SharpsDressedMan
member
I acquired a S&W 1006, used, at a gunshow several months ago as I load 10mm for my Caspian Custom 10mm, and heard that the S&W was a strong and accurate gun. I never got into the DA Smiths as I had to carry a 6946 9mm, and just got a bad taste in my mouth about 3rd Gen S&W's...not because they were unreliable or inaccurate, just not my choice, as I thought them a little "clunky". Over time, I kept hearing that the 1006 was a good gun, and seeing and fondling it at the gunshow, it was a bit big, and hefty (not drop dead heavy), but nice and thin in the hand with the Delrin grips, and I knew what a 10mm would do, so.....it found a new home. Shooting it made me believe in it more, as it was reliable and accurate, at least as good as most .45's. A short time ago, I had the opportunity to obtain extra parts in the form of a barrel and complete slide unit. I thought having spare parts for a discontinued gun was a good idea, and today I went out with the whole new upper assembly on the original frame. I had had to "fit" the barrel a bit, as it appeared to be oversized in a few places; more tight than anything, and about 20 minutes of diligent smithing took off just enough metal to get the barrel to seat into the slide just right. Racking the slide afterwards was by force, fore and aft, but the barrel and slide snapped shut as they should. This can be good, if done right, as shooting breaks it in the rest of the way, and you have a tight, accurate gun. And that is exactly what happened. I fired about 20 rounds, and then settled into shooting a group. The slide/barrel unit did shoot low of point of aim about 2-3 inches at 25 yards, but the grouping was great: center, and about 2-3 inch spread, for the most part. For a backup set of parts, I couldn't ask for more. I may even see if I can mount a small red dot, like Burris or Leupold, on the slide as a setup for hunting. Then I went to the FN Hi Power. My brother pointed me to it at the last gunshow. The gun was a recently imported Hi Power from Israel. It was the usual worn painted exterior on a military model, with lanyard, and the rear sight had a ding on the left side, but the front and notch were fine. I always expect to upgrade sights on HP's, so the sights didn't bother me. The paint/exterior was worn, flaked, and lightly scratched all over, but few and only light "dings". The worst thing was the importer's engraving/etching on the left front of the frame, on the "dust cover" area. Later that evening, I got out the file and sandpaper, and the import mark "cleaned up" very well.
A plus was that this gun came with a factory ambi-safety, as I am a lefty. No extra expense there. I carefully sanded down some of the flats on the gun, and generally cleaned it up for a future finishing job, with it being about half "in the white" at this time. It printed some groups vertical, about as nice as the 1006, but a little to the right. Since better sights will be put on this eventually, I didn't fool with the sights, and am looking forward to getting fixed sights similar to another BHP that I have. Not sure what finish I'll use, but I hope to come in with a nice, accurate defensive pistol for a low $$$, since this gun was purchased for $372 with tax included. The inside of the BHP was very clean, nice bore, and did not appear to be fired much, just a lot of holster and handling wear. All in all, a good day at the range. Anyone else wring out a gun/trial by fire this weekend? Any other fans of the 1006 or BHP got stories about their guns?
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A plus was that this gun came with a factory ambi-safety, as I am a lefty. No extra expense there. I carefully sanded down some of the flats on the gun, and generally cleaned it up for a future finishing job, with it being about half "in the white" at this time. It printed some groups vertical, about as nice as the 1006, but a little to the right. Since better sights will be put on this eventually, I didn't fool with the sights, and am looking forward to getting fixed sights similar to another BHP that I have. Not sure what finish I'll use, but I hope to come in with a nice, accurate defensive pistol for a low $$$, since this gun was purchased for $372 with tax included. The inside of the BHP was very clean, nice bore, and did not appear to be fired much, just a lot of holster and handling wear. All in all, a good day at the range. Anyone else wring out a gun/trial by fire this weekend? Any other fans of the 1006 or BHP got stories about their guns?
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