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RANGE REPORT: Handguns

Thanks for the compliments folks. I'm hoping to get some more free time this weekend to put a few more rounds down range. This one shoots much better than the RIA in my opinion... it's POA-POI... where the RIA shoot significantly low at ranges under 25yds. One thing I prefer over the Rock Island is a single sided safety... for my shooting needs, its not needed. I did notice (and you can tell me if I should be worried) that the ejector has a smidgen of play in it... but other than that, I'm really impressed by my AMURICAN 1911! And I'm excited to see how Rip's grips (DUDE... I hope i'm not the first to suggest that as a company name!) when he's finished with them.

Of course that is if the rain lets up... I think we've had one dry day all January (but in the 40's :D ) Oh global warming...wait, cooling...no, climate change.......ahhh whatever ;)
 
aksavanaman said:
And I'm excited to see how Rip's grips (DUDE... I hope i'm not the first to suggest that as a company name!) when he's finished with them.
Click to expand...

I covered it in April, 2012... ;)

LAZY EYED SNIPER said:
...and here's my second set of Rip's Grips. These are made from Hawaiian KOA wood. I'm saving these for my next 1911, but I wanted to try 'em out on my Springer so I could show 'em off. Ain't they purdy!!!









The fit is perfect rip! They snapped right on over the bushings and there's no play in them at all. Excellent work once again Sir...
Click to expand...
 
I figured such genius would be short lived, darn ;)

I love how the grain of the wood contrasts with the square lines of the pistol, gorgeous! I can't wait!
 
12498110495_d1150bde05.jpg


feeling kinda bummed being injured with 3 herniated disks. So I went to the range and worked on fundamentals for precision shooting:

5 yards, 3 shot groups at a time, glock 19 with XS big dots all off hand (no bench rest)

Check out the top orange dot. 3 bullets through one hole… Got a lucky 3 shots.
 
Water Monkey said:
12498110495_d1150bde05.jpg


feeling kinda bummed being injured with 3 herniated disks. So I went to the range and worked on fundamentals for precision shooting:

5 yards, 3 shot groups at a time, glock 19 with XS big dots all off hand (no bench rest)

Check out the top orange dot. 3 bullets through one hole… Got a lucky 3 shots.
Click to expand...

^^^^^ This is where I want to be with my new G23. ^^^^^

With the new Trijicon HDs I just had installed I'm hoping my groups can be tight like that too. I need to go out and work on it. Thank you WM for the motivation :D

Good shooting BTW and may I ask where you got that target?
 
http://www.letargets.com/estylez_item.aspx?item=MDTS

They have some other targets I want to pick up.

Took me a while and many range days to tighten up my groups like this. Also took 24 hours of professional training in handgun shooting the past 6 months. After the first class my groups shrunk big time.

Focus on the front sight the whole time, follow through with the trigger press, and try not to flinch before the bang.
 
sweet! powder burn would get them if the bullet didn't lol

Damn neck , hope you feel better asap
 
Buddy of mine recently bought an M&P in .45acp. I just had those night sights installed on my new G23 and the weather was primo today for a range trip. A win win for the both of us.



Firing from the 3 yard line Texas CHL practice area at Bracken Range with my new Trijicon HD night sights on the G23.



His first shots ever with the new M&P in .45acp. Fired from the 7 yard line.



The results on paper. We shot the same silhouette so its sort of hard to distinguish the .40 and .45 hits. We each tried our hand some at each distance of 3, 7, and 15 yard lines. Just didn't snap photos or video of either of us at the 15 yard line. All in all more than adequate accuracy wise with groups opening up at the longer distances obviously. I mainly shot from the 3 yard line. I figure in a sticky self defense situation its most likely going to be a up close and personal affair.

Moving on from the silhouette we went to more traditional paper targets and shoot n see stickers. God I love those stickers. Most of my firing again was from the 3 yard line but I did some further back and even shot while moving forward a couple of times. I was focusing on always drawing the gun from a concealed holster. Something I've not really worked hard enough on so today was a perfect time to do so. Heres some more of the results.



Mine is the lower half and his is the upper half. Not too bad at all.



My buddy trying his hand with my new G23. He liked the Trijicon sights as well.

I did try his M&P 45 out but he had the medium backstrap on it. Didn't fit my hand very well. I think with the small sized one I would have found it to be more comfortable for my hand.

VIDEOS.

Click the pics and it will take you to the photobucket page for that video. I need to get with the times and get a Youtube acct setup for this type of stuff so I can embed them properly.



Drawing from the leather thumbsnap holster. I need to work on this getting spoiled to the Serpa. I clearly see myself in the video pushing for the button that wasn't there.



Back to the Serpa and me working on mag swaps. First shot out of the gate was dead center. Made me smile for a split second. I'm clearly faster with the Serpa arrangement.



At exactly one minute the gun doesn't fire. Theres the snap cap he snuck in on me. In a real gunfight I should have just racked the slide and carried on. It shocked the hell outta me honestly. First thought was great the gun just broke. After he stopped the recording and walks over he informed me it was a snap cap as I was waiting for the hangfire that was never bound to happen. Douche hehe but thats what friends are for. :lol: Also the reason you don't see the shoot n see taking any hits. I was attempting all the mini circles we placed around the perimeter. Many came close but I only nicked 2 and took out one. :( This firing string was just full of fail.



