Gone Shooting - Colt 45 Day

I went to the shooting range again Monday morning. The weather was great and the crowd was light.

There were three Colt 1911 type pistols (all in .45ACP) that I decided to take. I haven't shot them very much this year and I'm definitely a little rusty.

I took my 1953 Government Model (top right). That's the one I actually carried for several years. I paid good money to upgrade the stock sights and then stopped carrying it shortly after. It has a larger fixed back sight and a Novak gold bead front, installed with a dovetail cut. It's definitely the easiest to shoot of the three. If I ever go back to carrying a 1911 it will be the one.

The second pistol (lower right) is another Government Model made in 1978. It's the first Colt 45 I ever bought and cost me the grand sum of $375.00 in 1991. I could've bought a brand new Colt for only a little more, the budget priced 1991 Model had just been introduced, but I decided to go with this used 70 Series. It didn't have the additional firing pin safety and this pistol was so much prettier with its polished blue finish. The 1991 had an ugly plain black finish and plastic trigger. I made the mistake of selling this Colt a couple years after I bought it to finance some other gun I've completely forgotten. Fortunately I knew who had it. Years later I was able to get it back and won't make that mistake again. FREE ADVICE - Don't ever sell a gun unless you are 110% absolutely positively sure. Nowadays this pistol is mostly a safe queen (along with another 70 Series my dad gave me) but I decided it needed to be shot. It has been years.

The third pistol (left) is a steel frame Colt Commander made in 1977. I first bought it in 2015 and took it shooting back in the spring. Last trip I only put some ball ammo through it and wanted to try out some hollowpoints this time, but I forgot to bring them. It's always something.

Gratuitous Gun Photo Time!

Beretta 92D - "D" is for double action only trigger.

Me and the USP

If you are a regular reader no doubt you already know about my long standing admiration for Smith & Wesson revolvers. I carry them in public on a daily basis. Let's just say that I like 'em a lot and leave it at that. But my other gun, the one that also gets used every day but not talked about nearly as much is my Heckler and Koch (HK) USP (Universelle Selbstladepistole) chambered in .45 Auto. The USP is my "house" gun and is right next to my bed when I sleep. If something goes "bump in the night" it will be the HK in my hand when I get up to investigate. Truth be told, if I had to head for the hills and could only grab one handgun on my way out the door - it would be the USP.

But there are a lot of great handguns around, what makes the USP for me?

Reliability - An unreliable gun is not only no fun it's useless for self-defense. The USP has no problem in this regard. I've owned mine since 2009 and have put almost 5000 rounds through it including 750 rounds in one range session (boy do I wish ammo was still that cheap). I have used very expensive hollowpoints to low quality practice ammo, and everything in between, including questionable reloads and even some truly ugly, corroded WWII era ammunition. To date - not one malfunction.

Accuracy - The USP is just an inherently accurate pistol. When I take it to the range it makes me look good. I hit what I aim at - hitting is always better than missing.

Magazine release - I know there are many that don't like the HK paddle style mag release but I'm not one of them. I believe it's one of the best features of the gun. I can use my trigger finger to release the pistol's magazine - just like my AR-15 and SCAR17. Not only that but the USP is the only pistol I own that I can drop the mag without having to either use both hands or shift my grip on the gun.

Soft shooting - The HK USP is a big honking pistol! It is also the lightest recoiling 45 Auto I own - those facts might be related.

Capacity - The USP is one of the higher capacity 45 Autos you can buy - 12 round magazines. Yes there are a few pistols that will hold more but the HK is the one that fits my hand best.

You can put a light on it - I know this is 2016 and almost every full size pistol made has a rail but the USP originally came out over twenty years ago when rails weren't that common. I'm glad HK was ahead of their time. Seriously, if your home defense gun doesn't have the ability to attach a light you are doing yourself a disservice.

But the USP is by no means perfect and has its own issues, including:

Size - The USP is a big honking pistol! What makes the USP easier to shoot also makes it harder to carry. Except for short trips when I carry concealed I prefer IWB. That's pretty hard with the USP especially if you spend much time sitting. Please note that I said size not weight. I carried a Colt Government Model for years and the USP with 13 rounds weighs about the same as the Colt with 9 rounds.

