Any Downside to Owning a Reising

[Skookum]

After examining availability of lower end NFA weapons, the Reising is high on my list. It is available, C&R, can be had in unaltered excellent condition, and has some historic interest, having been used in WW2 by the USMC.

The few threads posted here are generally not about how to fix problems (take a look at some of the threads for some other full autos). Contrary to the environment that the Marines found themselves in during the Pacific campaignes, I get the impression that if kept clean and lubed, that they function well.

What, if anything, is the downside to owning a Reising?

Thanks

[Brian Ski]

From what I see... Not much of a down side except the the mags... Pretty pricey and have a low capacity... Unless you can weld some together... But it makes the price higher... Also not really sure on the numbers but some guns only take 12 round mags unless you change the mag well...

Parts are not really easy to find but I have seen some out there... Personally I was thinking of one myself...

[FULLAUTOSLUT]

Reisings are great range guns mine never misses a beat, I really don't plan on using it for a tactical entry, storming the beach, or engaging in any home combat where my life would depend on it.

The price is right as they are considered junk by most high end collectors, but I think they are full of crap it is a great firearm with a unique history, well made and an ingenious design.
As more people see and handle them they will grow in popularity - and price.

[JTinIN]

The Reising is one of three "common" closed bolt subguns - the HK MP5 family and the M16/9mm being the other two - both typically in 9mm.

Reising has a lot of history, is C&R, makes a nice 45 cal subgun and is a factory built gun - which to me is always a plus.

One possible down size for some, is the Reising is not a "system" gun such as the Uzi, HK sear, Colt M16 lower or even a MAC now days ... but then again most C&R guns are not.

Other things to consider with the Reising is the faster rate of fire (at least in all that I and friends have fired - but still nicer than an equal barrel length MAC10/45 ;-), is harder to get parts than the "system guns listed above, during the AW mag ban was a real pain to get mags for, some of the guys had issues with firing pins.

Lastly the Reising took a bad rap IMO just because it was not a Thomson ...

I would say fire one first before you purchase and if you like it and do not have to be changing caliber, sights etc. ... get one.

[Open Bolts]

How do they shoot? I know this is subjective but how easy/hard are they to hold on target? Any comments on operating them would be appreciated.

[Garrett]

How do they shoot? I know this is subjective but how easy/hard are they to hold on target? Any comments on operating them would be appreciated.
As noted, ROF is kind of fast. About like that of a MAC10/45. To be honest, I think the MAC10 is a little easier to shoot well, as long as you have a good solid stock and a can or a good brake installed. With the wire stock & no can, the MAC10 takes a back seat to the Reising.

I'm still trying to use my Reising for competition. I've been shown how to "flick" the trigger to get singles, but have a long way to go to master that technique.

As an all-around fun blaster, they're great.

[coyle311]

I love my reisings. I'd have to disagree about them being harder to keep on target than a mac, but then again, I'm not allowed a can in Missouri. Parts are pretty easy to come by. If you get one that only has a 12 round mag well, you can change it out in about 1 min and the mag wells are available. Try one out if possible.

[Garrett]

I love my reisings. I'd have to disagree about them being harder to keep on target than a mac, but then again, I'm not allowed a can in Missouri.
Yeah. Missery is a bummer about that. I just moved away from there. My cans had to live in another state. :(

BTW: try getting a fake can. I picked up an all steel one for when I lived in Missouri. It weighs about 50% more than my Aluminum silencer, and the extra weight helps out a lot.

[MuzzleFlash]

If the ROF on your Reising seems high, have you looked at replacing the springs? Wolff Gun Springs sells a complete set.

[Garrett]

If the ROF on your Reising seems high, have you looked at replacing the springs? Wolff Gun Springs sells a complete set.
When I got my Reising, it had some tired, worn out springs. I could reliably get doubles with the gun. Then I put in the Wolff springs and was doing good to get 3-shot bursts. 4 or 5 was more common.

New (heavier) springs make things faster.

[ptrthgr8]

I don't think it's a down-side at this exact moment, but at some point it's going to be difficult to find replacement parts for our Reisings. When I first got my Reising (last year), I purchased multiple firing pins, extractors, and bumper plugs just so I'd have plenty on hand while they could be found. Aside from that, I don't really see a down-side... heck, now that Christie's making mags again, you can get really nice 30-rounders for $80 (and they work like a charm).

I got my Reising for the exact same reason that so many other folks got one -- I wanted an automatic weapon, the Reising has history, it's in .45 ACP, and it's one of the least expensive options (simply because it faired poorly as a combat weapon). Plus, I've been collecting milsurps for a while now and I really like the look of the wood stock... Macs, Uzis, ARs, etc. are nice (and I wouldn't mind owning a FA version), but the wood stock of the Reising is simply classy as all get out. :)

If you're seriously considering getting one, you should probably make haste -- they're already climbing in price and it won't be long before they'll be out of reach for the average Joes like you and me.

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[texasvwnut]

Does anyone know what happened to Paul Hayes parts inventory? I've always wanted a Reising but was fearful of the lack of parts so I never pulled the trigger on purchasing one (as of yet).

