Yuletide Autoloaders

[Dave DeLaurant]

This isn't exactly a theme -- more a convergence of availability and ready cash, beginning last month with the purchase of one of my all-time grail guns: a Swiss SIG P49.



These just keep getting more and more expensive, so when Simpsons got a new batch recently I decided it was now or never. I've had it to the range a couple times already -- one sweet shooter!

Shortly after the SIG reached my gunsafe, I spotted a rather nice looking Manhurin Walther PP in .32 ACP at Simpsons for under $500.



A really nice piece inside and out, but dirty! On the first range session I kept getting a dead trigger, which turned out to be the result of gummy lubricant residue under the trigger bar. A good cleaning and relube soon fixed things. I had a .380 PPK/S American several years back, but I found the recoil a bit too snappy -- the slightly-larger .32 version is much more pleasant to shoot. It might even lead to a .22 LR stablemate before long.

When I was at my LGS doing the paperwork on the French Walther, I also spotted this particularly cherry Star Modelo Super in 9x23 Largo.



I like shooting the 9x23 in my two Astra M400s, and the price was right. The first range session was a bit disappointing, as my creampuff Astra handloads wouldn't fully cycle the Star. Easy to fix with a bit more Unique though.

Lastly, while not a new handgun, I'd watched a recent Forgotten Weapons merch video that recommended the custom grips by a newly relocated Russian in Finland:

https://gungrips.org/

I don't generally go in for firearm bling (or clang, if you read Terry Pratchett), but while reviewing the offerings at this website I spotted a 1911 set with a cool Mayan calendar motif. I have a plain Rock Island .38 Super, and since this handgun and cartridge combination was once very popular in Mexico I decided I had to have a set.



They cost around $70 US and shipping from Finland took about a month. Check out the website -- you might find something to your tastes too!

 

[Navy87Guy]

So far (this week) I’ve bought a Mosin Nagant 91/30, and Arisaka Type 38, and a Nambu Type 14. But there’s still a week left until Christmas…

 

[dh1633pm]

Wow, got an Sig P227 and that’s about it. You all got me beat. Excellent choices Dave. I really like the Sig.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Wow, got an Sig P227 and that’s about it. You all got me beat. Excellent choices Dave. I really like the Sig.

Thanks!

BTW, I had to look up the 227 to refresh my memory. On my first try accidentally left off the 'S' in SIG -- got a bunch of hits for a Star Wars battle droid called the IG-227.

 

[dh1633pm]

Those droid tanks are sweet. That Sig P49 is one sweet pistol. My dad has a Manhurin ppk in 32 and 380. Fun shooters.

 

[bannockburn]

Dave

What a great Trifecta for the holiday season!

Some very nice acquisitions there, starting with the SIG P49 (I have long lusted after a P49) , then on to the Manurhin PP (had one of these once, also in .32 ACP, and it was a decent shooter ), and finishing with the Star Modelo Super (use to use a Star Model B to introduce new shooters to the basics of a centerfire semi-auto pistol).

I also like the tie-in with those grips, a .38 Super, and Mexico!

Well played sir!

 

[MedWheeler]

Nicely done. I have one of the Super B pistols, though in Luger. It looks almost unissued; the bluing seems almost deep enough to splash around in.

I had a PPK/S back in the day, too. I think I remember it being a bit rude, but I was a lot younger and probably figured that's just how they are. I let it go a long time ago. I've since acquired a similarly-sized gun in .32ACP, a CZ-70, but haven't tried it out yet. I do have a really nice rimfire "stablemate for it, a FEG AP22, the all-steel one brought over by Interarms. The DA trigger pull almost needs a tractor, but it is a nice pointer and shooter, and deeply well-blued also.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Love the SIG!

No new guns for me for Christmas, but Im giving my Son in Law a stripped lower and lookin forward to helping him with his 1st build.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I had a PPK/S back in the day, too. I think I remember it being a bit rude, but I was a lot younger and probably figured that's just how they are.

Mine never got me, but after drawing blood from my brother and one of my cousins I started carrying a package of band-aids with me whenever I took it to the range. The slide really took a chunk out of the web of my brother's somewhat fleshy hand!

 

[Speedo66]

Mine never got me, but after drawing blood from my brother and one of my cousins I started carrying a package of band-aids with me whenever I took it to the range. The slide really took a chunk out of the web of my brother's somewhat fleshy hand!

I used to carry one off duty, a W. German PPK/S in .380, never enjoyed the racing stripes on the web of my hand, nor the snappy recoil.

The change in the trigger feel between double and single action didn't help either. Down the road it went.

