I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
I tried a new format in this video, using my GoPro hat-clip. What I didnt’ account for was the volume isn’t crisp, as the hat-clip requires usage of the GoPro case, which is apparently covering the camera’s mic. 🙁
There were issues with the Metro Arms 1911. I’ve been suspecting as much the past 1-2 years, but my handgun experience is expanding and I’m confident to say that this handgun has issues with it’s sights. I’ll be looking into obtaining a new set of sights for this handgun (I wouldn’t mind having the sights that are on my RIA Tac Ultra installed on this handgun).
Also, I finally installed the 9mm barrel into my RIA Tac Ultra (I have always shot it with the 22TCM barrel installed). I shot 140 rounds of 9mm from the gun. The gun now has a total of 746 rounds through it. It’s my third most-fired handgun (the Grand Power P11 and Bersa Thunder Plus are 1st and 2nd).
There were some fails to feed when firing the Tac Ultra, but the feed issues only occurred with the OEM mags. I’ve Wilson Combat 9mm ETM mags, which didn’t have any feed issues. I also used the 38 Super mag that came with the Tac Ultra. I also used the 9mm mag that came with my RIA Rock Ultra. The latter two mag are the mags that had inconsistent issues. The feed issues were occurring mid-mag.
Lastly, I need to research who is the new US importer for Metro Arms. Eagle Imports was the importer, but they went out of business earlier this year.
So, I received the holster shell for the Canik TP9 Elite SC on Saturday.
I installed it on my Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 holster base, although I hat to mess around with the mounting screws and bushings to customize the fit. As well, I used blue thread locker on the screws. I’ve been carrying the handgun in this holster half the day. It carries well with this holster. It doesn’t protect from the grip texture, though, but I installed rubber Talon Grip tape on the grips on Saturday, as well, so the texture doesn’t beat up my skin.
I’ve yet to give the N8 Tactical holster a try. Maybe soon.
Also, I want to give the holster that came with the handgun another try, soon, too.
I found that I’ve another box of Hevi Shot 100-gr frangible 9mm ammo. I shot most of a box (of 50) from the TP9 SC. I think I may attempt to use this ammo as SD/HD ammo. It shoots flat and doesn’t jam the handgun.
UPDATE:
I’ve been giving the Alien Gear holster a try, carrying it around the house. It carries well but the included Canik holster works surprisingly well. I still do not know which I’ll use. I suppose I can use all three over a long time span and report on my findings. So, with that being said, I’ll be carrying with the Alien Gear first!
Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 with TP9 Elite SC shell
TP9 Elite SC in the included holster provided by Canik
1. We bought Remington R1 mags (45ACP doublestacked) for use with my RIA 10mm HC, since I can’t find any Armscor mags. One mag feeds well, the other does not. Also, the R1 mags will fit the OEM 10mm base plates.
2. We had feed issues with the RIA 22TCM extracting spent cases (the cases were getting stuck in the chamber). This was an ammo issue – I had half a box of older ammo that I’d put aside because I was blowing primers and one case refused to come out of the chamber. I’d forgotten that this was a box I wasn’t supposed to finish shooting. In fact, there was one primer that was blown out in this range visit (I forgot to mention that in the video).
3. I’ve been frustrated with all of my 1911s, thinking that I can’t shoot them because I’m never able to have tight groupings or that I’m always hitting low left (meaning I’m flinching or have bad trigger discipline). Well, I prove that’s not the case on this range visit, as I also took my 9mm RIA Rock Ultra. My groups were tight and directly under the bullseye. I was shooting this gun the same way as the other two. This proves I need to make sight adjustments. In this case, I need to move the POI up 2 inches. In the case of the 10mm, I need to adjust the sights up and to the right a few inches. Not sure yet on how I need to adjust the sights on the 22TCM (maybe 2″ to the right).
The highlights of this article is that this is supposedly a “smart” gun. It uses RFID mounted within an included glove to recognize the proper owner of the firearm. Without such recognition, the handgun can’t be used.
