[I used an app to try to post an article but it didn’t work out well, so I’ve resubmitted this posting]
Grand Power Q100 Pistol Goes Hammerless – In-depth VIDEO Review – Sourced from Ammoland.com & reviewed by Graham Baates.
Military Arms Channel (MAC) has reviewed the Grand Power P1.Â
The review is here:
I find it interesting that he’s experiencing the same issues that I have with my P11 — failures to return to battery. He was pretty put-off by that, which is understandable. What’s weird is that some people experience the issue while others do not. I know the gun does not like being extremely dirty (it doesn’t take a lot of rounds before it’s deemed dirty, either). The gun also likes to be wet with lube, which probably isn’t going to help with carbon…it makes for a pasty mix.
He’s also the first major reviewer I’ve ever seen that has experienced such issues. Or maybe he’s the first that’s bold enough to report about it. In the past, I’ve stated that I find it weird that no reviewers have ever had negative comments about this gun. That’s the main reason I did so many videos of the gun…because I felt people were possibly hiding negative experiences of the Grand Power handgun platforms.
One thing that MAC should do is not use CLP. That’s what I was initially using and it is not enough, as it moves around and will eventually evaporate. Apparently grease is a no-go as well, as Dave Copping joined in offering guidance to MAC in that video’s comments section (Dave Copping works for Eagle Imports). He needs a heavy oil — heavy oil will migrate less. I used oil (synthetic motor oil) the last time I took the P11 to the range…I still had FRTBs, although I shot 150 rounds of Wolf, which probably counteracted the motor oil. As a reminder, Wolf generates a LOT of carbon.
It seems that the only way around the FRTBs would be to do a field strip of the weapon at the range to wipe it down enough to lessen the FRTBs so that the range session could continue. Or use a clean-burning ammo (depending on the ammo, that could be expensive).
MAC also wants to apply the MAC reliability test to his P1 (it consists of dunking the gun in water, sand, and mud, firing a mag in between each medium). That gun is going to fail that test. It’s not that type of gun. It’s a very tight gun, tolerance-wise…such guns are not typically reliable when it comes to being subjected to such tests. I left a comment stating that the gun will probably fail the test. I’m not sure if he’s going to submit it to the test anyways, but I seriously doubt it’ll pass.
So, what are press checks?
You press check by pulling a handgun’s slide back just enough to see if a round is chambered. You check so that you know your handgun is prepared. The last thing you want to occur is to be attacked but find that your gun doesn’t have a round chambered.
Some handguns have a device called a loaded chamber indicator (LCI). Â It’s a small tab that rises when there’s a round in the chamber. Â This can be used in lieu of a press check, but not all handguns have LCIs. Â Some handguns have external extractors that pop out when a round is chambered, but not all handguns have external extractors. Â As well, not all extractors pop out enough for the wielder of the gun to know that a round is chambered. Â And lastly, not everyone is willing to trust an LCI when a visual verification works better. Â I’m one of those people.
Here’s what happens if you don’t press check (watch the video):
The video is captioned:
People like give me shit because I press check my guns (I.e. Partially pull the slide back to see if there is actually a round in the chamber. Well, This is why I press check. I get that it’s all the rage now the make fun of things that look high speed low drag but sometimes there is purpose. #IPressCheckedButDidYouDie
The above is a training exercise but highlights the fact that if someone is defending themselves but don’t know the condition of their gun, they can die. No one wants to hear “click” when pulling the trigger in a dire situation.
Another reason to press check is that sometimes magazines might not be properly seated, so that when a slide is racked, a round is not stripped from the magazine and pushed into the chamber. In that case, you’d think that a round was chambered, only it never did. An LCI would indicate that the chamber is empty, but a press check would do the same and not rely on another gun part (that could possibly fail).
Another good source of information is The Firearms Blog. They published an article about their thoughts on it today, and they pretty much mimic Colion.
There’s nothing really wrong with press checking. If you’re doing it every 60 seconds on a firing line at the local range, you’re doing it wrong, though. The practical applications outweigh the tacticool-ness of press checking.
Categories
Range Visit
I went to the range today and brought the Grand Power P11, the RIA 22TCM, and of course I bought my current carry gun, the Bersa Thunder Plus (I’m carrying the PX4 less now, since it is so thick…it’s lumpier and I don’t like that it feels so large on my hip). I couldn’t use my RIA, though, because I forgot to bring it’s magazine.
I brought 200 rounds of Wolf 115-grain FMJ for the P11. I fired 150 rounds of it. I bought 50 rounds of Speer Lawman 95-grain FMJ at the range for the Bersa. I fired all of that.
I started out with the P11. I ensured it was lubed properly (using synthetic motor oil – 5w20 Motul) beforehand. It failed to return to battery once in that first magazine. It did it again on the 6th magazine (12-round mags). Then I did twice more through the last two mags. It probably was pretty dirty with firing Wolf ammo after 138 rounds, so that’s probably why it was failing. Wolf is REALLY dirty and covered in some type of semi-sticky coating…not exactly conducive to the inner workings of a gun with tight tolerances.
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That Speer Lawman ammo for the .380…it was stinging my hand. I’ll have to avoid that ammo in the future. It seems I’m going to need to develop a listing of “to avoid” ammo for this particular handgun.
So, I’m now at a round count of 1269 for the P11 and 373 for the Bersa. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get rid of the fails to return to battery with the P11. I wanted to give the gun a fair shake by trying a thicker lube, but maybe using Wolf negated the usage of thicker oil (oil that’ll stay put instead of migrating). There’s always something with the P11…too many excuses being used to explain these issues. :/ The Bersa is still cool to shoot. The trigger is smoothing out. I’m still not as accurate with it as with the P11 or PX4, though…and it’s trigger isn’t all that spectacular when compared to those aforementioned handguns, too. But it’s definitely utilitarian. The only thing about this gun that I really hate is it’s recoil sting with certain ammo.
