Holsters, we got holsters here! Anybody who owns handguns owns more holsters than they will ever need, and the search for the perfect holster never stops. With the arrival of the Glock 31 and Glock 19, I decided to learn from my observations at the Big Sky Practical Shooting Club in Missoula. There I've seen a fellow named Dennis Sparrow shoot a Glock 20 (10 mm) and he uses a Safariland 5181 paddle holster. Now, all of the gun magazines and all of the pictures show people using Galco "Gunsite" holsters, or other fancy specialized holsters made for competition. The Safariland 5181 always seemed like what you'd see a detective wear at some police station, because paddle holsters are easy to take off and on. I never thought a paddle holster would stay in the same place and be easy to use for competition, but it was apparent that Dennis thought otherwise. After looking through one of the new Dillon Precision catalogs, I decided to order a 5181 for the Glock 31 (same size holster used for the 17 and 22). This holster has an adjustment screw so that you can set the tension just as you want it, and make sure the gun stays in the holster when it is supposed to, and comes out when it is supposed to without a lot of extra effort. The first thing I noticed is that the Glock 19 fits in this holster just fine. The barrel is shorter and the slide doesn't fill up the full length of the holster, but it still has a good fit. There is a 5181 made for the Glock 19, but I'll just use the one I have now for the 19 and the 31.
It is just as important that you be able to re-holster the handgun as it is for you to be able to take it out in a hurry. If the top of the holster closes up when the gun is removed, it can be difficult to re-holster with one hand. The 5181 is just about perfect in terms of re-holstering. At first the paddle part of the holster feels a little different, but after a day of wearing it, you stop noticing it and the holster is very comfortable to wear. At one point Safariland made a belt loop adapter for the 5181, but I don't believe they stock it anymore. Most customers, including me, like the paddle and it does the job.
The SIG 229. Way, way back up the page there's a picture of a silver chrome Browning Hi-Power pistol. I had one, traded it, got it back, and traded it for a brand new SIG 229 in .357 SIG caliber - with night sights. This was on a Saturday. Sunday afternoon I took the new SIG 229 to the range. I loaded a magazine full of UMC ammunition, held the gun steady, and fired. It worked great. The second shot hit close to the first, both close to the point of aim. The third shot...misfired. I was amazed and astounded. UMC is made by Remington, and Remington is as good as any ammunition you can buy. SIG has a reputation for reliability second to none. A one in a million event. Then, as I tried firing more ammunition, I encountered several misfires. The primer strike marks were very shallow. Before doing anything else, I put some of the same ammunition in the Glock 31 and it worked great, no problems, no misfires. All symptoms, indications, theories, and opinions, not to mention clues, pointed to a problem with the brand new SIG 229 - with night sights. The pistol went back to SIG in New Hampshire, and it's still there several weeks later. The 226 is still here, and it still works great, but my absolute faith in SIG Sauer has been shattered, and it may take years before the damage can be repaired. Right now, I'm not sure how many weeks or months it may take before the pistol is repaired and returned.
OK, it's now a few weeks later and the SIG 229 has returned. According to the people at SIG, there was nothing wrong with it. They said to change ammunition. In English, it sounds like they said, "Don't use Remington UMC brand ammunition." Well, that was a surprise. The gun works fine with other brands, inlcluding all of the premium brands. Maybe someday Remington will be able to manufacture ammunition good enough to work in SIG pistols.
Our Friday night sessions at the Blue Ridge Arsenal Range are never boring. Sometimes these sessions are more exciting than other times. Last night was very exciting. While in Nashville, Tennessee, I went to a gun show and picked up some MagSafe .357 SIG ammunition. The label says things like 2,150 fps and 64 grains. This means a very light bullet travelling at a very high speed; one good way to generate some muzzle energy. Since MagSafe is expensive, and since bottle-necked cartridges tend to have few feeding problems, I figured it would be a good idea just to fire one round to see where the bullet would impact in relation to the sight picture...so I fired one round. It was loud, had a pretty good flash and hit right where I aimed it. After that I loaded a magazine full of regular Speer Lawman TMJ .357 SIG cartridges, but the first one wouldn't go into the chamber. That was odd. This never happens with the Glock 31.
I checked the barrel for obstructions (always a Very Good idea in these situations) and found that most of the cartridge case from the MagSafe round was still in the chamber. The case had separate about 3/8" up from the rim. In a defensive shooting situation, this would have jammed the gun before the second shot could be fired. It's better to learn these things at the range than be surprised at the worst possible time.
While at the range, I got a chance to fire a couple of Glocks I hadn't tried before, the Model 29 and Model 33. The 29 is a compact 10 mm pistol. We didn't have any high power loads so we were firing the equivalent of a 180 grain .40 S&W round, but the 29 was very easy to handle with this load. I don't think it would be a problem with my favorite 10 mm Silvertip ammunition. After that, I fired the Model 33 - Glock's compact .357 SIG. Since this is the type gun that might be fired at a target four yards away, and fired more than once, I did a few "double taps" at close range. The gun recoils, as it should; it's a .357 Magnum more or less, but the shots stayed on the target. I think I like the Model 33.
There was one more "new" gun to try out Friday night, an M-1 Carbine made from surplus parts. I fired an M-1 Carbine for the first time back in the mid-1960s during a Civil Air Patrol summer encampment. Back then, they gave us cotton to stuff in our ears and no eye protection that I can recall. The M-1 Carbine is not a powerful rifle. In terms of muzzle energy, it's better than most handguns (at around 900 foot pounds), but way under most rifles (about half the energy of a .30-30). The Carbine is very easy to shoot. After all, it was designed to be used by support troops rather than front line soldiers. The Ruger 10/22 and new Ruger Police Carbines are patterned after the M-1. No wonder the Ruger .22s and new PC-9 and PC-40 are so popular. The rear sight on my M-1 Carbine keeps coming loose, but I was still able to get a decent group on an IPSC target at 25 yards.
More Glock comments. Glocks are simple and have few moving parts. Today I got to see how easy it was for an experienced person to take a Glock apart, change an internal part, and reassemble the pistol. The pistol was the Model 31. I plan to try this gun in an IPSC match later this year and wanted to come up with every possible advantage, so I bought a "3.5 pound connector" to replace the stock part which gives about a 4.5 to 6 pound trigger pull. In order to replace the connector, you take a small tool which looks like a punch and push some key pins out of the gun. This frees up two internal sections, both having to do with the workings of the trigger. The actual connector comes out of the rear section, and the new 3.5 pound connector takes its place in just a few seconds. During the process, I got to see the very slight difference between the two parts: the angle of a particular surface, and this is what changes the trigger pull. It took just a couple of minutes to put the gun back together again. The lighter trigger pull was very apparent.
Of course, we had to go try this out, so several of us took off for Clark Brothers store south of Warrenton. They have a nice range there and you can shoot all day as long as you buy the ammunition there. That's the good news. The bad news is that ammunition is expensive there. We weren't about to let that get in the way of an Important Test, so I invested a lot of money in the last box of UMC ammunition they had on the shelf. I wasn't worried about the UMC brand working in the Glock. Everything works in a Glock it seems. I fired about 30 rounds and could tell the difference in the trigger pull on every shot. the lighter trigger does make a difference.
In the midst of this test, I fired one shot from a SIG 229 in .357 SIG and it hit about 1/8" off the center of the target at 50 feet away. Not all of the Glock rounds were that close to the middle, but that's ok. SIGs are more expensive.
There is a lot of debate about whether or not you should carry a pistol with a light trigger for personal protection. The reasoning is that a heavier trigger might not be pulled by accident. All things considered, I guess I agree. I shot the Glock Model 29 (10 mm) the other day with an 8 pound trigger and you had to make more of a conscious effort to shoot that gun. There are good reasons for having all of these variables. In competition, however, the lighter trigger does help.
It's July again. Time to get ready for the annual Al Kimery Memorial Match in Missoula, Montana. For the past couple of months, I've been thinking in terms of using either the Glock 31 with a .40 S&W barrel in the match, or using the Glock 20 (10 mm) that I used last year. While cleaning the Glock 31 last night, I noticed some unusual wear on the interior of the slide, around the area where it would be hitting the slide stop and on the other side as well. Since the Model 31 is new, I gave the gun back to my local Glock dealer to send to Glock to see what's going on. There's no way it will be back in time for the match. I was about ready to take the Glock 20, but remembered that I don't have a holster that I like for that gun. I have a Safariland IPSC type holster, but on a couple of occasions I've noticed that the gun was about ready to fall out of the holster. That's because of the way I have it adjusted, of course, but I'm not comfortable with a holster that might let the gun fall out.