The firearm appears to be a modified 1911.
The firearm also requires the user to wear a fingerless glove (that’s part of the RFID process – a chip is apparently inside the glove).
In addition to the firearm requiring the use of the glove, it also requires the user to depress a switch on the firearm for it to fire.
The firearm is projected to cost $2,495 — YIKE$$$.
So, I guess you’ll either have to sleep with the glove on to use this pistol in a defensive manner as a home defense gun, otherwise, you’d have to hurriedly don the glove when you need to use the firearm.
If you’re to use it to carry (concealed or otherwise), it would require you to wear that glove throughout your day, otherwise the firearm would be useless.
As well, having to depress a switch to shoot a handgun (when you already have the RFID as an enabler)…WTF??
There’s a lot wrong with this handgun. What’s it supposed to prevent that can be prevented with any current non-smart handgun while also using common sense? Keep them away from kids and lock them up when not in use (to prevent theft).
I wonder what goes through a LEO’s mind when reading of this handgun. It’s supposed to appeal to the police organizations.
Apparently this handgun supposedly “Protects you and your loved ones from firearm abuse, accidental firings, and suicide attempts”.
Let’s break that statement down by applying some rational questions to it.
How does this gun protect you and your loved one from firearms abuse any better than a traditional firearm? While it may lessen negligent (not accidental) firings, it may also get you killed because it’s useless without the glove and thieves and burglars won’t wait for you to put on the RFID glove so that you can defend yourself.
How does this firearm prevent or lessen suicide attempts??? WTAF…someone wanting to commit suicide with this gun just needs to put on the glove and actuate the button that enables firing – it will do absolutely nothing to prevent the owner from intentionally using it. Owners of traditional handguns keep them locked up to prevent others from handling the gun (or, they’re liable after the fact of misuse).
The showstopper is the $2500+ price tag, though. That’s top tier 1911 money. Does it shoot like a $2500 1911? Almost certainly not. What happens when the glove wears out? What happens when some of that circuitry glitches? Is the circuitry going to get gummed up with lubricant over time? I’m sure I can come up with more questions as I sit and think of use cases for this particular firearm.
Bottom line is, if you’re intimidated by firearms and have a Liberal mindset, this gun is for you! I’ll pass.
I took it and the Grand Power P11 to the range this evening. All I can say is, wow…
Pluses for the gun:
It shoots almost as well as the P11.
DA trigger is better.
Shot 105 round of Magtech 115-gr FMJ and Browing BPT 147-grain ammo with only one round having an issue (light strike). It loves 147-grain.
It’s sights are easier to work with than the P11’s.
Minuses for the gun:
Backstraps are extremely difficult to work with…well, not the backstraps themselves but the backstrap retention mechanism. I struggled with it when swapping backstraps.
Large backstrap is slightly warped (out of the box).
The red paint that’s on the extractor (acting like a loaded chamber indicator) looks to have come off.
Plastic guide rod.
How does the PX4 compare to the P11?
The gun is only slightly larger than the P11.
The P11’s mag holds 12 rounds. The PX4’s mag holds 15. This isn’t a huge deal, though…the P11 is sold as a sub-compact.
The takedown of the PX4 is easy. The takedown of the P11, while not exactly orthodox, is easy enough once you’ve done it a few times.
The P11 is extremely finnicky about ammo. The PX4 doesn’t appear to be as finnicky.
The P11 needs to be run wet. I’m assuming the PX4 needs to be run wet as well…they both have rotating barrels.
The P11 won’t tolerate being dirty (lots of carbon will accumulate where the barrel rotates on the frame). I believe it is more of a competition gun that just so happens to carry well. The PX4 doesn’t appear to be as fussy when it comes to being dirty.
