Range Time

I had a chance to go shooting this morning with my friends Jeremiah and Rob. I had some free time to kill plus I wanted some more range time with my P250. I had previously bought some steel cased ammo and I figured today would be a great time to use it. I had posted on facebook that I was going and had an open invitation to anyone who wanted to join. Jeremiah saw it and he and Rob were already going, so we met up and headed to the range. Between the three of us we had a variety of guns. There was a 1911 .45, a 10mm, some CZ's, and several Sig's. To say the least, it was fun.  We went to Discount Guns and Ammo in Provo, UT which is a great store. They have an indoor range that isn't expensive and a great selection of reasonably priced guns and equipment.

Both Jeremiah and Rob had just bought the new Sig P238s and I was excited to see them in action. They are chambered in .380 ACP which is a small bullet but still packs a punch. They fall under the sub-compact or pocket gun category because they are seriously tiny! The whole gun is based around the Colt Mustang (not in production anymore) handgun which on the outside looks like a shrunk down 1911.

After seeing them shoot it, I wanted a turn. I loaded 3 rounds into the 6 round magazine and sent them down range. I was very surprised at how little recoil it had and the grip I could achieve on this little gun. I have medium sized hands and I was able to securely hold it despite having my pinky finger hanging out in the breeze. I shot the three is a decent group and I am very impressed. I have shot another sub-compact before and it was a completely different experience. It kicked hard and I could barely hang on to the thing.

After shooting that, I began working on my control with my P250. I am still getting used to the DAO trigger but it is a labor of love. If I pace myself and not shoot quickly, I can get 1/2 - 1" groups at about 25 ft. Once I start to rapid fire, I lose that grouping and my shots are pulling right, which I anticipate because after each shot, the trigger reset is longer and I have the tenancy to pull the trigger with the bottom half of my finger. What is supposed to happen is that I use my full trigger finger and pull the trigger straight back in one single motion. I ran into the same problem with my 1911; even with the short trigger travel I still used to pull to one side. Once I got that under control, I was able to begin shooting faster with better grouping. I had to focus more, but the end result was noticeably better.

On a side note, both Rob and Jeremiah had some issues when shooting my 1911. I have new grips on it that are larger and fit my hands better, but on the flip side, it spreads the back of your hand out (the webbing between your thumb and index finger). This is a crucial area when firing a 1911 because of the grip safety. You need that part of your hand to disengage the grip safety so you can pull the trigger. Add this with a stiff grip safety spring and you can potentially have a hard time firing it. I have never had problems with it, but then again, it is my gun and I know all the in's and out's of it. Evidently I have a stiff grip safety spring. Rob had his 10mm 1911 and his grip safety is very light. The difference was night and day comparing the two and I guess I have a very strong hand to be able to shoot my 1911. If I ever get the chance to swap out parts on my 1911, I will look into a new grip safety spring. I don't want to do that anytime soon because it will probably lead to many other things and I doubt that I could swing that with the boss (wife).