Handgun at the Range

So yesterday I made it to the range for a couple of hours. Been shooting mostly handguns lately in an effort to regain marksmanship skills that have eroded the last few years. Fired a few rounds through my 2 hunting revolvers, 50 rounds of 357Mag, and about half that many 454Casull. I was after targets at 50 and 75 yards with some success, but not nearly to my satisfaction.

When shooting my 1911 or Hi-Power, I frequently practice strong hand and weak hand only. As one might expect I'm not as good using just one hand. Yesterday I didn't bring either full sized pistol, so as a whim I pulled my carry gun, a Kimber Ultra Carry in 45acp. I fired several magazines strong hand only at 25 yards. Marksmanship was typical, but I had 3 stoppages probably due to limp wrist. Need to work on that, and try the same with my other carry gun, a Sig 938.

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Even if you've been living under a rock, you know a guy missed his target at about 150 yards. Yes there was luck, or maybe a guarding angel, but the shooter wasn't very good. His head didn't seem to move enough for me to miss at twice that range, and I'm not that good.

I have cleanly taken deer with a single shot with a 357 revolver at 120 yards. Granted, I was going for center of chest, not a head.

Why Bother?

 Thursday a guy asked if I was going to watch the debate. Why bother watching? We know how each would do,or not do, the job, and there's evidence that one is corrupt. I don't give a damn about personalities, but how the job is performed.

40 30 and 9

 So I shot the remaining 40s I loaded using the jacketed loading chart, followed by a box of 1 grain reduced load. Saw a definite increase in consistency with the reduced load pushing the coated 180 grain bullet.

Last night when cleaning the FN I found an issue with the recoil guide rod assembly. The round loop on the end fractured into a heart shape. So were my original loads producing excessive recoil, a flaw in the material, or is the recoil from the 40 too much for that part?  Physically it appears to be the same as used in the 9mm version. Regardless I ordered a replacement and a spare. 

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My 30cal carbine is a lot of fun to shoot. Short, light weight and low recoil. So a few weeks ago I loaded a dozen and tried them. They worked just fine. So I reloaded 50 more for additional reliability testing. Of course that requires more shooting :). The only issue is that the long, almost straight walled cartridge is a bit tricky to resize. Regardless of the amount of lube used, the die tends to push some of the brass towards the base creating a small ridge. 

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For the first time ever I bought a used firearm that was not considered a relic. Back before there were such a variety of small 9mm pistols on the market, I bought a Kar PM9. That is the only striker fired pistol I have ever owned. I never shot the PM9 very well, so I was keeping my eye open for a similar sized single action. I'd shot both the Kimber and Sig versions better than the PM9. I was in a local shop for a different reason, and they just so happened to have a used Sig 938 for a couple hundred less that new. So I bought it. In my part of the world both tiny 9s are somewhat rare.

Coated Lead Bullets

About a year ago I started loading coated lead bullets instead of jacketed bullets. I started with .357 and noticed no difference out to 50 yards. The only difference is the bullet, all else the same.

I then loaded coated lead bullets for the 9mm and 45acp. Loading the same as if using jacketed bullets, and again didn't notice any difference.

The FN Hi-Power in .40 is different. When I load the coated lead using an intermediate powder charge from jacket bullet charts, the consistency goes to hell. I'll need to back off the charge. I suspect that's because the 40 is a higher pressure cartridge and the non-jacketed, but coated lead can't handle it.

This & That

 Haven't had the opportunity to again range test the FN with the 2 different barrels. I suspect it takes x number of rounds before the newly installed barrel settles in. If that proves incorrect, I'll try lower velocity loads.

If I was footing the bill for a college student that is among the demonstrators, that student would have to pay his/her way from now on. No more money for school or living expenses. Any that claims 'I am Hamas' has confessed to being a terrorist, and should be prosecuted as such. 

A little over a week ago I hauled the 5th wheel camper, my son and 2 grandsons for a weekend big paintball game. Unfortunately I can't physically play the game anymore. Part of the trip was across I-70 between the Ohio state line and Indianapolis. That stretch was in such bad shape, it was similar the driving across a frozen plowed field. Ended up with a broken band in my left front tire. Tread was on the low side so I now have 4 new tires.

FN at the Range

 Fired a few full mags of 40 through the FN before setting up a paper target at 25 yards. I wanted to check for point of impact change when switching barrels from 40 to 9mm. I used a 2 hand hold with my strong hand forearm resting on a sand bag.

Shot a 5 shot, 3 inch group with the 40 and then changed to the 9mm barrel. With 9mm I was all over the place with nothing hitting the 20 yard small pistol target. 

I then changed back to the 40 barrel and couldn't hit the paper with it either. It was all over the place.

In both cases using reloads of coated cast bullets. The 9mm is 120Gr that shoots well in my old FEG Hi-Power. The 40 was 180 Gr. The 40 may be loaded a little hot. I'll try again with both after reducing the charge a little.

Been a While

 As I said last time, the prostate MRI was mostly clean but 2 slides were a little hard to tell, thanks to the 2 artificial hip joints. My GP suggested seeing a urologist, just in case. There are several in my area, but mostly booked up. The soonest I could get in to one is May.

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The closing closet thing the Boss started at her church has been keeping her very busy. And by extension me too. Then folks from another church got me to volunteer to help them once a month hauling a trailer full of free food stuff to a needy area in a nearby town. Seems nobody there had a truck rated to haul a trailer that heavy.

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Made it to the range a few times since last posting. Shot mostly handguns, FEG HiPower 9mm, FN HiPower 40 S&W and a Kimber 45acp. The FN is relatively new to me. Used to be my brother-in-laws. Been having some trouble with the FN in that I tend to be left of target at 25 yards.

Been shooting 180 grain bullets at about 1,000 f/s in the FN, as compared to 200 grains in the 45 at about the same velocity. Some say it's the best of both the 9mm and the 45. I'm beginning to think it's the worse of both. It has the snap of the 9mm and the heavier recoil of the 45.

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In the November election, Trump will likely lose unless he manages to get a major majority of the votes. If it's at all close, Biden will come away with a victory thanks to all the dirty tricks the Dems play in most all states. 

I recently read a book titled RIGGED. It details the many tricks the Dems pulled, some legal some not, in the last several elections.