Category: ammo

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1911 45ACP American Classic ammo B45R JHP Metro Arms Rock Island Armory SDS Imports

My Thoughts Regarding 1911s and Jacketed Hollow Point Ammunition

One thing I’ve never done is attempt to carry a 1911. Carrying means I’ve to test JHP before committing to carrying. Everyone knows (or should know) that most 1911s don’t always readily shoot JHP.

I currently have shot 429 rounds from my SDS Imports DB45R 1911. Most of that ammo has been FMJ. Since I’ve been curious about it’s carry capabilities, I’ve been trying to shoot JHP from it, initially with mixed results.

I initially shot Remington HTP 185-gr JHP, which generated several failures to feed (FTFs).

I also shot Federal LE 185-gr JHP as well (maybe 25 rounds), which also generated some FTFs.

I documented in a previous post that I’d shot International Cartridge Corporation’s (ICC) 45ACP 155-gr frangible hollow points. For the most part, these shot without issue. That ammo can be used as defense ammo.

This past week, I shot 20 rounds of Underwood ($$$) 45ACP +P 230-gr JHP. 8 of the 20 rounds generated FTFs. I was using Wilson Combat mags with this ammo. Since this ammo is expensive and since it generated so many FTFs, I will stop shooting that ammo through the DB45R. Once I suspect that the gun will shoot it without FTFs, I’ll test the ammo again.

I shot Inceptor ARX 118-gr defense ammo (non-JHP), using the WC mag. There were no FTFs.

I shot PMC Bronze 185-gr JHP (non-SD ammo), using the WC mag.. There were no FTFs.

I shot Hornady Critical Defense 185-gr JHP, using the WC mag.. There were no FTFs.

So, I now know that I can use the following ammo as viable ammo for self defense:

  • ICC 155-gr FHP
  • Inceptor ARX 118-gr
  • PMC Bronze 185-gr JHP
  • Hornady Critical Defense 185-gr JHP

I plan to continue to shoot the PMC Bronze JHP ammo as range ammo, to continue the break-in process of the DB45R 1911.

During this round of testing, I also shot the same ammo listed above from the Metro Arms American Classic Commander (ACC) 1911 chambered in 45ACP. Note that I didn’t shoot the Critical Defense nor the Inceptor ARX from this gun, since the projectiles will almost certainly feed without issue (I tested them by chambering a round of each make, as well).

I shot most of the ICC 155-gr FHP ammo from the ACC 1911. There were initially a few FTFs, but I believe the issue was a worn recoil spring. I replaced the recoil spring and the FTFs disappeared.

I shot Underwood (again, $$$) 185-gr +P JHP from this gun, using the WC mag. This ammo was almost TOO hot, but in the gun’s defense, it isn’t as heavy as the DB45R 1911, so there’s less weight to mitigate the recoil of this hot ammo. The ammo was so hot that I had to pause in shooting the 8-round mag, since my hand was in pain. Even so, there was only one FTF, but I’m sure this may have been because the ammo was so hot that I was beginning to limp wrist.

The Remington HTP 185-gr JHP was tested the visit prior to this visit. There were some FTFs.

I also shot some of the Federal LE 185-gr JHP…there were two FTFs with that.

The rest of the listed ammo shot without issue. I’m at 520 rounds shot through this 1911, so it may be close to being broken in, which is why there’s less issues with JHP with this gun.

I also shot my RIA Rock Ultra 9mm MS 1911. I also have a RIA Tac Ultra MS 1911 which has a 22TCM barrel and spring, as well as a 9mm barrel and spring. I installed the 9mm barrel and spring for this range visit.

Both 9mm MS 1911s ran without no feed issues whatsoever. I shot several types of SD ammo, some of it JHP and some of it frangible ammo. I did have one failure to extract (FTE) with the frangible ammo when shooting the Tac Ultra, but that’s to be expected with 100-gr ammo (this ammo make was Hevi-Shot).

I was extremely impressed with the 9mm MS 1911s. I’m thinking of just carrying the 9mms instead of the 45ACP 1911s.

I’ll continue to document the testing of shooting the defense ammo.

Categories
ammo ammofast shortage

AmmoFast.com – Why Is There an Ammo Supply Shortage?

