MacTech
Member
I'm a long time recreational shooter, but am used to bolt-action rifles, pump-action shotguns, and revolvers primarily, I've recently been bitten by the semiauto bug, my two semis are a Ruger 10/22 Carbine (yes, I know, not a handgun, bit it is a semi and therefore relates to this thread) and a Taurus PT-99AF 9mm
I've always loved the Beretta-style pistols, but seeing as i'm a stingy bugger, I couldn't rationalize paying for the Beretta name (Taurus-Haters, please hold your tongues here, I know you don't like the brand and look for opportunities to slam them, please do not do so in this thread) even though Beretta makes a great firearm and is worth it...
So, last weekend I found myself at my local gunshop, trading in some of my extraneous SureFire and Spyderco pieces, I got enough store credit to purchase a excellent condition used Taurus PT-99AF (the newer model with the front rails) for basically $30 out-of-pocket
this thing is in great mechanical shape and operates smoothly, I have not had the opportunity to range-test it yet (I'll hit the range tomorrow, gotta get a membership first), but I'm sure it'll run flawlessly
anyway, to get to the point of this thread, seeing as my past experience with handguns has been almost exclusively revolvers (Taurus 689 and Ruger GP-100 .357 and Ruger Single-Six SA, along with a Ruger Mark II .22LR), I'm used to the mannerisms of revolvers, and the ease of checking for chambered rounds (look in the cylinder wells), revolvers have also trained me well to keep my finger off the trigger until I'm on-target and ready to fire
the firearm safety rules are ingrained in me, I treat every gun as if it's loaded, keep the muzzle under control, finger off the trigger until ready to fire, actions locked open on a cold range or when transporting, etc...
Here's the thing though, since I'm new to the whole centerfire semiauto thing, I'm always a little concerned that the safety features may not work, leading to an AD, for example, sliding a loaded mag into the pistol, and allowing the slide to snap closed, I'm afraid that the gun might discharge when the slide snaps closed (Slam-fire?), so I tend to ease the slide closed to chamber rounds.
I have cycled my three mags through on my .22 range in our woodlot to check for functioning and feeding, I can't use my .22 range to shoot this gun though, as my sister lives down the road on our property and the noise could scare her horses, so I was limited to feed/eject tests with live ammo (all safety rules followed religiously), not a single slam-fire
another safety feature I'm unsure of is the decocker, to take the firearm out of Condition One, that has also been tested on the .22 range, not a single discharge
Now, I've verified that both safeties function as intended, I should no longer be concerned about AD or slam-fire, right?
wrong, no matter what I try, I cannot trust the fact that these safety features will work as intended, I'm always concerned that when I decock the gun, it'll fire, or that by letting the slide snap closed, it'll fire, even though I have concrete proof otherwise, I guess it's because I was trained to distrust safeties, as the only true safety is "keeping your booger hook off the bang switch"
Is this just unfamiliarity with both a new gun and new style of action? am I overreacting? don't get me wrong, I like the multiple safeties on the PT99, as I'm a strong believer in multiple redundancies, but the safeties, being mechanical devices, can potentially fail and should not be trusted, and yes, the only true safety is the shooter, but is my distrust of the decocker and letting the slide snap closed unfounded?
a couple other questions spring to mind as well;
can the PT99 be dry-fired, or should I use snap-caps
Can this firearm handle +P or +P+ loads
If I was to get into reloading (big believer in self-sufficiency, and I like the idea of custom loads and lower operating costs) what are some reccomended loads
I've always loved the Beretta-style pistols, but seeing as i'm a stingy bugger, I couldn't rationalize paying for the Beretta name (Taurus-Haters, please hold your tongues here, I know you don't like the brand and look for opportunities to slam them, please do not do so in this thread) even though Beretta makes a great firearm and is worth it...
So, last weekend I found myself at my local gunshop, trading in some of my extraneous SureFire and Spyderco pieces, I got enough store credit to purchase a excellent condition used Taurus PT-99AF (the newer model with the front rails) for basically $30 out-of-pocket
this thing is in great mechanical shape and operates smoothly, I have not had the opportunity to range-test it yet (I'll hit the range tomorrow, gotta get a membership first), but I'm sure it'll run flawlessly
anyway, to get to the point of this thread, seeing as my past experience with handguns has been almost exclusively revolvers (Taurus 689 and Ruger GP-100 .357 and Ruger Single-Six SA, along with a Ruger Mark II .22LR), I'm used to the mannerisms of revolvers, and the ease of checking for chambered rounds (look in the cylinder wells), revolvers have also trained me well to keep my finger off the trigger until I'm on-target and ready to fire
the firearm safety rules are ingrained in me, I treat every gun as if it's loaded, keep the muzzle under control, finger off the trigger until ready to fire, actions locked open on a cold range or when transporting, etc...
Here's the thing though, since I'm new to the whole centerfire semiauto thing, I'm always a little concerned that the safety features may not work, leading to an AD, for example, sliding a loaded mag into the pistol, and allowing the slide to snap closed, I'm afraid that the gun might discharge when the slide snaps closed (Slam-fire?), so I tend to ease the slide closed to chamber rounds.
I have cycled my three mags through on my .22 range in our woodlot to check for functioning and feeding, I can't use my .22 range to shoot this gun though, as my sister lives down the road on our property and the noise could scare her horses, so I was limited to feed/eject tests with live ammo (all safety rules followed religiously), not a single slam-fire
another safety feature I'm unsure of is the decocker, to take the firearm out of Condition One, that has also been tested on the .22 range, not a single discharge
Now, I've verified that both safeties function as intended, I should no longer be concerned about AD or slam-fire, right?
wrong, no matter what I try, I cannot trust the fact that these safety features will work as intended, I'm always concerned that when I decock the gun, it'll fire, or that by letting the slide snap closed, it'll fire, even though I have concrete proof otherwise, I guess it's because I was trained to distrust safeties, as the only true safety is "keeping your booger hook off the bang switch"
Is this just unfamiliarity with both a new gun and new style of action? am I overreacting? don't get me wrong, I like the multiple safeties on the PT99, as I'm a strong believer in multiple redundancies, but the safeties, being mechanical devices, can potentially fail and should not be trusted, and yes, the only true safety is the shooter, but is my distrust of the decocker and letting the slide snap closed unfounded?
a couple other questions spring to mind as well;
can the PT99 be dry-fired, or should I use snap-caps
Can this firearm handle +P or +P+ loads
If I was to get into reloading (big believer in self-sufficiency, and I like the idea of custom loads and lower operating costs) what are some reccomended loads