The Grendel P10 is a .380 ACP pistol designed to use 10-round stripper clips in a fixed magazine. Specifically, it used M16 clips – the case head of .380 is nearly identical to that of 5.56mm, and so the clips can be interchanged. Neat! The downside is that the Grendel has a terrible trigger, pretty bad sights, and a reputation for malfunctioning. A lot. So, what could go wrong? Sounds like a perfect gun for the BUG Match!
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“(…)a terrible trigger, pretty bad sights, and a reputation for malfunctioning.(…)”
https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Grendel_P-10_/_P-12 reports that One of the complaints of the P-10 was its tendency to eject several unexpended cartridges out of the top of the internal box magazine when the first shot was fired, thus dumping out unused rounds onto the ground. which certainly count as malfunction, but I want to point that is especially severe disadvantage in timed competitions where loading (requiring lot of dexterity) is part of measured time. Were this and other malfunctions of P-10 fixed in production or by after-market kits?
A bit of lore from the Old West. Having only six shots in revolver was not a big problem as most civilian encounters were settled in less than six shots.
True. But that’s like saying the Pieces River is a foot deep ‘on average.’ One can still step into a hole over his head. If I pay for a 10 shot pistol, I expect 10 shots
Pecos River
Obviously, if a gun has a ten rounds magazine, it should be able to fire all ten rounds. But, as difficulty to reload is mentioned, what had been said about the Kel-Tec PR-5.7 is still valid. Most people that daily carry semiautos, don’t carry a spare magazine anyway.
I suppose someone should mention that the P10 is George Kellgren’s pre-Kel-Tec design and the precursor to the current PR57. Considering that the ASP channel has reviewed thousands of civilian gunfights and noted only one armed citizen needing a reload (in Pakistan!), the idea of a fixed-magazine high(ish)-capacity compact civilian self-defense pistol is not that unreasonable. Of course the execution could have been better.
A bit of Russian lore. When loading an AK from a stripper clip, grab the slug of the top most round by the tip with the index finger and pull up. While keeping the first round rotated up, push down on its base with the thumb to push all of the rounds into the magazine.
This works for the AK since the rounds are bottle necked and long, so fingers can get between the top and second rounds. Don’t know how well this would work with the fully cylindrical rounds like 9mm. There may not be enough wiggle to get a gap between the first two rounds to insert fingers.
Instructional video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nLyv8Xe1zQ
Why is it in video sks and not ak?
Same ammo and clips. Should also work on ARs, if clip loading is a thing. Works on .303 British Lee-Enfields. I don’t know about calibers that are not tapered or bottle necked.
I think this works as the pressure is put on the base of the cartridges. If you push the middle of the top cartridge, you risk making the base rotate upwards. This does not apply the proper force to the rest of the cartridges.
All the awkward loading and malfunction to eject issues aside, and suffering fixed combat style sites with a horrible trigger – I was much surprised at how accurate it performed at all for a schlocky .380 pistol. Take into consideration the Grendel P12 with detachable magazines that came later (much the same pistol, albeit detachable mags) maybe that’s something to look at and a follow-up video to do in comparison to the P10.
“(…)Grendel P12 with detachable magazines that came later (much the same pistol, albeit detachable mags) (…)”
How it did affect reliability?
You did it, Congratulations!