Fun at the range with (3) .45s, (1) .44, (1) 9mm and (2) .22 revolvers

I was all dressed for work, armed and ready to go when I got a call from one of the gun shop owners, with no gun show this weekend to go to, I could take Friday off. Woo hoo! Range day!

I've got a concealed-carry class at the shop tomorrow, so Friday off was a genuine unexpected pleasure. So I loaded up and went off to DeWitt's range for some fun.

First up were three new 12-rd. magazines for my new Steyr S9-A1 subcompact 9mm. The factory S9 mags have a 10-rd. limited-capacity bottom for some reason nobody at U.S. distributor Steyr Arms can explain. That's how they made them in Steyr, Austria, at Steyr-Mannlicher, so that's how they are.

But one of my buddies at Steyr Club, who wishes to remain unnamed, is a genius with Steyr magazines. I purchased three S40 mags with three 9mm followers from Steyr Arms, had them shipped to him and voila, three S9 12-rd.-capacity mags appeared in the mail to me. Thanks Mr. Anonymous, great job. Here's the results.

And how did they shoot? Perfect. You were expecting something else from the mag master?

Next up I had a trio of .45s that cried their way into going to the range, you shoulda heard all the wailing.

At bottom is my Sig P220 SAO with its new set of Nill grips that needed a baptism of fire. At top is my Para P12-45 compact, just back from Para-USA where she got the PXT power extractor and a new recoil-spring and guide-rod assembly. I've already test-fired the P12, but I figured another mag of hollow-points can't hurt. And at right is my Llama IX-C wide-frame, who is always on car duty and needed some work so Big Bertha came out from under the seat to speak her piece. Now for the targets for the first four up at the range.

All these targets are standing Isosceles at the usual max distance for social exchanges, 7 yards, rapid fire.

At right is the S9A1 with one 10-rd. mag of JHPs and three 12-rd. mags of FMJs. As usual, with a DAO trigger my lefty-trigger-finger tends to pull a bit to the right.

Then the other three, at left the Sig P220, second from left, Para P12, and third from left, the Llama. All three have excellent single-action triggers, which proves what everybody ought to already know. The best double-action trigger in the world still isn't as good as a good single-action trigger. One thing a good single-action trigger does for me is instantly cure my tendency to pull the point-of-impact slightly to the right.

And it also proves once again that I shoot my P220 better than any of my 1911 .45s. It is what it is.

Then the marvelous day at the range took a sudden downturn. Next up were a pair of .22 revolvers, a single-action Ruger Bearcat stainless and a S&W 317 8-shot DA/SA with a 3" barrel, both used guns I purchased at the gun shop where I work. This was my first occasion to shoot either of them since purchase.

After 12 rds. in the Bearcat, I could no longer get a round into any of the chambers. It looked clean so I didn't take it apart and clean it before shooting. I'm sure a thorough cleaning will take care of that problem.

But the S&W 317 was a total disaster. The daddy rabbit in the family-owned gun shop said something didn't seem right about the 317 when we purchased it from the previous owner. But he couldn't find any reason to send it to S&W for repairs, so it went on sale. And I bought it. And the boss was dead right about it.

One cylinder fired double-action, OK, but fairly stiff trigger. One cylinder fired single-action. Perfect, sights right on the money. Third cylinder, two rounds fired double-action and she locked up tighter than Dick's hatband, which according to my daddy was way too tight. I couldn't rotate the cylinder, couldn't pull the trigger or the hammer and could not force the cylinder release in to open the cylinder. To make matters even worse, you cannot send a loaded gun back to S&W for service.

But I know a local gunsmith, so I took it to him. He applied some gunsmith magic in his back shop -- said when he applied "a lot of pressure on the cylinder release" it finally opened. I didn't ask what he used to apply that much pressure. He got it unloaded and it will be headed off to S&W for service and repair on Monday.

Finally back to the fun. Before I left the range, I put some more rounds through my Kel-Tec PF9 subcompact 9mm to check the new Crimson Trace Lasergrip I just installed on it. Here it is with my improvised pocket magazine holder, an eyeglass case cut in half, perfect fit for a pair of spare magazines.

