Jimenez Handguns

Purchases of inexpensive firearms will continue for as long as there are non-wealthy gun owners. Such guns will probably need service eventually if the owner wants to keep it running. I’ve had a variety of Jimenez handguns in my shop and this is an overview of what I learned. Jimenez JA Nine and LC380 We’ll start with the Jimenez JA Nine and LC380, which are based on the Bryco Arms Model 380. While I haven’t worked on the Bryco Arms predecessor, I do know the gun does not have a very good reputation.

This is not a review of these guns but they seem decent for the price. The finish of the dozen or so Jimenez pistols I’ve seen has been less than what I would expect of any well-known company. These actions need to be broken in to smooth them out and this can be aided by smoothing out the burrs. These guns have a cocked indicator in the rear, a cartridge indicator on top of the slide, and come with a well-designed trigger lock that cannot be manipulated to fire the gun.

Two keys are provided and they are Below center: Afield stripped JA Nine. a universal design that can be used on any Jimenez Arms lock. To field strip, don safety glasses and clear the gun. The pistol has to be uncocked to remove the slide and has a magazine safety. Insert an empty magazine into the cleared pistol, pull the trigger with the muzzle pointed safely to decock, then remove the magazine. Grasp the frame of the pistol in your right hand. Using your left hand, push the slide rearward until it stops.

Holding the slide in this position, push in the disassembly button and pull the slide upward. Note, the recoil spring will still be under tension and can fly out if not controlled. The slide will lift up. Lift it up high enough to clear the frame to prevent the slide from hanging up, then push forward off the frame. An alternate way would be to push the top of the slide against a non-marring surface, such as a bench or table top, allowing the barrel to go under the bottom.

When the slide is completely removed from the pistol, the only loose parts will be the recoil spring and the spring guide. The barrel is pinned to the frame and is not normally removed. Start with the slide for detailed disassembly. The finish is very easily damaged on this gun so use caution when removing pins. I managed to mar the finish using a brass hammer. Start with pushing out the retainer pin with a 1/16" punch to the right. There is some spring pressure on the retainer.

Remove the retainer, firing pin spring, and the firing pin assembly. This is really just a firing pin with an orange plastic end on it for the cocked gun indication. From the bottom, use a spring pin punch and drive out the roll pin enough to release the extractor and extractor spring. The cartridge indicator is staked into place and should not be removed unless it is damaged. The "optional" rear sight is held in by two screws. Remove the screw for the elevator and lift off the sight with the spring.

Unscrew the windage screw to push the base to the left. Once loose, there is a spring that the screw goes through in a slot. For the frame, remove the screws holding the right grip panel and remove the panel. Remove the trigger disconnector. Push down on the sear and release the cam. Remove the sear, sear spring, and the cam. Put the safety into the safe position. Remove the screws for the left panel and lift from the bottom to pull out from under the safety. Watch that the safety spring does not go flying

Top: Right side of frame disassembled. when pulling up on the grip panel. Remove the safety and safety spring. The spacer, disassembly button, and disassembly button spring can now be removed. Push the magazine release to the rear and note where the magazine release spring is located. It has to go back into the same location to release the magazine correctly. The trigger is considered factory only. There is a pin above the trigger that is pushed out to the right.

To get the trigger out, rotate the disconnector counter clockwise 90 degrees and it will come out of the opening in the frame. Be careful of the small spring on the top of the trigger as it is easy to miss. To reassemble, reverse the order of disassembly. While putting the pin back in for the extractor, use a 1/16" punch to line it up before pushing in the extractor pin.

The sear has to be put in with the square 1 Slide 2 Trigger Sub-Assembly 3 Trigger Disconnector 4 Sear 5 Sear Spring 6 Recoil Spring 7 Ejector notch to the rear. When putting in the magazine release, make sure the spring is in the correct place and hold the frame near vertical with a slight down angle to keep it there. Install from the left side and hold to the back until it clears the frame, then move forward to lock into place.

When installing the left grip panel, insure the magazine release spring is in back of the safety. The magazine release has to be pushed in while slipping the grip under the safety. Jimenez JA-22 and JA-25 The JA-22 and JA-25 are very similar with a few interchangeable parts. The frames are different to accommodate the different calibers.

The serial number is on the right side above the trigger for the JA-25 and 15 Spacer 16 Disassembly Button 17 Disassembly Btn Spring 18 Grips Pair 19 Grip Screws 20 Firing Pin Assembly 21 Firing Pin Spring 8 Ejector Spring 9 Cam 10 Cam Pin 11 Magazine Release 12 Mag. Release Spring 13 Safety Lever 14 Safety Spring on the back of the frame grip on the JA-22. I will note any difference in take down in the instructions and will show the differences at the end. To field strip, don safety glasses and clear the gun.

