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July 17, 2015

Got My Quals Done

I went out yesterday morning with some detectives and qualified with my Mod. 30, my new .380 and also a Remmie 870 shotgun. I haven't done a lot of shooting the past three years, what with surgeries and all, so I was pretty rusty. Luckily it came back quickly and I did well for an "old" guy. We had two ex-SWAT instructors on the range and they did a fantastic job with some live fire training scenarios that truly get you thinking how to react in different situations.

It's been several decades since I was in a position where gun play was imminent and the tactical training has changed. It was fun and instructive. We use segmented 12 ga. ammo that is awesome. It's a 1600 fps slug that is accurate (rifled barrel) up to 100 yards.

There was a minor problem ... I was on my feet for over three hours and experienced some instability/pain in my left knee, the most recent replacement. Walking a bit seemed to relieve it somewhat, standing for long periods is bothersome. This morning it was fine, thank the Lord. No swelling.

I really like the S&W Bodyguard 380 even though it is double action only. I put about 60 rounds through it; the trigger pull is very smooth, the release is fairly crisp (could be better) recoil isn't bad at all and even with a short barrel the accuracy is good up to 15 yards. I didn't bother taking it out to 25 yards as I look at this as a belly gun, close range only. I'm thinking about getting my wife one. The detectives also are issued .380's, the Glock mod. 42. It's a little bigger than the S&W but from what I could see, my Smith shot better, tighter groupings.

I like that it has an active safety, none of the passive safety mechanisms that Glock uses. If you're gonna stick that Glock in your pocket, you'd better have a holster that completely covers the trigger guard.

Does anyone use 90 grain Fiocchi JHP ammo?

3 comments:

Kid said...

FWIW, I really like the Springfield Armory XD, XDM, XDS pistols. I've never had a single issue with one, and the safety is such that there are no levers to move. Grip it and rip it.

I have a .40 4.5 inch which really isn't a CCW weapon, but it does have 16+1 capacity. XDS would be your belly shooter in a .45

I do like the Glocks. I've had issues with the S&W .22 semi and the Bersa .380

As far as shotgun, I think the Weatherby SA08 is a great gun. 6 shot 12 ga semi-automatic.
I figure the less motor skills you need in a situation like this the better no matter how good you are.

Capt. Schmoe said...

Never used the 95JHP, but I used Fiocchi 90 grain ball in a PPKS that I used to carry. Never had any problems with it, but then I never had to shoot anyone with it either.

Doom said...

+1 on the Springfield XD(x) class.
+1 on Capt.'s say, in several calibers... just ball for plinking. Don't know how well their hollow-point opens.

But if you have access to acreage, and a dozen used milk jugs, fill with those with water water and find out. Anything larger that holds water like that would do. I doubt if a .380 would penetrate more than three? That would give you three to four tests. Line them all up and you should at least get a few tests and still be able to find the bullet. A lot of self-defense ammo is hype. But just because it is hyped, or not, means little. Seeing, in my opinion, is believing. More so when you make sure the idiot* doing it isn't cheating the gig.

(*Just a humble admission, on my part, mind you.)

Grats on the shoot. I can't stand long either, more for heart and exhaustion, though leg swell is an extra option as well. Bleh. I might not be able to outpace a bad guy on foot, but I'm pretty sure I can still run him over. :) *vroom! vroom!*