Although the decision still hasn't been made, I got to thinking about the gun that I've used in a couple of matches where I scored much higher than I've ever done with any of the Glocks or Kimbers or Colts: the plain old Beretta 92 FS. Tonight I took that gun to the indoor range to try it out. I did quite a few draws from the holster at 21 feet, firing the first shot double action and the subsequent shots single action. Then I put an IPSC target at 25 yards and tried to see how many shots I could get on that target in a short time. I never missed the A zone. I had a 6 inch group at 25 yards. These are clues. The holster for the Beretta is a Dillon leather holster, nothing fancy, but it is broken in now. It holds the gun tight, but lets it come out with minimal effort. There are several high capacity magazines here, and my Helweg magazine holders fit the Beretta magazines. More clues. If our outdoor range is open this weekend, I'll try the Beretta again. If I do as well with my shooting glasses outdoors, then the Beretta will be the primary gun for the Missoula match.
Because it's a 9 mm, any shots outside the A zone will count for less. You can't win a match with a 9 mm these days. That's ok. I'm not going to win the match anyway, but I would like to get as close to the middle of the list as possible. For an old guy, this is a victory of sorts.
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if I can't shoot a "major" caliber well, that the effort is worthless. Accuracy is always more important than power and I'm not sure if I could have done that 6 inch group at 25 yards with any of the Glocks. The guns will group that tight, but maybe I just get the Beretta back on target sooner and it makes a difference. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned.
Still tuned? Now it's July 19th and we're back from the 1998 Al Kimery Memorial Match in Montana. If you want to read some of the details, go back to the home page and find the link to the match write-up. In the meantime, I can say that the Beretta did fine. Anything that wasn't fine was my fault. Some of the magazines here will hold 16 rounds, so I made the mistake of filling a couple of those up during one of the match stages. Now, if that's the first magazine loaded, there's no problem, but if you try to do a reload with a magazine filled with 16 rounds, it just doesn't go all the way in. There's no "give" left in the spring. I learned a lot from the match. There were a lot of "A" zone hits, and some unusual hits on moving targets (unusual in the sense that I miss moving targets as a rule). The Beretta worked great.
The Beretta will shoot anything, but it has been my experience that commercial ammunition tends to be more accurate than some of the re-manufactured ammunition I use for practice. I decided to use Winchester 9 mm Silvertips for the match, and then the challenge was to find a couple of boxes. There was a pretty good sized gun show in Bozeman just before the match, and I found one box there. I figured I was lucky to get a box for $15. The next morning I went to the greatest hardware and gun store in the world (Axmen in Missoula) and they had all the Winchester Silvertip ammunition you'd ever want...for $14.95 a box. Axmen also had Winchester 200 grain SXT 10 mm ammunition and I picked up a box of that.
This picture shows the effect of a single 10 mm SXT round on an old Titan rocket booster.
Pretty good ammunition, if you ask me. I had never fired the Winchester 9 mm Silvertips in the Beretta before, and in general you shouldn't try out ammunition for the first time in a big match, but I had a lot of confidence in both the ammunition and the pistol and wasn't disappointed.
Have you ever had a particular pistol on your "one of these days I'm going to get one of those" list? At any given time, I guess I have about a half dozen on that list, but one that's been there for awhile was the CZ-83. "Was" is the key word, because now I have a CZ-83 and I wish I'd gotten it a couple of years ago (when they were a lot cheaper!). This particular CZ-83 came with a 13 round magazine. Today, several of us fired the CZ-83 at our outdoor range, to put the first 100 rounds through it to help with the break in period. The pistol never jammed nor misfed even once. It is as accurate as the Makarov I like so much, and it has a more comfortable grip than the Makarov. The .380 caliber is pretty weak, but on the other hand, the accuracy and ease of placing follow-up shots, plus a 13 round magazine, makes it possible for the CZ-83 to be effective. Federal has a .380 loading in their new line of Personal Defense Ammunition. Holsters for the CZ-83 may exist somewhere, but in the meantime an all purpose Uncle Mike's belt slide holster works pretty well. Here is a picture of the CZ-83 with a total of 14 rounds.
CZ-83
A few weeks ago, the Glock 31 started showing some unusual wear marks on the interior of the slide. These marks were right near the chamber end of the barrel. Since the 31 and the .357 SIG caliber are new for Glock, I wondered if there might be something odd going on. Our local Glock dealer, Chip Fetrow, sent the Model 31 back to Glock to see what was going on. The pistol came back with a note from Glock saying that this was normal wear for the Models 17, 22, and 31. The note also said that this would in no way interfere with proper operation of the gun. I agree. In addition to the note of explanation, the wear marks had been smoothed out, and recoated, and the gun looked like it was brand new.
The Glock 31 will get a workout this weekend at an IPSC match at Quantico.
(later)
No workout. No match. I got to Quantico in plenty of time, but when I drove up to the range there was only one person there. It turned out the match had been cancelled, and for an unusual reason. The base lets outsiders use the IPSC range setup, but only if another military range isn't in use. When the military range is in use the IPSC range becomes an "impact area." For those of you in Prince William County, Virginia, an impact area is where projectiles (also called bullets) land. It's bad enough when a spent round bounces back from a metal plate. It's very annoying to be shooting in a match while Marines are shooting at you from another direction. The Imperial German Army learned this lesson in World War I.
The Glock 31 workout will have to wait for a better, and safer occasion.
Makarov 9X18 Pistol
A good Makarov (defined as one made in Germany) has an extraordinary trigger right out of the box. The Russian Makarovs need some gunsmithing to get a good trigger. Neither the double action or single action trigger movements is equal to those of a good target pistol, but both are good enough so that they do not disturb the shot. If you picked up a CZ-83 and tried the trigger, then tried the trigger on a Makarov, the differences are obvious. Makarovs are still available at reasonable prices, but won't be forever. If you don't have one or haven't tried one, you've missed an opportunity to own one of the classic firearms of the 20th century.
Looks like all the other Glocks, doesn't it? If the full size Model 17 fits your hand, chances are the Model 19 will seem a bit small, but it's also a lot easier to conceal the Model 19. I got a Model 19 for the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation match near Richmond, and had a great time shooting it. Since then, I've tended to use the Beretta Model 92 or the SIG 226 in bowling pin and IDPA type matches, but in the last couple of weeks I've taken the Glock along to the range, and to a "practical" match at Blue Ridge Arsenal the other night, and it worked ok.
The match at Blue Ridge was interesting, a test of thinking ability more than shooting ability. The first part of the exercise consisted of looking at some symbols on cards, then having 6 seconds to fire two shots at those same symbols placed at random on some IPSC targets. It was dim at that end of the range so the night sights on the Model 19 helped in getting a good sight picture. The second part of the exercise involved turning around in a "room," and finding the Glock and a spare magazine on the "body" of someone who was on the floor. Once the gun was available, we had to identify and shoot at the bad guys. One bad guy was also down, but got two rounds anyway. It would have been incorrect to assume someone on the floor is harmless. From that room we had to go into another area where there were simulated hostages in front of bad guys. I managed to run the Glock 19 dry, to slide lock and ducked back into the other room to reload (getting some points for reloading behind cover). One of the bad guy targets took about 4 rounds before falling over. The others went down after two shots. These targets are sitting on wooden posts and can be knocked off it you hit the two by four holding the IPSC target. I assume the Glock would shoot straight and be reliable, and was correct. Having a pistol like the Glock 19, or SIG or Beretta and counting on it to work right makes these matches a lot more fun.
The third stage brought bowling pins back into the picture, six of those plus the poppers. I didn't win that stage either. This stage takes awhile to set up after each string so I went into the clubhouse and had lunch and cooled off. I knew that I had won a stage prize, maybe $15 and that would have been enough to justify the trip (although it wouldn't quite cover the match fee, new Safariland 5181 holster for the SIG 226, and the $83 I spent on ammunition for the match...). The fourth stage had the bowling pins, but we had to fire strong hand only. I lost that one as well, but was able to stay in for a couple of rounds before being beaten. This provided some practice time that I think paid off later.
