Davis.  The Davis was a .25 ACP, had been purchased for less than $40., and fired several times, then loaded and put in a nightstand.  Years later, dumped in this ladies handbag, and carried.  I received a panicked phone call one night near midnight when she had just returned home, and not asked but told to come over to her house, and get that thing out of her purse.  It seems that model had a plastic safety, which over the years had soffened enough to not be kept in place with the detent, and in amongst the jumble of the purse contents, had managed to be turned to fire.  Then with a movement when the purse was set down, had fired.  She would not touch the purse, until I had removed the offending pistol.  I still have it, but would not carry it.
The Bryco 9 mm had managed to somehow unock the slide from the frame, and while the person firing it was not injured, to suddenly find himself holding just the frame, and empty magazine was surprised, and even after re assembling it, didn't trust it, rapidly got rid of it. 
Jennings needed much tuning and a complete fluff and buff to function with any degree of dependability, and I know of no one who has actually used one and still trusts it.
They may have improved some, but for not much more money, you can purchase a more dependable firearm, or so I believe.  I would think much of their success in sales is definately a price point, then the very non gun person buys one box of ammo, maybe fires a magazine full, and bets the life of himself and his loved ones on a very undependable firearm.  This I find to be almost criminal.  Just one person's opinion.

[Preacherman]

There is a special forum for Saturday Night Specials.
I'm rather fond of cheap guns, myself.

If a person is willing to do a little amateur gunsmithing, you can change a sow's ear into a silk purse, and have some fun doing it.

http://bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com/

[oldgranpa]

I should never have sold my Jiminez 380. Like everyone said, it fires with good accuracy. And while the frame and slide are Zamax zinc alloy, it's built quite durable. Marshall said it right, a little work on it and it becomes reliable.

After all is said and done I rate it a B compared to the LCP which gets a C-.

og

[Preacherman]

Coming from OG that is high praise indeed!

I can get a Jimenez 380 in Chattanooga for $110, brand new.  I think I will save up my pennies.
It will be too heavy for concealed carry (at least the way I like to carry-front pocket), but it might be a fun range gun!

[vt800c]

I have a JA-22 and LOVE it.  But then it's not for self defense, I have it for fun.  And popping 13 rounds rapid throught it (load and chamber one, load 6 in each mag) really makes me smile.  I haven't counted, but as it's my only (well up to recently) .22 LR, and I know I've done over 10 boxes of LR ammo since the New Year, I'm guessing I got over a thousand rounds through it.  I sometimes have a fail to fire, but I put the same round through (after turning it 90 degrees in the mag) and it goes the second chance.  That makes me tend to believe it's more a function of the cheap Wally World ammo.  Cycle the slide and move on.  The ONLY reason I wouldn't use it as my final SD gun is because the reliabity of the .22 ammo.   (CCR is pretty good)

[oldgranpa]

With all the good reports I feel even more stupid for ever selling my Jiminez 380. I did that since the magazine would only load 4 rounds. It was too tight near the bottom. The pistol fired without flaw after I did the minor gunsmith work on the chamber and feed ramp. I should have kept the pistol and just ordered a new magazine.

I need a pistol to keep in the car and just leave it there. The J380, for it's price, is perfect for that. And if ever need to use it and police take it for evidence, I wouldn't loose a high priced gun.
So looks like I better start looking for a new J380. Can't beat the price.

og

[jmbratmoter]

just picked up a new JA NINE Saterday at a gun show. Put a hundred rds thru it that same day and had 2 feed jams. one was ammo [blazer], one was the guns fault.  Took the gun home and cleaned and inspected it. I did a web search for the feed jam problem and found out that the machine work leaves edges in the gun and that paint on the loading ramp can cause the feed jam problem. I took the gun apart again, not a hard thing to do with this gun, and looked at the all the places the gun had rubbed or had a place where it could drag,  like the outside of the barrel, spring retainer, slide, and the feed ramp. I did not use sand paper on it, that would take off to much material from the gun . I used crocus cloth[ polishing paper] and emery cloth. I first work on the feed ramp with the emery cloth and removed some of the paint, just enough to smooth it down and then I used the crocus cloth on the feed ramp, outside of the barrel barrel, and the spring retainer where it rides on the barrel. Parts of the slide had some rub marks on it so I did a little polishing on that as well. I took the gun to the range on sunday and it shot very well with no feed jams. The JA-nine is a nice gun for a good price and with a little work better buy than some guns

[Preacherman]

I'm glad you all are enjoying the cheapo guns.  After all, that's what they are for, right?  Just having some fun shooting, or a glove compartment gun, or a tacklebox gun.  They won't last like a GLOCK, but they are what they are.  I have the Jimenez in .25 and .22, and the Phoenix Arms also in .25 and .22.  Just fun little guns.  If you haven't all taken a look at the Bryco, Jennings, Jimenez Forum you ought to take a gander at it.  Use Google and you will find it fast.