Went To The Range

Went to the range yesterday -- Marion County Fish and Game, that is. The place was busy; the pistol end of the main range was just about full and the shotgunners, etc. were busy at the other end (25 yard targets and up, says Tam). In between, there are two-three trap setups, which weren't in use; however, the two "new" pistol bays (three years old now) were fully occupied.

I had three revolvers to check out and I'm pleased to say they all work very well. The lane I was on didn't have a target holder but the berm was well-littered with broken bits of Day-Glo orange clay: free reactive targets!

The H&R High Standard .22 9-shooter was remarkably pleasant to shoot, with little felt recoil. At short range (10 yards), it shot right to point of aim. Nice big sights and comfortable in the hand: it's a keeper! DA trigger pull is long but fine. Tried SA once but that's not what I bought the gun for.

The Colt Police Positive (.38 S&W) had barely more recoil; it's small in the hand and the sights are vestigial. The grip is okay and the sights weren't a problem in bright sunlight -- ka-pow! More broken clay. DA trigger pull is fine, SA is firm. Wish the ammunition was cheaper. A little cold blue (or flat black, unaesthetic though it would be) on the sights would help.

The Colt Official Police (.38 Spl.). Oh, boy! With Tam's old Brass Kings reloads, the recoil is no worse than the other two; the sights are good-sized and the DA pull is smoooooooth. And it's accurate even in my revolver-inexperienced hands. In no time, I was chasing ever-smaller bits of orange around the berm; to line up on a chunk was to break it, nine times out of ten. When they talk about "Colt's legendary DA trigger feel," this is what they're on about.Between times, I shot my Ruger Mark II (on the grab-bag .22 I've ended up with, something of a jammomatic. Seriously, who makes really good .22 LR? 'Cos what I've got, a mix of Remington, Winchester and I Forget, ain't makin' it happy.)

I also shot Tam's loaned-for-review Rimbaud SpaFon Rumspringa Boberg XR9S. It's a pocket 9 that shoots like a pocket .380 -- and uses the nifty engineering (last seen in the Gabbet-Fairfax Mars, a century ago) that yanks cartridges from the magazine backwards, resulting in a lot more barrel length in the slide. DA pull is okay, a little longer than my revolvers but not rough or "stack-y" and I was able to get 'em close to where I was aiming. (Real target for this). It's winter and my fingerprints are about slicked away, so I'd've like more aggressive texturing on the grips and front strap but that's a quibble. I will save up for one of these: it's a good gun and I would have no qualms about replacing the Colt Pony I often carry with a Boberg. While both the Boberg and the Mars use a rotating barrel to lock the breech, I feel obliged to point out that unlike its distant cousin, which tended to eject brass right at the shooter's face, the Boberg throws spent brass politely off to the side.

I also had occasion to try Tam's Remington 51 and Bayard 1908. I didn't shoot well with the Remington, which has a short, hard trigger pull and might do better with a classic one-hand grip and stance. The Bayard 1908, a .380 very nearly the same size as this century's Kel-Tech P3AT (!), was supposed to have nasty recoil: not feelin' it. Oh, it's snappy, and the slide velocity is simply freaky-quick, but recoil is no worse than most pocket .380s, better than many and the gun itself is smaller than all except the 3AT. It was easy to achieve and maintain a good grip, too, which can be a problem with a tiny firearm. Disassembly is somewhat alien (the front sight retains the recoil spring!) but I wouldn't shy away from shooting one of these again.

All in all, a good trip to the range on an unseasonably nice day. --Anyone who thinks the shooting hobby is on the wane is wrong; MCF&G was a small, sleepy club for years and has seen a huge increase in membership. They've put the money right back into facilities, from the two new bays to new windows for the clubhouse and, literally, a new "facility:" a nice new washroom! (Ask around. There are similar happenings most places.)