Archive for category Semi Auto Reviews

Most of the readers of my post know that Revolvers are a thing of beauty to me and my preference. Those new readers probably guessed this fact by my blogging handle Mr. Revolverguy. I believe both platforms have its place of deployment and Glock sure has proved that. The Glock has been deployed in many military and police departments around the world. The Glock actually received its beginning with the purpose of filling this exact nitch. Around about 1980, the Austrian military announced they were looking to replace its WWII era Walther P38 pistols. Gaston Glock went to work trying to fulfill this need for the Austrian military but there were many doubts. It said in the Gun World Gaston had no previous knowledge or experience in firearms design but was very knowledgably in advanced synthetics and polymers. Initially Glock was seen as a plastic pistol and there was heavy resistance. Having been present, I still remember the first day my brother-in-law presented his Glock 17 to his father a WWII & Korean War veteran. The look on his face was a priceless moment as well as his words; he informed his son wasn’t it time for him to stop playing with toy guns. Despite the resistance, Glock has commanded respect and has earned 70% of the market share for handguns amongst US Law enforcement agencies. With this review, I will attempt to understand and show why a majority of Law Enforcement Agencies are Glock Fans. Though there are many enthusiasts as with Law Enforcement, there are many adversaries within the civilian community who to this date struggle with the polymer frame, Glocks blocky looks and the grip angle. Which leads us to the Fit&Finish part of the review.

Fit&Finish Grade Excellent

As seen by the picture above this is a Glock 30 Generation 3. There are currently as of 2010 4 generations of the Glock. Third Generation Glocks were introduced with thumb rest on both sides of the frame along with finger grooves on the front side of the rail. Functionally for the 3rd Generation Glock family the locking block was enlarged a load chamber indicator was added as well as a extra cross pin to aid the distribution of forces exerted by the locking block during recoil and return to battery. The tenifer finish Glock uses on its slides has to be one of the hardest most enduring finishes other than those of the stainless revolver I have seen. Witnessing many Glock law enforcement trade ins, which has been, holstered hundreds if not thousands of times with very little wear.
Read the rest of this entry »

So before I get into all the boring text of my review, here’s a pic to keep you interested:

Basically its a 6″, all-steel, full dustcover 2011 with a mag well and a bull barrel chambered in .45 ACP. For you uber gun nerds out there, here’s the full gunbuilder printout:
Read the rest of this entry »

It has been a while since my last review. A very busy schedule as been keeping me from the range as of late. I finally got a chance to visit the range two weeks ago and just couldn’t wait, as it would prove to be a special trip. I had not 1 but 2 Les Baer’s for review. I could not believe I was at the range with such legendary weapons, which had been loaned to me by a dear friend. This is not something I normally do, if one scratch would have ended up on such beauties I would not have been able to live with myself. Though my good friend was comfortable I was not, he had not shot them much and wanted to see what I thought of them. By the picture below you can probably understand why I was so hesitant to take him up on his offer of writing a review on them, beauties they are.

As you can see one of the 1911′s and the first for review is the Les Baer Thunder Range Special 1911 by Les Baer.

Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special 1911

“We needed the best custom 1911 on the market — 100% reliable and reasonably priced. We settled on Les Baer Custom to supply us with that gun because nobody makes a better custom 1911.”
- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch

With this review I will be changing my format a little based on some user feedback I have received from the readers and users of this site. Hopefully this will deliver more of a real world unbias review as well as deliver consistency across all reviews. Myself along with the other authors have agreed on this new format to follow. Each review will consist of a grading for each of the following characteristics.
Ammo Used
Fit & Finish
Handling/Feel In The Shooters Hand
Trigger
Sights
Reliability&Accuracy
Read the rest of this entry »

Some of you may remember an article a few days ago about my new Springfield Armory EMP in 9mm
EMP First Impressions Detailed

Well I finally got a chance to take it out and it was very smooth. Unfortunately it has been rainy and I had to shoot at an indoor range with terrible lighting.
I really couldn’t get a clear sight picture (more on that later) and had a hard time focusing much past 7 yards.

