Spent most of Sunday at the range with my two brothers in law who recently inherited all of their fathers pistols (and long guns for that matter). Between our recent inheritances we had quite an assortment to try out over the day. It was very interesting to compare our experiences with those I've read here. Our experiences ran as follows:
Ruger 22/45 - borrowed from a friend to get started. Accurate and a joy to shoot. I'm getting a Mk II this week. Gotta have a .22 in the collection.
Star Model D .380 - I've been firing this one each time I go to the range and it has been very reliable, although it need some work on the sights (rear sight is loose).
Beretta .380 - can't find the model. It has the Tomcat style frame but is slightly larger (similar to a PPK) and a 10 round magazine. Reliable and accurate - very nice.
Walther PPK - At least one jam per every magazine, including one that required the range master to help clear.
Walther P-99 - A really smooth shooter. I was most accurate with this and the Taurus P-92.
Walther P-38 - Not as accurate in my hands as the P-99 but an interesting pistol.
Taurus PT-92 AFS- The more I shoot this the more I enjoy it. Smooth, reliable and I'm accurate with it.
Browning Inglis Hi Power - Something of a disappointment. One stovepipe with each of 4 magazines (and 3 different types of ammo). Not very accurate, probably because of the trigger which was long before it caught and then pretty heavy and short to break (lots of wobble trying to feel the break, which I never did). I tried Speer Gold Dot, some reloads that a friend uses regularly with great success, Winchester white box, to no avail. I didn't think the Brownings were that picky about ammo, either. The jury is still out on this whether to monkey around with it to get it a bit more enjoyable (newer magazine, recoil spring, trigger job) or trade it in on something else.
Colt Anaconda - Yikes! I have small to medium size hands and simply was not comfortable trying to control this beast - plus it had a 2 inch barrel, not really confidence inspiring.
Unfired - Astra Cadix .38 special revolver, Bauer .25 semi, 2 older Colt .22 revolvers and a really old Mauser their father referred to as the Hitler gun.
All in all a very enjoyable day of shooting.
Ruger 22/45 - borrowed from a friend to get started. Accurate and a joy to shoot. I'm getting a Mk II this week. Gotta have a .22 in the collection.
Star Model D .380 - I've been firing this one each time I go to the range and it has been very reliable, although it need some work on the sights (rear sight is loose).
Beretta .380 - can't find the model. It has the Tomcat style frame but is slightly larger (similar to a PPK) and a 10 round magazine. Reliable and accurate - very nice.
Walther PPK - At least one jam per every magazine, including one that required the range master to help clear.
Walther P-99 - A really smooth shooter. I was most accurate with this and the Taurus P-92.
Walther P-38 - Not as accurate in my hands as the P-99 but an interesting pistol.
Taurus PT-92 AFS- The more I shoot this the more I enjoy it. Smooth, reliable and I'm accurate with it.
Browning Inglis Hi Power - Something of a disappointment. One stovepipe with each of 4 magazines (and 3 different types of ammo). Not very accurate, probably because of the trigger which was long before it caught and then pretty heavy and short to break (lots of wobble trying to feel the break, which I never did). I tried Speer Gold Dot, some reloads that a friend uses regularly with great success, Winchester white box, to no avail. I didn't think the Brownings were that picky about ammo, either. The jury is still out on this whether to monkey around with it to get it a bit more enjoyable (newer magazine, recoil spring, trigger job) or trade it in on something else.
Colt Anaconda - Yikes! I have small to medium size hands and simply was not comfortable trying to control this beast - plus it had a 2 inch barrel, not really confidence inspiring.
Unfired - Astra Cadix .38 special revolver, Bauer .25 semi, 2 older Colt .22 revolvers and a really old Mauser their father referred to as the Hitler gun.
All in all a very enjoyable day of shooting.