On Sunday, September 7th… I found out summer’s over here in Minnesota. Chilly. No ticks!
I brought out my G17 Gen 5, for the first time in about three years. I definitely prefer the balance of the G34 Gen 5 MOS. I shot 999 rounds of Win. L.C. 124gr FMJ 9mm NATO through it… One dud. Tried to fire it three times, it wouldn’t shoot. First bad primer I’ve seen from Win. L.C. 124gr FMJ 9mm NATO. The recoil’s far more noticeable when compared to the G34, which I knew it’d be more noticeable, but surprised at just how much.
Besides the one dud, no issues, which surprised me, as I hadn’t shot it in so long, and it had so many rounds through it before I quit shooting pistols. I can’t group it on paper plates. I can shoot logs, fast and easy, though, shooting logs with the G34’s easier, and faster.
Now the strange thing is I can group the Ruger Mark 4 Standard 6″. I shot about 700 rounds though it. Mostly Browning BPR 40gr LRN-oxide coated, and a mix of CCI Target 40gr CP, and CCI Mini Mag Varmint 36gr CPHP.
Switching between ammo took a little getting used to. The 40gr loads seemed to hit a hair higher than the 36gr. But it seems to prefer the heavier bullets. I think it’s a toss up between the 40gr bullets on Sunday and the Blazer 38gr LRN of last time which groups tighter. The CCI Target 40gr CP was loud, surprisingly, it had a real bark to it, a centerfire type bark. Yet when I switched to the other two loads, they sounded like a typical .22LR.
I did a fair bit of left handed shooting too, using two hands. I’m getting almost as good left handed as I am right handed. Somewhere in the second half of shooting I had a few duds. I wondered if it was getting dirty like before, but, I’d try re-chambered them and nothing. They were few and far enough in between, I’m satisfied it wasn’t the little Ruger, but instead the ammo.
This is definitely the funnest pistol I own. And I’d quickly lost interest in the G17 and the MP15-3 I’d brought along. I’m beginning to think that something’s changed, in terms of my pistol shooting, from before the vision issues began, when I could shoot the G17 just fine, at anything and group on paper too, to now, where I can only seem to group on paper with this little Ruger. And it’s not the trigger, the Ruger’s trigger makes a Glock trigger feel like a nice 1911 trigger- that’s not much of an exaggeration either. I’ve decided I need to try a new type of 9mm pistol, though, that’s going to wait awhile. For now I’ll just go with the little Ruger, till my wallet fattens up a bit and I have a better idea of what my issue is- hand/gun fit or sights, or vision, etc.
As a side note, after the last time out, I’d field stripped the Ruger and soaked it in CLP over night then blew it out with the air compressor. That did it. But after cleaning it, I noticed the blade front sight was loose. A tiny Allen wrench with bit a red Lock Tight fixed it. It didn’t come loose after seven hundred rounds on Sunday.
The MP15-3 did as it always does, it worked. I didn’t group it. I wanted to, but where I was shooting, it was too hard at 100 yards to put up a target and keep it steady. I’ll wait a week or two, and hopefully be able to go to the other spot in the state forest where it’s easy to set up a 100 yard target and keep it steady.
Shot it a lot. All Win. L.C. M855. All at logs, standing still, and on the move. I’m surprised the Vortex Diamondback 3-9x 40mm scope still works. My next AR15 will get a Swarovski for sure. But this one works. I did find three Magpuls had bulged enough that they wouldn’t drop free, any longer, though they fed fine. Yet I have Lancers which are probably seven years old, look like death warmed over, and still feed fine and drop free. I don’t like Magpul mags. Awhile back, I got a batch of ten from Brownells, and none of them dropped free from any of my AR15’s, though they did all feed.
It’s fun being able to shoot pistols again, and, at least with the little Ruger, being able to group them too. The little Ruger’s ammo bill sure doesn’t hurt the wallet like a 9mm Glock either.
Otherwise, the woods were dead. No tracks, or sign. I thought I’d see some sign of life.
Equip, train, pray and never disarm.
Related, https://2awhiterook.com/thoughts-and-observations-from-the-woods-vol-6/
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