It's March 23 and I'm a bit late
starting on the 2008 First Impressions page. The picture shown
above is of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City,
Utah. I had surgery there in January and it has taken awhile to
recover. So far, so good in terms of the outcome of the
surgery.
With good weather returning to Eastern Idaho, it's time to get outdoors and shoot guns and teach other people to be safe around firearms. Yesterday, March 22, our local instructor group held a Utah Concealed Carry class at the big range near Rexburg, Idaho (at the Unified Sportsmen's Club). The range conditions were not the best with melting snow and mud, but everyone had a good time. The shooting exercise for the Utah permit is not quite as extensive as what we have in the NRA Personal Protection classes, but everyone got a chance to do a timed fire test on a realistic target and everyone passed.
There are a few new guns to try out when the snow and mud are less of a problem. These include...
Top left is a Charter Arms Bulldog (.44 Spl). Top right is a CZ-82 (9X18 Makarov). Bottom is a Smith and Wesson Model 60 3" (.357 Magnum).
With good weather returning to Eastern Idaho, it's time to get outdoors and shoot guns and teach other people to be safe around firearms. Yesterday, March 22, our local instructor group held a Utah Concealed Carry class at the big range near Rexburg, Idaho (at the Unified Sportsmen's Club). The range conditions were not the best with melting snow and mud, but everyone had a good time. The shooting exercise for the Utah permit is not quite as extensive as what we have in the NRA Personal Protection classes, but everyone got a chance to do a timed fire test on a realistic target and everyone passed.
There are a few new guns to try out when the snow and mud are less of a problem. These include...
Top left is a Charter Arms Bulldog (.44 Spl). Top right is a CZ-82 (9X18 Makarov). Bottom is a Smith and Wesson Model 60 3" (.357 Magnum).
The Bulldog is a double action only and
not to big to be a decent concealed carry gun. It holds five
round of .44 Special, and you can get some interesting .44 Special
ammmunition these days, including Mag Safe. The CZ-82 is
intriguing as it is more powerful than the .380 cartridge found in the
CZ-83. The CZ-82 is a military pistol and is considered a "Curio
and Relic" by the BATFE. This means you can get a C&R FFL
license and order one of these and other C&R guns without going
through a regular FFL, but the catch is that a C&R FFL does not
premit buying and selling firearms as does the regular FFL. It's
still a convenient way to get interesting guns like the CZ-82.
The Model 60 shown below the other two looks like the one here, with the Hogue grips to dampen recoil. This is also a 5 shot revolver that can handle .357 Magnum ammunition, but may be best fired with .38 Special +P cartridges. Speer makes a new .38 Special load just for short barrel revolvers and this should work well in the Model 60.
There's more to write about. More to come. I'm just glad to be around for 2008 after some interesting medical problems. It's fun to weigh less than I did when I went to Navy boot camp in 1968, but a "chemo therapy diet" is not the best way to lose weight if there are any alternatives.
Click here to go back to the 2007 First Impressions page.
Click here for the 2009 "First Impressions" Page.
The Model 60 shown below the other two looks like the one here, with the Hogue grips to dampen recoil. This is also a 5 shot revolver that can handle .357 Magnum ammunition, but may be best fired with .38 Special +P cartridges. Speer makes a new .38 Special load just for short barrel revolvers and this should work well in the Model 60.
There's more to write about. More to come. I'm just glad to be around for 2008 after some interesting medical problems. It's fun to weigh less than I did when I went to Navy boot camp in 1968, but a "chemo therapy diet" is not the best way to lose weight if there are any alternatives.
April 12, 2008, we taught an NRA Rifle
Instructor Class near Rexburg, Idaho. Here are a couple of
pictures from the class. Notice the similarity of the Auto
Ordnance M-1 Carbine shown above with the folding stock, and the M-1
Carbine at the range we used for the instructor class. I've
always wanted an M-1 Carbine and tried out two of the first ones
produced by Auto Ordnance (Kahr). Both had misfire
problems. The new carbine works great. It comes with a 15
round magazine.
