The Helwan 920: Cheap Knock-Off or Beretta-Quality? It mimics the semi-automatic 9 Interarms/Maadi - Helwan - 9mm - pistol. View Item in Catalog Lot #5. It is still a service pistol in common use in Tunisia, Nigeria, Sudan. What is the manual of arms for this pistol? Assembly, Disassembly, parts list, and basic operation - 9mm Pistol made in Egypt imported by Interarms, and others. 8.5X11, 24PP, manual, illustrated. I have the helwan 9mm interarms and the ser #1112639 i want info on it. 2016 Gun Values Board.
Xavier Thoughts: Helwan Brigadeer. In November of 2. I purchased a Helwan Brigadeer from Southern Ohio Guns. I wrote a review on my experiences with this pistol, and I've dredged it up from the old files on my hard drive.
Hey guys, an acquaintance at work sold me his Egyptian made Helwan 9mm today. It is a licensed clone of the Beretta M 1951 Brigadier, a predecessor to the Beretta 92. I have the helwan 9mm interarms and the ser #1112639 i want info. I am looking a 9 MM magazine Helwan 9 MM Cal.
For those who may be interested in this 9mm Beretta copy, here it is. For many years I have been interested in Berettas. One derivative in particular has fascinated me, the single action Egyptian Helwan Brigader.
The Helwan is a 8 shot 9mm copy of the Beretta 1. Sistema is a copy of a Colt 1. Beretta set up the factory and trained the workers to produce the pistol in Egypt.
Of course, that was a long time ago. Helwans have often been derided in the US as a cheap pistol with no real value. Recently Helwans have once again become available for $1. SOG. I figured for that kind of money, I could take a chance. When the pistol arrived, it was NIB, and a pretty flimsy box at that. It came with a manual, two single stack magazines, and a brush.
The fit and finish was OK, but not up to Beretta standards by any stretch of the imagination; not even close. The serial number and importer's marks were the typical CAI buzzpen job.
The slide is obviously cast. The sights are pure itty bitty military. The magazine release is on the bottom of the grip, Euro style. The barrel locks up with a falling block, like the 9. FS. The safety is a button that runs though the frame at the top of the grip.
Left to fire, right to safe. Cocked and locked is an option. The safety blocks both the sear and the hammer. I began to clean the pistol, and lube it in preparation to go to the range. I found that the grips do not like Gun Scrubber.
The trigger was heavy, and the underside of the slide was corrugated with machining marks, but it slid easily along the frame rails. The barrel locked up tightly. It is about as narrow as a 1.
Commander. The next day, after the grips had hardened up again, I took the pistol to the range. I also carried 3. Winchester White Box, 1.
Wolff, and a gallon bucket of 9mm reloads. I did my usual load one shoot one, load two shoot two, load three etc routine and had no unintended double taps. I ran a target out to 2. I began to shoot 4 inch groups, and as I settled into the heavy trigger, they began to shrink down, finally averaging around two inches. I stopped counting rounds at 5.
I had no failures of any kind. No failures to extract, no failures to eject, no failures to fire.
The recoil was heavier than I was expecting in a pistol this size. I'd equate it along the lines of my HK USP in . S& W. The pistol will empty a magazine as fast as you can pull the trigger. The slide release was a bit pointy and could use some smoothing out, and the trigger never did lighten up.
All in all though, I have to say that I am happy with the pistol. It is a low buck service pistol. You have to figure that into the analysis. It has the design of a Beretta, the finish of a Kel. Tec, and the price of a High Point. I found this pistol to be reasonably accurate at combat ranges.
It is certainly no target pistol, nor was it meant to be. I found it to be easy to aim and shoot despite the small sights. I will definitely strip this one down and see if I can lighten up that trigger some. Oh, and I think it deserves some new grips. It's a keeper. Helwan Update: Today, I tested my trigger job. I had replaced the hammer spring with a 1.
I had also polished up the sear and hammer hooks and applied a bit of Action Magic. The trigger was sweet now, and at the range, I saw some benefit in my accuracy. After approximately round 1. Helwan choked. It failed to extract a shell, and the pistol jammed hard. I was unable to field strip it at the range, so I pulled the magazine, put it in my bag and went to another pistol.
Tonight, it took a bit of work to tear the pistol down, but I was able to do it using my hands and leverage. The front of the frame rails had peened where the slide impacts them, making movement of the barrel very difficult. I could find no cracks. I took a file and removed the burrs from the front of the frame rails.
I stoned the rails everywhere the barrel contacts them. After a bit of work, I had the barrel sliding nicely again.
I reassembled the pistol and the action worked smoothly. I'm hoping that the original rough machining in the frame rails and slide rails contributed to the burr development that brought shooting to a halt.
If so, then beveling these corners should prevent it from reoccuring. I am thinking about adapting a B9. Shok Buff if I cannot find one specific for this pistol. It's possible the steel may be a bit soft. I tried to fit a heavier B9.
On another note, the blueing seems to be a bit thin, and is already starting to wear off the barrel. By contrast, my Beretta 9. FS that I purchased in 1. As of right now, I cannot recommend this pistol to anyone who is not a tinkerer.
For the money, it certainly is not a pistol to take to a gunsmith to fix. Because of this failure, I cannot recommend the Helwan as a defensive pistol either.
It is not a failure that can be cleared without taking tools to the pistol. On the flip side, If you can find a jammed one used, you might be able to pick it up for under $5.
I am not calling the Helwan a POS yet, as the problem may have been erased for good with a little filework and stoning. Time will tell. I never did get around to shooting the Helwan very much after that.
There were other pistols to keep me interested. Today, my Helwan still resides in my gun room, as a lesson learned and a possible bartering bit should I ever need one.