I’ll continue to shoot both guns, although I probably need to put more rounds through the PX4.
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| The spring is supposed to be one unit, not three separate pieces. This is what I found when field stripped the G22 this evening. |
Yeah, look at that shit.
This is NOT good. That spring was $70.
The last I saw, the spring was one piece and I’d installed it in the gun as soon as I received it. The end screw apparently came off, probably during the last range visit back in January.
I’m glad I didn’t depend on this gun with my life.
I’ve sent EFK the following notification:
This is regarding Order ID 00000.
I bought a dual action recoil spring from you for me Glock 22 back in January.
The last time I had fired it was on 1/31. Today, I did a field strip of my gun. I found that the dual action spring came out in 3 pieces. That’s funny but concerning because last I remember handling it was when I put it in the gun…it was one piece and it hasn’t been out of the gun until today. There’s a piece missing…the screw that goes on the end. I’m assuming it went flying off at the range the last time I shot it.
Yeah, this needs to be fixed ASAP. Spending almost $70 for a spring for it to fail like this…that’s horrible.
I’m looking for some feedback from you. I’m either looking for a replacement with a guarantee that the replacement won’t fail or a refund.
I’m not sure what their response will be. I imagine they’ll want me to ship it back to them. I also imagine they’ll send me another. I’m not even sure I want another one, as I’ve no confidence that the the replacement will not also fail.
We’ll see how this plays out.
Last night, I installed the stealth decocker levers I got from Brignoliarmi.com. The package also came with one slide lever. I’ve opted to not change that…not sure what such a change entails but it has to be easier to install than the decocking levers were. As well, I do believe Brownells sells a plug for the right side of the gun that will have a hole where the lever would’ve been (after I swap out the old part for the new). I’m thinking on ordering that part. Anything to slim down the the profile of the PX4.
Some pics:
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| Before the lever swap |
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| After the lever swap |
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| The packaging |
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| Backside of the packaging |
They were somewhat difficult to install. I’ve not done such a thing before. Well, let me restate that. I’ve never removed roll pins from guns that didn’t involve changing out backstraps. This wasn’t a simple backstrap change. It wasn’t super complicated, either. I used Mrgunsngear’s video to assist me in changing the parts. (Note: you do not have to remove the extractor to change out the safety levers.) The most difficult part was in getting the roll pin out. Getting it back in was easy. Another thing that stumped me was the spring…I didn’t reinstall it correctly and had to remove the roll pin again, then reinstall the spring correctly, and THEN reinstall the roll pin AGAIN.
I also might need a new punch, as the punch that I bought from Lowes was beat the hell up after the swap (bent at the tip).
Note that this does change the mode of operation for this particular gun. It was sold to me as an F Type. It is now a G Type (the new parts are labeled as G Type and the gun now functions a a G Type). Prior to the parts change, the gun’s levers functioned as both a safety and decocker (they were not dedicated to either function). The levers now function solely to decock. They will NOT safety the trigger, and the lever now springs back into place after the gun has been decocked. For me, it is easier to train with DA as a first shot than it is to train to carry cocked and locked (meaning that I’ve to ensure the safety is off before I pull the trigger, and also always ensure the safety is engaged when it’s holstered).
The gun does look cleaner, profile-wise. It also carries somewhat better, as the new levers are no longer pushing on the material of the N82 Professional holster. Still, the gun is thick.
No amount of parts replacement will change the fact that the slide is over an inch thick. This is the ONLY negative of this firearm. I’ll have to grow used to it.
The gun is definitely easier to rack with the new levers. But the gun is also difficult to decock because the new levers have less traction…it almost makes me miss the old levers.
UPDATE: The stealth slide lever is in. I installed it a few hours after I posted the above. Not sure if I like the hole that was left after removing the right side old lever. Also not sure why Beretta didn’t make replacements for both sides. (There’s only one replacement…the left side…the old right-sided lever has to come out to get the left-sided stealth one installed.)
UPDATE #2: I ordered the slide catch plug at Midwest Gunworks. The part arrived quicker than I’d anticipated. I had issues understanding how to install it. I went to a Beretta forum (berettaforum.net) to ask how PX4 owners have been installing the part. Apparently you’ve to push down and turn so that the plug locks in, only this is difficult to do. A forum user stated he’d used rubber from some gun grips to get traction on the plug without damaging it…I had a some Hogue grips and used them to turn the plug and it worked. Here’s a picture of how the gun now looks with the plug installed —
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.
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.
If you haven’t heard yet, YouTube has pulled advertisement revenue from YouTube channels that have a focus on firearms. That means that if those channels have any type of dependence on that type of revenue, that method of attaining funds will stop.
Once again, social media companies are trying to stick it to those that believe in 2A.
Alternatives are:
- Full30 – https://www.full30.com/
- MeWe – https://mewe.com/
- United Gun Group – https://www.unitedgungroup.com/
- Gun District – https://gundistrict.com/
- WeaponsFeed (I’ve not tried this one yet) – https://www.weaponsfeed.com/
I suggest you mention these to your friends. These alternatives are struggling.
There has not been much turn-out, but these were generated when Facebook began to shut down 2A-affiliated groups shortly after the Orlando shootings. People complained about it, which spawned gun-friendly social media sites such as the above, but people aren’t using them.
Come on, guys and gals…these places can be much better than Facebook or YouTube, but only if we use them.
Categories
I 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.
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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).