Here is the carbine and the other picture shows Lou Lang, one of our senior NRA instructors, helping the rifle instructor candidates.
Here is the carbine and the other picture shows Lou Lang, one of our senior NRA instructors, helping the rifle instructor candidates.
In Idaho Falls we have a gun store
called "Max's," and he has a lot of older guns, including a good
selection of S&W revolvers. I saw a Model 27-2 with a 6"
barrel in the store the other day, along with a blued Model 25 4" (.45
Colt caliber) and a Smith and Wesson "Victory" model from World War
II. I wound up with the Model 27 to go along with a Model 19
already here. The Model 27 is an "N" frame (bigger than the "K"
frame Model 19 and I plan to get a Milt Sparks holster for it.
The picture shown above came off the Internet, but the revolver I have
looks just like it.
The other day I had a chance to shoot the FNP-9 Single Action Only pistol and the slide wouldn't lock back on either magazine. That pistol may go back to FN for some work, but it seems like a decent gun otherwise. I also had a chance to fire the CZ-82 with hardball and Hornady hollow point ammunition. The Hornady cartridges have less recoil and are very accurate. The CZ-82 fires the 9X18 mm Makarov cartridge. One of these days we're going to use a chronograph to compare the CZ-83 (.380) and the CZ-82.
Winter is over here in Idaho Falls and the shooting season has begun, with IPSC, IDPA, Cowboy, revolver, and high power matches appearing on the calendar. I've lived back east and live out here in paradise, and paradise is better.
More new guns to try and to write about...something to do over the Memorial Day weekend.
SIG P226 9 mm Elite on left - SIG P229 9 mm Platinum Elite on right
Smith & Wesson 686 SSR .357 Magnum/.38 Special
Springfield EMP 9 mm
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Mays Home Page.
The other day I had a chance to shoot the FNP-9 Single Action Only pistol and the slide wouldn't lock back on either magazine. That pistol may go back to FN for some work, but it seems like a decent gun otherwise. I also had a chance to fire the CZ-82 with hardball and Hornady hollow point ammunition. The Hornady cartridges have less recoil and are very accurate. The CZ-82 fires the 9X18 mm Makarov cartridge. One of these days we're going to use a chronograph to compare the CZ-83 (.380) and the CZ-82.
Winter is over here in Idaho Falls and the shooting season has begun, with IPSC, IDPA, Cowboy, revolver, and high power matches appearing on the calendar. I've lived back east and live out here in paradise, and paradise is better.
More new guns to try and to write about...something to do over the Memorial Day weekend.
SIG P226 9 mm Elite on left - SIG P229 9 mm Platinum Elite on right
Smith & Wesson 686 SSR .357 Magnum/.38 Special
Springfield EMP 9 mm
It's almost the end of July and I need
to catch up with writing. The new S&W revolver is very
nice. I shot a few IDPA stages with it a few weeks ago. The
little Springfield is just about the perfect "carry gun" if you 1) like
the 1911 layout, and 2) you can live with a 9 mm caliber. Notice
in the picture above how the dimensions are smaller than the small .45s
made by Springfield. Quality of the EMP is excellent with a great
trigger, night sights, etc. It's not that easy to find a holster,
but I'm sure Blade-Tech will make one one of these days.
Speaking of the good guys at Blade-Tech, they made a nice holster for the S&W 908 Stainless pistol, shown here.
Speaking of the good guys at Blade-Tech, they made a nice holster for the S&W 908 Stainless pistol, shown here.
The 908 and larger 909 are out of
production. The 908 is interesting because it is Very Thin, and
has a short single action trigger rest. It's ideal for a number
of concealed applications, including use with purse holsters.