I really appreciate that AmmoFast took the time to post the below.  I’ve started posting it in forums and FB groups when folks start hemming/hawwing about ammo prices and conspiracy theories.  I’m not one of those folks that believe in those theories, BTW.

https://www.ammofast.com/why-is-there-an-ammo-shortage/

For those that don’t want to click the link, I’ve taken the liberty of posting the URL’s content below:

Why Is There an Ammo Supply Shortage?

If you’ve tried to purchase ammo lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot of products are out of stock. Right now all calibers and types are in short supply.  The biggest pain felt is probably in the realm of 9mm, 308 and 223 caliber ammo. Manufacturers have increased their production on these calibers.  As manufacturers make tooling changes to their production lines to meet the volume requirements of the most popular calibers, production of the less popular calibers is naturally decreased.  There is only so much capacity.  Every increase somewhere results in a decrease somewhere else.  This has created an ammunition shortage that makes the few shortages over the past 20 years seem like nothing.  It’s also limiting the production of many popular types of ammunition. This can be frustrating for shooters and hunters looking to keep their edge on the range, and can be concerning for preppers, survivalists, and others who are concerned about their safety.

Unfortunately, we do not see things getting much better this year.  Read on as the experts from AmmoFast delve deeper into the ammo shortage…

A Massive Increase in Demand for Ammunition

Like any other product in a market economy, ammo is subject to the whims of supply and demand. As far as demand is concerned, a perfect storm of factors has caused a run on the ammo market like we’ve never quite seen before. A mix of the Covid-19 pandemic, civil unrest, an anti-2nd Amendment administration and Senate has caused demand to skyrocket even further than we saw in most of 2020.

We have an extremely large number of new gun owners who have entered the market. The NSSF estimates that first-time gun owners has increased over 8 million people over the past several months. Nearly 40 million people purchased guns in 2020.  That is a 71% increase over 2019.  Even if those 40 million new gun owners only purchased 50 rounds of ammunition for their new firearm that is an additional demand of 2 billion rounds of ammo.  That doesn’t take into account those who simply chose to stock up.  The demand is staggering.

Hoarding

When there is an ammunition shortage the first thing people normally point to is consumer hoarding.  We believe this is having an impact on availability, but probably not to the extreme that many think.  There are definitely some profiteers who buy ammo and then sell them on auction sites or other multi-list sites.  This is why many online retailers have now chosen to limit the purchase quantities to an extremely low level in an effort to reduce the reselling at outrageous prices.  We want everyone to have access to ammo at a reasonable price.

Disruptions in the Ammo Supply Chain

Demand, however, is just one part of the story. Disruptions in the supply chain have also made a big impact on the availability of ammunition.

In the U.S., there are only five major manufacturers of ammunition (Winchester, Remington, Hornady, Federal, and CCI). Even under perfect circumstances, there’s only so much they can produce at once, and needless to say, circumstances have not been perfect during the pandemic. Employees throughout the supply chain have been getting sick, missing work to take care of their kids, and self-quarantining.  This has caused a lull in manufacturing throughout 2020.

After the 2016 run on ammunition, we seen many small manufacturers close their doors due to the slim demand for ammunition in 2017, 2018 and 2019.  This created even tighter supply constraints and inherently created the environment for a perfect storm.

The Remington bankruptcy has had a large impact on the shortage of ammo.  With Remington in a state of financial insolvency for the past two years, suppliers were demanding payment upon delivery for products.  Remington simply did not have the financial capabilities to have an abundance of raw materials on hand and had to shutter some of their production capacity.  With the recent purchase of Remington by Vista, there is a good chance that Remington ammunition production will have a tremendous impact on supplies going forward.  However, the disruption of the last two years took at least one year’s worth of ammunition production out of the market from one of the biggest manufacturers in the United States.  The hope would be that Vista will place extreme emphasis on getting the Remington production capacity increased substantially and quickly.  There is no doubt that they will as this is their best bet to return some of the extensive amount of capital they had to make with the purchase.  I would imagine that there was a lack of preventative maintenance at the Remington facility over the past two years due to financial problems.  This could create a huge problem for Vista getting the production up quickly. The process of creating ammo is more complex than it may seem.  With this rapid ramp-up in production, there will be a large draw on raw materials causing a temporary spike in raw material costs across the board on all manufacturers.  I would look for ammunition prices to continue to increase for at least the first half of 2021.

