I had a very informative trip to the range yesterday.
I brought my usual assortment of guns to shoot (.357 Blackhawk, .357 SP101 snubbie, Underfolder AK47, NEF 410) and met up with an old friend who had 2 new guns he wanted to try out, a Springfield 1911 and a DPMS AR15 with a holosite, the brand of which I didn't check. He also brought his old Ruger 9mm, which was clunky but fun to shoot.
We had a great time, and an older fella nearby wandered over to see what all that noise was coming from.
Me: "You're welcome to try anything you see here."
Older fella: "Those look a little big for me, I'll stick with my .22 and .380 today"
Me: "Well, you're shooting better than we are! What .22 do you have over there?"
Older fella: "I don't know about that, but here's my .22. I'll load it up for you and you can try it out!"
Me: "Wow, thanks!"
It was a Mark II 5" stainless bull barrel with really nice wood grips that had a thumbrest in just the right spot, and adjustable sights. I shot my 10 rds and thanked him, and my buddy shot it as well. We both agreed it was one sweetheart of a gun.
A benchrest shooter then started chatting with the older fella (benchrest guy had a very nice rig, and was shooting what somebody on here described once as "cat sneeze" rounds) so we went back to shooting our stuff.
So I tried out the legendary 1911. I had shot them before, but upon grabbing that Springfield I realized I had only shot double-stack versions. Holding that single-stack gun in my hand I realized why some guys form a religion around these guns. The ergonomics are absolutely perfect! It pointed so natural, felt so right, I could not wait to shoot it.
Then I shot 7 rounds and a nerve in my wrist was screaming in agony, or maybe that was me screaming... The recoil was no big deal, muzzle flip was no big deal, but the actual recoil impulse was hitting me just right to aggravate the nerve damage I have in that hand and wrist. I have never had a handgun hurt my wrist like that. My SP101 makes my hand tender and weak after awhile, and my wrist might ache a little, but that 1911 was just waking up that nerve with every shot! I was amazed, as the "kick" itself was no harder than the Blackhawk, much less than the snubbie. I fired two more magazines worth, adjusting my grip each time, because I was shooting it well and liked the design a lot, but no matter what I did it just wanged that nerve by the end of the magazine to the point I had to take a break afterward.
I went back to shooting my guns for awhile and then it was time to go. As we were packing up a couple of other guys came in and one was shooting a fancy Smith & Wesson that thundered like a .44, so we had to inquire as to just what that thing was. It was a Performance Center model, in olive drab green with black rubber grips and an 8" (roughly) barrel that was broad like a Taurus Raging Bull barrel. The owner's friend loaded 3 rounds of .44 Magnum in it and handed it to me. I was hesitant as I was plenty sore already, but I braced like hell and prepared to flinch my ass off. I cocked the hammer and let one slip, and it was an absolute joy! No pain, big noise, and I finally experienced the "slow heavy push" big bore shooters talk about. No snappy muzzle flip, just a slow heavy push and big time fun. I fired the next two and wished I could shoot a box right then and there. Instead I thanked him and we talked for awhile as my friend also shot 3 through it. I normally don't like a double action style grip, but whatever was on that gun was perfect for me.
So I learned I can't handle a 1911, but a heavy .44 Magnum with the right grips is a real treat. Go figure. We also learned the holosite was garbage, and we shot much better using the iron sights with just a couple adjustments. No matter what we did the holosite was out of shape after a few shots.
Also the AK47 fired from the hip with stock folded is pretty well pointless unless you plan on spraying bullets in a string rather than taking single shots.
I never thought I'd consider getting rid of the Blackhawk, but I would in a heartbeat to get a .44 like that one, but of course that PC model is worth about 3x what the Blackhawk is... Oh well, there will always be gun envy.
gp911
I brought my usual assortment of guns to shoot (.357 Blackhawk, .357 SP101 snubbie, Underfolder AK47, NEF 410) and met up with an old friend who had 2 new guns he wanted to try out, a Springfield 1911 and a DPMS AR15 with a holosite, the brand of which I didn't check. He also brought his old Ruger 9mm, which was clunky but fun to shoot.
We had a great time, and an older fella nearby wandered over to see what all that noise was coming from.
Me: "You're welcome to try anything you see here."
Older fella: "Those look a little big for me, I'll stick with my .22 and .380 today"
Me: "Well, you're shooting better than we are! What .22 do you have over there?"
Older fella: "I don't know about that, but here's my .22. I'll load it up for you and you can try it out!"
Me: "Wow, thanks!"
It was a Mark II 5" stainless bull barrel with really nice wood grips that had a thumbrest in just the right spot, and adjustable sights. I shot my 10 rds and thanked him, and my buddy shot it as well. We both agreed it was one sweetheart of a gun.
A benchrest shooter then started chatting with the older fella (benchrest guy had a very nice rig, and was shooting what somebody on here described once as "cat sneeze" rounds) so we went back to shooting our stuff.
So I tried out the legendary 1911. I had shot them before, but upon grabbing that Springfield I realized I had only shot double-stack versions. Holding that single-stack gun in my hand I realized why some guys form a religion around these guns. The ergonomics are absolutely perfect! It pointed so natural, felt so right, I could not wait to shoot it.
Then I shot 7 rounds and a nerve in my wrist was screaming in agony, or maybe that was me screaming... The recoil was no big deal, muzzle flip was no big deal, but the actual recoil impulse was hitting me just right to aggravate the nerve damage I have in that hand and wrist. I have never had a handgun hurt my wrist like that. My SP101 makes my hand tender and weak after awhile, and my wrist might ache a little, but that 1911 was just waking up that nerve with every shot! I was amazed, as the "kick" itself was no harder than the Blackhawk, much less than the snubbie. I fired two more magazines worth, adjusting my grip each time, because I was shooting it well and liked the design a lot, but no matter what I did it just wanged that nerve by the end of the magazine to the point I had to take a break afterward.
I went back to shooting my guns for awhile and then it was time to go. As we were packing up a couple of other guys came in and one was shooting a fancy Smith & Wesson that thundered like a .44, so we had to inquire as to just what that thing was. It was a Performance Center model, in olive drab green with black rubber grips and an 8" (roughly) barrel that was broad like a Taurus Raging Bull barrel. The owner's friend loaded 3 rounds of .44 Magnum in it and handed it to me. I was hesitant as I was plenty sore already, but I braced like hell and prepared to flinch my ass off. I cocked the hammer and let one slip, and it was an absolute joy! No pain, big noise, and I finally experienced the "slow heavy push" big bore shooters talk about. No snappy muzzle flip, just a slow heavy push and big time fun. I fired the next two and wished I could shoot a box right then and there. Instead I thanked him and we talked for awhile as my friend also shot 3 through it. I normally don't like a double action style grip, but whatever was on that gun was perfect for me.
So I learned I can't handle a 1911, but a heavy .44 Magnum with the right grips is a real treat. Go figure. We also learned the holosite was garbage, and we shot much better using the iron sights with just a couple adjustments. No matter what we did the holosite was out of shape after a few shots.
Also the AK47 fired from the hip with stock folded is pretty well pointless unless you plan on spraying bullets in a string rather than taking single shots. I never thought I'd consider getting rid of the Blackhawk, but I would in a heartbeat to get a .44 like that one, but of course that PC model is worth about 3x what the Blackhawk is... Oh well, there will always be gun envy.
gp911
