Category: SP2022

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Alien Gear base plates holster IWB magazine shell SP2022

SP2022 – Testing Concealed Carry

I received the Alien Gear holster shell for the SP2022.  I used the compact backing from the Sig P320 holster that I have.  The gun carries well but is quite a big bulkier than my Grand Power P11.  I’ve adjusted the cant so that it’s leaning forward, which helps a bit in hiding the longer grip.

I received the Alien Gear holster shell for the SP2022.  I used the compact backing from the Sig P320 holster that I have.  The gun carries well but is quite a big bulkier than my Grand Power P11.  I’ve adjusted the cant so that it’s leaning forward, which helps a bit in hiding the longer grip.

I’m 5′ 7″ and 175-180 lb.  I tend to carry with a shirt over my firearm, usually a T-shirt or golf shirt that is untucked.  Today, I’m straight from work (have to be tucked in, but I usually wear something over my shirt (sweater or bigger shirt or sweater).  I think it’s important to know how I carry so that you know my carry experience.  The belt is a Galco 1.5″.  The holster is an Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0.

Camera is at 3 o’clock position – holster is at 4 o’clock
Camera is at 4 o’clock position – holster is at 4 o’clock
Camera is at 5 o’clock position – holster is at 4 o’clock

Oh, and those pinky extension magazine base plates?  I ordered some flat ones but to be honest, it’s a trivial concern…trust me, it’s not going to make all that much of a difference if you’re coming from a subcompact and are opting for a handgun of the size of the SP2022.  I kid you not.  I will more than likely return those mag base plates or sell them.

By the way, I ordered those flat mag base plates from RoCo Firearms.  They are currently $12.50 each.  I’m not sure if I posted their origins, but if not…

UPDATE:  I posted a few days before that I’ve found that Ruger SR9 mag base plates will fit the SP2022 mags.  I’ve also read that Beretta M9 mag base plates will work with SP2022 mags.

I have not carried this gun outside of the house (yet).  It is more comfortable than I imagined (so far).  The magazine is empty, though, but I don’t think a loaded mag will make much of a difference…it’s not the weight that will bother me (I’ve a good holster and belt).  The bulkiness of the gun is probably all I need to get accustomed to.

I also received the Alien Gear holster shell for the Beretta I bought last night.  I’m curious on how that will carry.  In fact, I just might have an IWB bake-off between the Beretta and Sig.  It will be interesting, since they both have similar manual of arms, both are polymer guns, both are similar in width, height, and weight (the Beretta is shorter, though, I believe).

A video will come soon.

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base plates Beretta Bersa compact Grand Power N82 Tactical P11 Plus PX4 Storm Sig SP2022 Thunder

Beretta On the Way!

This was the most agonizing decision I’ve made in quite awhile.

My birthday is approaching and I wanted to buy something nice but not too expensive.  I’d considered a Sig 1911 as my next nice gun, but my wife isn’t going to sign off on a $800 purchase…maybe on my 50th birthday next year.

My choices were the Grand Power P1 or the Beretta PX4 Storm Compact.

I chose the Storm and bought it through Whittaker Guns for $429.

Why was this a difficult decision?  I’d need to talk about the Grand Power and why I was considering it (as well as the thing that I don’t like about the company).

The pros:

  • As you well know, I currently conceal-carry a Grand Power P11 Mk12.  This particular gun did not come with a decocker.  New guns from Grand Power come with decockers and that includes the P1.
  • I currently use a P1 kydex holster when I carry my P11, so if I bought a P1, I’d already have a holster.
  • I currently use three P1 15-round mags with my P11 when I visit the range.  If I bought a P1, which includes two magazines, I’d have five mags for this gun.

I basically already have all the gear to immediately start carrying a P1.

The con:

Grand Power stated in their forums that they will not sell the decocker parts to owners because they might be held liable if an owner did not install the part correctly and had an accidental (not negligent if there was an issue with the gun’s internals) discharge where someone was injured or killed.

Why do I have a problem with that?  I’ll list the reasons:

  • They sell 99% of the internals for all their guns on the Eagle Imports web site.  Most of those parts could cause an accidental discharge if installed incorrectly, and those have nothing to do with the safety/decocker.  Yet they’ve no problem selling those parts and letting owners install them on their own.
  • Their competition sells such parts and let owners install those parts.
  • The mentality that they’re going to save us from ourselves is very much a liberal thought.  This is also what drives such “technology” as loaded chamber indicators and magazine disconnects and both of those are training band-aids.
  • I don’t believe in any firearm being black-box-like (ie, don’t allow consumers to open the product).  If they’re selling internal parts, how else do you get them into the firearm?
  • In lieu of them providing you the decocker parts, they suggest you spend $500+ to get a new GP pistol that would already have a decocker.  Nope.  Not going to happen.

