range report

so, i picked up my new pistol today. want to see a picture? Here's one from the official springfield armory site. i don't have any geegaw ninja junk hanging underneath it. i guess S.A. figures they can't just show a picture of the pistol without the junk showing.
i took the pistol apart. pretty easy, but i had to find a paperclip to cut down to hold the spring assembly together when i dissected it. ran a swab through the barrel, wiped it down and gave it a lite lite lube, reassembled it (after fighting and pissing and moaning about how tight the spring on the slide stop plunger was (it's a bitch getting the slide stop past the plunger. a right royal bitch that i hope loosens up with use). loaded a couple of chip mccormick magazines and the two provided magazines with some cheapo cheapo CCI blazer 230 gr. ball ammo, and blasted away at a target at 15 yards.

first impression: with the extra 4 ounces the light rail adds, this pistol shot like a 9mm. no b.s. i have a paraordinance 745LDA that bucks and slams with each round. not this pistol. the model PC9105L (TRP Operator) is just too damned sweet for words. it was a bit of a surprise to see the tritium nite sites glowing even in the somewhat lighted indoor range.

second impression: i need to adjust the rear site. not a problem since it's a fully adjustable setup. i'll wait until i've cooked up about 30 different loads using 200 gr. lead oregon trails lasercast semi-wadcutters, some 230 gr. rainier electroplated ball, and some 230 gr speer gold dots, and a few of the remington golden saber hollowpoints i have left from loading for the para. can you tell that i think that MidwayUSA is the best thing that has happened to the shooting sports, especially when it comes to reloading supplies?
then it will be off to the outdoor range where i can sandbag the pistol for grouping tests. if this gun is anything like my browning h.p., i should be able to develop at least one load that will give me 1 inch groups at 25 yards offhand. sounds unbelievable, but i got that browning to shoot way better than the factory says it should. it's just going to take some time, and a bag full of wolff recoil springs! anyone need a bunch of browning springs? i've got a bunch of them i'm not using since i found the right rating to go along with my loads.

third impression: 65 rounds later, i had 3 ragged holes on the target (albeit a couple of inches too low and to the left...again, that will go away with a site adjustment), and there was absolutely NO fatigue from firing that many rounds in 20 minutes. can't say that with my other 1911.
i think i'm in love. again. and with an inanimate object no less. now i have a favorite firearm in each of 4 pistol calibers.
you know, it's good to be a shooter when you have a firearm that feels like it was made specifically for your hands, and the way you hold and fire a weapon. the discomfort i felt chunking over my hard earned bucks went away with the first magazine of ammo i put down the barrel.


and here's a little something for the gunporn freaks out there. some videos from a full auto gunshow in oklahoma this september. i'm not sure, but it certainly looks like there were folks out there with waaaaay too much loose change in their pockets, and a place to spend it. i'm a gun nut, but these folks kind of scare me. not that i wouldn't be sitting up on the ridge pounding rounds down the range given half a chance!