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Two New Handguns

Discussion in 'Tilted Weaponry' started by Chris Noyb, Dec 30, 2017.

  1. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    Mine is in hand, the other is on hold waiting for my wife's background check which was delayed, as expected, because she's a resident alien. I chose a Ruger American, 9mm, full size. Hers will be the Ruger SR9C, a concealed carry sized 9mm.

    I'd do links and provide more info, but I really dislike the hassles involved in posting from my phone.


    Once her BC clears we'll go to the range and try at least three brands of ammo. More posts to follow.
    --- Double Post Merged, Dec 30, 2017, Original Post Date: Dec 30, 2017 ---
    IMAG00301.jpg IMAG00300.jpg
     
  2. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I hope it shoots well upside down.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. MeltedMetalGlob

    MeltedMetalGlob Resident Loser Donor

    Location:
    Who cares, really?
    Relevant:
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    Nice!
    Do you already own handguns or are these your first?
     
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I own several handguns and rifles, I posted a list here at TFP. The only semi-auto I own, until yesterday, is a Ruger Mark II Target .22. About 35 years ago I owned a Browning HiPower 9mm.

    The two new guns will require some re-learning and practice. We basically stopped shooting the Mark II once I found out it's a collectors item.
    --- Double Post Merged, Dec 31, 2017, Original Post Date: Dec 31, 2017 ---
    I'm not a big CVD fan, but I love the Cyborg movie.
     
  6. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    I have that exact same Ruger .22.
    And I'm old school, still prefer to shoot a revolver over semi-auto. My favorite is still my stainless Security Six .357 .
     
  7. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    This is a weird coincidence, I have a Ruger Security-Six, .357, SS, 6" barrel.
    --- Double Post Merged, Dec 31, 2017, Original Post Date: Dec 31, 2017 ---
    The American isn't a huge or light gun compared to some full sized high capacity 9s, but it isn't exactly a carry model either.

    Since my wife and I plan to get CHLs, I might need look at something more compact, but that will be way down the road. I have a Taurus M85 (model # ??) that would be easy to conceal. Of course the huge tradeoff is 17 + 1 SA vs 5 revolver. I tease my wife that we'll trade guns; she gives me her NFW look.
     
  8. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    This has very little to do with the new pistols (still waiting to hear re my wife's SR9C).

    I decided check and possibly oil a couple of our 'older' pistols in anticipation of heading to the range very soon. I field stripped the Ruger Mark II Target, had watch a couple of YouTube bids. The disassembly was a bit tough because of some very tight tolerances, and it has been shot very little.

    The reassembly was a major PITA. The combination of tight fits, how certain parts have to be positioned just so, and getting some aligned perfectly, caused me to watch the videos numerous times.

    That's what I get for treating it like a collectors item, instead of shooting it and learning it.
     
  9. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    My was cleared.

    We're been to the indoor range near us twice. On the first visit we took all of our handguns, basically to get a feel for the American and the SR9C, and to use up some old ammo. We have a nearly full 500 round brick of 'old' CCI .22 that needs to be finished.

    Last night we shot nearly 300 rounds of 9, and a bit over 200 rounds of .22. More practice is needed, but we are getting more comfortable with the new Rugers. The plus & minus is my wife now wants her own .22, a Ruger Mark IV. The Ruger 22/45 (it's not a conversion model) is super lightweight, but looks like movie prop.

    I'm being asked to help with dishes and breakfast. More later!
     
  10. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    Re the old ammo......

    We had .38, .357, & .22. I wasn't worried about shooting it because we used revolvers. On our first trip to the range I tested the .22 ammo in an old, but sound, Iver Johnson eight shot revolver. After 24 rounds I then tested it in the Mark II; it fired & cycled with no problems. We still have a few more boxes to use up. I did buy a fresh 550 brick of .22 hollowpoints, and they feed & cycle fine in the Mark II.

    ----------------------------------
    The SR9C with the 17 round clip with the grip extender is very comfortable to shoot. Neither of us cares for the 10 round clip with the pinky extender. It's not horrible, and makes sense for CC, but just feels weird after shooting the 17 round clip. Another factor is my wife doesn't have small hands. It came with a very useful clip loading tool, we're going to buy another one.

    I like the hefty feel of the American, but I'm not sold on the lack of a manual safety. It has a small view port to check for a chambered round, and has a side indicator you can feel, which would be very useful in the dark or a grab-and-be-ready-to-shoot situation.

    Noteworthy: The cost of the 9mm ammo we shot last night was around 65-70 dollars. The range fee was $10.00 for me (ladies shoot free on Mondays). I can definitely see us getting a second .22 semi-auto, just not anytime soon.