Putting the G23 to work.



Finally finished the session off with him on the M&P. I had a lot of brass flying in my direction. Being a camera man is dangerous work. ;)

Some valuable lessons learned from this trip. I need to work on my stance some more and drawing from the holster more. All in all this was a very productive range trip.

I'm at 286 flawless rounds and counting in my new G23. He put 150 through his. Only failure today was his douche move with the snap cap. Not the gun's fault. Just his lol.

Water Monkey. I realize practice practice and some more practice. I'll get there. Your target was my inspiration today.


Thanks guys for reading my long post. I was overdue for a proper range report with photos and video to include. Hard to do when your by yourself.

Cheers all.
J
 
Sounds like a kick ass range trip!

The question is.... when it went click on the snap cap.... did you flinch as you did it? I'm guilty of it!!!

Looking at both targets I just want to give off a few areas that caused my groups to veer off low and to the side of my intended target:

1) Make sure you aren't looking over your sights to see the target before or during the shooting. trust your front sight and keep the back sight level with your eyes. If you are doing everything right the bullet will be going where you want it to. And if you are not you still want your groups tight (you can correct after you diagnose the group). If you keep looking to where the last bullet went your groups open up because you have to line up everything from the beginning.

2) Try not to anticipate recoil and push forward to mitigate the kick. This will cause shots low.

3) Try not to anticipate recoil and tighten up just before the trigger breaks. This will cause your shots to go to the right (cause you are a lefty). Keep a constant grip tension if you can.

4) Press that trigger to the rear and keep it to the rear until your sights are lined up again. Then slowly release the trigger until you feel the trigger reset and then hold. This will reduce over travel on the next shot and help reduce slapping the trigger which causes shots to go left or right.

5) Stance isn't as important as what's going on from the waist up. In a real engagement your legs will be moving. Get in a comfortable position and focus on your upper half for now. I use the modified isosceles stance. But that's my natural stance for fighting so that's what I feel comfortable doing.

This week practice jam clearing at home with snap caps. 20 reps a day takes about 5-10 min. Move left or right when you do it. Tap, rack, bang. Then do double feeds (tap, rack, assess, rip mag, clear, insert, go). I guarantee you'll be good to go in a couple of weeks getting that in your muscle memory.

Jealous wish I had a cool range to go to do more of what I like to do (barriers, shooting from the ground).
 
WM I sincerely appreciate your critique and advice. I know I have a long way to go. Your posting not only helps me but anyone else reading the thread. I thank you again for the comments.

On the front sight with that bright yellow outline I did find myself focusing intently on it and not so much on the rear. But I'm inclined to agree with you. I think I was looking over the sights instead of getting them lined up. I'll be honest that I've not had much what I call dynamic shooting. Usually from a bench and taking my time to line everything up. Yesterday coming out of the holster and shooting more rapidly than usual opened my eyes. Definitely going to try some of your dry fire drills.
 
Jgwillis,

For the record your groups are really great. But we all need to keep practicing myself included. We all can't be on level awesome as LES is ;)

Shooting from the holster and drawing isn't easy. There's a lot going on. And if you add in the fact you have a cover garment over your holster.... more time it takes to get to draw and fire.

The faster you shoot the more your groups open up. It's just the name of the game. I did a low light course where we shot primarily one handed holding a light. That shit was tough. More things to work on... it never ends lol.

EDIT:

I just watched your drawing video. To clear your shirt a little easier:

1) use both hands and grab the bottom of your shirt
2) Pull shirt to your back
3) in a circular motion (like drawing the letter C) move to the front
4) release your left hand and your entire holster should be clear for you to grab your firearm quickly

works for shirts and jackets, tucked in or tucked out.

EDIT 2:

I saw your snap cap video... you pushed on the snap cap. Now you know what you are doing.... fix it. Dry fire will correct that to about 80%. Once you put in a live round half of what you practice goes out the window until you can control your emotions.
 
Water Monkey said:
We all can't be on level awesome as LES is ;)
Click to expand...

Ha, that's 'cause I only post pics of the good targets! :lol:

At the range I attended in the past things were very structured. I always shot standing still, at fixed distances, and took all the time necessary between shots to concentrate on the fundamentals necessary to put up tight groups.

Shooting reactive steel targets, especially while in motion, at the new range has been an eye opener and a humbling experience for me. I find myself focusing on the plates rather than my front sight. I know it's going to fall, but my eyes want to watch it instead of moving to the next plate like my brain is telling me to. That'll cause some slow runs and a lot of misses. This is the first range where I am able to draw from a holster as well. When presenting your weapon on target from a holster, it's all about the grab. A good, consistent grab will help ensure a consistent presentation on target while a bad grab can throw you off bigtime. Shooting timed runs has made me realize how much work I need to put in and that all my practice calmly shooting for accuracy doesn't amount to squat when the shot timer goes off.

I've really been re-training myself for more instinctive shooting. There's a huge difference between knocking down an 8" steel plate on the draw versus fixing the sights on the same 1/2" red dot over and over. The ringing of the steel and seeing it fall really taps into the primal brain as well. There is so much more energy and adrenaline involved. I've been having a LOT more fun and while my accuracy may be a bit diminished, I feel that my new practice routine has made me a better shooter...
 
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