The rail - Heckler and Koch, being Heckler and Koch, just had to do things their way, including their own proprietary rail system that won't work with anything that is not specifically designed for it. There is an adapter for using accessories made for the standardized rails on the HK. It is a pain though.

The price - HK don't make nothing inexpensive.

But even with those minor problems the USP is for me. I trust my life with it every day of the week. That says everything.

People with guns collection # 96

My pal Terry shooting Army 45 - Korea - 5/5/53

Gone Shooting

I went shooting again yesterday morning. This time I took my Ruger Charger pistol. If you're unaware the Charger is basically their well-known .22LR 10/22 rifle with the stock removed, bipod and a shorter barrel. Mine is one of the old style, newer models have a pistol grip like an AR-15.

I bought this used in late 2014. Yes, I've owned it for nearly 18 months and just now got it to the range. That's how far behind I am.

When I bought this it had a cheap red dot sight attached but I wanted something with more accuracy potential. I had a nice fixed 4X Bushnell scope and some Leupold rings that weren't being used. A much more accurate set-up and didn't cost me an extra dime either.

I got to the range when they opened and spent most of the morning sighting in the pistol. At 50 yards it was completely off the paper (to the left) when I started but after many rounds I had it very close. I ran out of ammo before I could finish but it won't take much to complete the job next time. Reliability wasn't an issue at all.

Bulk Federal match (320 rd box) was the only ammunition that I used and the Ruger liked it very much. I had several 3-shot groups you could cover with you thumb nail. My best for the day was a single one hole group that measured 3/8 inch.

I also brought along my 627-3 from the last shooting session. Since I intend to carry this I wanted to run some more rounds thru it to double check reliability. Yesterday I only fired some "cheap" Remington full power 158gr loads and they're pretty stout from that 2.6 inch barrel. The guy one table over thought I was shooting .44 Magnums! Like the Ruger I did my shooting at the 50 yard line. With the short barrel and sight radius I wasn't expecting much although I managed to hit the target 75% of the time!

By then the morning was nearly through and the temperature was starting to rise. I called it a day, a good one.

Gone shooting

I went to the range yesterday morning, the temperature was 70, the sky slightly overcast - nearly perfect shooting weather! I had a "new" gun I wanted to try, a Smith & Wesson SW99 (45 ACP) that I recently purchased.

If the gun looks familiar it is because I owned (and blogged) about a similar pistol that I had a while back, the SW990L. The two handguns are nearly identical; the main difference being that the 990L was more like a double action only type trigger while this SW99 has what Walther calls the Anti Stress (AS) trigger. I won't go into a detailed review of the differences today, perhaps at a later time.

It's possible that I might use this gun for concealed carry and self-defense so this time I was more interested in reliability than anything else. I took along several brands and types of ammunition for testing. Typically, when I want to check the reliability of a semi-auto pistol I will randomly load the magazines with various types of ammo and see how it does. Today I took 3 types of hollowpoint ammunition (all 230 gr), some old 230 gr ball and even some 185 gr semi wadcutter match ammo. All the above was loaded in the magazines with an effort to keep changing bullet types at least every few rounds and to top off each mag with something more difficult (like WC or HP) than ball ammo.

I fired 170 rounds in this fashion without a single malfunction. Today I shot at the 25 yard line and firing unsupported kept the groups at 4-5 inches. Next time I take this gun to the range it will be with my chosen self-defense load to see what it is really capable of.

I had a really great morning and hopefully will get back to finish testing real soon!

People with guns collection # 80

Jenny 1925 - Tactical Flapper

Gone shooting - One last time for 2014

I went to the shooting range this morning, one last time for 2014. Every New Year I make a resolution to go shooting at least once a month but I never seem to make it. Typically it's the weather that stops me but other things, like life, come up too. In the last six weeks I had plans to go shooting three different times and we had rain or snow every one of them. This morning it was cold (32) with some minor drizzle. I went anyway.