And I have some new grips I just got from S&W for my S&W 29 .44 Magnum and wanted to give them a baptism of fire. Question was, could I fire magnum loads without getting bit on the hand in the process?

The smooth laminate combat finger-groove grips are beautiful, but are they functional under magnum stress? The answer is definitely, just as comfortable and maybe even better than my ugly black rubber Pachmayrs.

Finally, here's the last two targets, the S&W 29 .44 holes in the left and the PF9 9mm holes in the right.

The PF9 still needs some benchrest work to get that laser sight zeroed. Maybe at the indoor range tomorrow after my concealed-carry class I can do that. But I gotta say it's a ton more fun shooting my big .44 than that snappy little PF9 with carry loads. That's why there's more holes in the .44 target than the 9mm target.

Confessed 'Gun Slut' makes for hard choices on carry duty

Massad Ayoob is one of my favorite gun writers, and lo and behold, I learned today he has the same problem I do, too many handguns and not enough time and opportunity to carry them all as often as he likes. So Mas says he's a gun slut.

True confession time: I'm a gun slut, too.

I'll let Mas explain, quoting his article in the current Guns magazine issue:

You’ve committed the cardinal sin of not always using the same handgun? Well, say three “Hail John M. Brownings” and share a confession here. So, I was reading one of my favorite electronic gun forums, Gun Rights Radio Network, and one member chided another for often changing firearms. The term “gun slut” was used. I gasped… and said, “Hey! Hey! Hey! I resemble that remark!”

My old friend John Bianchi is credited with “Bianchi’s Law,” which holds, “Carry the same gun, in the same place, all the time.” It makes a lot of sense. Alas, there are those whose jobs require them to violate it, and I fear I am a serial offender.

I don't have a good excuse like Mas does for changing my carry guns often. He teaches various handgun classes and competes in various divisions of handgun competition, which requires him to carry whatever suits the activity he's going to be participating in.

My excuse, pitiful I admit, is trying to keep peace in the "family" of 20-some handguns I own. When I'm deciding what I will carry as I start off for a day's work at the gun shop, I hear this chorus in my head, "Take me, take me!" "No, it's my turn, take me!" "Wait, what about me?"

Last week I carried my CZ P07 Duty 9mm just because I hadn't carried it in a while, with the Charter Bulldog .44 Special as backup. I must confess, the Bulldog gets more than it's fair share of carry in the rotation as primary or backup most of the time, just because I like it and I shoot it well. And my other smallish revolvers get their call frequently also, Charter .327 Magnum, S&W 65 and Taurus 65 .357 Magnum, with the former as backup and the latter two as primaries.

Then it's whether it's a .357 Sig day for one of my two Sig P229s or the S&W M&P Compact or Commander size, or Para P12 .45 ACP day, of Glock 29 10mm day, or Steyr M9A1 day.

But that leaves my three full-size handguns out in the cold for carry duty. I've carried my Glock 20 10mm for a day or two, but it's just too big and heavy for regular duty. Ditto my S&W 29 .44 Magnum. With its 4" barrel, it's handy enough, but it's pretty heavy like the G20 and has yet to be called. But I love shooting the Model 29 so much there's no way I will ever part with it.

And I also have a full-size Para P14 .45 ACP which I really like but have yet to carry.

Which brings me to a tough decision. I've got a .22LR slide conversion kit for my P229s that I had to pay for with credit, plus a .45 ACP slide kit coming in soon for my Sig P220 .22LR Classic.

So to pay off that nut, I've decided the G20 is odd man out. I'm packaging it up with it's 17-round mags and 9x25mm Lone Wolf extended ported barrel plus three boxes of 9x25 ammo and taking it to the shop tomorrow for posting on gunbroker.

I've been keeping the G20 on nightstand duty, but I'm promoting the P12-45 to that role because it's easier to shoot than the G20, which is a hard kicker with full-house 10mm loads.

I got on a Baddest Tactical Pistol kick a couple of years ago and bought the G20, but it's come down to it or the Para 14-45 and the Para wins for being as deadly and easier to shoot. For the past year since I started work at the gun shop, I've concentrated on carry pistols and I just don't have the room for two huge full-size pistols at this time. Adios G20, it's been fun but it's over.