Range Reports

[Airbrush Artist]

If anyone needs or wants a inexpensive, reliable ,Accurate $230 Handgun maybe this will help -SCCY CPX-2 Lifetime warranty, a Amazing firearm, I'm really Impressed. I started out at 20ft. ended at 40 ft. -NO FTF or FTE...https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hph ... 7113_n.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[curmudgeon3]

Good to see you found an EDC gun you're confident with.

[Stryker74]

Kel-Tec PMR-30, .22WMR

I was able to acquire a Kel-Tec PMR-30 a few days ago at Fin, Feather, and Fur Outfitters in Ashland, OH (via a Gunbroker auction). MSRP is still listed as $415, with old sales info generally showing $499. I paid $610 for this, which was reasonable to me considering the supply of these handguns has been very low the past couple of years.

Description

The particular handgun I purchased was in the Olive drab color, and was factory new. It came with the hardside case, 2 30-round magazines, safety lock, and manual. The hardside case has stiff molded foam with cutouts of the gun and a magazine.

The frame and slide are made of steel, while the frame is aluminum. All other parts on the outside are polymer (Zytel). This combo makes for a surprisingly light handgun - especially when you consider the bulky look of the 4.3" barrel and large grip. There is a Picatinny rail under the barrel, and there are mounting screws on the slide for mounting a red dot optic (Kel-Tec sells an adapter plate).

The large grip accommodates 30-round magazines, which are double stack for the .22WMR rounds it fires. These magazines are made from the same Zytel polymer as the grip. Initially, the magazines are difficult to load the fill 30 round capacity. I was only able to consistently fill to about 25 rounds. Also, Kel-Tec recommends that you tap the back of the magazine on a firm surface after loading every few rounds. This seems to help seat the rounds a little better into the magazine, and eases the loading process a bit. The magazine loads similar to many rifle magazines, with an opening near the front to accommodate the rim of the cartridge, so that you push the cartridge down and then back into the magazine.

The guns weighs in at just under 14 oz. empty, and Kel-Tec reports a fully loaded magazine adds 6 oz. - so we are talking just over 1 lb. Not getting into the effectiveness of a .22WMR round debate, from a pure weight perspective this would be a nice carry weapon for those days you are dressing light.

Kel-Tec offers a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser of the gun as well.


Firing

The PMR-30 has almost no recoil, even considering it does shoot a magnum round out of such a light gun. I was shooting against a target that listed the assumed reasons for not hitting the bulleye/center. My initial results were that I was pushing or anticipating recoil a little too much (high and left). After working to correct that, I started trying to reacquire the sight picture quickly after each shot - which introduced another problem in my technique. I found that I was distorting my grip, and tightening too much in order to try to gain better control - which was then pushing my shots too low and to the left again.

By the end of my range time with it, and about 200 rounds down the pipe - I was back to (mostly) hitting the center of the target again. This allowed me to concentrate on the mechanics of the gun, and what was happening with each shot. First of all, there is a significant muzzle flash with every shot. At times, it even felt as if I were feeling a blow back of powder from some rounds. I was shooting CCI Maxi-mags, at a standard velocity of 1875 ft/s during this outing. I did switch between round nose and hollow-point to see if there was any difficulty feeding (there was none), but both types were the same brand and velocity.

The trigger is a crisp 4-6 pound pull, with a great snap at the break point. This provides a good tactile feedback on the pull, break, and reset of the trigger. I have shot some small .22LR handguns that seem to have a mushy trigger with little tactile response - so I was quite pleased with how this trigger felt while shooting.

The sight picture is of a pair of orange fiber optics at the rear sight, and a green fiber optic on the front dovetail sight. This allows for some adjustment for windage, but at the indoor range - the sights seemed to aligned well for me.

The .22WMR rounds are certainly fun to shoot out of this gun. The limited recoil allows for an easier recovery of the sight picture after the shot - though I found that the muzzle flash can be a bit bright after each shot. I did have a few FTF's - but I was able to determine that was due to improper seating of the round into the magazine. In all cases, a quick tap&rack would clear the issue and allowed me to keep firing.

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Overall, this is a fun gun to shoot. The muzzle flash, and the fact that you get 30 bangs out of each magazine draws a little attention at the range. I have seen others complain about the magazine release being at the heel of the grip (and bumping it while shooting), but that presented no problems for me. The magazines are difficult to load in the beginning, but I found them to be getting a bit easier each time I loaded.

My biggest complaint is not even with the gun, but rather with the fact that .22WMR is now a seemingly rare commodity. While there were tons of it 3-6 months ago, most places are having problems keeping it in stock. Fin, Feather, and Fur had 50 rounds that I bought when I picked the PMR-30 up. A stop at Cabela's was fruitless, but I finally got 8 boxes at BlackWing Shooting Center when I went to try it out.