I have several rifles and pistols that need to be test fired but this morning I only took my HK USP 45. It is my "House" gun and it has been several months since I shot it. I needed the practice. The pistol light stays on it most of the time now so that's how I wanted to shoot today. It has a different balance with the light on. The USP is monotonous in its reliability, which is what you want from a self-defense gun. I have owned this pistol for several years now with thousands of rounds thru it - not one malfunction - ever. The only drawback to the HK is parts (like magazines) are costly. When I bought this in 2009 12 round factory mags were about $50 unless you could find them on sale. Now they're about $75.

Checking back in my records I see that I did not fire one round of 22 Long Rifle in 2014. I have plenty stocked up but I just couldn't bring myself to shoot any. Not when you couldn't say if you could replace it. Remember when you used to buy 22LR for cheap and regular practice - or even fun? Fortunately, availability is getting better and prices are coming down. I guess all the hoarders are finally getting their fill.

Hopefully I will shoot a lot more in 2015 than this one. But of course I say that every year!

Gone shooting - Sig P556

I went to the range this morning. Perfect shooting weather, 65 and sunny. I've wanted to get my "new" Sig Sauer 556 pistol to the range since I bought it in July. I also had a Magpul 40rd magazine I recently bought and wanted to test too.

I brought along Winchester and Federal (55gr) and Federal (62gr) 5.56 ammunition as well as three sizes of Magpul mags. I should have brought some GI mags to test with it but forgot them. It'll have to wait until next time.

I started out the session by zeroing the gun. It was shooting a couple inches to the left for me but it was an easy fix with the Sig Diopter sight. After that, I shot 30 rds thru the pistol WITHOUT using the brace. I wanted to get a feel for how it handled when you didn't use it. I spent the rest of the time firing from a standing position while shouldering the brace.

Most of my firing time was with a standard USPSA/IPSC target. All shooting was at 25 yards.

There were no great revelations this morning; everything was just as I assumed it would be. Firing unsupported my groups were easily 2.5 times what they were when I shouldered the brace. They looked like a shotgun pattern, all over the "A" and "C" zones. Rapid fire (with any kind of accuracy) was nearly impossible.

The groups tightened up considerably when I used the brace. I was easily able to keep my shots in the big "A" zone. With a lot of concentration I could even keep my shots in the small "A" and the "B" area. The Sig has a 2 stage trigger that is a little on the heavy side with a lot of takeup. It is not match quality but once you get used to the feel it is more than adequate.

The gun ran flawlessly. I fired 140 rounds thru three different magazines without a malfunction. This gun really throws the brass though, about 25 feet at the 2 O'clock position.

As you would expect, muzzle flash and recoil with the 10-Inch barrel was greater than a carbine length one. But it was controllable even in rapid fire. That short barrel heats up real fast though!

The only downside this morning was that after I finished shooting I noticed the flash hider (appears to be a standard AR-15/M16 type) had come loose. I not really sure it was on there right to begin with.

I think I can say with some certainty that this Sig pistol is a "keeper" - as it is. But if the laws were to ever change and you couldn't have the brace I don't think I would want it. The thing is just a monster without it.

New pistol!

Recently I got a good deal on this used Sig Sauer P566 pistol. I need to get it to the range soon!

People with guns collection # 72

PRESIDENT TRUMAN RECEIVES GERMAN PISTOL -- SPRINGFIELD, MO.: President Truman waves a silver-plated German Luger that was given to him by Dr. Junior Mills, a Springfield dentist and former artillery captain, when the Presidential train stopped in that city, July 5. Someone in the crowd at the station asked the President if the weapon is for use at the convention. "Oh, no, not necessarily," the President replied. "I can use it in the campaign." 7/6/48

Gone shooting - Walther OSP

I went to the range again yesterday morning. The skies were clear and the temperature was 70, nearly perfect weather for shooting! I have several guns that need to be shot, either to try them out a first time or to sight in. It's my goal to have them all done in 2014. I will.

