Day At The Range

Upon receiving a blue S&W box with goodies inside I preceded to call my shooting buddies excited as if it were Christmas in April. They immediately came to the conclusion, you have another revolver for T&E. I possibly missed out on a good opportunity for a free meal or cash in on a wager. None of them could guess what was inside the blue box. Over the next couple of days I began to send teasing pictures via email.
Day1

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Late in December of 2011 I ordered an Ed Brown Executive Elite from 1911 Heaven. CJ had it in my hands two days later.

The pistol arrived with an Ed Brown Pistol Case, two fired .45 ACP cases, a bottle of Ed Brown Gun Oil, one seven round magazine, and an Allen wrench for the grip screws.

Initial inspection showed a soft matte stainless steel finish. The finish was so smooth it almost appeared to be coated. There were no tool marks visible, and all edges had been softened. It was not a “Carry Melt” – just no sharp edges.

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First Impression

I opened the plastic case and immediately noticed the Ion Bond was different from any other finish I had seen on a firearm. The oil on portions of the slide and frame gave it almost a dark creamy look where the oil concentration was high. Other parts were wet, yet dry looking. The polished slide flats were almost reflective. One mag, manual, 22# and 24# recoil spring and allen wrenches included.

My eyes went immediately to the grip safety, checking for fit. Fusion has gotten alot of bad press due to varying opinions on its grip safety fit. I was pleased to say the least. The transition from black to silver is almost seamless from the sides and blended very well on the underside and flush on the top side. The pistol was dehorned nicely with no sharp edges to be found. I then checked the slide for fit with the frame. I tried to wiggle the slide back and forth over and over and was unable to get it to move…not even a smidgen. It is blended extremely well on the back side with the frame.

I then racked the slide and locked it back, using more strength to do so than I had anticipated. I inspected the barrel throat and frame ramp (non-ramped barrel) and everything looked good. Initial impression: impressed but still anxious to get inside of it and then go shoot it.

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The Gun:

Kimber SIS Ultra, you can read more about why I chose it here: http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=611.

Ammo:

4700 hand loads, 4.7gr. Bullseye under a 230 grain Missouri Bullet LRN.

300 Federal HST +P 230gr.

Maintenance:

Fully cleaned with Ballistol and brake cleaner after every range trip, usually between 200-500 rounds. Lubed with Slide Glide Lite and Shooter’s Choice FP-10. Every 2000 rounds or so, full detail strip and clean. Outer recoil spring replaced every 1800 rounds, inner recoil spring replaced every 3600.
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Discontinued 2010. The Commander Classic Bobtail is a 4.25” series 70 style, commander sized 1911 featuring a stainless steel frame and forged stainless steel slide. Dan Wesson, Colt, Glock and Kimber would all possibly like to lay claims to the resurgence of the 10mm cartridge. Though they all make pistols chambered for this round, the fact of the matter is the 10mm has a cult like following. The 10MM was introduced originally in the Bren Ten and known for being carried by the white jacket wearing Don Johnson in the mid to late 80′s TV series Miami Vice and often referred to as the round the FBI couldn’t handle. With so many pistols chambered for the 10MM now could it be it will finally get the attention it deserves? The 10MM in an all steel compact commander 1911 is the perfect solution for a high powered carry gun. Dan Wesson is most notably known for it’s versatile revolvers often coming with multiple barrels and tools making it easy to change barrel length for different purposes, they’re also known for their strength and accuracy. These revolvers are heavily sought after and have elluded a dayattherange with me. But as luck would have it I have been given the opportunity to drool over and review this gorgeous piece of artwork, yes I said artwork.

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The CZ75B, produced by Ceska Zbrojovka of the Czech Republic designed in 1975.

The long slide rails, with the slide riding within the receiver, is much like the 1949 design of the Sig P210 which is a legend and recently reintroduced by Sig Sauer. The CZ75B sports a 1inch extended frame over the original CZ75 this added support is said to result in enhanced accuracy, and extraordinary durability. There are many reports of extended firings 75,000 to 90,000 rounds of firing without major repair or replacement of major parts.

