Categories
failure to chamber P220 range SP2022

Visited the Range Today!

First 15-round Mag Thru the 2022…bulls-eye is a DA shot!

5 Magazines

Cleaning…119 Rounds of Carbon!

All clean!

I finally made some time to visit the range so I could break in the SP2022.  When I bought the gun, I also bought two 50-round boxes of American Eagle 115-grain FMJ.  I filled up all four mags with that ammo so that I could break in the magazine springs.  When I paid for range time today, I also bought two more boxes of AE.

I fired 119 rounds through the Sig Pro today…8 magazines worth.  I had one jam, which is great, but I don’t exactly know WTF happened…it wasn’t a failure to feed, since the first round fed…it wasn’t a failure to extract, since the brass didn’t need to be extracted at the time of the issue.  The trigger wouldn’t release the firing pin.  Also, the slide pretty much locked up…I had to muscle it open.  Once that round popped out, I slingshotted the slide…no more issues.  That was the only round of 119 that gave me an issue with the Sig Pro today.  Also, all four of the mags were new but two of them never had rounds in them (I only filled two of them).

The P220 experienced a very similar issue with a round not wanting to properly chamber or fire, although it wasn’t the first round or mag.  Maybe that was a limp wrist issue.  Or maybe it was one of the new magazines (three of the five are new).

I fired both the 2022 and the P220, alternating between the two.  I’m thinking I should’ve just focused on one gun at a time, because my aim wasn’t where I wanted it to be.  I sighted the bulls-eye but kept hitting left of it and sometimes upper left.  I did hit the bulls-eye a few times but I was very inconsistent.  The target stayed at 7 yards the whole hour.  This “aiming” issue might just be a trigger pull issue, as I dumped 4 mags in one target and there was a giant hole to the upper left where I consistently hit.  I need to work on my trigger pull (on both guns), I think.

Also, most people complain about the placement/size of the slide release on the SP2022.  They also tend to ride the slide release, meaning the last shot doesn’t lock back the slide (because they’ve triggered the release).  That didn’t happen at all during my first range visit with this gun (I made sure my thumb was away from the release lever…it took a conscious effort).

The SP2022 got the majority of my attention today, not only because it’s new (hell, they both are), but because it is easier to fire.  I hate to say this, but I hate the recoil of my P220…or maybe I just need to fire it more.  It has more recoil than what I’m used to and I’m finding it difficult to get used to.  That slide is still stiff as hell, too, although the mags are breaking in very well.  The next range day I have, I’ll spend an hour with the 2022 and an hour with the P220, just to give them dedicated time.

I also bought a new range bag, since I felt weird carrying my two beater bags to the range today (one was a cheap NRA bag dedicated to ammo and supplies (lube, barrel rod, screw driver set…POL-type stuff) and the other (an Army map case)  had my guns in the OEM gun cases.  The range had a store and had a Bulldog XL range bag that I bought, which is much nicer than that map case and the cheap bag that the NRA sent me.

Lastly, it looks like I might be moving to California to move nearer to my wife’s family.  I’ve found that I can keep the guns I bring with me (in fact, it is advisable to load up on any guns before I move, as the CA approved gun list has severe limits).  I’d still need to find a job in CA first, then a house within a specific price range that is a reasonable distance from the job.  This is ridiculously complicated, to the point that my guns definitely take a backseat to job and house search.  Wish me luck!