Ok, here is my range report. If fact this is two range reports, as I am behind on reporting.
Today’s first. I went to Shooter’s Express in Belmont, NC. I took my Colt Combat Commander (series 70) in .38 super. The only ammo that they had in that caliber was Winchester white box (also called Winchester Paramilitary) in 130 gr. FMJ at $17.00 for 50 rounds. This was OK with me as hollow points would have been $15.95 for 20 rounds.
I had the range almost to myself so the distractions were kept to a minimum and I could concentrate on my shooting. I shot at 20 and 25 yards at the bullseye targets that the range has printed with their logo. The scoring area is about the size of a salad plate. Out of 50 rounds I had two flyers that stayed on the paper, but out of the scoring area. Almost everything else stayed in the black.
As regular readers of this blog know I am on a crusade to get people to practice shooting at longer ranges. The only other person at the range was shooting a 1911 at a full size human silhouette seven yards away. He was getting groups larger than mine. People, if you can shoot a group at 25 yards that you can cover with both hands you can hit someone dead center at 7 yards. If you can only shoot a group that size at 7 yards then at 25 you might manage to scare someone. Maybe.
If you own a gun for self defense practice regularly under conditions as realistic as you can make them. In a gunfight you will not “rise to the occasion”, instead you will default to your level of training. Train well.
This brings us to last week’s range session. I was shooting at Rex’s Indoor Range in Hendersonville, NC. It was Saturday so the place was crowded and Rex’s isn’t segregated into rifle/shotgun and handgun sections. This day the guy shooting next to me had an H&K G3 (select fire .308 caliber battle rifle) that had been modified to feed ammo from a linked belt. This meant that I got hammered by the concussive blast waves as he triggered short bursts downrange.
Now if I was a traditional NRA bullseye weenie (you know stand up straight, hold gun in one hand with the other hand in back pocket, check spotting scope every shot) I would have huffed to the management and complained. But since I’m practicing for a real-life encounter I loved it. In a real gunfight it is likely to be loud, with other folks shooting at you and you shooting back at them.
The more distracting shit you can overcome and still focus on your front sight the more likely it is that you’ll be the one who walks away alive. See above about training well.
I was shooting my 4” S&W 586. For those of you who don’t remember (or you kids who never learned) the S&W numbering system that is a blue steel .357 magnum revolver with the “L” frame. The “L” frame is a bit bigger and stronger than the older “K” frame in order to handle full time shooting of the full power magnum ammunition. This was made necessary back when the most popular police handgun was the .357. It occurred to a number of police departments that if the cops practiced with the same ammo that they carried there would be fewer dead cops.
The problem with this is that the lighter framed revolvers weren’t designed to shoot a steady diet of magnum ammo. They were designed to shoot a lot of .38 special and a little .357 magnum. So the guns (mostly S&W model 19 and 66 and Ruger Service Six and Security Six revolvers) began to wear out and break down.
Ruger was the first gun company to come up with an answer for this. The GP-100 was a big beefy revolver that could handle lots and lots of full power shooting. Smith and Wesson came along a little later with the “L” frame model 686 (stainless steel) and 586 (blue steel). The S&W isn’t as big or beefy as the Ruger because the S&W is hammer forged while the Ruger is an investment casting. But I’m digressing. . .
I bought a box of .357 magnum 158 gr. JSP (jacketed soft points). I would have preferred 125 gr. Hollow points, but they had none except for premium Cor-Bon at $15.95 for a box of 20. (Note to self. Set your fracking reloading press back up).
This is why it is important to practice regularly. I discovered that there is a problem with the 586. Every once in a while it would shave off some jacket material and throw it back into my face (always wear safety glasses). This is caused by a timing problem (the cylinder and barrel don’t line up exactly right). This doesn’t fix itself so it is off to the gunsmith. Some internet research shows that Andy Cannon is still out there working on S&W revolvers so I’ll send it off to him for the repair and as long as its there he can do the whole action job/carry package.
I finished shooting the box of .357’s at 20 and 25 yards. Accuracy was acceptable, all shots in the scoring area of a bullseye target.
By this time (after 50 rounds of full power magnum rounds) I was ready for a break so I shot 5 rounds through my S&W 642. This is a small five-shot 21/2 inch barrel “J” frame revolver with an aluminum frame to save weight. This gun is rated for +P ammunition, but it has a service life measured in several hundred rounds. So I don’t shoot it often, just once ever year or so to keep myself familiar with it. This is a gun that it is OK to shoot at seven yards. It is a short range last ditch emergency weapon. It shot a nice tight group with .38 spl. RNL. Coming right after shooting the magnum there was no detected recoil.