In previous years we’ve seen a huge influx of foreign ammunition during times when the market was tight.  We are not seeing that this time as many foreign manufacturers are producing at between 50% and 70% of capacity due to the COVID-19 impacts on individuals. We are extremely hopeful that the vaccines being delivered will improve worker’s health worldwide.  However, with the new virus strain, we are hearing of huge numbers of worker absentees in foreign facilities, only further reducing their production.

What Should You Do?

The new administration has openly stated their intent regarding the 2nd Amendment and how to limit or even eliminate the ability for consumers to purchase anything related to firearms.  We have seen American companies openly attack firearm-related businesses through litigation, IRS targeting, pressuring banking institutions to stop processing transactions, pressuring shipping companies to stop transportation and targeting Conservative institutions and ideals.  If you see anything come out as a stated initiative in the next 60 days we would anticipate you will see prices skyrocket even more than they have at this time.  There are some big questions out there right now.

Q.) Should I have stockpiled ammunition in 2019?
A.) Absolutely!  Hindsight is 2020 (no pun intended).

Q.)  Ammunition is really high right now.  Should I purchase more ammunition or should I wait for the prices to go down?
A. ) Ammunition is like the stock market.  It’s nearly a commodity at this point.  Your guess is as good as ours on whether it is going to go up or down.  We can tell you that manufacturers have already announced price increases for April 2021.  Typically when manufacturers increase their prices they do not go back down.  But right now demand continues to outweigh supply.  As long as that happens you’ll continue to see increasing ammunition prices.

Q.)  How long will the ammo shortage last?
A.) Remington ammunition should start hitting the market soon.  We think that should help supply.  However, we are still unsure of the impact Covid will have on worldwide production of ammunition……..

As an individual, as of right now, there’s little you can do in the face of the ammunition shortage. Keep checking your trusted online distributor AmmoFast for new arrivals of all types of ammunition from all manufacturers.  Sign up for notifications so that when we receive something you get a notification directly to your email.  Be ready to react quickly.  Once product comes available it sells out quickly, many times within minutes.

We have created some very stringent limitations on the purchase of ammunition in an effort to help as many people as possible work through this tough time.  Normally, we would say “stock up.” But that time has passed, and we would encourage everyone to learn from this.  Stock up in times of plentiful supply so that you are not affected as greatly during these times of extreme shortage.

In the meantime, we would encourage everyone to pray for our country and our leaders as we navigate this perilous situation.  We would also encourage you to register to vote and make your voice heard in 2022 by voting for pro 2nd Amendment candidates.

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ammo ammunition COVID-19 pandemic range reloading SHTF year 2020

Problems of the Gun Owner During The Covid-19 Pandemic

There’s one thing that really sucks about this pandemic isn’t just the fact that folks are dying.  It’s that folks can’t practice self defense (unless they’ve their own land, of course…most folks don’t).

What’s hindering folks from visiting ranges or even practicing on their own land?  The availability and costliness of ammunition, for one.  When you can find ammo, it is sometimes double the price of pre-pandemic ammo.  I’ve found some decently priced ammo, but it is become rare now.  When I find decently priced ammo, I usually buy what I can.

The type of ammo also dictates how much you’re going to spend if you need it.  An example is, I bought 250 rounds of 9mm practice ammo a month or two ago, for maybe $135 (yes, that’s a deal nowadays).  This week, I wanted to try to find some .45ACP ammo (because I conceal carry an XD45 and needed practice) and the lowest price I could find was $1/round!  So, I may switch to carrying my XD9 instead to save costs in practicing (I’ve a large stash of 9mm ammo, too).

I also find myself always worrying about over-consuming my ammo for the sake of practicing.  At first, I tried to delay practicing and went through most of 2020 without visiting the range.  When I finally started practicing, I was so worried about shooting too much ammo that I was counting every round I shot.

Can you buy ammo at the range?  I don’t know.  I suppose it would depend on how stocked your range would be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that ammo was marked up (because range owners and employees have to eat too).  When I was last at the range (maybe 3 weeks ago), I didn’t ask and didn’t look.

