Matchguns MG2

This post is intended as a review of Matchguns MG2 and its supporting community.  I was drooling over this pistol since 2017, handled one in 2019 and found it to be very comfortable.  Picked one up recently in used section.  It did have issues, but Kang @ Gunrunners (the importer and support in the US) have helped me a TON and issues were resolved.  So I will start section by section.
 

1. Kang is AWESOME!  Turns out he is an avid shooter who wanted to support the community by importing these pistol in.  What started as a local thing turned into a national support.  He was easy to talk to, knowledgeable, sent me lots of writeups and of course found a fix for my issues.  Great guy!  
   
2. There is a small but very supportive community for MG2.  Doug, Jon, Patrick, Slava, etc. do writeups, post videos, exchange information, develop new aftermarket parts, exchange needed parts and support local shooters.  Issue root causes get communicated to the factory with hopes of new and more robust iteration of parts and designs. 
   
3. MG2, as it turns out, existed since 1980's.  I always thought since early 2000's, but turns out much earlier. Hence the redesigns, tooling and retooling sometimes caused issues that are documented in the reliability reviews. 
   
4. The pistol mechanics are not nearly as daunting as they appear.  It is a fairly genius and simple system.  However, it is intricate in its timing that must be perfect. 
   
5. PISTOL REVIEW - It is the most well-balanced, ergonomically and anatomically correct, well-fitting pistol I have ever had a pleasure of using.  Balance is spot on.  Grip is the best grip I ever used (among Nill, Rink, Morini, Hammerli, Walther, FWB and Pardini grips), I cannot imagine a better fit.  Racking a slide is no-issue with lots of grip surface and big scallops - this is a huge deal for my hands.  Trigger is great, maybe a small step below Pardini (in my personal opinion), but not at all noticeable.  Sights are amazing and I would say best in class - fully adjustable and wider blackout/back than Pardini.  Accuracy is hole in one. 
   
6. Comparison - I think this pistol is most comparable to Pardini.  Trigger is better in Pardini (for my setup), but all else is leaps and bounds better in MG2. Pardini is more reliable...probably.  I get it, reliability is the key.  I hope Matchguns can finally make one bulletproof.  Walther, Hammerli and FWB are just different animals with more 1911 grip angle.  I like more rake on my pistols.  Never owned or tried Benelli.  Speaking of grip - it is fully adjustable for more or less rake, left or right side tilt.  
   
7. Should you but one? - If not for the reliability I would say that everyone should buy one!  However, the way this pistol is designed and the factory-made parts may mean out of box issues or issues later on.  THANKFULLY we have great support in the US!  I would say that you DO have to be mechanically inclined to own one.  When they run well the reward ratio is high. 
   

In the end I am thrilled to own one and having dealt with issues I learned a lot about the mechanics of this pistol, gaining much more respect and appreciation.  
Another shoutout to the Matchguns supporting community!

Great guns, I have two.  7k rounds of SK through my primary gun and zero alibis.  Just need to use the right ammo for your gun.

Ditto, use proper ammo that functions... If you adjust the grip to be more vertical, depending on the extent, you will also need to relieve the grip for the slide to cycle or it will crack the grip. If the gun starts shooting weird or jams, make sure the grip is tight and barrel is tight. Recently also discovered my set screw for my 2nd stage trigger plunger backing out and NOT to use moly grease on the hammer to sear contact because it won't hold weight. I drench my pistol with oil, helps flush the debris away and keeps things working as designed. Had a conversation recently with an Olympian who uses the E-Trigger version, he prefers it over that other P-named Italian model... 150% support from Kang and Eulette in obtaining my pistol and parts support for just in case...

So how do I contact Kang @ Gunrunners? I have a MGH1 Hybrid that I love and thinking about upgrading my 22 shooter to something nicer than my Hammerli X-esse.

MatchGunsUSA at hotmail dot com

Also have Xesse's and really like them, but dealing with Walther is a PITA. Am using my MG2 for International events and Xesse's for Bullseye, just because the grip angle transition when going to centerfire/.45.

Thanks to the OP for the great review. The MG pistols continue to intrigue me. Maybe I’ll take the plunge someday.

Is there a good way to mount an optic on the MG for BE competition?

hengehold wrote:Is there a good way to mount an optic on the MG for BE competition?

Yes, there are 2 styles of mounts. One via 2 screw rib that goes on top without removing rear sight. Newer stye is a 3 point mount where you would remove rear sights. Older is Jon Eulette style, if I am not mistaken. Newer is Slava's (?). Reach out to above mentioned email and Kang will point you in a right direction. Here is newer style:

https://youtu.be/Ye2QPUakVBw?si=v1avjSg2USyyjFZM

Here is a 2 point mount. Literally a rib held with 2 screws. 