[carmen fovozzo]

Nice report thanks....Trying to find one myself...

[Brian D.]

Citadel 9mm 1911, 5" barrel

That's my latest firearm acquisition. Rural King was running them on special for about $350 a couple weeks back. Made by the same folks as the Rock Island Armory handguns.

This one came with Novak style plain black sights, front and back both in dovetails for easy adjustment/replacement. Two 9 round magazines that look like Metalforms are included. Extended beavertail grip safety, ambidextrous thumb safety, full length steel guide rod. The last two features are by no means vital to me but the thumb safety seems fitted nicely and operates positively, and the guide rod can be changed out for the standard style easily enough if desired.

The barrel has a built in feed ramp, which is desirable for any 1911 chambered for shorter-than-.45 acp rounds. (Long story short the built in ramp aids in reliability with such non-original chamberings of 1911s.) The barrel uses a regular bushing up front, so its outer diameter is like on a .45. This adds some weight up top and helps manage recoil a bit.

Been much impressed by the accuracy and reliability so far. Had to tweak the rear sight to the left a tad and then put a drop of Loctite on the allen screw before replacing it. No reason to think the sight won't stay put as long as needed.

As alluded to earlier the recoil of a full-weight 1911 in 9mm is pretty tame, so given whatever loads such a gun "likes" it will make for an easier time getting good groups and quicker follow up shots throughout a match or practice session.

I believe Rural King (and probably other vendors who regularly stock RIA/Citadel guns) still have them on sale. Day I was there (Lebanon location) I snagged the last one there, but the clerk said they'd be getting more. As she said they try not to follow the business model of "We love to advertise great prices on stuff we don't have!"

[Brian D.]

Okay, a quick addendum to the report on the Citadel just above:

I got to about the 400 round mark pretty quickly because I was enjoying the heck out of shooting this heavyweight, light recoil 1911. Didn't bother to clean it between range sessions. It started not pulling empties completely out of the chamber. This, honestly, is something that should be watched for with any semi auto, but I'll admit it happens to many 1911's sooner or later.

The extractor needed more tension, which is the most frequent culprit I believe. As in other such times I polished it a bit too while it was out of the gun. It seems to bend a bit easier than a good old spring steel Colt/G.I. (or similar quality) extractor, hence I'll keep an eye on it. Also I will shop for an upgrade replacement from such a "known" source while at OGCA this weekend.

Bottom line is the tweaking worked just fine, and the gun is up and running 100% again. And yes, after done firing it this time, the thing got cleaned. Not that it was filthy, but a gummy chamber sure doesn't improve extraction and over all reliability.

[Brian D.]

Glock Model 42, .380 acp

Yeah I hopped on this particular bandwagon a month or so ago, wanted to give the gun a good bit of trigger time before posting a report. Well, we're there now so here goes:

This one happened to be a very low-miles trade in. Previous owner had put a Pierce extended floor plate on one of the two magazines, so I got to try it out in both configurations, and had a couple of friends give it whirl in the same fashion. All of us agree that the extender makes a world of positive difference in shooting and fast handling. The pinky extender does make the gun a just a wee bit taller, but it seems to go in and out all of my front pants pockets just fine regardless. I've been told that Glock will soon be shipping the G-42 with such magazine extenders already installed, or at least included in the box. So, if that's true, it wasn't just my opinion about the flat base magazines leaving too much grip OFF the gun.

Everything else I can think of about this gun is completely good. Reliable, accurate, and the trigger is typical Glock, albeit a shorter reach to it than on any of their other models. Whatever replacement/upgrade parts anyone else* might desire to add are either coming on line in the marketplace already, or will be soon. Entire herds of cows are being slaughtered, and kydex forests are being clear cut, to provide holsters for this new offering. For now mine is front pocket carried in an Uncle Mike's nylon pocket liner that I already owned.


* Okay I had one of the gun show Glock doctors pop on some Ameri Glo tritium sights on mine after a couple of weeks, but only because they were kinda-sorta on sale.

[GAinHubbard]

H&K VP9

Got to take my new gun to the range today. The Vp9 came out of the box with the medium back strap and side panels installed. After the first magazine through the gun my trigger finger was getting pinched. I had heard this affected some shooters and it kind of bummed me out a bit. I decided to install the large back strap and shoot another magazine. WOW what a difference. No trigger bite and the gun was rock solid in my hands. The grip design/ergonomics of this gun is really well done. If the back strap wasn't able to be changed to lengthen my trigger reach I wouldn't have been able to shoot it comfortably. I may play further with different side panels as well but just for fun as the gun fits my hand great right now.