Aside from that, I found that practicing with a mask (a requirement of the range that I’m a member of, which I have no problem with) is a bit bothersome but doable.

Another question would be, in times like these, should a person reload?  The answer should be yes, but some folks don’t have the time and can’t spend the money to buy the equipment.  Also, some folks do not have the aptitude for such things.  There’s also the current problem of shortages of reload materials (primers or projectiles or even powder).

I won’t mention prepping because most folks with guns nowadays don’t deeply prep.  Most people don’t associate gun owners with hardcore prepping, but what about prepping ammo?  There’s no hard fact regarding how much ammo a person should stash away for SHTF situations, but we’re not even talking SHTF.  We’re talking Covid-19.  Unless things take a drastic turn for the worse, this pandemic will not spawn any SHTF situation.  So, how much ammo should a person have on-hand at all times in pandemic situations?  My answer:  enough to use for self defense and practice.  I’ve at least 1K of 9mm right now, which should last me a while for practicing, if I practice every other month and limit my practice round count to 150 rounds or so, and while also consuming ammo when training; I’d be buying 9mm when I see it on sale at decent prices in an effort to replace what I used during practice.

Also, note that in the past year, many folks bought firearms when they’d never owned one.  Those folks want/need ammo too.  I’ve seen many disgruntled “veteran” gun owners grumbling that folks are buying ammo and raising the cost of it now, when they should’ve prepared (prepped) before now.  Well, how can you prep ammo if you weren’t interested in firearms?  It’s a very stupid reason to be disgruntled, in my opinion.  Be glad that we’ve new gun owners to bolster our numbers.  Those same grumbling gun owners used to not own guns.  We ALL started with no (or small amounts of) ammo.

What problems have you experienced or noticed regarding owning a gun or practicing at ranges during this pandemic?

Categories
ammo ammunition BPT Browning BXP flat-nosed FMJ JHP

What’s the Purpose of Flat-nosed FMJ?

I wanted to quickly mention that with some makes of ammo (ie, Browning or Winchester), you see flat-nosed and JHP.  Most people think flat-nosed is for guns that have issues feeding reliably (vs. JHP, which can sometimes jam a gun such as a 1911).  That’s not always the case, though.

I’ll use Cabelas’ ammo description of Browning Performance Target (BPT) ammo as a reference:

  • Same bullet wt. and velocity as BXP Personal Defense Ammo
  • Provides the same feel at the range as self-defense ammo
  • Black-nickel shell plating improves reliability and feeding

Confidence at the range corresponds to confidence in self-defense situations. Browning’s Performance Target Pistol Ammo provides the same performance as BXP Personal Defense Ammo. Matched-performance ammo has the same bullet weight and velocity so you get the exact same feel at the range as you will in real-life situations with your BXP Ammo at a lower cost. Created with the highest standards of innovation, precision and technology. Black-nickel shell plating improves reliability and feeding.

There’s a product that matches this ammo, only it’s JHP. They’re meant to compliment each other:

Notice that the above rounds are JHP.  The first depicted box of ammo is FMJ but shares the same bullet weight as the JHP product and has the same velocity as well.  The FMJ is meant for the range (practicing/training).  The personal defense ammo (the JHP) is meant for defense — you can train with it but it is not cheap and is sold in a box of 20 (vs the 50 of the FMJ).  The FMJ mimics the JHP ammo (it’s nose is flat to mimic JHP).  It’s bullet weight and velocity is the same so that you can train as if you were using the JHP variant of this ammo.  This is ideal, instead of having to spend a lot of money training with your defense ammo.

Winchester also uses the same scheme.  I think that’s pretty cool, but wanted to inform folks of this, in case they’re not aware.

Categories
AMD-63 ammo Cabelas frangible Hevi Duty LAX PPU RAS

7.62×39 Ammo – Where Is It?

I visited my local Cabelas today and was a bit pissed.  They had very little 7.62×39 ammo.  I saw a few boxes of PPU and Herters.  That was it.  Nothing else.  No bulk in that caliber either.  That company (Cabelas) is large.  It is very large.  And it can’t keep stocked in mainstream calibers?  I mean, there was 5.56mm and .223, but no 7.62×39.  WTF. 