I spoke to Mr. Hayes shortly before his death and he told me he had thousands upon thousands of Reising parts. He was a very nice man but I was afraid that if something happened to him the parts might be out of circulation for some time. As of yet it appears that his parts are still MIA.

[ptrthgr8]

Does anyone know what happened to Paul Hayes parts inventory?

I'm not sure at all... but if the parts were available at one point, then I'm sure they'll be available at some point in the future. It's sorta like the Finn M39s from WG&A... worst case is that they'll be tied up for a couple of years, but they'll definitely find their way to the market at some point.

Unless someone melted all the parts down (for some stupid reason), it's only a matter of time before they become available again. In the mean time, there's still other sources for parts (i.e. I've gotten a lot of parts from Numrich in the last year), so you shouldn't let that keep you from getting a Reising. Compared to the other FAs on the market, they're definitely a steal and will only sky-rocket in price (perhaps even more so than many of the other FAs - WW2 era weapons seem to have a special niche market if nothing else).

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[az paul]

Easy to keep on target!! Comfortable shooters and reliable. You'll love it.

[tony k]

Does anyone know what happened to Paul Hayes parts inventory? I've always wanted a Reising but was fearful of the lack of parts so I never pulled the trigger on purchasing one (as of yet).

I spoke to Mr. Hayes shortly before his death and he told me he had thousands upon thousands of Reising parts. He was a very nice man but I was afraid that if something happened to him the parts might be out of circulation for some time. As of yet it appears that his parts are still MIA.
FWIW, I talked to Ken Christie about that. He said he had sold most of his stock to Paul Hayes years ago, and that he has talked to his widow about making sure it goes to someone who will make them available to Reising owners again. I got the feeling that Ken was considering buying it all back.

Either way, he said it would be six months to a year before the estate is settled and the parts inventory is sold to a new dealer. But he was fairly certain it would all go to an active seller, and not get stashed away in boxes somewhere.

[Brian Ski]

FWIW, I talked to Ken Christie about that. He said he had sold most of his stock to Paul Hayes years ago, and that he has talked to his widow about making sure it goes to someone who will make them available to Reising owners again. I got the feeling that Ken was considering buying it all back.

Either way, he said it would be six months to a year before the estate is settled and the parts inventory is sold to a new dealer. But he was fairly certain it would all go to an active seller, and not get stashed away in boxes somewhere.

I am not a Resing owner... But that is always great to hear... How many times all those parts are pitched by a widow just because they are just "junk".

[bodybagsryan]

I have a pair of 50's and until recently a 60. Live a few miles away from the original plant and have come to know quite a number of "old goats" that use to work there.
To answer your question, after shooting many thousands of rounds out of quite an assortment of Reisings we look at the following items of concern from a functional standpoint:
1. The firing pins have a habit of breaking when subjected to consistent hard use. I believe Ken Kristie has an "unbreakable" model which we used in a 50, ran it very hard and it did not break.
2. One of the charging handles developed a crack in the left wish bone portion.
3. An ejector popped out but can be reinstalled quite easily. A new one should be used.
4. Parts are to some degree hard to come by. Don't buy used parts.
5. The Wolf spring kits work very well.
6. Some of the feeding jams with factory 20 round mags. occured because of weak magazine springs. We took some springs out of 30 round Thompson SMG magazines, cut them down a bit, contured them to the Reising follower/system etc...and this cleaned up that problem. The 30 round Ken Kristie mags worked flawlessly. While on magazine issues, disassemble your mags, scrub out the inside of the body/spring & follower and then coat them with a teflon dry lube. We use Remington Wonder Lube up here and it works great. Finally, examine your feed lips. Make sure they are properly contured to the feeding of the cartridge into the chamber and that there are no nicks, dents etc. in them. Check the mag. bodies for dents etc. too.
7. Like a M1 Carbine, do not relieve the feed ramp area. You may unsupport the rear of the case body resulting in an explosion.
8. We are not very confident in the extractor but they seem to hold up fine. I check mine quite frequently-examine the cleanliness of the system, contour and spring tension.
9. Reisings are not dirt friendly. This is not an AK. We fired AK74's with what would be normally considered an extraordinary volume of beach sand in the receiver and it would still function. We doubt this would occurr with the Reising however we are not about to perform this test with a 60 plus year old C&R selective fire sub gun valued in the mid 4 digits in USD's. The USMC did this at Guaducanal under extremely testing conditions and the Reising system was a failure. So you should keep it very clean and lubricated.
Other than the above caveat's to be aware of, if you are considering the purchase of one, I'd have it disassembled by a competent individual and examine the firing mechanism for wear & tear, springs for tension, condition of the bore & chamber, charger, fit of the compensator (if any) & magazine funnel and the condition of the wood stock. You should fire one first (maybe your future one??), also to get a feel of the system. It's got a lot of "pop in it's soda bottle" for a sub gun of this configuration.
The final conclusion is that this is an extremely fun sub gun that works quite well with the above items being looked at. C&R status adds a lot of flavor to the concept of inter state portability. Never mind what they sold for a year, two or three years ago. They are a low cost/end entry level sub gun that can provide megatons of fun for the beginner, expert or anyone in between.