Sunday, September 12, 2010

Steyr S9-A1 perfect at range, Glock 29 .357 Sig barrel conversion not

My new Steyr S9A1 9mm subcompact got a brief workout after my concealed-carry class on Saturday. The rangemaster was working on his anniversary day so he wanted to get home to the wife as quick as possible and I didn't get to shoot for long after my class finished.

But the S9A1 was perfect for 30 rds., 20 rds. of FMJs and 10 rds. of JHPs. I expect nothing less from a new Steyr. Perfection is expected. I hope to go to my outdoor range next Saturday for a more extensive workout, plus JHP testing for carry.

I also tested another hollowpoint load for my S&W 396 Nightguard .44 Special revolver, some Hornady 180 grain JHPs. They patterned about 3 inches low, so the Speer Gold Dot 200-grain JHPs remain my carry load for shooting directly to POA.

The third test of the day was a new Lone Wolf .357 Sig conversion barrel for my Glock 29 10mm subcompact and results there were a bit disappointing for the brief test.

It fed and fired the Speer frangible range ammo just fine for three 10-rd. magazines, but I had two jams on one 10-rd. magazine of Winchester Ranger-T JHPs. I finished the mag with no further problems after slamming the pee out of the back of the mag to firmly seat the rounds. With .357 Sig-length rounds in a 10mm mag, there's a lot of room for movement away from the back wall of the magazine. Both jams resulted in the nose of the round stuck against the front wall of the magazine just below the ramp, so it's pretty obvious they started out feeding too far forward.

It's going to take a lot more testing with hollowpoints before I can declare the G29 with a .357 Sig barrel ready for carry. If it don't feed right 100% percent of the time, I just ain't gonna carry it. Perfection is a necessity for any carry gun of mine.

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