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.
Right now, I think I’m leaning toward the WBP MiniJack, as a primary choice since it’s a beautiful gun. I’d like another milled AK. It’s also currently in stock.
Most of the other guns I listed (what I supplied above is a narrowed-down list of quite a few 1911s) are not currently in stock due to Covid times.
Second choice, for now, is going to be the SA 1911 Vickers Tactical. This 1911 is exceptional and is more than the WBP MiniJack.
The thing that keeps bugging me is that I already have 1911s (lower end non-US makes), so I don’t really need one, but a really nice high end 1911 would be something different.
Another thing that keeps bugging me is that I already have several AKs, even a milled AK and even several AK pistols. I don’t really need another AK, even a beautiful one such as the MiniJack…
Wow, I appears that I just made a very strong case for the Vickers Tactical 1911 as my primary choice. (WATCH ME CHANGE MY MIND AT THE LAST MINUTE).
I can always get the MiniJack Milled next year.
I should find out when the bonus is coming sometime late February or early March. If it’s a lot, I might be able to justify buying two (or getting a lift and wheels/tires for the Jeep).
I encourage everyone to watch the above YouTube video. Apparently, the P320s are still having issues with non-negligent discharges.
Some takeaways from the video:
Many users have not sent their P320 to Sig Sauer for the voluntary recall (it replaces the trigger and adds an additional safety mechanism). There was at least one user that has the voluntary upgrades on their P320 that had a non-negligent discharge. That’s bad (and probably an understatement). I was considering carrying my P320, but I will wait to see how Sig Sauer handles this.
I will say this, though: I hope that this issue wasn’t overlooked or was brushed aside due to the recent multi-million dollar contract with the US Army (the contract for the new modular handgun system that Sig Sauer won).
I ordered the former from Amazon and the latter from AK Operator’s Union.
The former will arrive tomorrow and the latter will arrive the day after. Friday or Saturday, I’ll be visiting the range to sight in the new Sig Sauer Romeo 5 2-MOA RDS that I bought during Black Friday sales events.
I’ll post up when I’ve installed and used these items.
So, I’m carrying the Glock 19 now. I’m struggling, actually. I guess I’m so used to smaller handguns that I’m having issues adjusting to the grip (it’s large compared to the other handguns I’ve been conceal-carrying). Since I’ve invested time, training, money, and mods into the gun, I’m pretty much stuck carrying it for at least a year. I want to give it a year to assess if I’ll get used to it (I probably will).
So, I was thinking I could’ve carried my P320 instead. I’ve the P320C but have a subcompact grip module that would allow me to have a small grip but still have 12-round mags. So, while I’m currently carrying the Glock 19, I’ll send the P320 to Sig for the voluntary upgrade. If you guys don’t already know, Sig had issues with the P320 firing when dropped. They’ve fixed the issue and I’ve sent correspondence to them asking for the upgrade. Once I’ve the upgrade, I’ll probably get another N82 IWB holster for the P320 and get either XS Big Dots or sights comparable to those. Then I will probably carry that handgun next.
Again, though, I’ll be sticking with the G19 for at least a year just to give it a fair shake.
I’m considering trying my SP2022 for everyday carry. I need to find magazine base plates that are less prominent, though. There’s one video on YouTube that states CZ P-07 magazine bast plates will fit, but I can’t find any place that sells them, so I tried the base plates of all the current guns in my safe and found one that fits! Which is it? The Ruger SR9C’s base plates fit almost perfectly. Glock base plates will also fit but the hole is in the wrong spot.
I now need to find a place that sells SR9C mag base plates, then I need to order a holster shell from Alien Gear so I can give carrying a try.
This gun is about as big as I’m willing to carry. It has a 3.9″ barrel, but is rather thick. The only way to determine how well it’ll carry is to try to carry it.
UPDATE: I can’t find ANY SR9 mag base plates on sale. My fall-back plan is the Glock base plates…I’ve found a pack of 6 for $40. Yes, this is rather expensive but I don’t think they’re cheap knock-off Chinese manufactured parts, either. I’d have to drill new holes into them, as well, which I don’t have a problem doing.
I’ve been getting an influx of comments on my last Grand Power YouTube video.
Many people think that I need to be using oil (one person stated to not use TW25B and another recommended to use oil and not grease).