Then is was time for the shoot off for "top gun." I lost the first string, but it was very close. On the second string, I must have fired 5 rounds at one pin before realizing that the sights had come loose on the SIG. No Loc-Tite. Another lesson to remember. Sandy had a brass rod and we were able to move the sights back into the middle of the slide. I fired a couple of rounds at a metal plate with fresh paint on it, and hit the center more or less. At that point I was down by two in the best of five shoot off, but came back to win the next three strings. That set up a final against Sandy. Since he had been "top gun" twice before, he had a handicap of two extra pins (12 total). Looking back, I wish I had asked that he just shoot at 10 also because I think I was able to get my first 10 down in about the same time as he did. Regardless, I'll take any advantage I can get. Every competitor thinks this way. On the other hand, there was a lot of good sportsmanship on display at the match. As the final shoot off started, we helped each other load magazines. Looking back, this would have been a good chance to put a dummy round in one of Sandy's magazines. Maybe I'll remember to bring some of those next time.
I can't say enough good things about the SIG 226. Although there were a couple of misfires with the Czech ammunition, I was able to clear those and keep shooting. I had one bad reload where the magazine wasn't seated, but that was my fault. Fast reloads are very important in a match like this. More important than anything else are the fundamentals we all learn in the basic pistol class: grip, breathing, sight alignment, sight picture, trigger squeeze and follow through. As always, sight alignment and trigger squeeze are the main incredients of success. I noticed during the final shoot off that I was concentrating more on fundamentals, thinking about the sights and trigger while I was shooting. It made a difference. It was also possible to get in that zone where each pin flew off the table on the first shot. This indicates a "center of mass" hit on the bowling pin. An off-center hit spins the pin around and often leaves it on the table. I've never paid enough attention to follow through, but yesterday I did and now I appreciate the subtle difference good follow through can make on a shot. It doesn't matter if you do all of the fundamentals right if you don't have a solid, accurate, and reliable pistol to shoot. The SIG 226 fired around 400 rounds yesterday with no cleaning. Aside from the ammunition caused misfires, there were no problems whatsoever. The SIG also fits well in the new Safariland 5181 paddle holster.
Could I have done as well with the Beretta 92? I don't know, and it's possible the SIG has an advantage because of it's single action trigger. Each string started with a single action trigger pull, and I didn't even use the double action pull on the misfires, but cleared the gun real fast instead. The trigger on the SIG comes back to a certain point and stops and all it takes from there on is pressure. It doesn't take long before that becomes second nature. The result is better trigger control. The blackened sights line up pretty good too.
There are two more major matches this season, an IPSC match in Montana and the Tennessee State IDPA Championships, both in October. You can bet the SIG 226 and Safariland 5181 will be at both of those matches.
It's almost time for hunting season in Virginia. Many of my fellow shooting enthusiasts go hunting each year. I never have. This year I may try deer hunting just to see what all the fuss is about. Today I got three things that will be useful in this matter: a book of hunting regulations for Virginia, a rifle, and some ammunition. I'll have to read the hunting regulations a few times before they make sense, but the rifle and ammunition seem to be working ok. Rather than just get something that looked appropriate for deer hunting, I decided to do a little research. One good place to start was "Gun Test" magazine, a "consumer report" type publication that compares different guns and gives unbiased opinions on which models are better. This magazine doesn't accept any advertising, so unlike some other gun magazines, "Gun Test" has met a few guns they didn't like. In a recent issue, they recommended the Marlin Model 30 AW over similar Winchester models and a more expsensive Marlin (the 336). I like the looks of the Winchester Model 94 variations, like the "Trapper" and "Ranger," but the magazine didn't think much of the "Ranger" model compared to the Marlin, so I got the Marlin. Here's what it looks like.
Marlin 30 AW
It came with a sling. As soon as we completed the paperwork, I picked up a couple of boxes of Winchester Silvertip .30-30 cartridges with 150 grain bullets and headed for Clark Brothers' range on highway 29 south of Warrenton, Virginia. If you want to shoot there, you have to buy ammunition there so that called for another box of .30-30s. At 100 yards, the rifle shot a nice group a few inches to the right of center. Elevation was right on. At 50 yards, I fired offhand using the sling and the group opened up a little. I need to get used to shooting a rifle again. It's been awhile. It was very easy to load the Marlin, the trigger was pretty good right out of the box, and all of the empty brass ejected without any problems. I need to get out my copy of "Cartridges of the World" and read the history of the .30-30. I know that "30-30" means the caliber and the number of grains of black powder in the original loading. What many people do not know is that the first computer disk drive was the Model 3030 and for a long time computer hard drives were called "Winchester drives." Personal computers have been around long enough now so that there may be a generation or two of hackers who would miss this on a trivia quiz.
Regular rifle shooters will laugh at the idea of a .30-30 rifle needing a recoil pad, but they've never had bursitis and I have, and don't want to have it again. One of the first additions to the Marlin 30W will be a nice recoil pad for the stock. I may also add a Lyman receiver sight, like the ones on the old buffalo rifles.
One thing we always teach in our firearms safety classes is that flat nose bullets should be used in the tubular magazines of lever action rifles. This keeps the recoil from causing a pointed bullet to fire the primer of the cartridge right in front of it. Something like this can ruin your whole day.
There's still a lot to learn about deer hunting, but I think the rifle and ammunition part of the problem has been solved. Now I have to find one of those orange caps.
SIG P 210-6
There are some firearms that represent the equivalent of a Rolls Royce in quality. The fit, finish, accuracy, ergonomics and other facets of the gun are just superior to most everything else you can find on the market. The SIG P 210 (the -6 model has adjustable sights) is an example of this superior category. I had read about the 210 for years, and about the high cost of a new one (around $2,000), and never thought I'd own one or even get a chance to shoot one. In the past few months, surplus P 210s have shown up on the market for around $1,000. I didn't buy one, but someone else did and this week several of us got a chance to fire it at the outdoor range. The good news is that everything I've ever heard about the 210's accuracy is correct. The bad news is the hammer bites my hand. I would clarify that by saying "bites real bad," to use a southern expression. I fired about 10 rounds and noticed the hammer was coming back and hitting my hand, but it hadn't broken the skin. The final time I got to shoot the pistol, I got it into my "competition grip," where I've got my hand up as high as I can get it and both hands wrapped tight around the gun. I hit the bullseye on each shot, that I can remember, but when finished I noticed my hand was bleeding. This can be fixed, of course, by grinding down the metal on the hammer. If I owned a SIG P 210, I'd do that, but at this point I suspect I can shoot about as well with the 226 as with the 210, even though the 210 is a much better firearm in terms of metal to metal fit and inherent accuracy.
October 18. The NRA had a Partners Shoot today. The shoot featured a round of Sporting Clays (50 targets from various stations, in various parts of the sky, or rolling and bouncing along the ground). This was the first time I had ever attended a sporting clays match and it was great fun. The NRA Womens' Issues section always puts on good programs like this. In the past, I attended as a volunteer instructor. Today I got to be one of the shooters for a change. Although it would have been nice to have used the same gun and caliber at every station, the way things were set up, we got to shoot whatever was there, either a semi-automatic or over and under model in 12 or 20 guage. This may not be the best learning environment for a first time sporting clays shooter, but everything has a positive side. This provided a great chance to try many different shotguns. At this point, I think my favorite is the over and under. Here's a typical model.
The picture shows a Ruger 20 guage shotgun similar to the ones we had at the Partners Shoot. Trap and skeet are somewhat predictable. Sporting clays targets come from different directions. You have some idea of where the target will appear, but the variety of target heights and directions makes sporting clays very interesting. I need to study up on all this a little more, but we did well enough to win a free round of sporting clays at the Bull Run Shooting Center near Manassas and Centreville, Virginia.
November 15. A few years ago, I was at a gun show in Manassas, Virginia, and saw a new Smith and Wesson "Sigma" pistol. This was S&W's answer to the Glock, and the Sigma is so similar to the Glock that Glock sued Smith and Wesson for using their patented technologies. There are significant differences between the two pistols, but they do look somewhat alike, both outside and inside. After seeing that first Sigma, I had a chance to fire the .40 S&W version at a nice shooting range in Salt Lake City, Utah. One difference between the Glock and Sigma was obvious right away. The Sigma grip angle and design makes it a more natural "pointer." When most people close their eyes and then point a Glock at a distant object, then open their eyes, the front sight will tend to be higher than the rear sight. The gun "points high" for many people. When you do the same thing with the Sigma, the sights line up with the target. The Sigma is considered a "natural pointer." S&W mentions this in their ads, and it's true.
