Dave Markowitz
Member
My dad (Ron in PA) and I packed up a bunch of guns and headed up to the range today. I brought my new Norinco 97 Trench Gun, EMF/Rossi M1892 Short Rifle, Savage 93GL, and the S&W 640, which I was carrying anyway. Dad brought his new (used) Ruger GP-100, Beretta 92 single stack, and at my request, his Radom.
I started off with the Trench Gun. Since we were shooting on the 50 yard pistol/rifle range, and they don't appreciate you tearing up the target holders with shot loads, I stuffed five Remington slugs into the mag and let 'er rip.
Heretofore I've avoided shooting 12 gauge slugs as I'm not into pain. Today I made an exception, and I'll still be feeling it tomorrow. 1 oz slugs + no recoil pad = OUCH. After the first 5 shots I took a mouse pad and stuck it in a pocket of my vest so that it sat between me and the gun. This thing is a prime candidate for a Pachymar Decellerator pad. Not exactly traditional but I don't care.
I shot at a target setup at 25 yards. The gun cycled flawlessly, but point of impact was about 8" low and about 5" to the left. The group was about 4". However, this may have been affected by the fact that the heat shield/bayonte lug, upon which the bead is mounted, started to walk off the end of the barrel under recoil after 10 rounds.
I stopped shooting, removed the heat shield and wiped both it and the barrel off, then remounted the heat shield. I shot another 5 but it happened again, so I'm going to take it off, degrease things, and slather some Loc-Tite in between the barrel and bayo lug before tightening things up.
Aside from that problem, I am pleased with the Trench Gun. Granted, I only shot 15 rounds but all of them fed perfectly and the gun works smoothly. Once the heat shield is taken care of it looks to be my home defense weapon of choice. The next time I take it out I'm going to pattern it with a couple different shot loads to see how it does.
After retiring the shotgun for the day I moved to the Rossi. The ammo I had was Sellier & Bellot .357 Magnum 158 grain JSP. After the first 5 rounds I started having extraction problems. The empties didn't give any signs of excessive pressure, nor were they smoky indicating that the chamber might be dirty. On the chance that some gunk was built up under the extractor, I wet a brush with FP-10 and scrubbed off the bolt face. I also ran a wet patch through the bore and chamber. The piece still failed to give reliable extraction. I am seriously annoyed. I sent an email to EMF tonight requesting instructions for getting the rifle serviced.
I moved on to the Radom. My dad has owned this for several years and I've always liked the way it felt but today was the first time I shot it. What a nice pistol! It was made early on during the Nazi occupation of Poland so it's not a late-war junker. The trigger pull is quite nice and being almost as big as an M1911, it really soaks up the recoil from a 9mm. I put 25 rounds of S&B 115 grain ball through it and I'm tempted to go swipe it from Dad.
I also shot his GP-100 and Beretta. The GP-100 is blued with fixed sights and a 3" barrel. I shot a couple cylinder-fulls of Dad's handloads, consisting of a 125 grain Remington JHP on top of a full charge of Blue Dot. This may be the most pleasant-shooting .357 Magnum I've shot, due mostly to the excellent rubber grips Ruger put on it. They fit my hand perfectly and soak up the recoil very well. Add another wheelgun to my list of guns to buy.
I was less impressed with the Beretta 92 single stack. It functioned fine, but the trigger sucks and the grip feels weird. It ~could~ be a nice feeling gun with the removal of some metal in the right places, but as it is now, I'll pass.
I started off with the Trench Gun. Since we were shooting on the 50 yard pistol/rifle range, and they don't appreciate you tearing up the target holders with shot loads, I stuffed five Remington slugs into the mag and let 'er rip.
Heretofore I've avoided shooting 12 gauge slugs as I'm not into pain. Today I made an exception, and I'll still be feeling it tomorrow. 1 oz slugs + no recoil pad = OUCH. After the first 5 shots I took a mouse pad and stuck it in a pocket of my vest so that it sat between me and the gun. This thing is a prime candidate for a Pachymar Decellerator pad. Not exactly traditional but I don't care.
I shot at a target setup at 25 yards. The gun cycled flawlessly, but point of impact was about 8" low and about 5" to the left. The group was about 4". However, this may have been affected by the fact that the heat shield/bayonte lug, upon which the bead is mounted, started to walk off the end of the barrel under recoil after 10 rounds.
I stopped shooting, removed the heat shield and wiped both it and the barrel off, then remounted the heat shield. I shot another 5 but it happened again, so I'm going to take it off, degrease things, and slather some Loc-Tite in between the barrel and bayo lug before tightening things up.
Aside from that problem, I am pleased with the Trench Gun. Granted, I only shot 15 rounds but all of them fed perfectly and the gun works smoothly. Once the heat shield is taken care of it looks to be my home defense weapon of choice. The next time I take it out I'm going to pattern it with a couple different shot loads to see how it does.
After retiring the shotgun for the day I moved to the Rossi. The ammo I had was Sellier & Bellot .357 Magnum 158 grain JSP. After the first 5 rounds I started having extraction problems. The empties didn't give any signs of excessive pressure, nor were they smoky indicating that the chamber might be dirty. On the chance that some gunk was built up under the extractor, I wet a brush with FP-10 and scrubbed off the bolt face. I also ran a wet patch through the bore and chamber. The piece still failed to give reliable extraction. I am seriously annoyed. I sent an email to EMF tonight requesting instructions for getting the rifle serviced.
I moved on to the Radom. My dad has owned this for several years and I've always liked the way it felt but today was the first time I shot it. What a nice pistol! It was made early on during the Nazi occupation of Poland so it's not a late-war junker. The trigger pull is quite nice and being almost as big as an M1911, it really soaks up the recoil from a 9mm. I put 25 rounds of S&B 115 grain ball through it and I'm tempted to go swipe it from Dad.
I also shot his GP-100 and Beretta. The GP-100 is blued with fixed sights and a 3" barrel. I shot a couple cylinder-fulls of Dad's handloads, consisting of a 125 grain Remington JHP on top of a full charge of Blue Dot. This may be the most pleasant-shooting .357 Magnum I've shot, due mostly to the excellent rubber grips Ruger put on it. They fit my hand perfectly and soak up the recoil very well. Add another wheelgun to my list of guns to buy.
I was less impressed with the Beretta 92 single stack. It functioned fine, but the trigger sucks and the grip feels weird. It ~could~ be a nice feeling gun with the removal of some metal in the right places, but as it is now, I'll pass.