I tested the theory that I was using the wrong lube. I stripped off the TW25B from the helical cut and breech area of the barrel and used a light coat of Breakfree CLP instead…I kept grease on the rails, though.
Remember, on my last visit, I fired 263 rounds of various ammo (50 x Tula steel-cased, 200 x Remington UMC 147-grain flat-nosed FMJ, and approx 24 rounds of Winchester Personal Protection JHP). Of that ammo, I had two failures to return to battery (down from “many” failures), both of them being with the Remington ammo.
At last night’s range session, I used 100 x Remington UMC 147-grain flat-nosed FMJ, 50 x American Eagle 124-grain FMJ, and 28 rounds (of a box of 50) of Geco 124-grain FMJ, for a total of 177 rounds. I had five failures to return to battery (FRTB). The first happened on the 3rd magazine. Then the 4th, 5th, and 6th magazines. The gun wasn’t dirty, but remember, I was using a thin coat of oil vs a coat of gun grease.
Yeah, so much for that theory. I had less failures during my previous range visit with the P11, and shot maybe 100 rounds more, too (with Tula being 100 of that, and both Remington UMC and Tula are very dirty).
But here’s a revelation…of the five failures to return to battery and of the 177 rounds, guess which brand failed the most in this gun? Remington. All five failures were with the Remington. I made a point of paying attention to which brand I was shooting and keeping notes on each box’s tabs. I also ejected each round that generated a FRTB. In one case of FRTB, I found that the front lip of the case had bent when the gun tried to ram the round into the chamber. I decided not to fire that round.
Here’s a picture:
If it’s difficult to see the damage, here’s a video.
So, maybe it’s a combination of the oil I used as lube and the ammo? No, I think the ammo is the issue, as I shot 75 rounds of ammo AFTER the Remington that didn’t get hung up at all.
This gun does NOT like the Remington ammo I’m shooting. I’ve other Remington ammo (non-flat-nosed and 115-grain FMJ) that I can test but I really don’t think I need to test any more.
I cleaned the gun and looked at it’s internals last night. The claim that the oil is easier to clean after a range session is false. The oil migrated to the slide and coated the whole underside of it. In fact, it was everywhere and I didn’t use a lot…just a thin film. It took quite awhile to clean. The gun wasn’t quite that bad when I used grease as the primary lubricant. The oil collected the carbon exactly as the grease did (it basically made mud), but I can’t contribute the failures to the oil. All I know is that I had less failures with the grease but if the ammo is the problem then all perceived lube problems are exonerated.
I’ll post the video once I’ve edited it and posted it to YouTube.
UPDATE — here’s the video:
For now, I’ll continue to use the CLP as the primary lube. I’ve even put it on the slide and frame rails. I’ll watch for wear and/or trouble for awhile.
I also took my SIG Sauer P220 and gave it a quick run to test the new Hogue rubber grips. Man, that gun is a beast. Recoil is less of an issue with these grips. I’m able to put ammo (half the mag, in this case) in the red, too.
All DA shots, first 8 rounds, at 7 yards
I fired a total of 44 rounds (I had five mags that have been loaded since Jan 2015 that I wanted to shoot…Perfecta hardball in 230-grain). The gun ate it all up without issue. My aiming did get progressively worse, though. I might need to get glasses I can use at the range (or it might be time to have my eyes checked again), as I was having a difficult time seeing the front sight and my vision got worse as I shot.
I brought the Glock 19 and intended to shoot it, but got too engrossed with the P11 (let’s face it…as my EDC and with my recent issues, it needed the attention).
So, this range visit was very valuable for me, as I learned that not all ammo is created equal. I still have a lot of Remington flat-nosed ammo left (I bought 500 rounds of it). Some of my other guns will eat it without issue, so I’ll use it up, but I won’t be buying any more of it.
I ordered a sub-compact grip module for my Sig Sauer P320 Compact handgun.
I couldn’t find ANY place that had the medium sub-compact grip modules in stock, though, so I settled for the small module. The main difference between the two is that the grip is a tad smaller (in girth and thickness) on the small grip module assembly, and the medium has an accessory rail while the small does not.
I also ordered 2 sub-compact magazines (12 round capacity). I can use the mags that came with my Compact but they’d stick out a bit and be more difficult to conceal. Sig Sauer also sells mag sleeves for the Compact mags so that they can more easily be used with the sub-compact frame, but that wouldn’t help with the length of the mags and kind of defeats the purpose of going down a size (if the grip will print easily, it’s counter-productive).