The PX4’s controls are not conducive to carry duty, in my opinion…both the safety/decocker levers and the slide catch levers are too big and stick out well beyond the sides of the handgun. Luckily, there are OEM “stealth” levers that make the gun feel a tad bit slimmer (and less “snaggy”).
While the PX4’s sights are better than the P11’s the P11’s sights are purposely small. This means that while they’re more difficult to use, they’re more accurate when used properly. Still, I wouldn’t mind getting some night sights on the PX4.
Once I get “stealth” levers for the gun, I’ll begin to start carrying it around the house. I plan to get the N82 Tactical Professional holster to use with the PX4.
The particular gun is the F-type. I plan to convert it to the G-type. I will never use the safety and I’m used to decock-only guns (my P11 didn’t come with a decocker and I manually decock it…it comes with a safety but I never use it because it’s always in DA mode).
So, 105 rounds were shot through the gun tonight. Here’s the targets (shot from 7 yards with two types of ammo in two different weights and with two different noses).
These are the first 15 shots out of the gun. The one in the red is the first shot (DA). This is tighter than what I’m used to shooting from a new gun. The shots are more vertically-aligned than that I’ve shot with my other new guns.
I started from left top to right top, left bottom to right bottom, then focused on the center target. The first two targets’ DA shots were very close to the red. The lower left, not so much. The lower right group was extremely tight (there are 3 holes). the center shot was a bit wide.
All of these shots were DA mode. I’d shoot, then decock back to DA mode, then shoot, then decock, and so on. This is 15 rounds. All but 3 are in the red. Two of those are close. One is a flyer.
The first grouping of 15 is at the red. The second grouping is at the head. At first, I was slowly shooting the red. At the head, I tried some double-taps (slow double-taps). Again, I’m vertically aligned but spread out…IMO, not bad for double-taps. Also, note that the second group would all be in the blue if I were aiming for the body.
Similar to the target above this one, I shot two different magazines, one at the body and one at the head. I also did double-taps. The first shots of the magazines were DA shots and each landed center mass. The first grouping is vertically aligned. The second group is spread out…not sure if this was due to the ammo (was using the 147-grain BPT target ammo).
This is the P11’s target. These were rushed (45 rounds, combination of the BPT ammo and the Magtech). I thought I’d be able to eat out the red from the target…nope. But that’s probably 35 shots that are very much center mass. I was shooting relatively fast and some are double-taps. This gun rewards the wielder when basic fundamentals are applied but punishes the wielder if those fundamentals aren’t applied. I’ve mixed results here…while the group is tight, I wanted them tighter. Because I rushed, the gun punished me. Remember what I said earlier about those small sights? It applies to my aiming and shooting at this target.
All in all, this was a fun outing. I plan to take the gun out again tomorrow and maybe spend more than an hour with both of them this time. I may even take the Sig Pro to muddy up the comparison (since it is also a DA/SA polymer gun that I think I may carry).
Stay tuned!
UPDATE: I got impatient in waiting for Beretta to stock up. I did some research and found that there’s a store in Italy that sells both the stealth slide catch and stealth safety. The site is here. The part is here. I know I have the right part because I compared the part numbers between it and Beretta’s USA site…they are the same (part no. E00348). It costs 54,92 EU and 18 EU for shipping, for a total of 72,92 EU. It’s a few dollars less than if I ordered from Beretta USA, but as far as I know, this site has them in stock.
I bought some ammo today from Walmart. While this is nothing special in itself, I did get 100 rounds of WWB .380 FMJ since I don’t have much range ammo in that caliber (I’ve a crap load of self defense ammo in .380, though). They didn’t have much else that I trusted, brand-wise…Tula, which is on Bersa’s Do Not list, and Remington, which I’ve grown to not trust. So, I grabbed the WWB since I’ve never had issues with that brand.
I also bought 100 rounds of WWB 9mm JHP in 147-grain, since I rarely see that weight of 9mm in Walmart. I’d have bought more than that if I thought my wife wouldn’t complain about it.