It’s a .22. I wouldn’t be concerned about it only having two screws.

Tripscape wrote:This post is intended as a review of Matchguns MG2 and its supporting community.  I was drooling over this pistol since 2017, handled one in 2019 and found it to be very comfortable.  Picked one up recently in used section.  It did have issues, but Kang @ Gunrunners (the importer and support in the US) have helped me a TON and issues were resolved.  So I will start section by section.
 

1. Kang is AWESOME!  Turns out he is an avid shooter who wanted to support the community by importing these pistol in.  What started as a local thing turned into a national support.  He was easy to talk to, knowledgeable, sent me lots of writeups and of course found a fix for my issues.  Great guy!  
   
2. There is a small but very supportive community for MG2.  Doug, Jon, Patrick, Slava, etc. do writeups, post videos, exchange information, develop new aftermarket parts, exchange needed parts and support local shooters.  Issue root causes get communicated to the factory with hopes of new and more robust iteration of parts and designs. 
   
3. MG2, as it turns out, existed since 1980's.  I always thought since early 2000's, but turns out much earlier. Hence the redesigns, tooling and retooling sometimes caused issues that are documented in the reliability reviews. 
   
   

Tripscape:

Can you please point me to the videos and other information mentioned in your earlier post?

I have a 2007 era MG2 serial number 137x.  Located in Canada, with no dealer.  Kang helped me get some parts recently, and there seems to be a lack of old version parts at factor.

Thanks
Tim Lahey

Tim,
Here is Slava's channel. There is no central database of knowledge. There are personally shared writeups and videos. Kang will send you what is available if it helps you. I can send you what I got if you pm me with your phone number linked to whatsapp, and email. Pretty much the things Kang sent me. Good point though, we need to store this knowledge somewhere. 
https://www.youtube.com/@slavazharichenko?si=XmXHLeB8Rbw_vM5E

Yev

KBarth wrote:Great guns, I have two.  7k rounds of SK through my primary gun and zero alibis.  Just need to use the right ammo for your gun.

If you are lucky (or spend some time tuning things), they will shoot a wide range of ammo.  Between my wife & me, we have 3.  We got the first two in late 2019.  Hers has been largely trouble free since day one.  The slide cracked (known problem that has been addressed), and Kang got a replacement quickly.  It's been fine since.  My first one (1 serial number different) was a train wreck.  I spend a lot of the pandemic figuring out how to tune up the extractor & ejector to get it working reliably.  Once I had it running beautifully with a range of ammo, the slide cracked, and I was back to square one.  Kang sent me a bunch of bad slides to experiment with, and I still don't have it reliable enough to compete with, but boy have I learned a lot...

I got a third one in 2021, and it's been great until recently.  After ~ 7000 rounds, it started jamming.  I figured out what it was doing & have a fix that I'm still refining.  I've got over 20K rounds through my problem pistol, and I need to go back to that & see if the phantoms I've been chasing are related.

Kang actually went over to the factory last year and had a lengthy discussion with them about all the issues we've been having.  They have made a LOT of improvements to the way they make the pistols, and control design changes.  There are still some things settling out, but I'm hopeful for the future.  Kang said the latest batch of pistols was the best he's seen.  Jon Eulette also reported some recent design changes to the latest MG4 that I'm hoping they will carry over to the MG2's.

Based on how well my 2021 pistol worked, I recommended them to a couple top local shooters a little over a year ago.   They were both unreliable from day one.  I got some parts from Kang, and got one fixed with a new slide.  I'm still waiting for the owner of the second one to bring it by so I can try to fix it.  At that point, I gave up on recommending them, but I may change my tune once things really settle out at the factory.

They are hands down the most "shootable" pistol I've ever fired.  I have a Pardini SP, two Benelli MP90S's, and the MG2s.   The Benelli (for me) has always shot noticeably better than the Pardini, and the MG2 is a similar step up over the Benelli.   

If you get one that works reliably, they are a dream to shoot.   They also get dirty faster than any pistol I've ever shot.  They cycle so fast that the powder doesn't have a chance to burn completely.  I have a high speed video I took that shows a case coming out of the action with burning and unburned powder pouring out of the mouth...  If you get a good MG2, they will shoot with an appalling amount of grime in them.  I did a torture test on my newest one, and fire 800 rounds before it started jamming.  A routine cleaning isn't too bad, but occasionally you need to take out the carrier/elevator, and that requires a bit of mechanical aptitude.