I also will have to contact Alien Gear to see if I can swap my SP2022 holster shell for a P320 Sub-compact shell. The P320 Compact shell I have will not fit the P320 Sub-compact.
The grip module is plain black. I’d thought of getting OD green or FDE but I couldn’t find any in stock. I can always paint the grip module if I desire a different color.
I’ll be using the Compact slide on the small Sub-compact grip module. It’s been verified that this type of modification will work without issue. I don’t want to have to buy the Sub-compact slide when the Compact will work fine.
I’ve been itching to buy a new gun but this is the next best thing…can’t beat converting a gun!
You see people all the time that hate on SIG’s P250 SAO handgun. They buy the gun without doing research and find that it’s DA only, speak bad about the trigger, and sell it while giving a bad opinion of the gun at every opportunity.
I’ve also seen people thinking this gun is very similar to the P320. They are similar but different enough to have different nomenclatures. They share the same frame and are modular guns, but other than that, they’re different and are catering to different markets.
Pricing is one thing the article doesn’t address. Why? Think about it for a second: Looking at SIG’s website for the P250, there are 3 MSRP prices per model (full size, compact, sub-compact). That’s 9 different prices. And then, there’s 4 different calibers being sold…that’s the potential for 36 different prices. There’s also a threaded barrel version that I didn’t even factor in. That’s probably why they didn’t include the price in the article.
You can find P250s for well under $400 new. I did a quick check via Gunwatcher.com and the cheapest I saw a P250 being sold was at $360…very rarely you’ll see a P320 being sold new for under $400 — the cheapest I saw one on Gunwatcher was at $399.
Excerpt 1:
The P250 is also fully ambidextrous. This is important to the left-handed shooter but also to those wishing to be able to manipulate the pistol with either hand.
Excerpt 2:
The test pistol turned in a smooth trigger break of 6 pounds with modest backlash and no noticeable creep. There is no manual safety, only safety features, including the long trigger action and a positive firing pin block or “drop safety.”
Now, most people frown upon DAO. I don’t know why, because if you master DAO in semiautomatic, you’re going to be shooting extremely well if you rotate to an SA or DA/SA gun. Once you master DAO, you’ll be a rock star if you go to an SA or DA/SA gun. Some police departments used the P250. From my understanding, the trigger is exceptionally smooth. There are also tricks to learning DAO (some people stage the trigger by pulling halfway through the trigger pull, which helps in aiming for some).
If I had the room, I’d get a P250 just to say I have one. I may even practice with it diligently in the attempt to improve aiming and pulling the trigger, in the hopes that it will improve my gun handling overall.
SIG has released the .45ACP version of the P320! I guess I need to eventually get the conversion kit for my P320 Compact.
UPDATE: Bad news…there will be no .45ACP conversion kit! 🙁 Apparently they’ve run into design issues and can’t make a .45 conversion kit, although they’ll make the pistol itself (it just won’t convert to other calibers). You’ll still be able to change frames and such, though, from my understanding. More info is here.
I finally took my P320 Compact to the range today (I ended up taking 3 guns, plus the one I was carrying). Man, the P320 shoots pretty damned tight. I was shooting Winchester White Box 115-grain FMJ. The first picture is the first mag, while the second picture is the other mag, shooting the same target with both mags.
6 yards out, second magazine (shooting at same target as first mag above). I’m all around the bulls-eye and hit it once, but the shot group isn’t as tight as the first 15 rounds.
This gun has great ergonomics and the trigger is really nice! Some people complain about trigger pinch with this gun…it didn’t bother me, but I only shot 30 rounds. Some people also have to reiterate that this gun has a high bore axis…it didn’t bother me at all and I’d shot my Glock 19 Gen 4 for the first time right before shooting the P320. It didn’t have any issues eating 30 rounds without issue…there were no FTEs or FTFs. It was easy to aim (it has contrast sights) and the grip texture wasn’t aggressive nor slick…it was “just right”.
This was the last gun (of 4) that I shot. I was expecting to experience a bit of fatigue or an adjustment period before I began to shoot this gun well…those were the wrong expectations! This gun is a keeper (I knew it would be before I bought it).
