4122 rounds later…

The SMK25 at the beginning of it's firing cycle. Contrary to what some people believe, the bullet has already left the gun well before recoil takes place...
The gun continues to be incredibly easy to control...
The gun continues to be incredibly easy to control…

UPDATE: 6,613 Rounds fired, no further issues. Check back Monday for a complete update. -John

First off I think there’s been some confusion as to what this test is, and isn’t. The Salient MK25 is the PROTOTYPE of a possible design package that Salient Arms is considering offering next year. What does that mean? Well I’m glad you asked. The entire purpose of the test is to see what works, what doesn’t, and what fails miserably. This is not a production gun by any stretch, so please keep in mind that what you’re seeing with this test is product development being done in a public venue by an independent member of the “gun media”. When you consider the implications of that, it’s actually a pretty bold move on Salient’s part…

The SMK25 sitting on top of it's new best friends...
The SMK25 sitting on top of it’s new best friends…

Monday night the bulk of the ammo that will be used for the test finally arrived. Armscor USA was kind enough to donate 20,000 rounds of their excellent 124 grain 9mm load to be used for testing. I can honestly say it’s some of the nicest ammo I’ve ever shot. Of the 1,500 rounds that I fired yesterday I had ZERO ammo related issues, which can’t be said for the Remington and Federal I was shooting prior to this. If you get the opportunity to pick some up, buy with confidence, it’s good to go…

500 rounds of 9mm loaded into magazines... Thanks Top Gun Supply for the magazines!
500 rounds of 9mm loaded into magazines… Thanks Top Gun Supply for the magazines!

Following the example of Todd Green’s long term test guns on the 3,124th round, a little over 500 rounds after I broke it down and cleaned it for the first time, the SMK25 experienced it’s first failure to eject. A simple tap rack did not fix the malfunction, so shooting was halted to determine why the gun was locked up. The cause became readily apparent as the Wolff recoil spring that Salient had used to tune the recoil characteristics of the gun had somehow become trapped between the guide rod and the slide. If you are using one of these recoil springs in one of your pistols I HIGHLY recommend that you inspect your gun to see if this is a possibility. On receiving the pistol from Salient I had noted that the recoil spring seemed to be too narrow a gauge. In my initial test firing of the gun I had no issues, and decided to leave it alone to see what happened. The fact the gun managed to fire 3,123 rounds prior to this, with what I consider to be a defective part, without any issues was surprising to me, though you should draw your own conclusions. Upon disassembling the gun the Wolff spring was replaced with a factory 226 recoil spring, and 998 rounds were fired without issue. I am still carrying the gun, and feel confident that it will do what I need it to do, when I need to do it…

Yup, that'll do it...
Yup, that’ll do it…

 

The SMK25 at the beginning of it's firing cycle. Contrary to what some people believe, the bullet has already left the gun well before recoil takes place...
The SMK25 at the beginning of it’s firing cycle. Contrary to what some people believe, the bullet has already left the gun well before recoil takes place…

Total rounds fired as of this morning put the gun at 4,122 rounds with one failure to eject. From a statistics standpoint the gun is performing at or above the industry standard of 2,500 rounds between failures. It continues to be incredibly easy to shoot well. Thursday I will be taking the pistol to my engineer friend’s property to Ransom test the gun to determine it’s mechanical accuracy when compared to my base P226R. Today I plan on putting at least another 1,000-1,5000 rounds through the firearm. I’ve really yet to find anything about the gun that I don’t care for. Surefire has assured me the X400 Ultra Green they are providing for the test should arrive to my location on Thursday, I’m looking forward to seeing what adding a WML to the pistol will do in terms of it’s handling. Additionally it’s looking like the Salient will be traveling down to Atlanta this weekend to become a video star, stay tuned! Until then, enjoy a video of me chasing performance gains through training… https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=404638263000343 SCORE: SMK25-4,122 rounds FAILURES-1

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7 Comments

  1. Looking forward to the results as this pistol is one on my short list and l wouldn’t mind a custom Salient firearm as well. they are expensive but you get what you pay for just like anything else.

  2. says: Eliot

    I can report that I had the exact same issue with a Wolff replacement spring during a full-day tactical exercise. The gun (a stainless steel P226R) worked fine over the first 200-300 rounds and then it locked up in the worst possible way. Luckily we had a Glock/Sig armorer present who manage to fix it. I replaced the Wolff spring with the factory one and finished the day 800 rounds later without any further issues.

  3. says: Eliot

    I am sure I am telling you what you already know, but I feel I should add one final comment: I tried the Wolff spring because I wanted a slightly stiffer spring. After finding out the hard way that the Wolff spring doesn’t play nice with the stock guide rod I also found that Sig offers a slightly stiffer spring as well: 16lb vs 15lb that my P226R came with. I combined that spring with the Gray Guns’ Super Black guide rod for 100% reliability and improved recoil characteristics. All for under $50.

    – Sig 16lb spring: http://www.brownells.com/handgun-parts/recoil-parts/recoil-springs/recoil-spring-3-strand-16lbs-sport-sku732000271-21974-47576.aspx
    – Gray Guns guide rod: http://grayguns.com/products/custom-fat-super-black-guide-rod/

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