I never got a Sigma because they were expensive and I wasn't too fond of what amounts to a small thumb rest on the right hand side of the gun, but I always like the way these pistols pointed. After the first versions came on the market, S&W introduced a compact version with a shorter barrel, and then they came out with a "value" series of the compacts, priced under $300. These pistols seem to be about the same size as the Glock 19, another one of my favorite pistols. Still, the Sigma hadn't quite reached a point where I would consider getting one, either in 9mm or .40 S&W. After all, if you have a reliable Glock 19 with night sights that shoots straight, what's the point of a Sigma in the same or similar caliber?
On the other hand, one should always keep an open mind. Today at one of the local gun shows, I was walking by a table and saw a "value" line Sigma with a stainless steel slide and polymer frame. The price was a little higher than usual and that's what caught my eye. A closer look brought the awareness that this was a new model in one of my favorite calibers: .357 SIG. In just about the time it takes to call the Virginia State Police for a sales approval, I was on my way out to the car with a brand new "SW357V" pistol.
Since this is our normal range day, and since Clark Brothers is on the way back to Warrenton, I stopped and got a box of Speer "Gold Dot" 125 grain premium .357 SIG ammunition to try in the new gun. I went by the house and picked up a couple of boxes of extra good handloads from New Mexico (a state known for excellent ammunition) and took all that to the range. When I loaded the "Gold Dot" ammunition into the gun for the first time, it failed to feed. The almost flat nose stuck on the feed ramp. Not a good sign. I fired 10 rounds of "Gold Dot" and it failed to feed once. I know this is a brand new gun, but my standards have gone up in recent years. I expect pistols to work with premium ammunition. When I switched to the handloads with 125 grain round nose bullets, everything worked fine. That's good news because I expect the Hornady 147 grain bullets to work fine in the Sigma, along with the Federal and Triton .357 SIG loads.
So, what does all this mean? As usual, nothing earthshaking. The SW357V is about the same size as the Glock 19, and fits in the same holster. In terms of power, it's a .357 SIG. It's not a 10 mm Silvertip out of a Glock, but it's not a 9 mm either. The trigger pull on the Sigma is longer than on the Glock, but it's even and feels better (to me anyway).
The .357 SIG is catching on fast. It may be the law enforcement round of the future. It was good to see another pistol appear in this caliber. By the way, I also saw a SIG 226 (the Navy SEALs 9 mm pistol I like a lot) at the show today. This 226 was different. It was a .357 SIG. Now let's hope someone starts making some inexpensive .357 SIG ammunition for practice.
A picture is worth a thousand words. In this case it was an image. The other night we went to one of Doug's practical shooting exercises at Blue Ridge Arsenal. As usual, the exercise was in two parts. The first part was a specific skill, in this case it was learning to shoot at very close range. We had to stand right in front of some IPSC targets on stands and either move back or sideways, and keep moving, while shooting. The next drill involved shooting through simulated car windows, both front and side. The last exercise was to knock IPSC targets off wooden pedestals. The targets were attached to some heavy 4" by 4" lumber. I watched a previous shooter use a .45 and knock over all the targets without any problems. When it was my turn, I was using a borrowed Glock 19 (9 mm). When I fired at the targets from inside the car, they wouldn't fall over. I'm not that bad a shot, so I did what seemed to make sense and fired at the top of the IPSC target to hit the top of the wood to tip it over. When I did that, after firing maybe three or four shots at a lower point of aim, the targets fell. When it was time to hit the last two targets (before a moving target reached the firing position), I fired multiple shots at each one to make sure it would fall over.
Doug said that the wood was water soaked and the 9 mm bullets didn't have much effect on it, and the right thing to do, just as in a similar "real world" situation, is to fire at the head if center hits are not working.
The image that was worth a thousand words was a target being hit by multiple 9 mm bullets and not falling over. The same targets hit by .45s fell right away.
The night after the practical exercise, I went to the NRA Range with the new Sigma .357 SIG and fired some of the Triton 125 grain cartridges. They shot right to the point of aim. The 147 grain Hornadys worked well, too. The Sigma and the Glock 19 are pretty close to the same size, and both fit in the same Galco "tac" slide holster. The Glock 19 is very easy to shoot at the middle of a target, and follow up shots are a cinch. The Sigma is much harder to shoot well in rapid fire, but I am encouraged to practice because the alternative is the image of those 4 by 4's just sitting there absorbing 9 mm bullets when a single hit from a .357 SIG would have sent the same targets flying off their stands.
December 13, 1998. The Sigma saga continues...
Several of us had a chance to fire the Sigma .357 SIG pistol during a day long birthday celebration and informal shooting session up at Westlance Arms, Inc. in West Virginia. Some new information came to light. The regular high capacity magazines used in the larger Sigma pistols fit the SW357V just fine, but there were a couple of times when the slide would lock open even though the magazine was not empty. This happened with the high capacity magazine, but not with the newer 10 round magazines. After firing some of the Hornady ammunition, we noticed that the cases were bulging. The chamber of the Sigma doesn't appear to enclose the entire cartridge case, so I've written to Smith and Wesson for an explanation. All things considered, I don't think the Sigma is going to stay in the inventory around here much longer.
I was very surprised today to discover two new .45 ACP pistols that are on the market. One is the SIG Model 245, a more compact version of the SIG 220. The 220 is a little too large for concealment, but the new Model 245 isn't that much bigger than the 239 shown above. I forgot to ask how many rounds it holds, but it might hold one round less than the 220. The other new pistol is the Ruger KP-97. This is a .45 ACP version of the P-95. The P-95 (9 mm) came out a couple of years ago. Even back then it was apparent that the pistol was big enough to handle a larger cartridge, and a lot of people predicted it would come out in .45. For 1999, it has.
Saiga .410 Shotguns
These don't look like shotguns, do they? One of the factories in Russia that made AK-47 rifles for many years is now making shotguns based on the basic AK design. This week a Saiga .410 was added to the collection, and last night several of us had a chance to fire it at the Blue Ridge Arsenal indoor range. The .410 isn't the most powerful shotgun round, but it is more powerful than most hangun rounds. The Saiga .410 stock is about the same length as the Remington 870 "youth model," and a good fit for many women. The Saiga .410 is easy to load and fire. It has a detachable magazine that holds four rounds, and a 10 round magazine may be available. In other words, the Saiga .410 is suitable as a home defense firearm.
The model here is a hybrid of the two pictures shown above. Imagine the top picture, only black like the bottom picture; no pistol grip.
Saiga also makes a 20 and 12 gauge version of this same design, and I can't wait to try the 12 gauge model. With the .410, you can fire 4-5 shots into a standard IDPA target at 30 feet as fast as you can pull the trigger. It sounds like someone firing a short burst from an M-60 machine gun.
Traditional shotgun shooter may look at the AK-47 design with alarm and dismay. It doesn't look like a shotgun. But the proof is in the performance. This would not be the first time when a foreign firearm, which looks nothing like traditional designs, managed to make it in the marketplace based on reliability, ease of handling, and performance. When the Glock 17 showed up in the US, all of the "experts" said a "plastic gun" made no sense. Today, Glock sells a lot of pistols. I suspect Saiga will sell more than a few of these "AK-47 shotguns."
It's January 1999 now, the holidays are over, and a new year's season of gun shows begins. Today we went to a gun show in Richmond at The Showplace, a converted K-Mart used for all manner of cat shows and swap meets. The parking lot was full of cars, pick-ups, SUVs and the usual collection of attendees, a few of whom look like they just came out of a cabin in Montana. Through some trading, I managed to let someone else have the opportunity to shoot and enjoy the Smith and Wesson .357 SIG Sigma, and now have a new Golt Government Model .380 for use in the NRA safety classes. The Colt .380 is fun to shoot, and prices are lower on the .380s now because there are so many small 9 mm and .40 S&W pistols on the market.
This week also provided a chance to try some new ammunition for the Beretta Cougar .45. I had been using the Federal "Personal Defense" loads (165 grain), and they work fine, but there is quite a bit of muzzle flash from the shorter barrel. Premium ammunition is expensive, but you it is important to find something that works for the specific application so I invested in a box of Remington Golden Sabre .45 ACP 185 grain +P ammunition. Big difference. There is no problem whatsoever with accuracy or recoil, and there was no muzzle flash with the Remington ammunition. I would like to be able to fire several hundred rounds to check for reliability, but that would be very expensive. Some testing, plus the Beretta and Remington reputations for quality, provide a good level of confidence in this combination.