I forgot to check what SD ammo they had, especially for 9mm. I’ve some Remington in JHP but my carry gun does NOT like it.
I also need to check to see if my Metro Arms 1911 will eat JHP, especially since it is a 1911. I’ve a bunch of .45 ACP but I think it’s almost all Remington, which tends to be dirty and also not be consistent with powder charge.
I’ll take the Metro Arms and the Bersa with me on my next visit so I can get some SD rounds through them. If the Bersa is trust-worthy, I’ll consider carrying it…I just need an Alien Gear holster shell for it.
I’d been thinking of carrying my SP2022 (I love it’s trigger and decocker), but I still think that gun is a bit large for carry…the mag base plates with the pinky extensions don’t help it, either.
I went to the range for a quick visit today. I brought two 1911s this time: my RIA midsized 1911 in 9mm and the Metro Arms AC Commander 45.
The first thing I did was fire 50 rounds from the 1911 that was a solid shooter (the 9mm)…it ate all the ammo without issue, but at first I was shooting very low left with it as well. See the picture’s captioning.
I started at the left corner, then went to the right corner, then stopped because I wasn’t hitting point of aim (the red). When I did very slow trigger pulls when aiming at the center target, I hit point of aim. I’m having issues with the 1911 trigger…it wasn’t the Metro Arms that was the issue. That was at 7 yards.
I then began to focus on my trigger pull. I still had trouble trying to figure out which part of the finger to use, but I found that if I shot slowly, I was dead-on. I went through most of a box of ammo pretty much hitting point of aim. It’s an issue of me not being used to the trigger mechanics of a 1911.
I also had two light strikes, which was weird…I’ve not had such issues before. They both fired when I reloaded them into the mags.
Ammo was Remington UMC 115-grain FMJ.
I then went to my trouble-maker 1911. I had no issues aiming after my 50-round session with the 9mm 1911, although my hands were sweaty and I ended up using gloves.
This is MUCH better than my last range visit, when I was hitting very low left and not being even close to center target.
I also shot 49 rounds of Geco 230-grain FMJ without ANY feed/extract issues. There was 50 in the box…yeah, I had one issue where the round didn’t extract (this is a first…this gun has an exclusive history of not feeding properly). But one in 50 is NOT bad, especially when I was having feed issues several times (ie, 2-3) with each magazine. I think the extractor needs to be replaced, but the tuning I did on it helped a LOT!
So, I’m glad I sorted these issues out. I think I’ll put the 1911s away for a while, because they don’t shoot like my other guns and I don’t want my muscle memory getting mucked up.
Oh yeah, I decided to shoot some extra ammo I had sitting around (Remington HTP 147-grain JHP subsonic). I shot 50 rounds of it through my Grand Power P11. The P11 did NOT like that ammo at all. There were lots of failures to return to battery, so much that I was hitting the back of the slide almost as much as I was pulling the trigger. I thought that HTP wouldn’t be as bad as UMC…I was wrong. I need to remind myself to not shoot Remington out of the Grand Power. EVERY time I do, I’m disappointed.
Very long and strong DA trigger (not gritty but a bit notchy-like)
Very nice SA trigger
Slide feels like it’s riding on glass
Stock grips are plastic (not the rubber that it looks to be)…will have to see how well they grip when firing rounds
Cerakote is good…not a blemish in sight
Slide serrations are very aggressive, allowing a good grip on a small area
Takes down well
Magazines are high quality
No decocker (I knew this when I bought it)…will require manual decocking…half cock allows DA without dropping hammer fully when decocking (a good thing for carry, IMO).
I’m thinking I should’ve focused on getting one of these a long time ago…the handgun feels that good in my hand. I’ve no doubt that I’ll love it at the range. I’m not sure about carrying it, though, as it is heavy (1.5 lb) and I’ve heard that it’s difficult to find a holster that’ll hold it that has a retention strap.
I’m not sure I’ll do a table-top review…there are several very good reviews on this handgun already.
