Survival and Emergency Preparedness

Got the opportunity to hit the range today with my son. Very good time. Here is a synopsis of the trip.

HK USP 45: What can I say but 'WOW'! Even with the +P it was a pleasant shooting pistol and I was more than satisfied with the accuracy and how it handled. The DA was very smooth and the SA of course was even smoother. Ran the target between 7-10 yards for this range session, shooting the little target in the upper left hand corner. Seemed to be very accurate with the HST+P and at least for now this will be my defense load in this pistol. Many holes touching and most covered with the palm of my hand. This was with both DA and SA fire as quickly as I could get the front sight back on target. No issues. The only negative I have right now is that the mag release definitely needs to be replaced with the enhanced version like I did with the P2000 and USPc. But looking at the HK Parts website last night, that little piece of plastic shot up from $19.99 to $49.99 which is completely stupid. I'm not going to pay $50+ for a piece of plastic.

HK USP compact: I shot both the 40 S&W and 357sig barrels. Both were very pleasant to shoot in this platform. Really enjoyed both calibers. Accuracy was excellent, however, I was shooting slightly to the left. I just changed the stock sights to night sights and I need to drift the front sight just a hair to the left. I have a sight pusher so I'll push it over a hair and check it out next week. But very happy with the new 357sig barrel. No issues with either caliber. I'll be carrying it normally with the 40 S&W barrel as I prefer that to 357sig. But it's nice to have a 3-in-1 pistol. I'm glad I got the enhanced mag release from HK Parts when it was still $19. Did I mention how stupid it is to charge $49 for that part?

Taurus G3: First shots with the new G3. Physically the G3, with the 15-round mag, is about the same size as my Glock 19.5FS. Assuming the G3 is weighed with an empty mag it's about 1.5 ounces heavier than the G19FS. As much as I like my G19FS I like the grip angle of the G3 a bit better. Texturing is aggressive but not too aggressive. It feels less aggressive than either of the G2 models I've owned.

Accuracy was fine. I had one hiccup with WWB 147gr JHP feeding. This could be because the pistol was new, or maybe it doesn't like this particular ammo. To be fair, I've had issues in other makes of pistols with WWB 147gr JHP. Other than the one hiccup the rest of the box ran just fine, even under rapid fire. All other rounds ran fine. I'm planning on a return trip to the range on Monday to check the sights on my HK USPc after I moved them a hair. I plan to shoot another box or two of the WWB 147gr JHP to determine if the gun doesn't like that ammo or if it was just a break-in hiccup. I also want to shoot some standard pressure 115 JHP's as well and see how it does with them.

The mag release is functional but small. I prefer the one on the Gen 4 and 5 Glocks as it's a bit larger. Not terrible, just not as large. Uses the very excellent Mec-Gar magazines.

Sights are smallish and I can see changing them out for a set of inexpensive Glock night sights. That's a nice perk that the G3 uses Glock sights. Mags loaded up full without issue. Safety engaged properly like it should and even under rapid fire drills the thumb safety never accidentally engaged. The trigger, imo, is better than any of the G2's I've owned. The wide dingus felt good, never pinching the finger. The take up was fine until the wall and then had a crisp break. The reset was short, very similar to Glock. If I were blind folded and you me switched back and forth between a G3 and a Glock 19 I would be able to tell the difference from the feel of the trigger but not in a negative way towards either. Simply because of the wider dingus. Reset was very similar and provided the same quick and accurate follow up shots. I'd like to see how it smooths out as I put more rounds through it. For $259 I'd say it's a win.

Ruger LCP II: Very pleased with this little pistol. This pistol is definitely softer shooting that the LCP! I shot this pistol last, after running 45+P, 40 S&W, 357sig and 9mm. Yet it didn't hurt my hand like the LCP has in the past. With the LCP I've had to put the Hogue Handall grip and the base plate extension to make it comfortable enough to shoot more than a box. And those mods did work. But with the LCP II I have no grip and the 7-round extended mag added enough surface for a full three finger grip. I blew through a box of 50 FMJ and a bunch of HP's to test for function and all fed without issue. I'll have to get use to the trigger as it is different that the LCP which has that long DA pull. This one is definitely easier. Accuracy was superb for what can be expected of a pistol this size. Very pleased with it. All of a sudden my wife is saying she wants to carry the pink, muddy girl camo LCP though because I already have it set up with a laser and such. So that will make the LCP II my around-the-house pocket carry pistol which I'm fine with. It will be loaded up with Fiocchi XTP same as the LCP.

Taurus G3

I had my second range session with the G3 on Monday. I shot some more WWB 147g JHP. Between the two range days I shot 100 rounds of this type ammo and had two FTF. As I mentioned above, I've had issues with this ammo before in other pistols over the years. So I can't say definitively that it was solely the fault of the Taurus. Others have noted in the past that the OAL of WWB 147 has a random difference here and there. So was it a couple of rounds out of a hundred with a longer OAL? I don't know. I can say the other 98 rounds were boringly reliable and accuracy was more than adequate.