Many times when I would be in another city and drop by the local shooting range, I would rent a Colt .380 just for some casual target practice. The Colt .380 Government Model is a miniature version of the 1911 style pistol. It's a very small gun, with little recoil. With the advent of the Kahr, Kel-Tec and other small 9 mm pistols, the demand for .380s decreased. Colt evolved the .380 pistols, the Government Model and the smaller Mustang, into a "Pony" model (.380 DAO) and now a 9 mm Pony. I read somewhere that Colt had a lot of unsold .380s, but business is business and sometimes you have to hustle to keep up with the market. The other day I got a new Colt .380 Government model to use in our safety classes. Students who have weak hands or fingers can handle the little .380 quite well, and even a .380 is better than no pistol at all. It's a little tricky to carry the Colt .380 "cocked and locked," but can be done with the right holster. I prefer to keep the hammer down and cock the pistol by hand. With a round in the chamber, this provides 8 shots.
So far the little Colt has been very reliable with PMC ball ammunition and with Winchester Silvertip hollowpoints. At 21 feet it is very accurate, and it's hard to imagine much use for a small .380 at greater distances. Although the Government model no longer shows up in the Colt catalog, or on their Web site, it is available if you look around. So is the smaller Mustang and DAO Pony.
Even though it's the middle of winter (January 17th), the temperature came up over 50 and we were able to get to the range for a few hours. Today's collection of firearms was interesting. I had a Glock 20 with a 6" hunting barrel, a Saiga .410 semi-automatic shotgun, and a Colt Government Model .380. Others had a SIG 229 (.40 S&W), Glock 27 (compact .40), Beretta 92, and Glock 19. I wanted to check out the Glock 20 with the longer barrel and several times of premium 10 mm ammunition, and to see if the Saiga shotgun would work with shells shorter than 3" (it won't).
With most semi-automatic pistols, the slide moves back and forward so fast that you don't notice it. With the Glock 20, you can sense the slide moving. With the 6" barrel, the mass, center of gravity or whatever those physics things are called, is such that you can feel the slide go back, hesitate, and then go forward. My Glock 20 has Aro Tek ghost ring sights. At the range today, the sun was shining right in our eyes, but the red dot and ghost ring made it possible to center the shots on an IDPA target.
The Saiga .410 is a lot of fun. It likes Winchester ammunition. It will feed and fire Remington ammunition, but it's difficult to load the ammunition in to the magazine. It did not work with any shells shorter than 3 inches. Now I have to search out sources of larger shot sizes in .410. Sounds like a good project for this year's SHOT Show in Atlanta. If you load four rounds in the Saiga's magazine, and one in the chamber, and fire the shotgun as fast as you can, it sounds like a slow firing machine gun. All five shots will stay in the same impact area. Approval to import these shotguns included approval for a 4 round magazine, but it's possible that 10 round magazines (which exist overseas and would be legal as an aftermarket item here) will soon be available. With 10 shots, I might be able to do a little better at the skeet range. During World War, when the Russian and American officers would go boar hunting, the Americans would show up with hunting rifles and the Soviets would bring sub-machine guns. I think the Saiga shotgun with a 10 round magazine at a skeet range would be about like an AK-47 on a hunting trip.
The little Colt Government Model .380 is a nice gun. With a two handed grip, it was possible to put every shot into the scoring areas on an IDPA target at 15 yards. I learned something about the Colt .380 on the way home. You need to have it in a holster designed for that particular gun, and not in an all purpose Galco belt slide holster made for larger pistols. In the larger holster, the magazine release can be activated. This is not good, but it's better to learn these things sooner rather than later.
Colt Concealed Carry Officer
Late February 1999. If you buy all of those Gun Digest size books you wind up paying out about as much as it would cost to buy a new firearm. There is one of those books that I get every year, however, and the latest version is titled Handguns '99. The lead story in this year's book is about the new Colt Concealed Carry Officer. The writer talks about how the gun is pretty good right out of the box and then goes on to tell how we set it out for a lot of gunsmithing and finish work and made it even better. At this point, with one minor expection, I can confirm his initial conclusion: it is pretty good right out of the box. After teaching the NRA's new Personal Protection Course for the first time (more details elsewhere on this site) on February 20, I went to the big gun show at Hugo's in Bealeton, Virginia the next day. Because of the recent news stories about lawsuits against the firearms industry (another scary example of "ignorance in action"), there was a huge crowd at the show and lots of people guying new guns in anticipation of price increases. By the way, if you don't think that liability suits don't affect the prices of ordinary products, check out the prices for small airplanes. Even though I got there on Sunday, there were still two Colt CCO pistols at different dealers' tables. I've always had good luck dealing with "Trader Jerry" and he was willing to take the Colt Government .380 mentioned above in trade on the new Colt CCO. The Colt .380 is nice, and fun, but the Colt CCO is nicer and lots more fun to shoot.
The new gun stayed in the safe all week until time for our regular Friday night session at the NRA range. I brought about 100 rounds, more to break in the gun than anything else, with 50 rounds of 185 grain "range ammo" and another 50 of Mag Tech 230 grain reloads. When I fired the first magazine, the slide failed to lock back, but it never happened again. New guns take a little breaking in so I wasn't worried about this. If it happened twice, I would have worried. I was more concerned about stovepipe jams or failures to feed, which would have indicated a more serious problem. Nothing happened except that the gun fired each time and the action was 100% reliable - always a good sign with a new gun. I had been just a little bit concerned about the smaller Officer model grip, but it was just right: small enough to make the gun easy to conceal, but large enough for complete control of the pistol. No wonder the guy writing in Handguns '99 thought so much of this new model.
Here I'm going to break with tradition and list some actual technical details about this gun. The actual Colt model number is 09850EU. Is this important? No, but it shows just how boring some of these technical details can be. The CCO consists of a matte stainless steel Commander slide with dovetailed "no-snag" front and rear sights (with lots of daylight between the front sight and the rear sight for a quick "flash sight picture") and a blued aluminum alloy lightweight receiver. It's a .45 ACP caliber pistol (of course) with a barrel length of 4.25" (a little bit longer than the Beretta Cougar). The hammer is the lightweight open style for faster lock time, and the gun has a nice beavertail grip safety and extended thumb safety. The grips are from Hogue and have finger grooves. I like these; some people don't. The big time editor of Handguns '99 changed the grips. Some people believe that rubber grips can catch on clothing during a fast draw of the gun, but I'll trade that possibility for a very positive grip once the gun is pointed at the target. This type of difference of opinion keeps the grip makers in business.
Often after firing a .45 for awhile, you notice the effects of the recoil on your shooting hand, and this can be more pronounced with a lightweight frame. With the Colt CCO, this is less of a problem than I anticipated. The grip, balance, easy to see sights, and the rest of the setup make this is very easy gun to shoot. I am looking forward to trying it in an IDPA match, and it might well become my IDPA gun for this summer.
I have always been a little nervous about carrying a 1911 style pistol "cocked and locked," but the Colt CCO is starting to change my mind on this subject. Its 8 round capacity (7 plus 1) is more than ample for any situation an ordinary innocent bystander is apt to encounter. I like the Colt CCO very much. I've already ordered a Blade-Tech holster for the CCO.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention the one thing that kept the first shooting session from being a complete success. The rear sight came loose. I was able to borrow an Allen wrench at the range and tighten it up again, but this may have been a blessing in disguise because I was able to see what sort of effect the misalignment had on the points of impact, and adjust the sight right where it should be. At "real world" shooting distances, the Colt CCO's "flash sight picture" is going to be more than adequate.
Just before we left the range, another shooter tried the Colt CCO and liked it, and offered to let me try another pistol that's similar in size, the Para Ordnance P-12. The P-10 is the smallest model made by Para Ordnance and it just too small for my hand. The P-12 is much better. With just my regular glasses, I was able to get three shots within an inch of the point of aim with the P-12. It had a good solid feel because the grip is wider than on a 1911. The P-12 felt more like the Beretta Cougar. I wonder if Para Ordance will make the P-12 with their new short stroke double action trigger. If so, that will be a real winner. In the meantime, I am very pleased with the new Colt CCO.