Next I gave myself a special treat. I rented a Glock in .45 GAP. I have been interested in this pistol/caliber ever since it came out and I have to say that I was impressed. It was very accurate and recoil was very mild. I was shooting American Eagle 185 gr. FMJ. From what I’ve seen the ballistics on this round are similar to the non + P .45 ACP. I will wait for some field reports of actual gunfight results before I’ll lay my money down for one, but I remain intrigued.
A lot to chew on. I've seen fella's that couldn't hit the sky turn into Buffalo frickin Bill when the adrenaline kicked in. That's what it's there for. Stronger, faster, we can rebuild him...wait, strike that.
ReplyDeleteSadly, learning to control adrenaline only comes from the repetition of events needing a hard solution, so we worry that if and when the time comes we'll be stark raving idiots drooling to beat the band.
That has not been my experience. Serious practice at the distances and conditions you describe fosters a level of competency that translates into, simply put, not being so frickin clumsy. The rush is your friend and the rush helps you see better at distances as well as all of the above. The panic, literal panic, sets into a combat vet when he can no longer summon that rush. The body's way of compensating when the adrenaline supply has long since run dry. Fear steps in to kick things up a notch.
Conversely, there are range-rats aplenty who cannot hit the ground when push comes to shove. Something goes wrong. All-in-the black morphs to gone with the wind. Some have said it is Darwinian. Can't hit the running elk with your spear? Don't pass those genes along, thank you very much.
Anyway, I capped off some Double Tap 125's and 158's yesterday, all from the GP, and the Hogue is so bloody wonderful that even Lisa didn't flinch. 125's at 1600 fps. 158's at 1400. Going back to the standard Gold Dots was like stepping down to wadcutter .38's. 3" at 25 yards from the offhand isn't too shabby, but I feel the gun is capable of better so I will try harder.
I wholeheartedly agree that limiting oneself to 25 feet or so is silly if it's for defensive practice. Wanna make nice holes as a hobby, then brother have at it. Want to sharpen that aim then move out to 25 yards, OR, for some folks do not have access to longer ranges...shoot at a smaller target.
Practice from the draw if the RO permits such. I could tell in a matter of moments if one of my guys needed extra work, because asking him to do something other than stand still and shoot brought a frown of admitted clumsiness. Can't dance, you can't shoot on the run. Balance and a sense of symmetry of movement. But that's okay, as you can teach dance steps and can A-B-C the clumsy ones into a semblance of grace.
Glad you liked the GAP. Am shooting tomorrow and remembered your query so I'm bringing along a borrowed G-38 to have a look-see. The friend who is loaning it to me says he has a few boxes of Speer Short Barrel ammunition, so I can pump out the heavy stuff without fear of it not expanding should I ever decide that I love this thing to death and MUST have it in the real world. For me, stepping down to a 185 grainer that leaves a .6 hole means you might as well be sticking with the .40. Same velocity, bigger hole at terminal ballistics, and usually easier to conceal. But when at the range we use range-ammo if there's nothing else, so I can see why you went the When-In-Rome route.
The GAP is one intriguing little sucker, isn't it? And as far as gunfights go, there isn't a State Police agency in the country using them, so it's rely upon anecdotal evidence from Barney Backwater to hash things out. The Ranger T's ARE looking great in gelatin.
But so does a maraschino cherry.
Six, Two, and Even, Over And Out.
As something of an update, I spoke with both Winchester and Speer reps today about the .45 GAP. Speer is having something of a hissy fit over Winchester's claim that their 230 grainers are suitable for barrels down to 3.5". Speer loads to 200 and says that's the heaviest bullet one can rely upon in a sub-4" pistol.
ReplyDeleteI'll try both tomorrow. Would of course prefer a 230 grain JHP cranking out at 900 fps or so,with expansion to somewhere along .8" to .9", or what's the point of a big bore. One thing I MUST do is stop relying so much upon the gelatin test results. Search long enough and you'll find your bullet doing precisely what you want, as the gello tests are that vague.
That is good to hear. We know exactly what .45acp can do. If GAP can get the same velocity I don't see any why that it could behave differently in flesh.
ReplyDeleteRe: gelatin testing. Until the state becomes enlightened enough to allow ammunition testing on convicted child molesters that is about the best we can do.