I was hoping that Cabelas would be my local go-to, but either someone is purposely buying up all the AK ammo (I hate horders) or Cabelas is having supply problems.  I was trying to stay away from Walmart for ammo but I think I might need to keep using Walmart until Cabelas gets their shit together.

As well, it was the same for 9mm handgun ammo.  There was hardly any.

I ended up buying some of that PPU, only to find that it was soft-nosed, and it wasn’t marked as such on the box.  I opened it up and saw that it was round-nosed with a lead tip.  I heard that some people had issues when trying to shoot that ammo through their AKs.  I did see at least one video where a guy loaded up this same ammo and shot it through his AK with no issues.  We’ll see.  I bought 40 rounds of it (2 boxes).

So, I’ve two boxes of the PPU SP RN and a box of RAS (30 rounds).  I guess I’ll be using my range’s ammo on my first visit.  I want to fire maybe 100 rounds of 7.62×39.

I saw that Cabelas had some frangible ammo that I was curious about.  It was Hevi Duty frangible and non-toxic, $15 for a box of 50.  I bought 2 boxes.  This is multi-purpose ammo:  it can be used at indoor and outdoor ranges, on steel, as competition ammo, and as HD/SD ammo.  It’s supposedly very accurate too.  It is light-for-caliber, as it is 100-grain and has a velocity of 1200 FPS.  I will shoot a box of it through my carry gun and then begin to use it as my SD ammo if it feeds without issue.

I also have 500 rounds of RAS coming from LAX.  It was $99 for 500 rounds.  I almost ordered 1000, but I’ll see how fast of the incoming batch I shoot before ordering more.  Shipping was a bit high, though, so I should’ve probably bought the 1000.

In my last post, I mentioned that I’d bought Magpul hardware for the AK.  I was able to fit that on the gun with a bit of grinding/filing.  The handguard fits well.  I can’t fit the gas tube cover since the gas tube on my AK is not standard (it is shorter and has no fittings for covers or handguards.  I do want an upper handguard on the gas tube, though, so I’m waiting for M-13 to finish a batch of tubes specifically designed for the AMDs (they are $50 each, though….I’ll probably end up buying two of them).  I suppose I could make my own.  Apparently its easy to cut down a standard gas tube but heat is needed, as they can crack.

I keep looking over the gun to determine if there are flaws or some things I overlooked.  I think I’m obsessing, thinking I went cheap and remembering the “you get what you pay for” mantra.  The only thing that might be wrong with this particular rifle is that the barrel’s hole where the gas tube vents from might be large (they’re supposedly all like that).  I’ll deal with replacing the barrel when the time comes.  I can mitigate the issue by buying a stronger recoil spring and maybe one of those buffer cushions…

So, tomorrow may be where I take the AK to the range.  We’ll see.

Categories
.380ACP ammo Bersa DA/SA Herter's N82 Tactical Plus PMC Thunder

Latest Progress Report – Bersa Thunder 380 Plus

A few weeks ago, I had bought some .380 ammo locally (from Cabela’s).  I’d bought Herter’s Select and some PMC Bronze.  My intention was to shoot both boxes (50 rounds per box) but I ended up quitting after shooting the Herter’s.

Why?

The Plus was biting the webbing of my hand.  The part between forefinger and thumb.  It wasn’t slide bite but the gun’s beaver tail edges were cutting into the webbing.  This was the first time I’d experienced this and I’d shot maybe 250ish out of the gun by that time…without any sharp recoil (that’s what I’m going to call it).  I’d not changed how I was shooting.  I was holding the gun the same way I always had.

The only thing that had changed was the ammo.

My first thought was that the ammo was hot but when I conducted some quick research on the ammo, I saw that the muzzle velocity wasn’t anything special, so maybe it wasn’t that it was hot.

Today, I took it to the range and shot the PMC out of it.  This time, there was no sharp recoil.  It had to have been the Herter’s ammo.  I’m pretty sure that ammo was hotter than normal.  The whole box.  I believe it’s made in Europe and I know Europeans usually make their ammo NATO-spec.  I’m just glad I now know to avoid Herter’s.

I’m now at 323 rounds through the Plus.  That’s more than my XD 9 Mod 2.  The Plus is my 4th most fired gun, between the aforementioned XD and the Sig Sauer SP2022.