Accuracy was better than I can do. Here is 15 rounds from just about 10 yards....

When I sat down and shot from the bench the groups tightened up a bit more. Not bad for me with a gun for the first time.

The model I got came with factory Meprolight Night Sights. I really like them. The sight picture is not too loose or too tight for how I shoot. They glow like mad in the dark as well - very bright. When I shot I had to cover the target with the front sight, it's not a six o' clock hold. I'm looking to get these sights installed on my glock 26 soon, that's how much I like them.

The trigger pull is very nice.... verrrry nice. Very light take up with a hint of grit if you're looking for it then it hits a wall and breaks clean. Way better than my glock trigger as well as my XD trigger. I think I like the glock reset a bit better, perhaps just because I've got a lot more rounds with it. I'm not much of a trigger snob all my guns have stock triggers but this one is a nice bump up from my other striker fired guns. It does not touch my Dad's Kimber though .

On the rear of the slide there are these little ears which the manual calls "charging supports". I did not think I would like them, but I kinda do. They don't get in the way being there and I don't really remember using them at the range. However when I switched over and started shooting my XD45 I did notice the lack of them if that makes sense. Also during cleaning and re-assembly when your hands are coated in CLP they are nice to have. Sure they kinda look funny, but are quite functional.

I put 75 124gr NATO rounds and 25 rounds of 124gr Speer Gold Dot through it today. There were no malfunctions at all. I don't shoot 115 gr so I can't comment on that. I plan on putting 500 more rounds though it next week and if it' still 100% I'll put it on my hip. It is just slightly bigger than a glock 19 so it is very concealable for me. I have no problems hiding my XD45 full size. The gun does carry well in an old holster. I am waiting on a Milt Sparks VM2 which is what I carry my glock in and what I'm used to.

This was just a get to know the gun range trip today. I'll wring it out next week and see how it fares.

Just throwing this on here in case anybody was wondering about these guns.

[Bama.45]

Took the AR out and zeroed the sights in... Had a good shooting session... Got to teach my stepson and his cousin firearms safety and how to shoot... Also had my fiancé shooting... First shot with the AR, she was half an inch left of bullseye at 50 yds shooting a 25 meter AR sight zero target... I was really excited for her.

[Imcrazy]

Springfield Armory XDs 9mm 4.0

Picked up a duo tone XDs 9mm at The Fin last weekend. Took it out for 200 rounds of 125 LRN on Wednesday night, and 100 rounds on Saturday plus two mags of 147 grain HST. All rounds ran flawlessly Trigger is good, ergo's are good, recoil is tame, carries comfortably. All it needs is some night sights! Got three extra mags via mail in rebate which made the $449 price even better.

[Bama.45]

Went to the range today and fed some Tula steel .223..My Stag ate them with no problems..I'm quite surprised and pleased

[concreteguy]

Went to the range today and fed some Tula steel .223..My Stag ate them with no problems..I'm quite surprised and pleased

Wish I could say the same thing. I had 4 failures out of 40 rounds. Primers well dented but didn't fire. I've fired several hundred rounds of 9mm and 40sw and never had a problem with those, but 1 out of 10 in 223 is not worth the price savings.

[welshj]

Had a friend come over to the house last weekend to shoot a bit.
Said he was bringing a couple of his kids who had new guns and wanted to site in/familiarize themselves with them.

Wound up with three cars and eight or nine people!
Was fun to see reactions of the kids when I demonstrated how minimal the ar15 recoil was. (Crotch stock placement!)
The girls were kind of scared of it at first... Then one proceeded to out shoot her brother.

Pulled a few of my toys out, and all total had probably 20 or so pistols and rifles going in turns.
Fun day.

Glad my neighbors are cool. I texted a warning we were firing before we started-
Only question I got in return was when could they come over to shoot?

[Voice]

Ruger AR-556

Had the chance to take my brand new Ruger AR-556 out to the range for its first function test and get it sighted in. I only had time to put 80 rounds down range, but it performed flawlessly (except that it forgot to remind me to flip the safety off twice )

I don't have a lot of practice shooting a rifle, and this is noticeably heavier than my 10/22, but I was able to manage reasonably nice groups of about 3-4" at 25 yards standing. I did have to completely hide my target behind the front blade (I think they sight it to 50 yards at the factory), but horizontal was pretty much dead on, and I can easily attribute any inaccuracy to my own lack of skills, and stability at this stage.

Took it home and cleaned it for the second time. Getting more confident with the assembly/disassembly, but probably need to revise some of my procedures a bit.

[TSiWRX]

I did have to completely hide my target behind the front blade (I think they sight it to 50 yards at the factory)....

I found the targets from this thread useful, from AR15.com -

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_18/52984 ... AK_47.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;