Day at the Range.

[B.N.Real]

I just bought a very nice used 617 Smith 22 LR revolver and a nice used High Standard snub revolver in 22 LR so I had to get out to the range to see wazzup!

I took my Taurus Model 85 ,my Mauser HSC in 380 and my Ruger P95 9mm too.

The Ruger is becoming my home defense favorite the more I shoot it and you will see why.

I'm no internet genius so I will break up this first post into three or four to get all the pictures in so you can see wazzup!

Here is the Motley Crue.



I started with the High Standard revolver because I wanted a gun to do speed drills in double action cheap.

Well,it did'nt work out that way.

The gun has a timing error in it somewhere that comes and goes on one cylinder so I just bought the best single action snub ever made.

The gun is accurate and when the timing does'nt bind.the gun shoots very well for a 22 LR snub.

But it was a downer.

Then I pulled out the 617 loaded it and set a target at the 3 yard mark to set the sights if it needed it.

did'nt need it.



Suddenly,I forgave the snubbie with issues.

Took out another target to seven yards.

Mr.Shaky.(me) got a fairly decent second shot.

 

[B.N.Real]

Then I emptied the gun at ten yards and was very happy with how things were going.

This Smith is a very odd gun.

At first pickup,it feels heavy and looks really large but when you aim it,all the weight and the balance of the gun is dead verticle.

I mean this thing feels like it narrows down when you pick it up.

I understand why it gets all those great reviews.

This is a ten yard single action group.



And this is a combination target at thirty yards.

The head shots are single action and the body is double action.



For someone that was half blind and has'nt been to the range in three months,I was pretty happy.

And this was my first day with my used new 617.

I did some more double action speed drills with the Smith but found out to my surprise that I was more accurate with the High Standard when it functioned right then I was with the Smith.

Anyway,I was feeling pretty good.

So far so wonderful.

(I would note that this 22 LR ammo I am firing is about a decade old if not older.)

 

[B.N.Real]

Well,away went the Smith and out came the Taurus Model 85.

The whole point of buying the High Standrad was to prepare to shoot the Taurus anyway.

And as usual the Taurus did not disappoint.

Doing point and shoot as fast as I could drills at three and seven yards all the shots were in the gut/chest area of a bad guy and there were no misses.

Functioning was perfect.

This was with ammo that had been loaded by a company named Minuteman Arms on 7-7-1986!

A buddy of mine just gave me the stuff,it was loaded to a standard loading using SR4756 powder at 4.6 grns yielding 943 fps (out of a four inch barrel no doubt)using a 158 grn LSWC bullet.

Got that info off the box end.

(please don't try to use this loading,it's twenty two and a half years old!)

The ammo was'nt a hot load and the little Taurus just loved the stuff.

Here's a target at three yards double action only-four cylinders +one bullet which is all I had left.



So I pulled out my little Mauser and loaded it with red box American Eagle 380 ammo.



We doggy! she did not like that stuff!

Fail to feed like a big dog!

I finally got all that 'stuff' fired down range and settled on just under a half box of PMC ammo I had.

MUCH better.

I was still having some issues with the mags when they were loaded with seven rounds but backed off to six the gun worked much better.

So out came the Ruger.

 

[B.N.Real]

I can safely say now,this is one of THE BEST GUNS I have ever owned.

Someone must have worked on this guns trigger because when the slide returns from cycling,the sights are lined up just perfect and this trigger is set just perfect for almost machine gun firing but not all over the target stuff.

I mean line up the sights!trigger!boom! sights trigger!boom! over and over and over.



I get laughing to myself because it sounds like all heck is breaking out but the target looks like there's a squirrel trying to dig it's way out to this side!

Here's one target,just some really fun-fun shooting this gun.





I am likely getting the 15 round mags and hollowpoints for this gun and it will be helping my Model 10 help me guard my family and house.

Totally glad I was graced enough to get such a fine handgun.

So that was the day.

I know I have to get back in the swing of shooting and get my eyes to clear up so I can shoot well at long range again but for not shooting for a while,I was very happy.

Three and half hours of shooting and cussing and smiling and having a blast.

I can't wait to go again soon.

How old is your ammo?

 

[flipexed]

The P95 is an excellent weapon.... I use it for carry and home defense. Here are some pics of some recent range work over the holidays. I have mine in a hogue grip and it oh so comfy!


5 shot grouping at 7yds

5 shot grouping at 15yds

 

[B.N.Real]

outstanding flipexd, no bad guy has a chance against that.

I am definitely gaining respect for my P95 every time I shoot it and it has earned a first place with the appropriate hollowpoints for self defense duty for me and my family.

Now for those 15 round mags I was talking about.

 

[PT-92]

Can't go wrong with the P95.

-Cheers

 

[Smaug]

Nice report, B.N. I like your honesty.

One suggestion: Do most of your practicing at 7+ yards and beyond. Of course 3 yd. shooting will be easy after that. At 3-7 yards, group size doesn't really matter. You're practicing for hitting center torso area, maybe a 6-8" circle. It is either good enough, or not good enough. Like the pass/fail courses in school.

I wouldn't even bother shooting the 617 at less than 8 yards. It is designed to be accurate at 25+ yards.

Regarding the Ruger P95, the P series in general were excellent. Reliable, accurate, easy to shoot. The only thing they're not good at is precision long range (beyond 15 yards) target shooting and concealed carry. I recommend them every time someone posts something like: "I have $350. What self defense gun should I get?"

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

Then I pulled out the 617 loaded it and set a target at the 3 yard mark to set the sights if it needed it.

did'nt need it.

So, wait... 9 feet and your arms are like 2 1/2 and the barrel on that thing is what 2 1/2? So you're firing like 4 feet from the paper? You BETTER hit the bulleye!

 

[sw99guy]

i love my p95.

 

[B.N.Real]

Yea,peetzakilla,having the gun nine feet from the target sounds like zero challenge but when you've had the first sight test experiences I've had with guns,this is as good as it can get.

I zero in all my new to me guns at 3 yards then move them out to 7-10-15 and then 25 if I can actually see that far!

Just to have that very first shot out of that 617 go like that was a treat.

That meant I did'nt have to touch jack on that gun.

I could just load it up and shoot it.

My eyes are doing this 'Good today,bad the next stuff " now,and that day was a bad day day.

But I really wanted to do some speed drills with the snubby 22 but that blankety blank did'nt want to cooperate.

But it very accurate for a snubbie 22 so I'm going to put some effort into fixing it.

(yea,like trading it for another gun,don't worry the gun shop already knows this is a stumbiling revolver))

The thing that does the most damage to my eyesight is this frikken computer.

I use a CRT monitor with a Commercial quality privacy screen on it and it still toasts my eyeballs.

The computer first person shooter games don't help either but hey,I gotta have something now don't I?

Anyway,it was just alot of fun to get out there and burn up alot of ammo.

Before that little Sentenel got sick,it was sure putting out some nice double action drill groups.

If I can get off this computer and ease up on my eyes maybe I can get back to shooting the proper ranges these guns are meant for.

But that day,I just wanted to have some fun.

And fun was definitely had.

(p.s.the people were freaking at the P95 speed drills-I was loving it.)

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

I was just pickin'. That pretty good shooting.