No hiccups with 124+P Gold Dots or Remington UMC 115 JHP. And of course all the ball ammo ran smooth.

I detail stripped it down after the second session. Dirty but nothing unexpected was found. I did note that the lug the RSA fits into was very beefy. A lot longer than say a comparable Glock.



Taurus G3 with grey frame and 17-round mag. The mag release is smallish, similar to earlier models on Glock. A bigger one would be nice, similar to the Gen4/5 of Glock.




Sights on the G3 are on the smallish side. They are doable but larger would be better. Fortunately you can use Glock night sights as viable replacements.





Frame.




Slide and RSA.







Trigger is definitely 'Glockish'. Some may like it better in that the dingus is wider than on Glock (the dingus pinches the finger for some people after a range session with Glock because it's thinner). This is not a match trigger, but for a SD firearm it's fine. Has a distinctive wall and short reset. For $259 it's gonna be hard to beat imo.

HK USP and HK45 are both extremely well loved in the 45 community.

As for the G3 - I don't love it. But I can't hate either.

Had another range session this afternoon with five different pistols including the G3. In addition to shooting it myself there were three women that I was teaching that shot the Taurus. They liked it fine. I did note that it’s subject to limp writing as it choked a couple of times on one of the woman. I readjusted her grip a bit and no further issues.

Accuracy continues to be more than acceptable for defensive use despite the smaller dots on the sights. I thought about getting an inexpensive set of Glock night sights but the pistol is sorta just and extra ‘just because it was inexpensive and I wanted to see it for myself’ pistol. So I might just leave the sights as-is. We’ll see.

In addition to the G3 at the range on Monday, the woman loved the S&W 380EZ. So much so that one of the women bought one after the range session. She is one of the ones I taught a CCW class to a couple of years ago. She finally made the decision to purchase and I was glad to see it. They probably put 150 rounds give or take through my wife's EZ. It was also nice because me wife was really the primary one showing them how it operated. I'm a firm believer that you learn as you teach and/or gain personal experience as you teach so it was a real confidence booster for her. My wife still prefers the EZ to any other pistol for personal use.

Not of them cared for either the LCP or LCP II which really isn't surprising. Even with the extended grips on both they still hated the recoil. I still very much like both and particularly the LCP II now that I've had a few range sessions with it. Did some one-handed shooting at around 7-yards and was very pleased with the shot group. I could have covered all the shots with the palm of my hand and that is plenty accurate enough for one-handed shooting with such a small pistol. The wife still figures she'll tuck the little pink LCP in her purse for emergencies. I'm going to try to convince her to just carry the EZ all the time. She is so much better with it and has so much more trigger time with it.

She was actually very accurate with both the G3 and 19X but prefers her EZ. After seeing her shoot the 19X (which is the second one I just picked up last week) I decided to make that her night stand pistol. So basically we have his & hers 19X's on nigh stand duty. This also gives her 20 rounds on tap which is comforting.

The G3 is basically an extra pistol with no assigned roll. And that's fine. We picked it up simply because it was so cheap. I decided to not even clean it for the time being to see how long it goes without starting to choke. I guess a little mini torture test. Unless I break down and decide to just clean it. Could make a good 'garage' gun at the work bench to have on hand while I'm out cleaning other pistols or whatever. Of course, I'd have the LCP II in my pocket.

Hit the range today. [NOW WITH PICTURES]

Smith & Wesson Victory: Just an awesome gun period! Love the green front sight, accurate little beast, worked great! I honestly WOULD feel comfortable dumping five rounds face into someone's eye sockets with it if I had to defend myself.

Walther PPS: Need to shoot it more. Still, after not have shot for a while, I put 50 rounds minute of COM at 5yds.

Ruger .357 Blackhawk: I can shoot it well enough to hit the middle of whatever roughly. And with the thump that thing puts out...that'll be enough! Only six rounds so 1 per customer, but like I said, that'll do.

Pics later...I saved a few.

Also shot a friends S&W M&P 9mm full size today. Worked like I thought it would. Would recommend.

So I haven't had the Walther out in a bit. Shot 50 ads of something called DTX or DTR. Whatever...Looks like I'm pulling the trigger a bit. I need to find a large backstrap somewhere. Got this at a pawn shop - didn't have one.

Was I happy? At 5yrds no! Did it work, would it have been a bad day for someone? Yeah. Really need to up the skill on this. Saw a vid where a guy had all 8 rounds touch at that range. Grrrrr!!!!

Now - the SA Blackhawk...I still need to develop a feel for that beast. But man, 158gr soft points. There is some serious thump there. Any one of these would have ruined someone's day, if not entire life...

Need to tweek the rear site a bit to the right

And the S&W .22 Victory

Need to tweek the site a bit to the left

Range day is always a good day. Keep trying and you'll get where you want to be.