Yesterday I took my Walther OSP. I've owned the pistol now for way over a year and never got around to shooting it. It was time to change that.

The OSP is a competition designed pistol chambered in .22 Short only. The magazine, just ahead of the trigger, holds five rounds. Walther also made a model in .22LR and .32 (GSP) and all of them are known for their superb accuracy. Coming from Walther you would expect nothing less. This is not a gun that I would normally be interested in but in late '12 I had the opportunity to pick up this 1988 dated gun at a good price. I decided to take a chance on it.

I set out for the range with my Walther and two types of ammo just to see what it could do. Well, the Walther could "do" much better than I can. From a rest and with some RWS match ammo I was shooting half inch groups at thirty feet. I'm not used to such a fine trigger and it quickly became obvious to me that this pistol was capable of much more accuracy than I am. I also tried some CCI hollow point ammunition. Reliability was excellent with the RWS, I did have a few hang ups with the CCI.

As you would expect with a gun chambered in .22 short and with a weighted barrel, recoil was nonexistent. The oversized grips were quite comfortable too and made it a pleasure to shoot.

I had a great morning at the range yesterday but I haven't decided if I'm going to keep this Walther yet. Magazines and replacement parts are not cheap or plentiful, and to be honest I think maybe this gun might be too good for me.

Gone shooting - Rainy day R.A.P.

It was raining this morning; I went to the gun range anyway. You see, I have numerous pistols and rifles that I need to shoot, either to test fire for the first time or to sight in. I promised myself that I would get this task done this year and I intend on keeping that promise.

Today it was the R.A.P.s turn at bat. The R.A.P. (Republic Arms Pistol) 401 was a small 9X19 handgun (also offered in 40S&W) made in South Africa. A number of them were imported into this country about fifteen years ago at a very modest price.

The R.A.P. is a small (6.5 inch length) recoil operated pistol that works using the Browning tilting barrel system. It is all steel in construction and has a thumb safety/decocker that allows the gun to be operated in two different ways. The pistol can be carried with the hammer down on a loaded chamber and fired as a conventional DA/SA pistol, in which case you can press down on the safety and use it to decock the pistol. The safety can also be pushed up and with the hammer cocked you can carry the gun in condition one ("cocked and locked") if you prefer.

I purchased this excellent used one a few weeks ago for less than it actually cost new in 2001. Accounting for inflation I guess it has lost considerable value since then. The interweb verdict seems unclear about this pistol, I have seen numerous posts singing its praises and others claiming it to be the worst piece of junk ever conceived. At less than half the price of a used Glock I decided to take a chance on it.

The pistol is well made both inside and out. Fit and finish is excellent and the gun at least appears made to high tolerances, the slide/frame fit was very tight.

Today I just wanted to fire some rounds thru it to get a general idea of reliability and accuracy. I didn't set up a target; I didn't want to get my boots (and the inside of my car) covered with mud. There were a couple of 2 liter bottles that a shooter left on the firing line at approximately 15 yards. I decided that was good enough. I took a bag of loose 9mm with me, leftovers from previous range sessions. There were 110 rounds altogether, mostly consisting of Winchester ball, but also included ten rounds of Remington hollowpoints.

The pistol has a heavy but smooth DA trigger pull and a single action that breaks at about 4.5 pounds. The 3-Dot sights seemed to be right on and I was consistently hitting the bottles. I would say the accuracy was certainly good enough for the intended purpose of this gun. Function was flawless with several brands of ammunition and both ball and hollowpoints. Recoil was light because of the weight (approx. 35.5 oz. loaded) of the all steel gun. The finely textured grips helped in controlling the recoil too.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep this pistol yet but it has not given me a reason not to. The only reason I would sell it would be because of lack of support and accessories for it. Although Astra A-75 mags (and some parts) will supposedly work on it that won't help me if something major breaks.

The R.A.P. certainly made a good showing at the range this morning and from what I know about it (so far) I wouldn't have any misgivings about using it in its intended self-defense role.

