I figure as a new shooter with absolutely no major background in firearms (outside of Boy Scout plinking decades ago), I will review my most recent purchases on this forum. Maybe I can help newer shooters with their decisions and even you old, salty dogs at the same time. If I find a thread reviewing the same piece I am, I will consider responding to that if it won't derail the discussion.
The benefit to being a new shooter and never really having participated in shooting culture is that I haven't learned any bad habits and I haven't been interested in the activity long enough to become "brand-blinded" or force-fed "haterade" against certain makes, models, or calibers. I am a clean slate; if I like it I like it.
No... I'm not THIS new.
As a new shooter, please feel free to contribute some constructive criticism and correct any mistakes I make with terminology. Gun anatomy is very new to me, but something I find positively intriguing and would like to "get right".
I went out gun shopping for the first time since receiving my Massachusetts LTC a couple of weeks ago. My wife got hers as well and our adult daughter got her FID. We have been shooting a few times a month for awhile with a close friend who is the vice president of a local range and getting a good feel for what we like, what we want to have in the house, and honing our skills.
We decided our first purchases will be .22 LR "plinkers". I wanted to own a decent rifle and a decent pistol right off the bat. We can keep practicing both shooting and maintaining our firearms in a fun and economical way. When we end up purchasing larger caliber pieces, we'll still take these to the range.
I walked into a shop the other day looking for a decent, older Ruger 10/22 as I prefer rifles to handguns. I wanted a nice, old, wooden-stock and something that was manufactured early enough to have a 25rd magazine for those days where I didn't feel like being frugal. They had a solid assortment of .22 LR "plinkers" but the 10/22 they had was way too "tacticool" for my tastes. The AR15 style .22s looked like a lot of fun but just too pricey for what I wanted. I did consider the Henry AR7 but even that was more than I wanted to spend for a first family purchase.
Who would want to stick lasers and rails on something this pretty?
On my way out I passed the pistol case and saw a Sig Sauer Mosquito. I had researched all manner of .22 LR pistols and knew of the scores of complaints and horror stories about the piece. But, at just over $200, I was considering it. I did some more research, called a few friends, and despite the mixed reviews and "love-it-or-hate-it" responses, decided to go for it.
As many of you may know the Sig Sauer Mosquito had a rough introduction into the market. Stories of endless jams, failure-to-feeds (FTFs), failure-to-ejects (FTEs), and other cycling problems filled the internet. People polished chamber and feed-ramps, recommended expensive and hard-to-find high-velocity ammunition, and even decided the gun is best used as a "malfunction trainer". However, the people that love it REALLY love it and claim to have no problems whatsoever.
I took the plunge.
Simple, handsome, and feels like quality...
I figured it would be better to have a $200 lemon than a $300 lemon and, at the very least, I may be forced to learn about the mechanical intricacies and engineering behind similar semi-automatic handguns. I had a silver-linings before I knew how cloudy the situation was; preparing myself for disappointment.
During my research I found that the Mosquito should come new with 2 springs. One for standard velocity rounds and a stronger one for higher velocity rounds. It seems as if many "early adopters" didn't read their manual as everyone who stated they installed the standard spring had very few issues cycling issues with the Mosquito. Most reviewers do state that quality high-velocity ammunition works better, but many report having no issues running cheap stuff especially after 300 or 400 rounds of quality rounds.
As soon as I got the gun home I stripped it and inspected it. The thing was absolutely filthy. There was fouling in the chamber on top of what looked like the factory-applied protective coating. The chamber and feed-ramp was coated in a sticky, tar-like residue and the first few cloth strips I pulled through the barrel came out black. I was generous with the CLP and cleaned the ever-loving-shiznit out of the thing. I wiped it down and did it again. After each swab and rag was coming out merely speckled with filth, I lubricated the important points, reassembled the gun, and put a few more drops of CLP in the lubrication port as well as some recommended areas.
Looking at the chamber I can see why some people polish their ramps. The transition from chamber to feed-ramp has a pretty significant lip that I can see flat-nosed rounds catching on. I may polish mine in the future. Disassembly and reassembly is very easy, however it does take a little wiggling to the the slide back on; practice makes perfect!
May not be worth the risk if everything is working okay already...
