Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The joys of a .22 pistol.....

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Cheap and fun..... and that's the truth.

Today, after closing the store, I headed to the range for some me time. Just the Sig, a lot of .22 ammunition, and an hour to myself. Priceless therapy!

I had intended to experiment with various brands of rimfire ammunition, and did manage to try out four different kinds. That said... the range session quickly degenerated into CCW practice. I put almost 250 rounds down range in an hour, most of it being draw from a holster and double/triple taps.

I started with simple draw and fire at single targets from 25 feet. That led to multiple targets, and moving closer soon happened. I ended up at 'across the counter' range, what I would most likely see in the store. I tried two handed, one handed, across to my left, straight out to my right, and even behind me with my head turned.

A funny thing happened along the way, and I didn't pick up on it until I analyzed my actions. Among the 250 rounds, I had one that did not fire on the first strike. Without thinking about it I used the Sig Mosquito's double action to hit it again, and it fired. Now, I normally carry a Smith M+P and that does not have a second strike capability. I should have done a tap and rack drill at that misfire. Instead, acting instinctively, I just pulled through and tried again. Hmm..... and it felt as natural as can be. I didn't even realize I had done it till later.

I think I need to move to a Sig Sauer for my CCW carry piece. I'm liking the way they fit and function.

Oh... of the ammunition I tried, only the standard velocity Remington target gave me failures to feed. All the rest was HV and functioned flawlessly, even the hollow point stuff.

I enjoyed the inexpensive after work range session, and I'll do it again every chance I get from now on. It's a great stress reliever, and I can almost feel my skills getting better :-)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've looked at the Mosquito a few times. Thanks for the write-up! I've got an itch for a Sig, that I'm gonna need to scratch one of these days.

Anyway, you are right about it being a good stress reliever. Nothing better than some recoil therapy.....

lucy said...

I am very intrigued by this little piece of plastic. Had the hubby look at your write up. Did some additional research. 12lb trigger pull on the double action a bit heavy though. Still...........

Mongo said...

Lucy,

Clearly, I need to drive mine out there so you try it out (g).

Yes, the trigger pull is pretty heavy on double action, especially for a light pistol. On single action, it's a little rough but not too heavy.

The thing is, it's not a target pistol, but it gets lumped in and judged like one. I find that in defensive practice I almost don't notice the heavy trigger pull. I'm concentrating on movement, sight picture, and all the other details of drawing and firing smoothly.... that the actual trigger pull kind of fades a bit.

It's a plastic pistol, and that's no exaggeration. I can't say how long it will last.... and I'm going to try and wear it out :-)

freddyboomboom said...

2 polymer pistols that I know of that are true double action, with second strike capability are:

Walther P99 AS. The QA and DAO versions may also, but I know the AS does as I have one. Striker fired.

Beretta PX4. The F and G models have exposed hammers, but one is a decocker with safety and the other is decocker only. There is a newer variant that has a modified hammer, and I believe it to be DAO, but I'm not sure on that.

Both come in full size and compact models.

I have the full sized ones, and haven't completed the 2000 round without cleaning torture test of my PX4, so haven't carried it. But the full sized P99 in .40 S&W is fine for CCW with my 6 foot, 250 pound frame.

Your mileage will vary, Mongo.

Classic movie line: "Mongo like candy! BOOM!"