It is now much easier to fire than when I first bought it.  I used to hate how difficult it was for me to operate the gun.  I hated the DA trigger, hated the manual safety, hated the decocker’s placement, and hated the safety’s non-intuitive nature (the manual safety operates the opposite of how a 1911 manual safety is operated).  What’s different now?  The DA trigger must’ve wore in because it’s not so difficult to actuate now (but it is long and pinches the side of my trigger finger…I’d have to wear a bandaid to negate the effect).  I don’t use the manual safety at all…I use DA in place of the safety.  I do use the decocker (to get into DA mode) but I only use it after racking the slide back and chambering a round.  I usually don’t drill when doing this…this isn’t something I need to practice, but I do need to remember to always place the gun in DA mode.

I also published a video update on the Plus here:

I’ve only one holster for the gun, the N82 Tactical Original holster.  It is a great holster.  The gun will carry well no matter the holster but it carries extremely well with this particular holster.  The holster is easy to put on the hip and is easy to remove.  It’s a simple holster…simple is good enough for what I need at this time.  I needed a holster that removes quickly.

Oh, I’m carrying Inceptor Polycase ammo with this particular firearm, too.  I know that .380 JHP is known to have issues penetrating, so I wanted something that I know for a fact will always penetrate.  This ammo will not have an issue penetrating, but it shouldn’t over-penetrate either.  I’ve tested the ammo at the range to ensure the gun will eat it without issue…it did.

I wouldn’t mind finding different sights for this gun but I’ll wait until I’ve more rounds through the gun first.  I wouldn’t mind Big Dot sights for the gun.

Categories
Alien Gear ammo grip module assembly N82 Tactical P320 PX4 Storm steel-cased Wolf

Ammo, Mags, and Holster Received!

I didn’t have a good picture of the gun…I only had the pictures I took the day I picked up the gun from the gun shop.

I now have three extra mags for it (five total).  That arrived yesterday, along with 1000 rounds of Wolf 9mm 115-grain FMJ ammo.

The N82 Tactical Professional holster also arrived.  I’m not in love with it.  It doesn’t fit like the one for my Bersa.  The hard shell is large and bulky, because the gun is large and bulky, I guess, but my Alien Gear feels more comfortable.  Because of the large shell, it is difficult to put on my hip…it’s very difficult to fit it in the gap between my body and waistband of my pants, and I’ve a good 1″+ of space.  I’m trying to give it time to grow on me…it’s not really going to break in enough for me to begin to like it.  It’s a shame because it’s a nice holster.  I like the retention system.  I like the professional look and feel of the holster.  I like the way you can adjust cant.  It’s just larger than I thought.

I suppose since the ammo and magazines have arrived, I’ve no excuse to not visit the range tomorrow.

My P320 subcompact grip assembly arrive today.  I can already tell that it’s the better size just by gripping it in my hand.  I’ll swap out the gun’s slide and  FCU tomorrow and maybe use a tape measure to get measurements (I’ve no calipers).

Oh, I’m still awaiting my stealth controls to arrive.  I’ve no idea when they’ll show or how they’ll show.  It’ll arrive via USPS, almost certainly…I don’t know when, though.  I’m thinking I might keep the PX4 as an F-type.  F-type isn’t bothering me like I thought it would, since I just keep it off of safe.

Categories
ammo Beretta Grand Power N82 Tactical P11 PX4 Storm Wolf WWB

Swapped Out My EDC!

So, I went to the range yesterday and still had issues with the Grand Power.

Well, to be honest, it was the ammo…the gun didn’t like the ammo.  How do I know this?  Because the PX4 had the same issue with the exact same ammo.  Both guns exhibited the same problem and both had the same problem on the first round of ammo.

This choked the P11.  The side of the round is flat and if you look closely, you can see rifling marks.
Here’s a different view.
The PX4 choked on this one (The pictures show two totally different rounds, each coming for a different box — the boxes have the same lot number, though).
You can see the rifling marks on the gun…this is not typical of a chambered round that was extracted.

The ammo I was using was Winchester White Box 124-grain FMJ.  I’ve shot WWB from this gun many times, but this is the first time I’ve shot WWB 124-grain from it.