The next day I went to an indoor range with 150 assorted cheap rounds including a box of 50x RWS 40gr Target Rifle. I was hoping they would have a few nice, high velocity rounds, but I was stuck with standard stuff.
The pistol performed way above my expectations. It fired off the first 6 full magazines rapidly without an issue; I'm talking Hollywood gangster-style fast. Very smooth action, excellent recoil, and I really enjoy the sightss. I had a FTF halfway through the 7th magazine, cleared it, and went through another 6 magazines without an issue. After over 120 rounds the chamber was looking absolutely nasty which, in retrospect, may have not been helped by my generous CLP application during the initial strip and clean. I had one more FTF, cleared, and ran straight through until my boxes were empty.
I like the trigger although it may be stiff for some people. I have no way to measure it nor do I have the experience to even guesstimate its pull, but it feels pretty good to me. I am able to stay on target and don't feel like I'm straining to make it go "bang".
I am not a good pistol-shooter, and I wasn't trying to zero the sights in on this trip, but I found it to be very accurate. I was able to aim in and hit a 3" group at 25 feet without my prescription glasses and not really caring. All other shots were in a 12" circle between 10 and 20 feet even when pulling the trigger as fast as I could.
After getting it home I stripped it and man it was dirty! But, again, I may have been a bit too liberal with the CLP. It cleans easily enough and I'm sure another trip to the range will shake any excess lubricant out so I don't get that gritty syrup in the chamber.
Apparently when things look like this, it isn't very good...
I am VERY happy with the purchase and I know it will serve me and mine well until we wear out the barrel.
Much of the negative input I got about the gun was from a friend who worked on a range where they used the Mosquito as rentals and trainers for the public and guests. I wouldn't do this. While I wouldn't call it "finicky" it is obvious that this is a piece that will treat you as well as you treat it. I plan on maintaining all of my firearms and even my cheap "plinkers" are not an exception. While it might be nice and even useful, especially for a range, to own and operate equipment that can keep on ticking after taking a lot of misuse and abuse, I imagine keeping them cleaned and oiled will keep them functioning BETTER.
I do have some higher-velocity stuff coming in soon and will make a trip to the range and try and get another 150 rounds out. Let's see if the extra "oomph" can help the gun cycle thorough the sludge and fouling.
Until then, feel free to respond with your own experiences and let me know if I got anything wrong!
Be safe and have fun!
The benefit to being a new shooter and never really having participated in shooting culture is that I haven't learned any bad habits and I haven't been interested in the activity long enough to become "brand-blinded" or force-fed "haterade" against certain makes, models, or calibers. I am a clean slate; if I like it I like it.
No... I'm not THIS new.
As a new shooter, please feel free to contribute some constructive criticism and correct any mistakes I make with terminology. Gun anatomy is very new to me, but something I find positively intriguing and would like to "get right".
I went out gun shopping for the first time since receiving my Massachusetts LTC a couple of weeks ago. My wife got hers as well and our adult daughter got her FID. We have been shooting a few times a month for awhile with a close friend who is the vice president of a local range and getting a good feel for what we like, what we want to have in the house, and honing our skills.
We decided our first purchases will be .22 LR "plinkers". I wanted to own a decent rifle and a decent pistol right off the bat. We can keep practicing both shooting and maintaining our firearms in a fun and economical way. When we end up purchasing larger caliber pieces, we'll still take these to the range.
I walked into a shop the other day looking for a decent, older Ruger 10/22 as I prefer rifles to handguns. I wanted a nice, old, wooden-stock and something that was manufactured early enough to have a 25rd magazine for those days where I didn't feel like being frugal. They had a solid assortment of .22 LR "plinkers" but the 10/22 they had was way too "tacticool" for my tastes. The AR15 style .22s looked like a lot of fun but just too pricey for what I wanted. I did consider the Henry AR7 but even that was more than I wanted to spend for a first family purchase.
Who would want to stick lasers and rails on something this pretty?
On my way out I passed the pistol case and saw a Sig Sauer Mosquito. I had researched all manner of .22 LR pistols and knew of the scores of complaints and horror stories about the piece. But, at just over $200, I was considering it. I did some more research, called a few friends, and despite the mixed reviews and "love-it-or-hate-it" responses, decided to go for it.