Some resources:

I was a stout advocate of the P11 and it’s manufacturer up until this point.  In fact, a large part of my Youtube content relates to the P11 and my experiences with it.  I think it’s time to move on.

The depressing part of this is that I’ve spend a large amount of my time and training with the P11, so I’ll have to get familiar with another one of my handguns to replace my P11 as my EDC gun.  An option is to continue to carry it but I just can’t swallow Grand Power’s attitude that they’ll allow us to replace any part but a safety/decocker (hell, they sell replacement safeties on their parts site!).

Currently, my options to replace the P11, if I want to stay with DA/SA, is with my Sig SP2022 or this new Beretta that will be shipped to me sometime this week.  I’m more ready to carry the SP2022 than I am the PX4 at this point in time.  I’m just waiting for some replacement mag base plates and a SP2022 shell form my Alien Gear holster.  I have 4 mags for the SP2022.  I have not a damned thing for the Storm, although I can easily get a N82 Tactical holster from a local gun shop (those are nice).

I can also carry the Bersa Thunder Plus that I have, but I HATE it’s decocker!  With a passion.  I can carry that with the safety off, if need be, and it’s a smaller gun to carry.  Although it’s a .380, it is double-stack and holds 15+1.  I have four mags for it and just got an N82 Tactical IWB holster for it.  I just need to test some carry ammo and begin practicing with it.

Either way, I’ll be testing the carrying of the SP2022 and PX4 Storm.

Before I carry the Storm, though, I’m looking to replace the safeties with the stealth versions.  As well, I’ll convert it to decocker-only.

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base plate magazine Ruger Sig Sig Pro Sig Sauer SP2022 SR9C

Sig Sauer SP2022 and EDC

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.

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.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.

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1911 extractor fail to feed feed ramp range visit recoil spring SP2022

Bersa Thunder 380 Plus Listings; Metro Arm 1911 Woes

I’ve had several people reach out to me asking about where to find good-priced Bersa Thunder 380 Plus models.  Here are some:

All of those are listed on Gun Broker.  There were at least 7-10 of them listed, but most were over-priced.  I only listed those that were under MSRP, but I did list the Combat Plus because many people are asking where to find those models and supply is scarce.

Also, a few weeks ago, I ended up taking my Metro Arms 1911 (the American Classic Commander, specifically) and my Sig SP2022 9mm to the local range.

I also ended up putting 50 rounds of American Eagle 124-grain through my current carry gun, the Grand Power P11, just to test to see if it was still having issues returning to battery (it ate all 50 rounds without issue).  I’m currently at 582 total rounds through that gun.

7 yards out, American Eagle 124-grain, Grand Power P11

The SP2022 ate 60 rounds without issue.  That handgun is fantastic and is extremely easy to shoot accurately.  I’m at 279 rounds through the barrel with NO issue whatsoever.

7 yards, Remington UMC 147-grain flat-nosed FMJ, Sig SP2022 9mm

The Metro Arms has been problematic.  I shot 48 rounds through this gun this session and had many failures to feed.  In fact, when I go through my range log, This gun has a history of failing.  It isn’t the mags that are causing the issue (it happens with all three mags and two of them are new and from Wilson Combat).  I actually searched and found that this is more than likely an extractor issue.  I checked and found it was too loose.  I tightened it up and now need to revisit the range to test to see if that helps.  If it doesn’t, I’m going to buy a new recoil spring and extractor.  That should fix the issue.  Another thing of note is that the feed ramp has some major abrasions from the last range visit when I shot Tula through it…it did NOT like Tula and I’d made a note of it (and the feed ramp) in my range log.  I shouldn’t need to polish the ramp with so little ammo through the gun, especially since the ramp had a mirror finish when I received the gun.  The gun only has 188 rounds through the gun.

7 yards, Winchester White Box 230-gr FMJ, Metro Arms ACC45, one FTE (24 rounds total)

As well, the point of impact is not hitting where I’m aiming (I’m aiming for the red with the front sight covering the X.  One thing I neglected to check was my trigger finger placement and how I was actuating the trigger.

I may visit the range tonight just to test the 1911.

I still haven’t shot my AR-15 yet, either.  I’m saving that for Father’s Day.  🙂

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1911 carry CCW concealed Grand Power mag blocks magazines P11 SP2022 VA XD

Received my CCW Permit!