    If you're wondering about the gun prices.....the Ruger American 9 was on sale at Academy for $429.00, the SR9C was regular price $399.00. I was OK buying from Academy, but a real deal gun store with knowledgeable staff might be better for a complete new newbie.
     
  11. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    As you get used to the disassembling and reassembling a firearm, it should get easier. Right?

    Not so with the Mark II Target. When it takes two people and a dowel to disassemble it, and a metal rod (a screwdriver in my case) to reassemble it, that's way too much effort.
     
  12. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    We might be taking CHL classes very soon. Updates to follow.

    ------------------------------------------

    I re-researched the Ruger Mark II Target. It's a special run of 2,000 done for Outdoor Sports (OS) in '89, model MK512S. The frame is stainless, the slide is black (blued), this makes the sights much more visible. Ruger did this on the pistols they provided to the US Olympic Shooting Team, and they did a limited run of 2,500 USOST models for the public around the time they did the the OS models. Despite the limited numbers, the MK512S isn't especially valuable, although used it could bring enough to cover the cost of a new Mark IV Target.
    --- Double Post Merged, Mar 6, 2018, Original Post Date: Mar 6, 2018 ---
    I left out the small rubber mallet needed to remove and reinstall the slide.
     
  13. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    My wife is waiting for her clearance so that she can pick up her new Ruger Mark IV Target. Academy had still has the blued model on sale for $399.00.

    The Mark IV disassembles with the push of one button.
     
  14. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    My wife & I took the CHL class today. The last step is emailing or mailing the certificates, and waiting 6-8 weeks; we'll email them later this afternoon.

    Oh my wife got clearance for the Mark IV. After seeing how easy it was to clean compared to the Mark II, I bought one while they were still on sale.
     
  15. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I put comments in the First Handgun thread that should've been posted here.

    In brief (old & new news):

    My wife & I received our License To Carry Handgun.

    She carries a S&W Shield 9, version 1, PC (ported barrel, upgraded sights, improved trigger). Her OWB holster is a Blackhawk! SERPA; she doesn't currently use the paddle but plans to experiment with how it fits and feels. She bought a secondary holster, IWB, a De Santis Pro Stealth (Ambidextrous).

    I went with the Springfield Armory XDS 9 3.3 for carry. For OWB I chose the Q-Line QB-3 holster because it can be converted to however one wants to carry. I left it as RH front or hip carry, but did lower it about .5". The downsides are the moveable clip makes it bulkier than the SERPA, and it doesn't fit snugly against the body (but I also don't plan to do any running while using it). The XDS came with a basic IWB holster, SA-500 made by Tuff Products. The bit (proper name?) that keeps the grips from scratching my skin is very useful given the aggressively textured grips on the XDS.

    We need more range time, but are at least comfortable with our shooting at reasonable distances (for self-defense situations). Becoming proficient at drawing and shooting accurately quickly (two seconds, or less?) will take some time. I'm considering taking some shooting classes.
     
  16. ChrisJericho

    ChrisJericho Careless whisper

    Location:
    Fraggle Rock
    Good to hear there are more people carrying. The SERPA holsters have really fallen out of favor within "the community" though. Many trainers in classes won't allow them because accidents sometimes happen due to people having to use their finger to draw the gun.

    I took training classes and thought they were invaluable. They weren't just useful to make sure you're drawing and shooting correctly, but also made you think about other things like 1)What are you going to say to the police when they arrive? 2)When are you justified in using your gun in self defense in your state? 3)Are you willing to protect other people in public who aren't your friends and family? 4) Are you prepared to be sued even if you used your gun in self-defense?

    Just a lot of things to think about and it's better to have thought about them beforehand rather than when you're covered in blood in the police station at 2am because you just shot a meth head who was breaking into your house.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  17. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    I recently added a handgun that I was seriously eyeing back when they were introduced in the early '90s:

    Ruger SP101, .357 Magnum, stainless, 3.06 (3 1/16)". A five shot revolver.

    It didn't take too many rounds of full load .357 for me to replace the factory grips with Hogue Monogrip (I'm still working on getting used to the recoil). The gun store & range had them at just about the best internet price I had found, and installed them FOC (not that installation seemed difficult).

    I have a very basic OWB holster made by Blackhawk!. It's OK, but I like it better with the XDS 9 3.3. Finding a holster has been problematic. The 101 frame is a tad larger than the "standard" small frame .38, and the 3.06" barrel is uncommon.

    I'm putting in a lot of holster research because one thing I noticed with the XDS is it feels top heavy, like it wants to "flop" over. This is likely because the loaded magazine does make it top heavy. I'm hoping the more centered cylinder, being at least partially in the holster, will make the revolver a little more balanced.

