Friday the 13th Range Trip
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.
Last edited by wyntrout; 07-14-2018 at 01:15 PM.
USAF Retired '88, NRA Life Member. Wife USAF Retired '96
Avatar: Wynn re-enlists his wife Desiree, circa 1988 Loring AFB, ME. 42nd BMW, Heavy (SAC) B-52G's
Frédéric Bastiat’s essay, The Law: http://mises.org/books/thelaw.pdf
Thomas Jefferson said
“A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.”
and
"Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading".