Range report - some new ones, some old ones

[Streetstar]

Warning: no traditional levergun or revolver content -- but twas an icy night and i had cabin fever so i took some pistol caliber carbines and a couple of new pistols to the range to try out. I'll spare you the pics of the Glocks and their targets as they all look about the same and groups were unremarkable -- but i did take a couple of 1911's (both Sig products) and was happy when the full size came around because i posted its first range report a couple months ago and the Officer's model shot circles around its big brother --- turns out the only thing wrong with the gun was the loose nut behind the trigger as is often the case


After posting about my accidental discharge a couple of weeks ago, i thought i would "exorcise those demons" by taking the offender (well - the offender was me primarily) - but the SIG 229 DAK --- i disliked the trigger immensely the first few times i fired it , but happy to report after i spent a few rounds figuring out how the DAK trigger likes to be staged, it calmed down. Its a duty handgun so i do not expect supreme accuracy , but its now on par with similar machines from Glock and the like. Really happy and the pistol is not on my list of things to sell anymore



On to some new stuff

Not a revolver, but having been designed in 1929 , still definitely "old school" is the Walther PP/K .380. I brought my little carry Sig 238 to have a shootout of sorts for .380 pocket gun supremacy.
At 10 yards , the results are bad enough for both that i'm going to call it a tie. This was definitely not something i was looking for but saw a very good price on it and thought i needed to try out the James Bond pistol. Recoil is surprisingly stout due to the fixed barrel blowback design and you sure have to hold it in the right spot or hammer bite will happen -- but i pronounce it a quite capable carry gun





LAst but not least -- and in keeping with the German theme, i meant to perform a MP-5 vs AR-9 shootout - neglected to take a pic of the MP-5 , but i was looking forward to trying the AR as it is new to me as well. Purchased on consignment from a dealership who stated the prior owner brought in a lot of Colts he was meaning to liquidate. This one was the only one that appeared to have been fired and the price reflected it - as many of the guy's collection were unfired with boxes, tags, etc. (which i consider a waste, but oh well) -- and the odd pistol grip and M4 style buttstock, plus a truly hideous UTG fore-end suggest it was the 'ol boys shooter - I slipped an ancient set of CAR handguards on and that probably lightened it by a pound and i will get some matching retro furniture for it when i can -- buuuuuuuut

The MP5 made it through its first magazine load without a hitch except inside a dark indoor range , i couldnt see the front sight post without reading glasses -- then with readers on, i could see the front sight crystal clear but couldnt see the center of the target -- but it performed like an HK should besides the ocular problem with the operator

But this one --- sheesh. Things started out real well -- first few rounds downrange with excellent trigger control - squeeze, release etc. - went great, -- but then , my finger lingered on the trigger a little too long and braaaap - 3 round burst. I thought --- oooooookay - dropped the magazine , broke the action open and inspected the trigger group. Nothing broken and nothing foreign in there (lightning links or obvious aftermarket looking stuff )
Loaded it up again -- exercised proper trigger control - pop, pop, pop -- then thought to myself - lets see if this does this again , as it was an icy night and i had the range to myself
Sure enough ----- braaaaaaap. At which point i unloaded , packed it up and headed out to talk to the range officer, as the range was attached to the dealership where i purchased the gun

I agreed that i would take it home , make sure it was thoroughly clean , pull the trigger group, inspect it and bring it back for another look few rounds downrange . This was 2 nights ago and i havent had time to give it any attention since then but i do recall hearing that blowback pistol caliber AR's are very hard on trigger components, so the plan is to probably replace the trigger group and make sure the proper weight buffer and spring is in there, but was a genuinely irritating conundrum. But i figured if im going to replace the furniture anyway - its not that big of a stretch to refresh the lower receiver



Before pic with the weird quad rail - and the footie pic is an ode to @Ysabel Kid

[Ysabel Kid]

Before pic with the weird quad rail - and the footie pic is an ode to @Ysabel Kid

Now we're talking!

Thanks for the great range report. I so badly need to get out for a mental break, but I've been dealing with constant work issues. Darn global warming freezing up all of our plants.

I recently picked up a stainless steel PPK/S. Couldn't pass on the deal. Same reason - always wanted the "James Bond gun". But I got the S&W version licensed by Walther. Neat thing, which I didn't know, is the S&W has a slightly larger beavertail which helps prevent slide bite. It loves good quality brass-cased ammo; it hates cheap steel-cased Russian stuff that I bought during one of the Obama ammo droughts and I'm still trying to get rid of.