I had a few idle hours, so I stopped in the local indoor range yesterday to try out a few guns I'd been wanting to sample.
I've shot a handgun twice previously, .38spl, .357Mag, and 9mm. I picked up a Ruger GP100 .357 last week and shot it quite a bit this weekend...in short I'm hooked on shooting handguns.
I won't mention it too much since this is the revolver section, but I shot 50rds through a Sig 245 .45ACP, and a Ruger P90 .45ACP. Decent guns, I was considering a semi-auto and wanted to see how .45 felt. The Ruger failed to feed a few times but they were easy to shoot in general. After the session, I'm definitely more of a revolver guy though...based on trigger quality alone.
I then tried a .44Mag Redhawk with 6" barrel. 240gr American Eagles as sold through the range. First round I was pretty nervous due to what you hear about a .44Mag's recoil, and the Redhawk had the standard grips with exposed strap. I lit it off and was pleasantly surprised with the recoil. I realize it wasn't full boogie ammo, but it was just a big "thud" and easier to control then the .357Mag snubbie that I had shot previously. Very little muzzle rise, most of the "recoil" is simply the big thud you feel from the muzzle blast. I ran 50 rounds through that gun, with somewhat decent results by the end shooting at 10 and 15yds. The SA trigger was pretty rough so it took a bit for me to figure out that I needed to trap the trigger with my second knuckle, then I was able to get some decent groups.
I figured that went so well, I'd try out the .500Mag they have available as a rental with the 8" compensated barrel. Range ammo is 330gr 1450fps, so not too stout. I bought 20rds and headed out. Again, I was a bit nervous, but had a better idea what to respect. It's definitely a huge gun, but felt pretty balanced to me with this barrel and was extremely steady. SA trigger was very nice, first round was a dead on the X at 10yds. I know it's pretty pathetic to shoot this gun at a 10yd target, but I just wanted to experience a big bore and see what it would do. I ran the remaining rounds through it, the muzzle blast is obviously impressive in an indoor range. The recoil was definitely more stout then the .44Mag, but it was again more of a "thud" and didn't have much muzzle flip with this light round. The muzzle flash was there, but I don't think it was distracting...the targets were showing powder burns though at 10yds. Accuracy at 15yds was great as well, again this is obviously a joke for the capabilities of the gun.
Anyway, I went there to answer a question I had about the practicality of buying a .454Casull over something like a .44Mag and I was able to answer that. I have no doubt I could handle 100 .44Mag or .45LC rounds, and the occasional full boogie .454 would be fine, so I like the idea of the .454Casull. I'm a new shooter and it's fun to feel the power of the big bore stuff while I learn how to become a more consistent accurate shooter. I will say, I think the .500mag is questioned a lot as to whether it's a "cartoon" gun so to speak, made for press rather then a real purpose...but after shooting it I don't think it's even close to being over the top, and can be used for practical shooting assuming someone hand loads to bring ammo prices down.
I've shot a handgun twice previously, .38spl, .357Mag, and 9mm. I picked up a Ruger GP100 .357 last week and shot it quite a bit this weekend...in short I'm hooked on shooting handguns.
I won't mention it too much since this is the revolver section, but I shot 50rds through a Sig 245 .45ACP, and a Ruger P90 .45ACP. Decent guns, I was considering a semi-auto and wanted to see how .45 felt. The Ruger failed to feed a few times but they were easy to shoot in general. After the session, I'm definitely more of a revolver guy though...based on trigger quality alone.
I then tried a .44Mag Redhawk with 6" barrel. 240gr American Eagles as sold through the range. First round I was pretty nervous due to what you hear about a .44Mag's recoil, and the Redhawk had the standard grips with exposed strap. I lit it off and was pleasantly surprised with the recoil. I realize it wasn't full boogie ammo, but it was just a big "thud" and easier to control then the .357Mag snubbie that I had shot previously. Very little muzzle rise, most of the "recoil" is simply the big thud you feel from the muzzle blast. I ran 50 rounds through that gun, with somewhat decent results by the end shooting at 10 and 15yds. The SA trigger was pretty rough so it took a bit for me to figure out that I needed to trap the trigger with my second knuckle, then I was able to get some decent groups.
I figured that went so well, I'd try out the .500Mag they have available as a rental with the 8" compensated barrel. Range ammo is 330gr 1450fps, so not too stout. I bought 20rds and headed out. Again, I was a bit nervous, but had a better idea what to respect. It's definitely a huge gun, but felt pretty balanced to me with this barrel and was extremely steady. SA trigger was very nice, first round was a dead on the X at 10yds. I know it's pretty pathetic to shoot this gun at a 10yd target, but I just wanted to experience a big bore and see what it would do. I ran the remaining rounds through it, the muzzle blast is obviously impressive in an indoor range. The recoil was definitely more stout then the .44Mag, but it was again more of a "thud" and didn't have much muzzle flip with this light round. The muzzle flash was there, but I don't think it was distracting...the targets were showing powder burns though at 10yds. Accuracy at 15yds was great as well, again this is obviously a joke for the capabilities of the gun.
Anyway, I went there to answer a question I had about the practicality of buying a .454Casull over something like a .44Mag and I was able to answer that. I have no doubt I could handle 100 .44Mag or .45LC rounds, and the occasional full boogie .454 would be fine, so I like the idea of the .454Casull. I'm a new shooter and it's fun to feel the power of the big bore stuff while I learn how to become a more consistent accurate shooter. I will say, I think the .500mag is questioned a lot as to whether it's a "cartoon" gun so to speak, made for press rather then a real purpose...but after shooting it I don't think it's even close to being over the top, and can be used for practical shooting assuming someone hand loads to bring ammo prices down.
kidding of course.
