wanderinwalker
Member
Finally got the new-to-me M-19 up the range this morning. Beautiful March day; about 50-degrees F and sunny.
I started with 158gr Independence .357 Magnums. OUCH! The Hogue wood monogrip twisted and torqued uncomfortably in my hand. But I tried a dozen of these from about 10-yards anyway. They grouped well though; 2" for 12 shots, 6 SA, 6 DA.
Then I tried some 158gr LRN .38s, Magtech brand. Woo-HOO!!! These are fun! Now I remember why I was looking for an M-15 Combat Masterpiece in the first place. These shot to point of aim from 10-yards to 25 yards (more or less; the bite on my thumb from the Magnums made me a bit jumpy to start with).
I also fired about 30-36 of these 158gr Magnums. I'll be perfectly honest; the 70-odd rounds I have left are going to take a while to shoot up. I'm definitely considering this gun a .38 +P+ with a long chamber. Also, I was getting hit in the face with unburned powder from the Magnums.
Ah, and I switched the finger groove stocks out for the smooth stocks from my M-18 I brought along. Instant relief with shooting .357s, except the Ahrend's don't seem cut quite deep enough to let .357 cases clear easily. It was also more difficult to get the speedloader in with the Ahrend's than with the Hogue.
And lastly, my last 6 rounds were some of the Magnums. I managed to get my grip up too high and took a chunk out of the web of my hand. Argh! I bled over everything; snow, gun case, everything! :banghead:
I'll post a couple of target pics later when I get home. Just to say, I'm pleased. I think when I start reloading for this I'm going to use the Magnum cases for a .38 +P+-type load; say a 158 @ 1000-1100 fps. Same thing I do with my .44, actually, but that's another story. But primarily I'm thinking 4gr of 231 and a 158gr LSWC in .38 cases. That ought to be fun!
I started with 158gr Independence .357 Magnums. OUCH! The Hogue wood monogrip twisted and torqued uncomfortably in my hand. But I tried a dozen of these from about 10-yards anyway. They grouped well though; 2" for 12 shots, 6 SA, 6 DA.
Then I tried some 158gr LRN .38s, Magtech brand. Woo-HOO!!! These are fun! Now I remember why I was looking for an M-15 Combat Masterpiece in the first place. These shot to point of aim from 10-yards to 25 yards (more or less; the bite on my thumb from the Magnums made me a bit jumpy to start with).
I also fired about 30-36 of these 158gr Magnums. I'll be perfectly honest; the 70-odd rounds I have left are going to take a while to shoot up. I'm definitely considering this gun a .38 +P+ with a long chamber. Also, I was getting hit in the face with unburned powder from the Magnums.
Ah, and I switched the finger groove stocks out for the smooth stocks from my M-18 I brought along. Instant relief with shooting .357s, except the Ahrend's don't seem cut quite deep enough to let .357 cases clear easily. It was also more difficult to get the speedloader in with the Ahrend's than with the Hogue.
And lastly, my last 6 rounds were some of the Magnums. I managed to get my grip up too high and took a chunk out of the web of my hand. Argh! I bled over everything; snow, gun case, everything! :banghead:
I'll post a couple of target pics later when I get home. Just to say, I'm pleased. I think when I start reloading for this I'm going to use the Magnum cases for a .38 +P+-type load; say a 158 @ 1000-1100 fps. Same thing I do with my .44, actually, but that's another story. But primarily I'm thinking 4gr of 231 and a 158gr LSWC in .38 cases. That ought to be fun!