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Today I took my SR22 to the range with much anticipation. It rained early in the morning and it was still cloudy with a slight wind when I arrived at the range. I brought five different ammo; CCI Standard Velocity, CCI AR Tactical (only had 20 rds available), Federal Auto Match, Federal 550 Bulk Pack, and Winchester 555 Bulk Pack.

SR22 Features
The safety acts as a decocker.
The manual states, it is safe to dry fire. I was very surprised about this.
I’m glad it does not have the loaded red flag like my LC9.
It’s cool that it’s DA/SA.
I replaced the grip to the bigger size.
Disassembly is super easy. To disassemble, clear the pistol then flip down the take down lever located in the trigger area of the slide (you can see it in the pics). Pull the slide all the way to the rear and lift up, The rear of the slide will come up, then slide it forward to clear the barrel. You can then remove the guide rod and recoil spring. That completes the disassembly.
It has a magazine disconnect that disengages the trigger completely.
It comes with two magazines and both have the extended and rounded plates.
You can remove/replace the barrel using an allen wrench.
Rear sights are adjustable for windage and elevation using a small flat screwdriver.
There is no loaded indicator that sticks out like a flag. It has a visual inspection port that is your chamber indicator.
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The two firearms I had with me today at the range are the most popular German Pistols history and the world has known. I have been blessed to relive a little history to see what our Fathers, Grandfathers, and other brave men of America was up against during the two World Wars.

The German Luger and Walther P-38

Of the two the German Luger is probably the most recognizable firearm of in history. The German Luger was used as a sidearm by the Germans in both World War I and World War II though also used by many other countries. The first country to actually adopt the Luger P08 was Switzerland. The German Luger P08 is known as a well balanced and quick pointing pistol. However, the unique angle of the grip is quite different from a Colt 1911 and most semiautomatic pistols making the Luger feel odd to those who are familiar with shooting more conventional pistols. The unique lines and slide mechanism of the Luger have both worked to make the pistol well recognized, but was also known to be problematic (jams) and expensive to produce. The Luger is also known for introducing one of the most popular cartridges to the world, known as the popular 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The P-38 was a replacement for the German Luger with a number of test variants being developed by Walther in 1938. Though the P-38 began development in 1938 this weapon was not adopted by the German Navy until 1940. This pistol was the first lock-breeched pistol to utilize a double action trigger. It is known for being less expensive to produce than the German Luger, less complicated (easy to use) and has a history for reliability. Because of the expansion of the German Army during the war other plants were contracted to make the P-38 the most popular being Muaser, Ceska Zbrojovka and Spreewerke.
The German Luger

The Walther P-38

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Today I got a chance to head out to the range with my SR1911 which I reviewed earlier,SR1911 Review Here.
After this review I received a number of emails asking if I could shoot the SR1911 from a rest to test true accuracy. Many stating in their emails my offhand shooting is no true sign of accuracy. Had I not been called scum bag, slim ball, brick, unsat, nasty recruit and many more names by my Marine Corp Drill Instructors developing thick skin the emails may have hurt my feelings. In an attempt to give the readers something satisfactory I tried to do one better by getting my hands on a

That’s right I was able to get my hands on an old ransom rest, it has a little character but it is in perfect working condition.
Of course me showing up to an indoor range with a ransom rest and clamping it to the bench drew a lot of on lookers. Little did I know there was a CCW class going on at the time back in the classroom with about 40 people in it. After getting all setup I turn around to get my already loaded magazines to find about 60 people crowded behind me watching. Now the pressure is on I hope my prized Ruger SR1911 doesn’t embarrass me. All targets were shot with my reloads
S&B Brass cases
Winchester Large Pistol Primers
Xtreme 230gr Ball Projectile
4.8grains of W231
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