As many of you may know the Sig Sauer Mosquito had a rough introduction into the market. Stories of endless jams, failure-to-feeds (FTFs), failure-to-ejects (FTEs), and other cycling problems filled the internet. People polished chamber and feed-ramps, recommended expensive and hard-to-find high-velocity ammunition, and even decided the gun is best used as a "malfunction trainer". However, the people that love it REALLY love it and claim to have no problems whatsoever.
I took the plunge.
Simple, handsome, and feels like quality...
I figured it would be better to have a $200 lemon than a $300 lemon and, at the very least, I may be forced to learn about the mechanical intricacies and engineering behind similar semi-automatic handguns. I had a silver-linings before I knew how cloudy the situation was; preparing myself for disappointment.
During my research I found that the Mosquito should come new with 2 springs. One for standard velocity rounds and a stronger one for higher velocity rounds. It seems as if many "early adopters" didn't read their manual as everyone who stated they installed the standard spring had very few issues cycling issues with the Mosquito. Most reviewers do state that quality high-velocity ammunition works better, but many report having no issues running cheap stuff especially after 300 or 400 rounds of quality rounds.
As soon as I got the gun home I stripped it and inspected it. The thing was absolutely filthy. There was fouling in the chamber on top of what looked like the factory-applied protective coating. The chamber and feed-ramp was coated in a sticky, tar-like residue and the first few cloth strips I pulled through the barrel came out black. I was generous with the CLP and cleaned the ever-loving-shiznit out of the thing. I wiped it down and did it again. After each swab and rag was coming out merely speckled with filth, I lubricated the important points, reassembled the gun, and put a few more drops of CLP in the lubrication port as well as some recommended areas.
Looking at the chamber I can see why some people polish their ramps. The transition from chamber to feed-ramp has a pretty significant lip that I can see flat-nosed rounds catching on. I may polish mine in the future. Disassembly and reassembly is very easy, however it does take a little wiggling to the the slide back on; practice makes perfect!
May not be worth the risk if everything is working okay already...
The next day I went to an indoor range with 150 assorted cheap rounds including a box of 50x RWS 40gr Target Rifle. I was hoping they would have a few nice, high velocity rounds, but I was stuck with standard stuff.
The pistol performed way above my expectations. It fired off the first 6 full magazines rapidly without an issue; I'm talking Hollywood gangster-style fast. Very smooth action, excellent recoil, and I really enjoy the sightss. I had a FTF halfway through the 7th magazine, cleared it, and went through another 6 magazines without an issue. After over 120 rounds the chamber was looking absolutely nasty which, in retrospect, may have not been helped by my generous CLP application during the initial strip and clean. I had one more FTF, cleared, and ran straight through until my boxes were empty.
I like the trigger although it may be stiff for some people. I have no way to measure it nor do I have the experience to even guesstimate its pull, but it feels pretty good to me. I am able to stay on target and don't feel like I'm straining to make it go "bang".
I am not a good pistol-shooter, and I wasn't trying to zero the sights in on this trip, but I found it to be very accurate. I was able to aim in and hit a 3" group at 25 feet without my prescription glasses and not really caring. All other shots were in a 12" circle between 10 and 20 feet even when pulling the trigger as fast as I could.
After getting it home I stripped it and man it was dirty! But, again, I may have been a bit too liberal with the CLP. It cleans easily enough and I'm sure another trip to the range will shake any excess lubricant out so I don't get that gritty syrup in the chamber.
Apparently when things look like this, it isn't very good...
I am VERY happy with the purchase and I know it will serve me and mine well until we wear out the barrel.
Much of the negative input I got about the gun was from a friend who worked on a range where they used the Mosquito as rentals and trainers for the public and guests. I wouldn't do this. While I wouldn't call it "finicky" it is obvious that this is a piece that will treat you as well as you treat it. I plan on maintaining all of my firearms and even my cheap "plinkers" are not an exception. While it might be nice and even useful, especially for a range, to own and operate equipment that can keep on ticking after taking a lot of misuse and abuse, I imagine keeping them cleaned and oiled will keep them functioning BETTER.
I do have some higher-velocity stuff coming in soon and will make a trip to the range and try and get another 150 rounds out. Let's see if the extra "oomph" can help the gun cycle thorough the sludge and fouling.
Until then, feel free to respond with your own experiences and let me know if I got anything wrong!
Be safe and have fun!