After warming up with some PMP 115gr FMJ, I thought I’d shoot it for a group with my intended carry load, the Ranger 127gr +P+ load.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been looking very hard at the Springfield Armory EMP since its introduction and I just couldn’t resist anymore when i found a new one at a great price from a reputatble dealer in FL. I had to make sure it was on the CA approved roster.

There has been some interest in it lately and i thought I’d post a report and pictures when I finally got it. These are my impressions of the EMP rather than measurements (which you can find elsewhere on the net) or even a range report. I wanted to get some pictures before I took it out to the range and it got dirty. if there is an interest, that will be the subject of another thread.

The EMP has great proportions and the satin black of the frame, sights and hammer, contrasting with the polished slide stop, thumb safety, mag release and Main Spring Housing (MSH) are set off nicely with the bead blasted white trigger, barrel and slide

The EMP is not as small as I imagined. It’s about the same size as my Kahr CW9.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why I chose it:

I’ve been wanting a 3″ 1911 for a while to serve as a quasi-replacement for my PPK/s as a backup and as a primary on the rare occasions that I couldn’t dress around my fullsize 1911. I also prefer SAO guns and want to move that direction with all my SD firearms. I also like the small 1911 as a backup because I’ve found that the 1911 ergonomics and controls are perfect for me, and it would be great to have my SD platform based around, and the mag interchangeability between primary and backup is a plus.

I like heavy guns, so I wanted a steel-frame 3″. As far as I could tell, that left me with 4 options: Springfield GI Compact, Citadel Compact, Kimber Eclipse Ultra and the Kimber SIS Ultra. Front strap checkering is a must, so I was left to choose between the two Kimbers. The SIS won out because I really like the raises sights for belt cocking, the slightly bobbed MSH, (I also prefer serrated MSHs), the Series I safety, the memory bump safety, the stippled grips (stippling or Nill Rhomlas are by far my favorite grip textures), and the solid trigger. The fugly SIS serrations are a downside, but I’m not buying this to be pretty.

Ordering the gun:

This was an adventure all on its own. For those not aware, the SIS line was discontinued for 2010, so whatever was on dealer shelves when I was looking for the gun would be all that’s out there. The first site I found it on required FFL info before you could order. By the time my FFL got his info faxed in, it was out of stock. The second site showed in stock, but when they recieved the FFL info and went to ship it, they didn’t have one, and neither did any of their distributers. I finally scored one on a third site, and for a decent price to boot.

The Gun

Read the rest of this entry »

The Gun:

Les Baer Premier II
1.5″ Guarantee
Adjustable night sights
Bead-blasted hard chrome
Solid trigger
Ordered February 2009, received August 2009

Ammo

200 230gr. Gold Dot
200 230gr. +p HST
9000 230gr cast LRN reloads, loaded with mostly 4.8gr. Bullseye or 6.0 gr. Unique (excluding load development, also one or two thousand were loaded with 6.3 or 6.5gr Unique. 1000 Mastercast bullets, 8000 Missouri)
600 200gr cast SWC reloads, 3.6gr. Bullseye (Lasercast bullets)

Magazines:

Metalform 8 round, traditional metal follower
Metalform 10 round, rounded metal follower
Shooting Star 8 round, traditional metal follower
Baer 8 round, plastic follower
Tripp 8 round, hybrid follower
Tripp 10 round, hybrid follower
Kimber 7 round, traditional metal follower

Maintenance, etc:

18.5# recoil spring changed every 3000 rounds
Firing pin spring changed with every recoil spring (hey, they come with the Wolff recoil springs, so why not?)
Cleaned after every firing (ranging from 200 – 1000 rounds in one session)
Lubed with CLP initially, switched to FP-10
Detail stripped and detail cleaned every 2000 rounds
Mainspring replaced at 10,000 rounds
Read the rest of this entry »

In the year 2000 when S&W released the 952 through the performance center it was billed as the most accurate 9mm in the world. This may have been a true statement if nothing more it is a very bold statement from S&W.

My shooting partner has a keen eye for great deals and great pistols. Having spotted this 952 for way less than the asking price of a new one at $2400.00 it followed him home.