People with guns collection # 64

"PHOTO SHOWS: Gen. Boatner shows Warang Du, a Kachin Chief, how to put a clip in the U.S. Army .45 cal. automatic pistol which Boatner has just presented to him because the Kachins have cooperated with the Allied effort. Chiefs who receive the pistols as gifts give their wives the empty cartridge jackets to wear in their ears." 11/4/43

Gone Shooting

I went shooting on some private property yesterday. The weather was perfect, dry and 70 degrees. I have several guns that I need to shoot for various reasons but have been putting it off for months now. Yesterday I took my two Ruger Mark II pistols. The Government target model I've had for a while. It is a wonderful target pistol, exceptionally accurate but will still shoot anything you feed it. The Standard model is a 50th Anniversary gun I inherited from my dad. It had never been shot and I needed to try it out. The Ruger MKII has to be one of the finest semi-auto .22 pistols ever made. I've never had a problem with one and yesterday was no different. Mark II pistols are still reasonably priced right now but it's a good bet their value will only be going up since they're not made like this anymore.

People with guns collection # 61

"MARINE RAIDERS LEARN A NEW FIGHTING STANCE -- Crouched to make them a smaller target, members of one of the new Marine 'Raider Battalions' practice the new stance on the automatic pistol target range. (See Wire Story)" Aug 25 1942

People with guns collection # 60

"ANNAPOLIS STEPS UP TRAINING -- ANNAPOLIS, MD. -- Here midshipmen maintain a keen shooting eye at pistol practice. Summer practice cruises on the larger vessels are out for the duration, but the future naval officers board patrol boats and sub-chasers for three-week periods to permit familiarity with actual ship handling, tactical principles and maintenance. (U.S. Navy Photo)" 6/21/43

Product Review - Land Shark Leather

Yesterday I received in the mail a new holster for my Browning Hi Power. I was so impressed I thought to review it here. The holster was made by Land Shark Leather and is exceptionally done. Rob runs Land Shark Leather as a one man operation. He makes no claim that his holsters are better than the competition but that he produces a "quality product at a reasonable price." I wholeheartedly agree. I have bought a lot of holsters and seen many more over the last 20+ years. Rob's holsters are top notch and well worth the modest prices he is asking. I ordered his "Tiger Shark" model and couldn't be happier with it. It's made of premium cowhide and precisely molded for the gun. My Browning is a perfect fit. The workmanship is outstanding and extra features like the body shield are a nice touch too. I ordered the plain model because I'm a "basic black" kind of guy but he does offer his holsters in different colors and some more exotic materials if that is what you are looking for. If you are in the market for a new holster send Rob an email and see what he can do for you. Land Shark leather - highly recommended!

Gone Shooting

I went to the shooting range this morning. The weather was cool and the sky overcast. All in all, a nice day to go to the range.

Today I took .45 pistols again, like most every time so far this year. Once more I brought my main carry gun, the Colt. I try and take at least one of my carry guns with me whenever I go, even only putting a magazine or two through it is better than nothing.

I also brought my .45 USP. It's my house gun and it occurred to me that although I've shot it numerous times I have never fired it with the flashlight attached, like it sits next to my bed.

Both guns ran flawlessly. The USP even gulped down some old semi-wadcutter target loads I had on hand. The USP has never failed me once. Not through thousands of rounds of different bullet types, ages and manufacturers. It is one of the most reliable pistols I have ever owned.

But the main purpose of the day was seeing if the HK's attached flashlight affected the gun's performance in any way. I couldn't distinguish any significant difference. The gun balance has been changed slightly but accuracy and reliability were the same. Having more weight under the barrel might have marginally reduced felt recoil but to be honest the HK is very manageable to begin with. It's hard to tell if there really was an appreciable difference.

But it was a good morning shooting anyway.

Gone Shooting - Déjà vu

I went down to my local shooting range this morning (sorry, no photos). Just like last time the only gun I took was my Colt Government Model. Also, just like last time, the weather was cold and dreary. At least it wasn't wet today. I can't wait for spring (weather) to finally get here.