"People Who Shoot Guns on Friday Nights"
Rob, Pam, Bill, Randy, Melinda, Mike, Skip
A lot of the guns mentioned on this page get tried out on Friday nights at the NRA Range in Fairfax, Virginia. Last Friday, March 19, we had some of the usual crowd show up. If you look real close at this picture, you'll see me holding a new Taurus "Raging Bull" .454 Casull revolver. Several others are holding Desert Eagles. Rob appears to be holding a Ruger GP-100 and Mike has a North American Arms mini-revolver. This is a typical collection of firearms you might see us shooting on Friday evenings. Since many of the people in this picture are also ham radio operators (something a clinical psychologist could have a field day writing about...), we observe a ham radio tradition of going to eat at a local restaurant after the range session. If you live in northern Virginia and would like this meet this unusual group of people, come to the NRA Range some Friday night.
Taurus "Raging Bull" .454 Casull
I have mixed feeling about Taurus firearms. In the past, I was not impressed with anything they made and this was based on concerns about the strength of the metals used, as well as the quality controls in manufacturing. My opinion has changed in the past year or so, for a couple of reasons. First, I got to check out the Taurus revolvers at the SHOT Show this year. They have some interesting revolvers made of titanium in interesting, and useful, calibers. You can get a .44 Special or a .41 Magnum, both decent calibers. The grips feel good, and the trigger "reach" and other ergonomics seem better than before. The second reason my opinion is improving is based on my experience shooting the new Taurus "Raging Bull" .454 Casull revolver the other night. I didn't know, but should have, that a .454 Casull revolver also fires the .45 Colt cartridge, in the same way a .44 Magnum fires the .44 Special. We had both loads available. Prior to the range session, I sent out some e-mail letting the others know the big revolver would be there and also made a statement that women would not be allowed to shoot it. That was a joke, of course. We honor and respect political correctness and women can shoot anything they can pick up and point downrange as far as I'm concerned. The .454 Casull does have a lot of recoil, even in the "Raging Bull" with its compensated barrel. The cartridge is so powerful that the Taurus cylinder has a release on the front and rear of the cylinder. The .45 Colt loads were less powerful, but not weak by any means. This has me thinking about the possibility of getting one of those new Taurus titanium revolvers in .45 Colt caliber. That would be a decent revolver to carry, very light weight, but powerful.
Ruger GP-100
Back to "normal" firearms. When I was at the SHOT Show, I had a chance to check out the Ruger GP-100 with fixed sights and a 3" barrel. It had a great feel, similar to the Security Six model that came onto the surplus market a couple of years ago when the Postal Inspectors decided to change handguns. It took awhile before our local Ruger dealer was able to find one of the short barrel blue GP-100 at a distributors. In today's world of Glock 19s, there's not much call for a revolver like this, at least in the United States.
Friday night I fired a few rounds from the new GP-100 and noticed that at 21 feet the point of impact was about a half inch to the right of the aiming point. I went back to the range later and ran some tests at different ranges with different calibers and bullet weights (.38 Special wadcutters and 158 grain lead round nose, plus 110 and 125 grain .357 Magnum loads). All grouped to the right, and the lighter bullets grouped lower than the heavier ones, which led me to believe I had good sight alignment and sight picture. After writing notes on the text targets, I brought targets closer to "real world" ranges (12-15 feet) and fired double action pairs with a third shot higher on the target. In our new NRA Personal Protection course, we teach the students to visualize the paper target as a threat and shoot center of mass. When I did that, with all shots double action, all the hits were in the "A" zone.
The new GP-100 will now go to Tarnhelm Supply in New Hampshire for trigger work. At Tarnhelm, they smooth the trigger itself as well as the internal parts. We have an SP-101 done there and the trigger is perfect. I expect this new GP-100 to be the same when it returns.
If you have had the patience, not to mention an awful lot of spare time, to read this far, you will have read a lot more about semi-automatic pistols than about revolvers. The Colt CCO is a great carry gun for someone who has mastered the "cocked and locked " Model 1911 format. The Glocks are great for people who are very careful not to put their finger on the trigger until ready to shoot. The Beretta and SIG are ultra-reliable, and I like just about every firearm I've written about. The GP-100 is a back to basics revolver which fires one of the most effective calibers around, the .357 Magnum. The GP-100 with a three inch barrel makes a nice home defense gun, a nice backpack gun, and a great gun for training new shooters. It falls into that special category of trusted designs that I know would work and continue to work under adverse conditions.
March 28,1999 The GP-100 is on its way to New Hampshire now, and I'm looking forward to trying the new trigger when it returns. In the meantime, I continue to practice with the Colt CCO. This afternoon during our regular range session in Warrenton I had a chance to check out the Colt with Remington's .45 ACP Golden Sabre +P ammunition as well as with some Winchester Silvertips. At 7 yards, everything went into the "-0" circle on the IDPA targets. The .45 ACP +P ammunition had a little more recoil, but nothing significant. Before I'd fire a lot of that in the Colt CCO, I would want to 1) make more money; the ammunition isn't cheap, and 2) consider a heavier recoil spring and a "shok buffer" to protect the pistol. The Colt CCO has a lightweight Officer frame which wasn't designed for a lot of heavy firing. Today I used a new MecGar magazine and, as expected, it worked 100 percent of the time. So far, the Colt CCO has never had a problem with ammunition of any kind. I also fired 50 rounds of MagTech 230 grain .45 ACP "hard ball" ammunition today. Everything works. Everything goes to the point of aim.
Several years ago, I used to fly real airplanes, including a few that had more than one engine. There are many different techniques for flying a plane, just as there are many different shooting techniques. I remember reading a story about someone who was practicing landings in a seaplane. The weather was nice, and water was calm. Each time he came in to land, the plane would stall and fall into the water. The other pilot on board asked him why he didn't just take advantage of the conditions and make a smooth landing each time. The other pilot said that in an open ocean rough water landing, the only way to survive was to land at the minimum possible airspeed. Anything other approach was dangerous.
When we taught the NRA's new Personal Protection Course at Quantico in February, we let the students shoot an exercise where they held the front sight to the right of center, left of center, just visible in the bottom of the rear sight, and much higher than the top of the rear sight. They saw the resulting hits on the target and realized that even when the sights aren't perfect, if you have the front sight on the target and visible in the rear sight, a "flash sight picture," you'll get a hit in the general area you're aiming. I did some of that today, trading speed for an ideal sight picture and most of my shots went into the center scoring circles of the IDPA targets. Afterward, I thought about the seaplane pilot who was doing something similar with his practice landings. Anybody can stand there, get a good sight alignment and sight picture, and press the trigger and the result will be a small group centered on the target. In a practical shooting situation, accuracy is important, but so is speed. The trade-off is group size, but that's all right as long as the larger group stays in the center of mass of the target.
The Colt CCO is a light pistol firing a heavy bullet, but you can still get the front sight back onto the target in a hurry and fire subsequent shots if you concentrate on the front sight.
Speaking of front sights, I just finished watching the basic pistol shooting video tape from the Gunsite training center in Arizona. Now I'm going to order their shotgun tape as well. If you're interested in learning more about handgun shooting, the Gunsite tape is worth buying and watching.
April 9, 1999. I didn't hang onto the Ruger KP-95. It was traded for another pistol. I didn't hang onto the Ruger P-90 either. Both were lacking something that would have put them in the "keeper" category. Both were reliable and accurate, but the P-95 seemed too big for a 9 mm pistol, and the P-90 is an older design, big and clunky. The best solution would have been for Ruger to come out with a .45 ACP pistol that looked like the P-95. This would have been a lightweight .45 and the additional bulk would have been worth having the caliber. Well, good news. The Ruger KP-97, the ".45 P-95" that I wanted, is now shipping and I hope to have one next week. Stay tuned for more details.
The KP-97 has arrived, but has not been fired yet. First impressions are good, however. The grip is more narrow than the grip on the 9 mm KP-95. The magazine follower is similar to those used on the Colt 1911 to allow for an extra round. The de-cocker levers aren't as wide, but are still easy to manipulate, and the gun is lighter than the older KP-90 .45. Anyone who carries a P-90 might want to consider the new KP-97 as a replacement.
There are two other new Rugers here now. One may never be fired. It's the 50th anniversary Mark II .22 Long Rifle semi-auto. The first pistol I ever owned, and I'm sure this is true for many firearms owners, was a Ruger Mark I .22. The new 50th anniversary model brings back fond memories of a time when many people had room to shoot in their backyards, and firearms were considered a normal item to have in the home.