 

[halfmoonclip]

The cognoscenti over on the Walther Forum much prefer the .32 iteration of the PP platform; the gun started life as a .32; the .380 is maybe a bridge too far. In this country, bigger is better, but the .32 is more common in Europe.
Never got slide bite, but the alternative is the awful schnozz on the S&Walthers and the Ft. Smith guns. If it is an issue, wear a bike glove to the range.
SIG made a more refined PP, the P230, in both .32 and .380; same deal, the .32 is much more pleasant.
Dave, some nice catches there.
Moon

 

[tark]

Dave, I love that Super. I shoot factory .38 Supers in mine, which it can easily handle. All Super Bs were rated safe with any 9 mm ammo, including +P which is loaded to higher pressures than Supers are. ( 38,500 psi vs 36,500 psi )
The only difference between the A and the B was the chambering. The guns themselves were identical.

Your gun's breech face probably won't accept the .405" rim of the Super. There are two easy ways to get around this. The first is to simply trim down the Super's rim from .405 to .395. You can do this with a hand drill and a mill file. It takes a bit of practice, but I can do an entire box in less than an hour. The second, better solution is to open up the breech face on the slide. This is easier than it sounds and can be done with a small flat file with a safe side. keep the safe side on the breech face and file a bit off both sides of the opening. This has no effect on the gun's ability to handle Largo ammo. I've done this hundreds of times. Les never ordered slides for Supers. He only ordered slides for 9mms and I opened the breech faces in the manner described.

This is fine for shooting.38 Supers in a Super A but not so good an idea for A 400, for obvious reasons. I have shot factory Supers in a 400 when I was younger and a lot stupider. A cracked slide was the result. I'm lucky the thing didn't go grenade on me. Well, damn it, the barrel did say 9mm & 38 !!!

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Dave, I love that Super. I shoot factory .38 Supers in mine, which it can easily handle. All Super Bs were rated safe with any 9 mm ammo, including +P which is loaded to higher pressures than Supers are. ( 38,500 psi vs 36,500 psi )

I had heard from others in Sociedad Largo about this back in the late 1990s when I had owned another Star Super (I sold that one because the manual safety was worn -- you had to hold the hammer back to get it to engage.) I never shot that one with anything hotter than a standard-pressure (probably about 28K) .38 ACP 5.0 grain Unique handload, which seemed to run just fine. I mostly shoot .38 ACP brass in my Astras because I scored 1K of primed W-W .38 ACP brass from Widener's almost 30 years ago -- some cases are on their third loading now.

BTW, I can get the M400 to cycle reliably on just 4.5 grains, but that's not enough energy to make empties clear the ejection port on my new Super.

Your gun's breech face probably won't accept the .405" rim of the Super.

My earlier Super chambered .38 ACP/Super brass just fine, but now that you mention it I haven't confirmed this about my new one. I was using some old Starline 9x23 Largo brass during my first range session.

There are two easy ways to get around this. The first is to simply trim down the Super's rim from .405 to .395. You can do this with a hand drill and a mill file. It takes a bit of practice, but I can do an entire box in less than an hour. The second, better solution is to open up the breech face on the slide. This is easier than it sounds and can be done with a small flat file with a safe side. keep the safe side on the breech face and file a bit off both sides of the opening. This has no effect on the gun's ability to handle Largo ammo. I've done this hundreds of times. Les never ordered slides for Supers. He only ordered slides for 9mms and I opened the breech faces in the manner described.

Or I can just use the .4060" mill I bought for this purpose back in the day to open up the breechface I thought it might come in handy but I've never had to actually use it so far.



I've also got a .38 ACP/Super chamber reamer -- I was pretty deep into the whole 9 Largo thing. I had Dick Nickel rebore/rechamber a H&R single shot .22 Hornet barrel to take both .38 Super and 9 Largo. I had this barrel engraved .38 Super, but the .223 ejector I installed handles either cartridge just fine. It also shoots 9x20 Browning Long. A super fun thing to shoot!

 

[defjon]

I think I may have been looking at that same 32 ppk! I'm glad it went to a good home. Excellent purchases, all. Enjoy them in good health!

 

[Mosin77]

Nice pistolas!

How does the P49 compare to some other stalwarts of the genre like the Hi Power, Luger, and actually, the Star Super in terms of shooting experience and recoil? I’ve fondled a French 1935a (but didn’t shoot it) and it seemed like a nice gun. A Swiss P49 or P210 has never crossed my path yet.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Nice pistolas! How does the P49 compare to some other stalwarts of the genre like the Hi Power, Luger, and actually, the Star Super in terms of shooting experience and recoil? I’ve fondled a French 1935a (but didn’t shoot it) and it seemed like a nice gun. A Swiss P49 or P210 has never crossed my path yet.