    It gets complicated. IWB. OWB. Kydex. Leather. Open end. Closed end. Pancake. Belt. High riding for CC. Lower riding for comfort. Larger, and bulkier, for stability. Smaller, but less stable, for better concealment. Thumb break for security. Open top for easier, and faster, access.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2019
  18. omega

    omega Very Tilted

    I had a serpa holster issued by the patrol for training days and non uniformed carry. I felt like I did not have an issue with the finger button. Ymmv.
    That ruger looks pretty nice. 357 as you well know is a pretty heavy load, especially for a 27 oz gun. My s&w 442 will handle 38 +p, but it is around 19oz I believe. I did upgrade to a hogue grip as well because of the bite by the thumb webbing. You can always train with 38s and even wadcutters. Save some money for training as well. Could even carry +p and still be pretty effective. But a nice revolver is fun to shoot. I would someday like a 357 with a 4 inch barrel. Like a s&w 686.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  19. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    The SP101 will outlast me, even if I did feed it full mag ammo on a regular basis.

    Which I don't, i use standard .38 ammo for practice (this is my second .357 revolver, the other is a Security-Six SS 6"). I haven't been able to find any .38 wadcutters. I will need, or at least want to use, some mild loads for when I send my Taurus 85 back to Taurus for repair or replacement.

    I'm considering a Braids Holster for the SP101. The guy who makes them is one of the few makers who offer several options for the 3.01 barrel.

    I'll post some links using the laptop.

    I'd like to have a .44 mag revolver with a 5"barrel. I try it with full mag rounds, but for practice & SD I'd use .44 Special loads. And a Marlin 1894CB .44 mag. Neither of those purchases will happen any time soon; it took me over 25 years to buy the 101.

    I've heard many good things about the 686. It's a shame Colt dropped the Python back in '05.
     
  20. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    To revive a dead thread.....

    I decided that there are situations, most likely social gatherings, where a compromise needs to made between being armed and being so as discreetly as possibly. After much research, and some test firing, we (technically my wife) purchased a Ruger LCP II (that's a 380 semi-auto pistol).

    The .380 isn't the greatest caliber, but for real pocket carry the LCP 2 seems like a good choice.

    My wife kept commenting on the lack of grip on the pocket pistols and leaned towards the larger pistols, usually models only a tad smaller than her Shield. I reminded her that pocket carry meant sacrificing some 'comfort in the hand' for concealability. After some range time she's gotten more comfortable with the LCP 2.

    BTW if you think that a pistol that small is limited accuracy wise to close range, check out a YouTube video done by Hikcock45 (I might have his name misspelled).

    -------

    I had to retire an old Iver Johnson .22 revolver because the cylinder started slipping. This gun has great sentimental value, but it would make no sense to put any real money into repairs because it was a budget gun when new, and has some design flaws that make keeping it in shooting condition impractical.

    After more research than I would care to think about, I concluded that a new double action .22 revolver would be too costly along with the real possibility of having issues. I'll go into details if anyone is interested.

    I eventually "settled for" a used Ruger New Model Single-Six, 4 5/8 barrel, blue. The price was right, and the selection of .22 revolvers was very slim. I did have to give the cylinder face, and the forcing cone, serious cleanings because the cylinder and barrel gap was nearly nonexistent. It's pretty tight even clean.

    It shows some cosmetic signs of wear, but is structurally sound and shoots just fine. It's another Ruger that will outlive me.

    --------

    My most recent purchase is another type of gun I've thought about for decades but never purchased for whatever reasons.

    I looked at it twice before buying it on my third trip: A used* Remington 870 Express Hardwood Home Defense 12g shotgun. What makes this model somewhat unusual ??? is the wood (no, not nice Walnut, probably Birch) furniture instead of the more popular. synthetic material. And the factory manufactured and installed two shot magazine tube extension (the 6 + 1 capacity played a large part in my decision to buy it). It did come with a very basic Allen nylon gun bag that sells for $20.00 new.

    *The barrel and chamber were nearly spotless. Because it was at a pawn shop I wasn't allowed to do any disassembly. The stock had a few minor dings, pretty much what you'd expect with any wood not protected with a super gloss finish, and still had the Remington stickers. From what I could tell they had not been removed and reattached (some people do that to make items appear newer than they are). Basically it appears that the 870 was lightly test fired, cleaned, and put away. But picked up a few normal dings.

    I've only put 12 rounds of 7.5 birdshot through it so far. I have bought some #4 and 00 buckshot to try, hopefully next week.

    This purchase was also made after considerable research. Again I'll go into more detail if anyone is interested.
    --- Double Post Merged, May 3, 2019, Original Post Date: May 3, 2019 ---
    .
    Not my gun or photos, but the same make & model.

    Remington 870 Hardwood Home Defense Pump Action Shotgun 12 ___(1).jpg Remington 870 Express 12 gauge wood furniture for sale.jpg