Friday the 13th Range Trip

[wyntrout]

I hadn't been to the range for a few months and wanted to shoot something. I still had those Kimber mags to try in my P45 and I figured that I needed to shoot my carry pistols, at least... P380 and P40. I left the P9 in the safe. It's a backup to the P40 and 3 pistols to clean is enough.

Right off the bat as I was aligning the P45 and taking up a little tension on the trigger... boom! First shot about 6" high. I just couldn't try to take up any slack. The trigger is smooth and light... and fast! I eventually adjusted to the trigger and just tried to quickly and smoothly pull it, rather than taking up any slack. I checked the trigger pull and it consistently seems to be about 5.25 pounds.

I shot a box of Blazer Brass and Blazer Aluminum, as well as half a box of the Ranger-T.

My regular P45 mags worked fine... 6x 7-rd and 3x 6-rd. I would have bought more Kahr mags, but I have 5 or so 1911 Officers mags and have been trying to get something reliable for flush-fitting carry.

I kept one of the Kimbers stock and had one with some slight filing off the top of the feed lips and fitted with a Kahr follower after no luck with the stock follower on previous testing. The stock one was a real problem with jams and failures to feed, and the other one wouldn't work with my carry ammo Winchester 230-gr Ranger-T's. I gave up on the Kimbers wieh the stock one disassembled in the pistol... follower and spring came out inside the pistol!

Everything worked in the stock Kahr mags. I put a brand new follower in the one that I had cannibalized for the Kimber and had no problem with it, either.

My P40 was the best to shoot... has the Kahr 4" ported barrel. I shot at least a 100 rounds of FMJ Blazer Brass and Prvi Partizan PPU, all 180 grain. I fired my carry mags of Remington 180-gr Golden Sabers, too... great ammo... with no problems and great accuracy.

Then I got out the P380 with my carry ammo and had trouble hitting the letter-sized target... shots hitting just below the piece of paper at 7 yards. The Underwood +P 90-grain Gold Dots are a handful and it was all I could do to get them into the lower right quadrant! I had no problem with the 92-grain S&B FMJ. It shot well. I shot 4 or 5 mags full of the +P and two boxes of the S&B 92-gr FMJ.

I need to choose a standard pressure load... maybe the Underwood 90-gr Extreme Penetrator that DavidR discussed recently. I've been using the +P GD for years, but I need something that's not so punishing and easier to hit what I'm targeting.

I mostly carry my P40, but I have the P380 on all day long at home and for maximum concealment on outings or doctor appointments. Now I'm worried that I can't hit anything after using this ammo after firing maybe 300-400 rounds of it over the years... the old Buffalo Bore and then Underwood's +P Gold Dots.

I actually put on my Nomex flight glove because the +P hurts my hand and I have a sore spot where I hold the pistols' rear of the grip.

[DavidR]

Sounds like a nice time. I’ve been
using Lehigh’s standard pressure which I believe is not as hot as the Underwood version.

[gb6491]

Nice report Wynn

Sorry to read you are having issues with 1911 magazines in your 45. They are pretty much the only magazines I use in my CW45 (.... I'm not even sure where the Kahr mags are anymore). I have a modified KimPro Tac-Mag in it at this moment. Which Kimber magazines are you trying?

Regards,
Greg

[wyntrout]

Someone said on here that these worked. I tried one unmodified and one slightly modified, and then with the Kahr follower. No good results.

[Ed M]

That might have been me Wynn.

I only have one Kimber mag here at the moment, but I just tried it in my CW45 and it locks the slide back when hand racking it.

This mag also works fine at the range. I just bent the bottom lip on the follower up a tiny bit with a pair of needle nose pliers, and that did the trick.


CW45Kimber.jpg

[wyntrout]

I think that was one of my mods. The stock one came apart inside my P45! The follower and spring popped up and out.

I really expected the modified one with the Kahr follower to work. It seemed to with the FMJ, but jammed and failed to feed repeatedly with my chosen carry ammo.

I just want a real flush-fitting mag for CC. The Kahr polymer "flush-fitting" base protrudes almost half an inch!

I still have to try cutting down the overall height of an extended mag base(7-rounder) to fit the 6-rounder. I sanded down the edges of a regular base and it looks crappy, and only cuts the protrusion a tiny bit. The P-sized grip is enough for me... perfect.