Thanks! The P49 points like a P08 Luger but it has a far better trigger and a more comfortable recoil cycle. My buddy Bob has a Waffenamt-marked FN P-35 that I've shot a few magazines through -- a decent pistol but I think the ergonomics and trigger are inferior to the P49. The P49 has very clear sights, and both are drift adjustable. It's one a heck of a nice pistol. I'd never seen one locally before I bought this one online through Simpsons.

The Star Super points almost exactly like the P49, though the latter's grips are more hand-filling. I've owned several Stars and found that their triggers vary considerably -- this Super isn't too bad, but the Swiss gun has it beat.

Incidentally, today I unwrapped a timely gift from my wife:



It was one of three pricey shooting books I got this year:

 

[CajunBass]

A couple of days ago, my wife and I stop at the LGS, to "look around" and I notice they've started to sell Tisas, and for about the same price Buds charge. "Just out of curiosity" I ask to see a little bobtail commander in the case. It's an alloy frame, 9mm, with two ten round mags, called something like "Stingray." Nice green/black color combo (crekote I believe). Ambi safety, carry type beavertail, skeltonized trigger and hammer (about a 4.5 lb trigger) nice three dot sights (not night sights, but nice nontheless). Feels really nice in my hand. I hand it back to the guy and say, "That's nice...but." My wife steps up.."Oh no you don't. Get it. I'm not going to listen to you whine about how you should have bought that gun. Merry Christmas...now shut up and do it."

So that's how I got this one.





I haven't shot it yet, other than with a ELMS laser cartridge. It puts that laser dot, right on the sights every time. I'm loaded it with dummy loads and worked them through the magazines a couple of times. Perfect function. I found an IWB holster for a commander in my "bag O holsters." I don't know if I'll carry it, but it might be nice to have the option.

One thing I like about these Tisas guns is the almost total lack of scribbling on them. Other than the company information and S/N on the right side, and that single "carry" mark on the left there are no rollmarks. Just the nicely done fish scale slide serrations that are very effective. No front serrations, or rails...I like that. They offer them on other models, but they're not for me.

And Merry Christmas to all.

 

[Navy87Guy]

@CajunBass - I have a Tisas government model that started out as a MILSTD…I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Some people like to point to the low price tag but they’re quality guns.



None of my remaining gun purchases this year were autoloader pistols - although I did buy an M1 Carbine, a Lee Enfield No 4 MK I, and a Nagant M1895 revolver. To fund those, I sold a Colt 1983 Government model and a Sig P227.

 

[Tallball]

Nice finds! I got one of the Super B's when they were just a little over $200 some years back. It's a solid pistol. My FiL ordered one right after he shot it. My FiL's was the first 9mm pistol my daughter ever shot. She gave us a ten-year-old eye roll when she finished the magazine and asked if that was supposed to be a big deal.

You'll enjoy the PP. I have a PPK clone in 380. I can tolerate shooting it, and manage decent combat accuracy, but it's not fun. My PP clone in 32acp is flat-out fun to shoot. It's as accurate as the small sights allow, and the recoil is pleasant.

 

[Speedo66]

I hand it back to the guy and say, "That's nice...but." My wife steps up.."Oh no you don't. Get it. I'm not going to listen to you whine about how you should have bought that gun. Merry Christmas...now shut up and do it."

Think you could hire your wife out to talk to other wives about this? Asking for a friend....


Good luck with your new gun!

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Think you could hire your wife out to talk to other wives about this? Asking for a friend....
Good luck with your new gun!

My mom absolutely hated guns of any and every kind. After dad passed in 2001 and I was her primary caregiver, every Christmas I'd give her a printed catalog (remember those?) with books I would like receive circled. I expected her to just pick one or two at random, but the first time around she bought me every single book I'd circled. She had criticized me mercilessly all year long, but though she refused to put it into words giving me several hundred dollars of despised gun books was a way for her to show appreciation.

I was more careful the following year just to circle a couple choices!

 

[CajunBass]

My mother didn't mind guns, as such. She had grown up in a family of hunters, and was used to shotguns, but she had little or no use for rifles, believing if I shot a rifle out in the back yard, the bullet would travel around the world, and either kill someone else, or hit me in the back of the head in a day or two.

And handguns? Oh NO. Only two types of people had handguns. Cops and crooks. I wasn't one, and I darned well better never be the other.