The other is the new Ruger Mini-14 in stainless steel and with a synthetic stock, an "all weather rifle." Here is a picture of the "Ranch Rifle" version which comes with scope mounts. I have the other version which has an adjustable peep sight. This rifle comes is two calibers, .223 Remington and 7.62 X 39 which is called the "Mini-30" model. The Mini-14 name comes from the small size and action similar to the military M-14 rifle. Although I doubt there will be many serious problems after December 31, 1999, I still refer to the Mini-14 as a "Y2K rifle."
The main difference between this picture and the other version is that the rear sight on the Ranch Rifle folds over and is not as sturdy as the rear sight on the regular Mini-14. The Ranch Rifle was designed for people who want to install a telescopic sight. I was tempted to get the Ranch Rifle and put a dot sight on it, but a real survival rifle should 1) use ammunition available just about anywhere, and 2) not require batteries to operate.
A Ruger Mini-14 in most cases is not as accurate as an AR-15 type military rifle (Colt, Armalite, Bushmaster, etc.), but will provide practical accuracy out to 75-100 yards all day long, and that's all that's needed for a rifle like this.
Sunday afternoon range report. It's Sunday afternoon, April 18, and I had a chance to fire both the KP-97 and the All Weather Mini-14. The Mini-14 came first. The aftermarket plastic 30 round magazine was a disaster, causing all kinds of feeding problems. It's time to order a genuine Ruger higher capacity magazine. The five shot magazine that came with the rifle worked fine. We were shooting at 25 yards today and I managed to get about 4 inch group shooting from an off-hand standing position. With my eyes, that's not bad. The rifle has very little recoil, and doesn't make much noise - unless you're standing beside it. The .223 Remington round comes in different bullet weights. Today I was shooting 55 grain full metal jacket bullets, Remington's UMC load. I'll experiment with some other loads later as I learn more about the caliber.
The KP-97 worked great, too, with the shots hitting the "A" zone of an IPSC target at 25 yards. I tried Winchester Silvertips first, and they shot a little low. The regular 230 grain ball ammunition was closer to the point of aim. The most fun was firing five of the new Triton 185 grain .45 ACP +P loads. That seems like it would be a very good load for any modern .45 ACP pistol. There is a big difference between the recoil of a ordinary 230 grain bullet and the +P. The +P has a sharper recoil. I need to try the KP-97 at "defensive" distances later, but I'm very pleased with the results so far.
There are "better" .223 rifles and .45 ACP pistols on the market, but there is a saying that "better is the enemy of 'good enough.'" The stainless Mini-14 and the KP-97 are inexpensive, and "good enough" for just about any .223 or .45 application.
More Ruger KP-97 comments. Last night, May 7, 1999, I had a chance to shoot the new Ruger KP-97. Today, several other people got to shoot it during our basic pistol class in Warrenton, Virginia. The general consensus is that this is a very nice, very accurate pistol. Once again, I wonder why the U.S. military has the Beretta (and I like the Beretta) when they could have something like the KP-95 (9 mm) or the KP-97 (.45). I can't imagine why these Rugers wouldn't pass all of the tests that a military pistol would have to pass. I understand that some of the federal park rangers use Ruger pistols, and I suspect they're outdoors as much or more than a lot of soldiers, often in similar conditions. The KP-97 handles +P ammunition just as well as the KP-95 handles 9 mm +P+. The Model 97 is lightweight, and doesn't seem quite as bulky as some of the other Ruger pistols. All of the experts, the so called "pros," go for SIG-Sauer pistols, Colt 1911 clones, and tricked out Springfield and Smith and Wesson models with the word "Tactical" somewhere on the slide. I'm not about to give up the Colt CCO for concealed carry. That's a winner. But for a field gun in a field holster, where something big like a 10 mm or .44 Magnum isn't needed, you just can't get any better than this Ruger KP-97. I was already impressed. After last night and today, a few more people are just as impressed.
Beretta or SIG? SIG or Beretta? Life is full of tough decisions.
I decided to take the Beretta Model 92 FS to the latest match in West Virginia and lost. I should have brought the old faithful SIG 226. Pam brought one and came home with the trophy for best costume. Oh, well.
It's June 5 and we just finished a very tiring day in the classroom and at the range near Warrenton. Today we taught the NRA's new personal protection course. The course material goes way beyond the basic shooting classes taught before, and covers things like "flash sight picture," and "defensive accuracy," similar to what is taught at the big shooting schools we've all read about. Since we taught the class in February, the number of shots has been reduced, but we still emphasize the essentials needed to prevail in a home defense situation. I brought the Ruger KP-97 along today because I shot it last night at the NRA range and figured I'd shoot it in the class and clean it this weekend. One of the students borrowed the KP-97 and used it for all of his shooting exercises. The student next to him had a KP-95. The KP-95 jammed once, so I field stripped it in about 15 seconds to make sure the barrel wasn't blocked by a squib load. I let the student put it back together and asked for any parts he had left over in case they fit the KP-97. My student had no problems with the KP-97 whatsoever, and did a great job hitting the target with it. It never jammed. It was very accurate. He was able to shoot it double and single action, and most of his experience since serving in the military was with revolvers.
The other day I saw one of the new Springfield 1911 "loaded" pistols (loaded with features) at a very good price, and I think the Beretta Cougar may be under consideration for a trade. The new Springfield got a favorable write-up in "Gun Test" magazine.
Surprise...surprise. I got a great deal on the new loaded Springfield in trade for the Beretta Cougar. The Cougar is a fine gun, but I try to have a good solid reason for keeping a pistol and didn't have one for this particular model. It's easy to justify having a Beretta 92 or a SIG 226. Both are the best of their types. It's easy to justify having a number of guns for use in training classes, a Model 60 Smith and Wesson revolver or Ruger KP-97 are examples. The Colt CCO is still the best "carry gun" if you can handle a single action semi-auto, and when all is said and done, the best pistol for IPSC competition in the Limited category is a full size Model 1911, either a Colt, Kimber, or Springfield - so the Cougar is gone and the Springfield is being broken in. First impressions are very favorable.
I fired the new "loaded" Springfield last night at the NRA range, and again at the NRA this afternoon. Last night the pistol worked fine except that the slide didn't always lock open on the last shot. Since I had only one of the original Springfield magazines, I didn't worry too much about that. It appeared to be a magazine problem. This afternoon I fired the pistol with the second Springfield magazine and with a Wilson Combat magazine and both of these magazines worked fine. The Springfield is dead on accurate with no adjustments required for the sights. The trigger isn't perfect, but it's fine for me. The wooden grips may be replaced with some rubber grips, but I'm not sure yet. This is an excellent pistol, proving once again that you can put some faith in the reviews in "Gun Test" magazine.
Now it's Sunday afternoon June 13 and I had one more session with the Springfield, at Clark Brothers range south of Warrenton. This was the first time I had used the gun outdoors. The sights have plenty of daylight on either side of the front sight and you can get a clear "textbook" sight alignment. The trigger isn't perfect, but as time goes along I may invest in a trigger job to make it better. Even in IPSC and IDPA shooting, a good trigger makes a difference.
Most of the time I don't mention where I purchase firearms. Often I buy from a local FFL dealer; there are several in Warrenton, or at a gun show from a licensed dealer. The Springfield came from Virginia Arms in Manassas, Virginia. Here is a map to this store:
Good, honest, local gunstores need our support so that they will be there when we need ammunition, or a holster, or a new firearm. Virginia Arms is an example of the type of gun shop we used to find all over the country, and that are now hard to find.
Why would anyone want to own a Colt CCO, "loaded Springfield" with expensive Wilson magazines, and an inexpensive Ruger KP-97, all .45s, all with close to the same magazine capacity? Good question. In an urban, or suburban environment, a Colt CCO in a Blade-Tech holster makes a very good "carry package," if you're experienced with the 1911 type of pistol. Ammunition for this setup would include Remington's Golden Sabre +P or Triton +P to compensate for the shorter barrel. The Springfield would be just as good with an IWB holster, and the same ammunition, but it would be heavy to carry. The Springfield is more for IPSC Limited competition where it's size, caliber, and reliability with the Wilson magazines would be a good deal - with a Blade-Tech holster, of course. The Ruger is for places where the weather may be awful, and you may be wandering around out in the woods. Rugers don't get a lot of column inches in the gun magazines, but they get a lot of miles out in the woods where you don't want to worry about a very nice, but maybe a little fragile, 1911 failing to operate when the going gets tough. The .45 ACP isn't as powerful as the 10 mm, of course, but the .400 CorBon is, and it's just a matter of time before I find a .400 CorBon barrel for the KP-97. As strong as that gun is, that's going to be very competitive with the Glock Model 20 10mm. Another experiment might be to put a .45 Super barrel in the Springfield. I haven't read too much about the .45 Super, but it sounds like you can fire both the Super and the .45 ACP in the same gun. The .45 Super has a much stronger case and the barrel supports all of the case so it can be loaded to higher pressures. With a heavy recoil spring, and a "shock buffer," that might be a good setup. On the other hand, the .45 ACP Springfield works pretty good as is, and so does the Remington .45 ACP Golden Sabre +P.
