pytron
June 4, 2003, 02:36 PM
I met with THR member ImJustRick and we went shooting last night at Wade's in Bellevue, Washington. I brought my Kel-Tec P-32 and Republic Arms Patriot 45. He brought his Ruger KP95 and rented the Kahr MK9 and Glock 26.
We are both looking at small concealable 9mms and I am also looking at buying his Ruger KP95. Here is my range report on all the guns.
Kel-Tec P-32
I just bought this lightly used blue P-32 so I was eager to try it out. However, I only had one box of FMJ .32 auto, so I shot all of that save a full magazine. I had cleaned the pistol and performed an initial fluff-and-buff per GoldenLoki's suggestion. It may not have needed it, but I'm into tinkering.
No problems with firing at all. The sights were tough to see as they were a dirty white and very small. However, I still got reasonable groups. Recoil was a very quick snap. Very quick and sharp but not painful at all. My trigger finger did get a little roughed up and I'm not sure which gun caused it.
Any suggestions on the sights on the P-32? From Oleg's site, I see that the hard-chrome sights are probably easier to use. I may have to spring the $20 to get the new slide.
I am planning to buy 500 rounds of S&B from CheaperThanDirt.com since it comes out to about $8.60 a box (shipped) that way, which is the best price I could find online. I haven't seen anything local for less than $13!!! Maybe I haven't been looking hard enough. I will be carrying FMJ since I don't want to mess with rimlock and I think underpenetration is a bigger concern with this mouse caliber.
Republic Arms Patriot 45
I shot about 50 rounds in my Patriot 45. Everything worked well. I'm getting very good (for me anyway) at shooting this particular pistol. I did have a failure to feed when ImJustRick loaded up my magazine with some snap caps interspursed with live rounds. The A-zoom snap caps have always had a tendency to hang up on the feed ramp, so I wasn't too surprised. Since I am used to this particular failure with snapcaps, I was able to clear it quickly. I guess it just added a little excitement to my "failure drill". None of the live rounds had any problems. All the rounds I had been carrying fired perfectly (which is always reassuring).
Ruger KP95
This is the safety/decocker model. I have been looking for a full-size, absolutely reliable handgun for home defense. I'd prefer a double-stack 9mm, so the Ruger seems to fit the bill. I shot a number of rounds through the Ruger (probably about 50) using both the factory mags and a 16-round after market mag.
No problems. The DA trigger is long and decently smooth. The SA trigger was good. Sights were good. I didn't particular like how Ruger has done the safety on this gun. It is slide mounted, so it's tough to reach in the first place. Fire = up, which is near impossible to do with one hand. If you safe the pistol, you automatically decock as well, which I'm neutral about. I think if I had this pistol I would carry/store it with the safety off and it decocked. The safety seems like a big hassle and not meant for quick action.
My other gripe is the magazine release, which is kind of a thin, sharp button on either side of the grip. I ended up using the middle finger of my right hand (I'm right handed) to drop the magazine. The Ruger grips are just too thick for me to drop the magazine with my thumb without major repositioning. The sharp little button is a far cry from the nice flat button on my Patriot 45. But, when you have a 16-round magazine, how often are you going to be changing it?
Kahr MK9 with extended magazine
The only magazine given with the gun was the extended magazine. This small gun had an excellent trigger. I liked the sights and could shoot decently with this gun, although it doesn't seem to point naturally for me. Whenever I closed my eyes and extended my arm, I was pointing well below the target. With both the P-32 and Patriot 45 I am right on. I didn't check the Ruger. It felt good. The verdict is still out, though, on whether to buy a Kahr or not. I like to try the PM9 before I make up my mind. So far I've only purchased "cheap" guns, so I'd like try it a few more times before I commit.
Glock 26 with pinky hold magazine
Rick decided to rent the model 26. We both were happy with the MK9, but we wanted to try the competition. Rick shot first and was surprised by the accuracy and small group. I shot a magazine and got my best group from the 9mms. I think the sights had a lot to do with it, but I am definitely adding a Glock to my list of weapons for self-defense. My only other Glock experience was with the Glock 19 my brother-in-law has. The sights on it were difficult for me to use but the gun worked fine. If only they had cheap high-cap magazines...
The Glock 26 was almost the same size as my Patriot 45. The grip is a little fatter, but the slides are the same (to the naked eye). The Glock is quite a bit shorter in the grip and a hair longer in the slide. I can fit the Patriot 45 in most of my shorts, so I'm sure the Glock would hide well enough. They are also about the same weight, although I think the Glock is a tad heavier due to the heavier magazine. I'd be interested to compare their loaded weights.