I submitted for my Virginia CCW on 20 February.  I received the permit in the mail on 28 February.  That’s eight (8) days turn-round!  Yes, I knew the VA process is simple in comparison to states such as California, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting their VA permit 8 days after submitting their application – don’t take that as a complaint, though…I’m VERY happy.

So, I’m now legal to carry concealed.  The studying of the laws and reading of others’ experiences has been ongoing and I’ll continue to do both until I become a CA resident.  My immediate tasks are to obtain several good in-waistband holsters.  This is difficult to do because I never considered which firearm I’d be carrying.  For now, I think I’ll carry my 1911s, but I also want to carry my XD subcompact, so I’ve ordered two IWB holsters for both the 1911s and the XD.  I also ordered an extra shell so that I can carry my SP2022.  Why did I pick these guns?  Because the 1911s have slide safeties, the XD has it’s grip safety, and the SP2022 has it’s DA/SA trigger (which I’m probably more acquainted with than the others’ safety mechanisms).  I’ll more than likely focus on carrying whichever is the least difficult to carry.  I’d rather have some type of safety on the guns I’ll be carrying, so that means I won’t be carrying the Glock 19 or the P320C (for now, at least).  You might not agree with the reasoning, but the choice is mine alone to make.

I ordered the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 2.0 IWB.  I actually ordered two of them, as Alien Gear is having a two holster deal.  I ordered two holsters and an extra shell for $67.  It will be 4-6 weeks before I see those holsters, though.  If I can find something local at a LGS, Gander Mountain, Bass Pro, Dick’s, or even Walmart, I’ll be lucky.

I also want to try to carry my other subcompact, the Grand Power P11, but I can’t find any holsters designed for it.  If I can find a decent generic holster that fits the P11 satisfactorily, I’ve the feeling that that particular gun would be ideal for me to carry.

Obtaining my VA CCW permit makes it more difficult to wrap my head around moving to CA.  We still remind ourselves that we can move to a state neighboring CA if we decided our liberties are being limited too much by CA.

I still have to order magazine blocks for the guns.  I’ll have to hack existing mag blocks for the GP P11, but that shouldn’t be too difficult.  If I find that they’re actually too difficult for me to hack, I’ll order 2-3 10-round mags from Eagle Imports.  My wife’s Ruger has one 10-round mag and one 12-round mag.  The 12-round mag has to go.  Her task is to find someone that’s willing to take it in exchange for their 10-round mag.  If it’s not gone by the time we’re ready to go to CA, I’ll either mail it to my parents or, worse case, throw it away…I’m not going to jail over a mag that my wife doesn’t want to get rid of.

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9mm Canik Elite Shooting Sports range SP2022 TP9SA visit

Range Report – Canik TP9SA

I took the TP9SA to the range this weekend.  It shot well!  I’m very impressed.

Some notes:

  1. This is the first striker-fired gun I’ve ever shot.
  2. I shot 108 rounds of Remington UMC 115-grain (megabox).
  3. I was shooting from a distance of 10 yards.
  4. There was one stovepipe that occurred when firing the first magazine.
  5. There was one failure to feed that occurred when firing the second magazine.
  6. The trigger is great!  It feels hyper-sensitive.  Reset is loud and tactile enough for me to know when it resets, without issue.
  7. I shot with the larger of the two backstraps…I honestly can’t tell which of the two fit better in my hand, though
  8. A lot of my shots were to the left of the bulls-eye (my left, when aiming).  At first, I thought the rear sight needed to be drifted, so I used Kentucky windage and aimed maybe 1-1.5″ to the right of the bulls-eye and I hit the bulls-eye.  I decided to stick with using the proper sight picture because I know from my prior range visits that I needed to work on trigger pull and finger placement.  Well, the last magazine was very good…I placed a good bit of my rounds in the bulls-eye while using the same sight picture I’d been using the whole session.
  9. Instead of continuing to become familiar with the TP9SA and work on muscle memory with this gun, I switched guns and shot with the SP2022 the last 20 minutes of the session.  This was a bad idea, as the next 20 minutes, my rounds were all over the place.  Next time, I’m only coming with one gun.

I’ve some video footage of the range session, but only of my SP2022. The video is here:

The target is far enough away to where you can’t see a damned thing…sorry about that.  I’ll work it out on the next visit.  I supposed I could lower the FOV setting on the camera, as well as move the target up a bit (in good/bad guy situations with handguns, 10 yards is a bit excessive as far as self defense goes, IMO).