The specs on the 952 are as follows from S&W website.
Model: 952

Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 9+1 Rounds
Barrel Length: 5″
Front Sight: Black Post Sight
Rear Sight: Adjustable
Grip: Wood Grips
External Safety: Slide Mounted
Frame: Large
Finish: Satin Stainless with Matte Accents
Overall Length: 8 3/4″
Material: Stainless Steel
Weight Empty: 41 oz.

Of course by this picture you can see that this one is blued and the finish is very nice.

Read the rest of this entry »

My tax returns were deposited this week so after putting a few grand towards some lingering debt, my wife and I decided to share the remaining $400 for purchases. I choose to get a Ruger LCP with my half, but when I showed up at my FFL he didn’t have any LCP’s. Instead had a nice stainless slide Taurus TCP for $5 less! I’d looked at this gun when I was trying to pick out a pocket gun and liked everything but the brand. Come to find out, Taurus is now making some of their guns completely in the USA, so I gave them a try. I walked out with the little .380, 2 mags, a nifty belt case, and 2 boxes of Prvi Partizan ammo (the guy at the shop said it was decent stuff made by Winchester in Europe).

I went to the range today to shoot the TCP for the first time. The tempature was around 25 degrees Farenheit with low wind. I shot 50 rounds at the 7 yard range. 1 magazine from a rest, and the rest free hand.

My expectations were of many misfires and misses as many have reported from these new .380 minis when they are new. To my dismay, the first shot resulted in a failure to feed! I was very bummed and as I began to rack the slide, I noticed a large amount of blood running down my thumb . Turns out when I tried to take my first shot from a rest, I placed my left thumb over my right thumb and it was severely cut by the slide. I obviously normally don’t hold a pistol this way, but because it was so small I accidentally placed my thumb in a completely wrong spot. After correcting my grip, it was smooth sailing (except for a failure to feed when I limp wristed, but the shot surprised me and I blame myself).

Read the rest of this entry »

Smith and Wesson M&P Fullsize 9mm Review
SN: MPJ (left factory around 10/26)

All photos taken on my LG 8300 Camera Phone (sorry for poor quality)

Well, on the recommendations of those on various forums, I purchased an M&P Full Size 9mm without magazine disconnect or internal lock. For $369 from Bud’s Gun Shop, how could I go wrong?

Box and Package
First thought when I saw the box was how big it was. The box is a standard two clasp big plastic box with foam inside. A nice touch was the foam was cut out for the gun, magazines, and different backstraps.

Aesthetics
The gun isn’t the prettiest gun, but I find it more attractive than a Glock. The fishscale slide serrations are nice and have more grip than straight cut serrations. I like the contoured nose of the slide which makes holstering smoother.

Feel and Ergonomics
If you thought 1911s feel awesome in the hand, you have to try an M&P. The interchangeable backstraps are very well thought out. The gun has the medium on it when you take it out of the box. The small backstrap is very small with the large filling out my hand very nicely. The frontstrap is curved (not squareish like a Glock) so it does not have a 2×4 feel to it. Bravo to S&W to realizing people’s hands are different sizes. This gun allows mass adoption by large organizations and the ability to tailor the firearm to different hands.

The only complaint I have is I wish that the trigger guard was undercut more. After hundreds of draws and shooting the gun, it starts to rub my middle finger raw. This may be due to using the Medium grips instead of larger for my hands however. I keep the medium ones on since it is thinner and seems to help it conceal better.

One major complaint you will hear about Glocks is the grip angle. It is good news to many (including myself) that the M&P points like a 1911. I find myself faster, more comfortable, and more accurate with this grip angle.

Sights
Thankfully, S&W put Novak type sights on the gun. They give a clear sight picture compared to the Glock stock sights. However, the sight picture is not as crisp as a set of Heinie sights of the Warren Tactical Sights. Both companies plan on making M&P sights and the sights are in the prototype stages currently. I am not a fan of dots on the rear so I used the only thing I had near me and tried to black it out. I have found I shoot faster and more accurately with a front dot only set up.

Read the rest of this entry »