These models also have magazine safeties and recoil springs under tension that can fly out if not controlled. With an empty magazine inserted into the cleared pistol, press the trigger with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Remove the magazine. On the back of the slide is a take down button where the cocked gun indicator comes through. Push in on this about 1/8" with a punch or similar tool. While keeping this pushed in, lift up on the back of the slide.

Sometimes pulling the trigger will help release the slide easier. Slightly JA Nine (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 22 Retainer 23 Retainer Pin 24 Magazine Assembly 25 Extractor 26 Extractor Spring 27 Spring Guide 28 Rear Sight Kit

Above center: Afield stripped JA-22. pull backwards and the slide will clear the frame, allowing it to be moved forward off the frame. Control the take down button as it has JA-22 (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 1 Slide 2 Extractor Spring 3 Extractor 4 Recoil Spring 5 Firing Pin 6 Firing Pin Spring a spring that will shoot the button across the room.

When the slide is completely removed from the pistol, pull the take down button, 19 Trigger Sub-Assembly 20 Trigger Cross Pin 21 Trigger Return Spring 22 Left Grip 23 Right Grip 24 Grip Screws 13 Safety 14 Catch pin 15 Magazine Catch 16 Magazine Catch Spring 17 Magazine 18 Safety Spring 7 Take down Button 8 Ejector 9 Sear 10 Sear Spring 11 Ejector Pin 12 Cam recoil spring, and fining pin out of the back of the slide. The barrel is pinned to the frame and is not normally removed.

Detailed disassembly starts with the slide. The finish on these models are also easily damaged, so be careful. The only thing to remove is the extractor on the slide. Using a roll pin punch from the inside of the frame, push the roll pin out far enough to release the extractor. Leave the roll pin in the frame as it is very difficult to put back in. There is a small spring behind it you’ll need to watch for. For the frame, remove the screw holding the left grip panel and remove the panel.

Remove the safety and the safety spring. Take the right grip panel off and remove the cam. For the JA- 25, the sear and the sear spring can be removed from the top of the frame when the cam comes out. The JA-22 will require the ejector to be removed before disassembly. Push down on the ejector and push the pin out with a 1/16" punch, which should be able to be pushed without a hammer. Release the ejector. The sear and sear spring will now come out. Using a punch, push out the pin holding the trigger assembly.

To get the trigger out, rotate the disconnector counter clockwise 90 degrees and it will come out of the opening in the frame. There is a small spring on the top of the trigger that needs to be caught. The magazine catch is held in place by across pin. Push this out to release

JA-25 (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 7 Take down Button 8 Sear 9 Sear Spring 10 Cam 11 Safety 12 Catch pin 1 Slide 2 Extractor Spring 3 Extractor 4 Recoil Spring 5 Firing Pin 6 Firing Pin Spring the magazine catch, along with the spring. Reassembly is basically the reverse of disassembly. The sear has to go in with the angle to the front, otherwise the slide will stop on it and will not cock the gun or strip off a The JA-22 is on top.

The JA-22 on top is also half the thickness of the JA-25. 19 Trigger Return Spring 20 Left Grip 21 Right Grip 22 Grip Screws 13 Magazine Catch 14 Magazine Catch Spring 15 Magazine 16 Safety Spring 17 Trigger Sub-Assembly 18 Trigger Cross Pin round. For the JA-22 ejector, put the sear in place and hold down with a thumb when putting the pin in. Use a punch to keep the trigger in place while reinserting the trigger cross pin. The roll pin in the slide can be driven down too far and interfere Top: Take down buttons.

Notice the tab is longer on the JA-22 (right.) The taller one on the right is for the JA-22. with cycling. It should not be any higher than the step next to it. I like to assemble the slide without the recoil spring and then cycle the action to insure the slide will function properly. If it doesn’t, doing it this way is easier to get back apart to fix. The recoil spring likes to get in the way of the barrel when putting the slide on.

Pull the spring down and hold it compressed when slipping the slide over the barrel. Then, put in the firing pin, spring, and take down button in the slide once it is on the frame. Some notes on differences between the JA-22 and JA-25. The frame, barrel, and magazine are the most obvious differences. The sear, slide, firing pin, extractor, and take down button are the other ones. The rest of the parts I have found can be interchanged with no issues. AG