UPDATE (7/28/2016): The after-range impressions are here. As well, below is an image of the VZ Grips that I bought for the gun, since I wanted grips that were a bit more aggressive.
I bought another Rock Island Armory 1911, the MS Ultra (or what used to be called a Tactical MS 2011), manufacture number 51963 (Armscor link it dead, but this one works)
UPDATE: As of 9/12/2022, this gun isn’t available for purchase from Armscor, although you might be able to find it as a used gun or at a gun store that has old stock. The closest things to this gun that is currently on the Armscor website are items 56636 (FS), 56634 (CCO), and 56633 (CS-L) – all three of them being sold with two barrels (9mm and 22TCM9R); All three are Rock Ultras and are single stacked. There are two Tac Ultras that shoot both 9mm and 22TCM9R – 56635 (single stacked) and 56632 (double stacked). The closest in-production RIA to my MS Tac Ultra (51963) is 56632 – that one is a MS Tac Ultra, but it is double stacked.
What’s the difference between that one and the one I currently have? Well, the 51963 will shoot two calibers – .22TCM and 9mm (it comes with two barrels and recoil springs). It also has an accessory rail. The barrels also aren’t bull barrels. Those are the only differences.
The cons of this weapon? The only ammo maker that has this ammo type is Armscor (the maker of this gun). Also, I’d initially thought I was locked into specific magazines for this round, as the .22TCM round is longer than a 9mm round, so I can’t use a 9mm 1911 magazine (well, I CAN, but only if I’ve the 9mm barrel installed), but I’ve found that I can use 1911 mags for .38 Super calibers…basically, that’s what the MS Ultra 22TCM/9mm 1911 uses as a magazine — 1911 .38 Super mags.
I did take the liberty of ordering 250 rounds of 22TCM via online store…it should arrive today. I also found that there’s at least one local store that carries 22TCM. Although they sell it for $6 more than where I found it online, I can rely upon the local store for emergencies. I’d have ordered more 22TCM but I’m due to begin packing up for location move…I don’t think the movers will pack up ammo and I’m already going to have a car that’s heavy with weapons…I’d prefer not to be carrying a ton of ammo too. Once I’ve finalized the relocation, I can then stockpile ammo.
I can’t wait to shoot this gun, but I may wait until tomorrow so that I can clean the gun first. The gun has already arrived at the FFL and I’m awaiting them to call me for pickup, but I can’t go until Fedex delivers that ammo I ordered, otherwise I’ll miss the delivery.
UPDATE:
Fedex waited until 7PM to deliver the ammo. They also dropped it off on the front doorstep and barely knocked on the door. If I’d have known they’d do that, I’d have picked up the weapon without worrying about missing the ammo shipment. The FFL was open until 8PM and I didn’t get there until 7:10. I inspected the weapon and bought another 100 rounds of ammo (that’s the second source of .22TCM ammo that’s local to me, @ $25 a 50-round box). It took me 10 minutes to do the paperwork and another 5 minutes of waiting to see if the background check was good (it always is, and always takes 5 minutes). I was home before 7:30PM.
The gun is NICE. The slide to frame tolerance is quite a bit tighter than my Tactical II RIA, at least from looking at the rear of where the slide meets the frame. With the Tactical II, I can actually see a bit of daylight in some cases, but my Metro Arms is tight…just not as tight as this TCM.
The differences between this gun and my Tactical II is:
The slide has a flat area down the top of the slide.
The slide serrations on the TCM are larger and are canted forward.
The TCM comes with a railed dust cover.
The TCM comes with two barrels and recoil springs (9mm and 22TCM).
The TCM is easier to take down (it breaks down in the traditional 1911 manner — has a barrel bushing).
The magazine follower is a bit different in shape, to allow for usage of both 9mm and 22TCM ammo.
I haven’t been to the range yet. Today is Friday…I’ve no reason to not go to the range and test this gun tonight.