All in all, it was a successful outing. Ammo was expended, targets were destroyed, and fun was had by everyone. I'd never been to an indoor range before, so it was a new experience for me. Now I'm going to see if my co-workers want to go for a range night.
-Pytron
We are both looking at small concealable 9mms and I am also looking at buying his Ruger KP95. Here is my range report on all the guns.
Kel-Tec P-32
I just bought this lightly used blue P-32 so I was eager to try it out. However, I only had one box of FMJ .32 auto, so I shot all of that save a full magazine. I had cleaned the pistol and performed an initial fluff-and-buff per GoldenLoki's suggestion. It may not have needed it, but I'm into tinkering.
No problems with firing at all. The sights were tough to see as they were a dirty white and very small. However, I still got reasonable groups. Recoil was a very quick snap. Very quick and sharp but not painful at all. My trigger finger did get a little roughed up and I'm not sure which gun caused it.
Any suggestions on the sights on the P-32? From Oleg's site, I see that the hard-chrome sights are probably easier to use. I may have to spring the $20 to get the new slide.
I am planning to buy 500 rounds of S&B from CheaperThanDirt.com since it comes out to about $8.60 a box (shipped) that way, which is the best price I could find online. I haven't seen anything local for less than $13!!! Maybe I haven't been looking hard enough. I will be carrying FMJ since I don't want to mess with rimlock and I think underpenetration is a bigger concern with this mouse caliber.
Republic Arms Patriot 45
I shot about 50 rounds in my Patriot 45. Everything worked well. I'm getting very good (for me anyway) at shooting this particular pistol. I did have a failure to feed when ImJustRick loaded up my magazine with some snap caps interspursed with live rounds. The A-zoom snap caps have always had a tendency to hang up on the feed ramp, so I wasn't too surprised. Since I am used to this particular failure with snapcaps, I was able to clear it quickly. I guess it just added a little excitement to my "failure drill". None of the live rounds had any problems. All the rounds I had been carrying fired perfectly (which is always reassuring).
Ruger KP95
This is the safety/decocker model. I have been looking for a full-size, absolutely reliable handgun for home defense. I'd prefer a double-stack 9mm, so the Ruger seems to fit the bill. I shot a number of rounds through the Ruger (probably about 50) using both the factory mags and a 16-round after market mag.
No problems. The DA trigger is long and decently smooth. The SA trigger was good. Sights were good. I didn't particular like how Ruger has done the safety on this gun. It is slide mounted, so it's tough to reach in the first place. Fire = up, which is near impossible to do with one hand. If you safe the pistol, you automatically decock as well, which I'm neutral about. I think if I had this pistol I would carry/store it with the safety off and it decocked. The safety seems like a big hassle and not meant for quick action.
My other gripe is the magazine release, which is kind of a thin, sharp button on either side of the grip. I ended up using the middle finger of my right hand (I'm right handed) to drop the magazine. The Ruger grips are just too thick for me to drop the magazine with my thumb without major repositioning. The sharp little button is a far cry from the nice flat button on my Patriot 45. But, when you have a 16-round magazine, how often are you going to be changing it?
Kahr MK9 with extended magazine
The only magazine given with the gun was the extended magazine. This small gun had an excellent trigger. I liked the sights and could shoot decently with this gun, although it doesn't seem to point naturally for me. Whenever I closed my eyes and extended my arm, I was pointing well below the target. With both the P-32 and Patriot 45 I am right on. I didn't check the Ruger. It felt good. The verdict is still out, though, on whether to buy a Kahr or not. I like to try the PM9 before I make up my mind. So far I've only purchased "cheap" guns, so I'd like try it a few more times before I commit.
Glock 26 with pinky hold magazine
Rick decided to rent the model 26. We both were happy with the MK9, but we wanted to try the competition. Rick shot first and was surprised by the accuracy and small group. I shot a magazine and got my best group from the 9mms. I think the sights had a lot to do with it, but I am definitely adding a Glock to my list of weapons for self-defense. My only other Glock experience was with the Glock 19 my brother-in-law has. The sights on it were difficult for me to use but the gun worked fine. If only they had cheap high-cap magazines...
The Glock 26 was almost the same size as my Patriot 45. The grip is a little fatter, but the slides are the same (to the naked eye). The Glock is quite a bit shorter in the grip and a hair longer in the slide. I can fit the Patriot 45 in most of my shorts, so I'm sure the Glock would hide well enough. They are also about the same weight, although I think the Glock is a tad heavier due to the heavier magazine. I'd be interested to compare their loaded weights.
All in all, it was a successful outing. Ammo was expended, targets were destroyed, and fun was had by everyone. I'd never been to an indoor range before, so it was a new experience for me. Now I'm going to see if my co-workers want to go for a range night.
-Pytron