The GSG5 is German made copy of the MP-5
arrived after many month's wait. This is a .22 semi-automatic
rifle with a 16" barrel that's inside of a fake supressor. The
sights are identical to the MP-5's and many MP-5 accessories will fit
the GSG5. This rifle is great for fun plinking.
"Now that's a knife..." would be one way
to describe a new knife design from Columbia River. This is a
combination knife and chisel. It doesn't look like much, but it's
very handy.
The final wacky item for today's writing
session are the new Speed Sights. Made only for the Glock, so
far, these present a different sight picture. I installed a set
on a Glock Model 32 (mid-size .357 SIG pistol) and am looking forward
to trying these out. The Uzi submachine gun has a pyramid type
sight that lets you cover the target at close range and use the point
at longer ranges. It will be interesting to see what sort of real
world sight pictures can be used with these sights. The rear
sight installs in the traditional way, and the front sight is staked on
like the factory Glock sights. Stay tuned for impressions of
these new sights.
Oops, it's been awhile since I updated this page. We had a great NRA "Women on Target" event last Saturday (9-27-08). Click here to read about that.
Oops, it's been awhile since I updated this page. We had a great NRA "Women on Target" event last Saturday (9-27-08). Click here to read about that.
Here's a new gun that I hoped would
arrive in time for us to use at the Women on Target event, but it
arrived that afternoon. This is the Ruger "Charger," based on the
action of the well known 10/22 rifle. I've not had a chance to
shoot the Charger yet, but will soon. It's set up like the one in
the picture except that it has a 2 power red dot scope. I need to
put a 1 power scope back on the Beretta CX4 "Storm" 9 mm carbine; the
2X scope came from the Beretta.
Let's face it, the "Charger" looks cool.
Let's face it, the "Charger" looks cool.
I am a great fan of S&W's "Pro"
revolvers. In terms of quality, these are somewhere between an
ordinary production gun and a Performance Center gun. The new
Model 60 (5 shot .357 Magnum with 3" barrel) should arrive next week,
and I am looking forward to trying it out. The 686 Pro SSR,
designd for IDPA revolver competition is a great revolver, but
big. The new Model 60 Pro looks like a winner for the "kit gun"
application. With five rounds of the Speer 135 grain .38 Special
ammunition, it should be useful for other purposes.
Beretta PX4 SubCompact 9 mm
HK P30
Beretta PX4 SubCompact 9 mm
HK P30
Two new acquisitions that need to go to
the range. Both have great ergonomics. The rear and side
panels on the P30 may be replaced with different sizes. The P30
de-cocker is at the rear of the slide next to the hammer, a unique
location for modern handguns. Both guns can be operated by left
handed shooters, but the P30 has a slide release on both sides.
Hey, it's New Year's Eve 2008. About a year ago I was in the hospital shown at the beginning of this page, and I've survived almost another year since then, not cured of cancer, but still around, still shooting, still writing, still working part time, and still taking still pictures. Maybe I'll take some moving pictures in 2009, who knows?
At year's end I've discovered the new S&W M&P "Pro" model, but I'll shoot that and anything else that's new in 2009 - when the snow melts a little here in eastern Idaho. As I write this, I don't have a 2009 page to link to, but I'll go ahead and put the link there anyway, and it should be active "next year" (tomorrow or the day after).
Hey, it's New Year's Eve 2008. About a year ago I was in the hospital shown at the beginning of this page, and I've survived almost another year since then, not cured of cancer, but still around, still shooting, still writing, still working part time, and still taking still pictures. Maybe I'll take some moving pictures in 2009, who knows?
At year's end I've discovered the new S&W M&P "Pro" model, but I'll shoot that and anything else that's new in 2009 - when the snow melts a little here in eastern Idaho. As I write this, I don't have a 2009 page to link to, but I'll go ahead and put the link there anyway, and it should be active "next year" (tomorrow or the day after).
Click here to go back to the 2007 First Impressions page.
Click here for the 2009 "First Impressions" Page.