Boberg

[kokapelli]

Haven't heard much about the Boberg lately. Anybody have any experience with it?

 

[jeepnik]

At the price they charge, I doubt they are selling many.

 

[wally]

Clever idea, but like the Mateba "auto revolver" too expensive to take a chance on unless you like collecting oddball guns. I do regret not buying a "close out" Mateba for ~$600 but that was a lot of money to me at the time and I wanted a Kimber Ultra-carry more which I found for a bit less at that same gun show.

I'd buy a Boberg if it was only about 50% more than the competitors, but not at the 2X+ I currently see them for.

 

[Girodin]

I'm not surprised. The chrono tests I've seen show very little velocity gain, amounting to no real world advantage. However, you get a more complicated system and a whole lot of added expense. Shocking that it has not turned out to be a winner in the market place.

 

[snooperman]

Based on the problems from those who have them on their web site or forum, I would stay clear of it. It is a very complicated design and has problems with feeding and ejecting.

 

[340PD]

There are four owners that come into our range. Nobody has had problems. The fun is watching that gun eject spent casings. They move backwards very forcefully and travel a great distance. Plan ahead if you save your brass.

 

[gun_with_a_view]

spent casings...move backwards

Possibly a Godsend for left handed shooters tired of dodging brass.

The guns are pricey. If one can write them off against income or is stout enough to simply eat the initial cost however, the dog may still hunt.

Bobergs certainly appear to be some highly concealable handguns with enhanced ballistics, given the overall lengths.

That has to come at a price. When push comes to shoot, I submit that price is always worth it.

 

[heyjoe]

no way am i buying a firearm for that kind of money that you are expected to fire 500 rounds out of it to figure out if it works or not before you send it back if there are problems.

 

[barnbwt]

You do realize there's an extensive tested ammo list right? Everyone acts like these guns, out for like five years now, are still shrouded in clouds of mystery... Finding ammo that won't pull apart is no different than finding a hollow point that feeds reliably (though quite possibly easier)

Arne's problem is simply that the concealed carry market is really crowded, and the gun market at large is cooling off. Hopefully his 9mm and 45 designs are keeping him fully employed (I suspect they are still selling well).

The main critique nay-sayers have is the pull feed scheme. Strangely, this is the exact system used successfully in countless heavy machine guns, from today spanning the entire last century. I'm so sure it's inherently flawed. No, it's simply that handgun ammunition is made to extremely low standards far too often, so much that shooters don't even realize they are running bullets that are loosely crimped (or not crimped) and can be either pulled from, or pushed into the case with the mere force of recoil. Machine gun ammo is properly crimped so this does not happen; quality handgun ammo is properly crimped so this does not happen. End of story.

Strangely, nay-sayers hardly, if ever, comment on the other "questionable" traits. I'm no function/testing expert, let alone on Boberg's but the off-set recoil spring (of 1/4" or so diameter), supposed "self lubricating parts" that still retain faint texture of machining, lack of magazine follower, and use of sliding aluminum parts internally all give me more pause than the feeding tongs. Apart from the mag non-follower that occasionally pops out the mag lips and cases issues, there have been few reports of problems with these other items.

Mainly, it's just people trying to use badly-made ammo in the guns, which are uniquely intolerant of it. At least they won't set the bullet back and grenade in your hand like push-feed designs, though.

TCB

 

[heyjoe]

Arne is no longer an employee at Boberg. He is still a share holder and design consultant.