There's a new "Austin Powers" movie out these days. One of the characters is named "Mini Me." That reminded me to mention that the Ruger Mini-14 has been to the range a few times now, and has been used as a training aid in a couple of our Home Firearm Safety classes. I've decided that even though the Mini-14 isn't as accurate at 100 yards as a Colt AR-15 type rifle, or a .223 bolt action varmint rifle, it is accurate enough for a home defense rifle. With the right ammunition, you can minimize excessive penetration, and with planning you can set up your "safe room" (where you go and wait for the police if there is an intruder) so that you know what's in the direction of firing. In a situation like this, you won't need a high capacity magazine for the Mini-14, although it seems like many of these magazines continue to be available from a variety of vendors. I've seen a 40 round magazine for the Ruger at a gun show in California. Ram Line made a transparent magazine for the Mini-14, which also works on the AR-15, and I have a couple of those magazines. They've been very reliable.
It's July 3, 1999. Tomorrow is Independence Day and we're spending the holiday in Tennessee. If you've never been to Tennessee, you've missed scenery that is, in its own way, just as spectacular as anything in Idaho or Montana. The mountains in Tennessee are much older and worn down than the Rockies. The trees are more plentiful and there aren't many open areas. This weekend provides some free time to consider what to take to this year's Al Kimery Memorial Match in Missoula, Montana - which is one week away on Sunday July 11th.
I know I can shoot the SIG 226 well enough to get a decent score. I know the Beretta 92 will work without problems, but this year I'm going back to where I started in IPSC - shooting a .45 ACP pistol. The first year I had an EAA Witness .45 and it worked fine. I even had it converted to single action only after that first match, but it got sold along the way so that I could get something else. I've had Kimbers and the Colt Combat Target model, but both of those are gone, too. This year I've decided to take the new, broken in, "Loaded Springfield," four Wilson Combat magazines, two 10 round MecGar magazines, and some magazine holders and a new holster from Blade-Tech. I also have an orange highway worker's t-shirt and some very strange shorts to wear to the match. Neither will match the famous red and black SunMaid raisin cap, but that's ok. It's hard to get an orange t-shirt to go with much of anything.
Now it's later in July and the match is history. You can see more pictures from the match onkimery99.html.
Randy, Sandy and Nan from the 43rd Virginia Rifle and Pistol Club
The Springfield pistol worked fine during the match. Next time I'm going to stick with the Wilson magazines, however, or at least put some pads on the bottom of the 10 round MecGar magazines. You don't want to be slamming those into the grip with your bare hands. Ow...
Sandy show a Glock 19 and had no problems. Nan had a stainless Beretta and ran into one of the problems I had last year: sometimes a full magazine is hard to load when there is already a round in the chamber. The spring just won't compress anymore.
Revolvers? REVOLVERS!? Everybody knows that revolvers are obsolete, right? Well, maybe not. The Ruger GP-100 with the three inch barrel and fixed sights is back from the gunsmith in New Hampshire. I asked that he do an internal trigger job, polish the external trigger, and sight the gun in at 25 yards with 125 grain .357 Magnum ammunition. All that was accomplished. Sunday, July 18, I had a chance to try out the revolver at 25 yards and was able to hit the target every time. The Ruger GP-100 is heavy compared to the smaller snubnose revolvers, but it shoots great.
The old Smith and Wesson Model 681 (an L frame .357 Magnum with fixed sights), which had survived duty with the New York State Police was also available at the range and it did just about as well as the Ruger. It was shooting a little low at 25 yards, but I was able to compensate for that. At closer ranges, it's right on the money. I fired some UMC (Remington) .257 Magnum cartridges in both guns, and also some Winchester .38 Special +P Silvertip ammunition after that. I like the Silvertips, although the "experts" say this ammunition is obsolete also. I guess they've never fired the 10 mm Silvertip...
SIG Model 239
Several months ago, I wrote, "If I ever get one of the SIG 239s, it would be in .357 SIG caliber. I suspect this would be a great 'carry gun' because of it's small size and small thickness. It is not much bigger than the Kahr." Last Saturday, August 7, 1999 we taught an NRA Personal Protection course to three students. One student used a Glock 17 and Glock 19. Another used my SIG 226, and the third student shot a Glock 31 with a .40 S&W barrel in it. The SIG 226 worked fine, no jams, and the student was careful to start from the double action trigger. After the formal part of the course, we set up three IDPA targets and let the students shoot for the best time and accuracy. The student using the SIG 226 won. I fired the 226 at some exploding targets and hit most of them on the first shot. It had been awhile since I fired the SIG 226 and I was reminded of how well it works.
One of the other instructors was there and mentioned wanting to try the new Ruger KP-97 .45, so I brought that out and he shot it. I shot it five times, all in the "-0" zone of the IDPA target. I'd been shooting the SIG and then the Ruger and it was obvious that the Ruger had a different feel, and, of course, a different trigger pull. Bottom line - the next day I traded the Ruger KP-97 to get a new SIG 229 in .357 SIG caliber. I haven't fired it yet, but will take it to the NRA range one evening this week to see how it works. The SIG 239 is a small pistol, and the .357 SIG is a powerful caliber. It seems like the grip is going to be ok, but I'll find out soon enough. In terms of concealment, the 239 is great.
What a coincidence... The new issue of "Handguns" magazine has an article about how the Texas Department of Public Safety, which includes the highway patrol and a special investigative unit of 107 officers who are the modern Texas Rangers, chose the .357 SIG and the SIG 226 as their standard sidearm. Texas starts their recruits with .22 caliber revolvers, then .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers, and then goes to the new standard SIG 226 in .357 SIG caliber. The Rangers use the smaller Model 239 pistol.
Many magazine articles about ammunition represent misleading "junk science," but this article talks about what happened in Texas, and how the folks with the cowboy hats worked their way through 9 mm 147 grain ammunition and a couple of different .45 ACP loads and wound up with what they wanted all along: a semi-auto pistol that has the ballistics of the .357 Magnum.
I read this article last night after a couple of range sessions with the new SIG 239 pistol. I fired maybe 100 rounds, including some hot handloads from a friend in New Mexico, at the NRA range, then let the gun cool off while we drove over to Blue Ridge Arsenal, where we fired another 50 rounds so everybody could try out the new pistol. I think it's shooting a little high from the point of aim, even at 50 yards (something I did today), but SIG makes different height front sights and it's easy to adjust something like that. The sights are centered already, and I can live with the gun the way it is right now for awhile.
From looking at the pistol, you'd think it would have more motion from recoil, because the barrel does sit up a little from the axis of your hand, but it's not a problem at all. I can shoot the Model 239 a lot more than I can shoot a .45 ACP, because the recoil is less - yet the ballistics are much better. Isn't physics wonderful? Everyone who fired the Model 239 liked it.
The article about the Texas Department of Public Safety had a very interesting point. Down in the Lone Star state, they have a lot of experience with the .45 ACP in 1911 and SIG 220 type pistols, and they believe they'll get better results with the .357 SIG, results at least equal to those of the older .357 Magnum revolvers.
If you've read this far, you'll have gone through a section on the Smith and Wesson Sigma .357 SIG pistol, and I believe I mentioned that it wouldn't fee the Speer "Gold Dot" loads, the very load chosen by Texas. The Model 239 seems to feed the 125 Grain "Gold Dot" cartridges, although I haven't tried that many because they're expensive. The 239 works with Federal, Triton, Speer, and the "hot stuff" handloads from New Mexico.
Now, here's an interesting question. Given the choice between the SIG 239 in the .357 SIG caliber, and the Colt CCO in .45 ACP +P, which is the best to carry? The Colt feels better, has bigger sights, and conceals just as well as the SIG, but the .357 SIG caliber has a lot going for it and the 239 conceals just as well as the Colt. I guess one answer is that if you want a pistol with a double action trigger pull on the first shot, the 239 wins. If you like the 1911, then the CCO is better. Tough choice.