Now, it’s the fault of the ammo, BUT the PX4 had no problems after the first round choked it…it shot the rest without issue.  The P11 had to be cleared or had to have it’s slide smacked multiple times.

The P11 was cleaned and lubed well, so the problem isn’t because it was dirty or needed lube.  It was due to the gun being tight.  It’s a pro of the brand but in this case, it is also a con.  This is not the first time I’ve had to deal with the gun being plagued by out-of-spec ammo…it ruins a range session, especially if it’s my carry gun and I’m trying to polish my trigger skills.  If I’m spending more time clearing the gun than shooting it, that’s not fun nor does it give me confidence in the gun.  Now, I know this is practice ammo and I know that self defense ammo will not have such issues (far less likely than practice ammo, at least), but I can’t practice with SD ammo.  Well, I could, but that would NOT be cost effective.

I’m tired of dealing with the P11’s fickleness.  It is now retired from EDC duty.  I retired it early out of frustration.

I still need a good holster, though.  Right now I’m using one of my Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 holsters with a PX4 compact shell.  It works well, but I want something that I can easily take off and put back on, so I ordered one of N82 Tactical’s Professional series holsters.

I also ordered 3 more magazines.  The mags are generally expensive (but cheaper than the $50 that P11 mags cost).  Beretta sells them for $40.  After searching far and wide, I found that Ammo Depot had them for $22 each!  The next cheapest was $33 at Tombstone Tactical.

I went to the range with the owner of a business that I’m transferring over to.  I brought my own ammo but he insisted that we use his…he brought a small ammo can of Tula ammo.  I shot about five mags of that from my gun.  It didn’t choke at all (and the P11 didn’t choke on it either when I shot Tula from it awhile back).  I was impressed with that ammo, so when I got home, I ordered 1000 rounds of Wolf from Ammo Depot.  The link shows a case of 500.  I ordered two of them.

I also traded guns with my new boss (he brought a Springfield XDM, the 4″ model).  He shot well enough with my gun but he didn’t shoot it like he did his XDM.  He said he loved the heft of the Storm.  Now, I loved his gun.  I haven’t shot striker-fired in awhile (I’ve several of them).  I thought I would have issues with the trigger.  Nope.  My grouping was tight.  It was just as tight as when I shoot my DA/SA guns.  I might have to look into that gun.  The trigger was better than what’s in my XD Mod 2.

Oh, and I also got a notice that a store now has a medium P320 subcompact grip module in stock, so I ordered that, especially since those are difficult to come by.

Lastly, I ordered stealth levers for the PX4 Storm.  I ordered both the stealth safety/decocker levers and the slide catch levers.  Those should arrive soon (it’s coming from a shop in Italy…I ordered from them since Beretta USA didn’t have those parts in stock).  Once it arrives, I’ll convert to the G-type.

So, this next few weeks will be fun.  I’ve more info to share about a recent range visit, but I’ll do that in a different blog entry (it involves the Bersa Thunder).

Categories
.45 ACP 147-grain 9mm ammo JHP SD SP2022

Ammo!

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.

Categories
5.56mm ammo AR-556 FDE magazine Magpul RDS red dot Ruger

The Ruger Has Arrived!

Ruger AR-556 in FDE

420 rounds of 5.56 x 45

I picked up the Ruger today on my lunch break.

My immediate impressions:  I’m actually surprised at the fit and finish of the Ruger AR-556.  It looks and feels great.  The pieces fit together without issue, with no large gaps between pieces or segments.  Looks GOOD in FDE, too!  That grip feels great – it has a rubber coating…very tactile.  The trigger is good.  The take-down pins are way too stiff (should loosen up with oil and use, hopefully).  They got rid of the D-ring, too…you twist to get the barrel covers off.  Oh, and there’s like 10 Ruger badges and logos on the rifle…like you’re going to forget that you own a Ruger.

Needed three forms of ID just to pick it up (not two as with handguns in VA).  Still, it only took 5 min to get the background check results back.  I have no background…LOL.

For now, 3 mags are enough (at 30 rounds capacity, each, that’s 90 rounds right there).  I also have a Bushnell First Strike Red Dot Sight, but I plan to use the non-aid sights for a bit, while getting used to the rifle.

I’ll post more as I become more accustomed to the firearm.