Another thing I did was to test the 9mm Federal HST JHP I have, just to ensure it didn’t jam…I saved it for the last 5 minutes of the session, as I wanted to shoot them while the gun was dirty.  I shot 10 JHPs without issue.  As well, I was only able to shoot them through the SP2022.  I’ve 10 left…I’ll shoot those through the Canik on my next range visit.   The Canik cleaned up pretty well.  There’s quite a bit of barrel wear at the ejection port, though…just the paint coating, though.  It’s not a huge deal, although my SP2022 has more rounds through it and has NO outside barrel wear.  I did lube the Canik VERY well before the range session (with TW25B)…the rails looked good.  There was a tiny bit of wear on the underside of the slide itself, though, and I’ve no idea what caused it, but I’ll be sure to apply some grease to that area before the next visit.

The feed ramp already has what looks to be copper on it, where the bullets contact it while being fed into the ramp.  I’ll leave the ramp alone, though…as long as the gun functions properly, I’m happy.

I’m looking forward to the next range visit with this gun!

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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!

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9mm magazines polymer SP2022 trigger

My Sig SP2022 9mm Arrived Today!

I thought I’d only get one magazine (the ad said only one was included), but I ended up with two!  That’s a huge deal, as they are expensive.  And I just got two new mags for this gun, too!  Now, if I’d paid attention to the ad pictures, I’d have seen that there were two mags in the pictures (one in the gun and one in a clear plastic bag).   What else?  It has the round-in-chamber indicator on top of the gun, which is pretty damned cool (I’ll keep visually checking the chamber, though).  I also swapped out the installed backstrap for the bigger one…it feels much better.  The grips are difficult to remove (needs a big screwdriver and some leverage).  I wonder if I should lube the mount area…

I cleaned it (surprisingly, it was filthy…like it had been shot a few times and not cleaned…it’s supposed to be new…WTF) and found that this example has a metal recoil spring guide.  There are many videos stating that this was plastic and people were replacing them with aftermarket metal guides.  I’ve no idea how this affects the limited warranty that covers new Sig products.  Based on the fact that the gun had obviously been fired and because it has a metal recoil spring guide, the gun is more than likely not new.  It’s not a huge deal, but it was misrepresented nonetheless.

I bought 100 rounds of American Eagle FMJ 9mm rounds ($17 a box at the gun shop).  I also bought a box of 20 Federal HST JHP 9mm ($28??!).  9mm is cheaper than .45ACP, that’s for sure!  🙂

I loaded up two magazines to begin the break-in period…they’re stiff as hell.  The other two mags are empty.  I’ll rotate the rounds from one to the other…I don’t want all my ammo in the mags.  They hold 15 rounds apiece, so that would be a significant amount of my ammo.

This gun is sweet!  It’s different than my Equinox.  The Equinox looks and feels (and IS) expensive.  The SP feels more…practical.  It actually fits my hands better…the grip is fantastic, even if it’s plastic (yes, this is a polymer gun).  The trigger even feels a bit better, although I haven’t compared reset between the two.  My wife prefers the feel of the Equinox (the feel of money…LOL) over the SP.  I like both of them in different ways.

I plan to visit the range tomorrow and maybe even Sunday and Monday, just to get some practice in.

Categories
ammo ammunition Cabelas Dicks magazines P220 SP2022 Walmart

My Magazines Have Arrived!

A few days ago, Cabelas had an online-only Sig Sauer magazine sale…$22.49 for each magazine in stock.  Since Sig mags tend to be expensive (running around $50 each), I decided to get three to augment what my P220 came with.  It came with 2 x 8-round magazines.  I bought 1 x 8-round mag and 2 x 10-round magazines.  Note that this sale ended yesterday.

They arrived this afternoon and I immediately cracked them open and loaded them with rounds so that they’d break-in.  I also marked all five magazines (I numbered them), in case I needed to track mag failures.  Of the five, I loaded one with my Hornady JHP 185-grain rounds (which reminds me…I need to find an outdoor range so that I can test the JHP to ensure the gun will shoot them.

I also ordered 2 x 15-round magazines for my Sig Sauer SP2022 9mm that hasn’t arrived yet.  This is the gun that people have a difficult time finding mags for, so I wanted to take advantage of the sale…once I saw that they had them in stock, I ordered two.  The SP2022 only comes with one magazine, so I probably needed to get extras anyways.  I haven’t bought 9mm ammo yet…I’ll buy a box or two of FMJ and a box of JHP in 9mm when I pick up the gun from the FFL.  I marked these mags, too.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to go shooting this weekend and try out the new gun and extended P220 mags.

My next project will be to find an online store where I can order ammo in bulk, to cut costs.  I buy my ammo from Dicks since they’ve been having holiday sales, but I think I can do better by buying online.  I’d check Walmart but I’ve never been able to get someone to help me in the firearms section.  :/