101 Gun Questions
- Thread starter SIG_Fiend
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Use a small pointed object to depress the firing pin, then slide the "flat thingy"out partially. Remove the pointed object and slide the "flat thingy" off completely, taking care that the firing pin and spring do not launch.
That's what I was thinking but because I think so does not make it right. I figured that I would throw it out there for someone that is more verse in the law.
I mounted a scope on a rifle, and it shot literally 4 feet to the left at 100 yds. I checked the scope, and it was centered dial-wise. I guess I need to remount it with some sort of something. How do I get this thing on paper so I can fine tune my sighting in?
LOL.
... or you could check the rails and make sure they're mounted solidly. If they are then the next step would be to check that the rings are lined up. I had a forward ring that, incredibly enough, was canted to the left ever so slightly and threw my windage off in addition to slightly damaging my scope tube when tightened...
Blind Sniper
Well-Known
This.
If the rings are the problem, look into replacing them with a set of Burris Signature rings (the ones with the Pos-Align inserts). Only downside to them is that figuring out how to use the +/- inserts can be a headache-inducing challenge at first.
Actually, even if your current rings are fine, look into the Burris Signatures. Order two sets of the inserts and you can get 40 MOA of adjustment out of them.
ETA: Now a question of my own.
Sig, do you have any tips/advice for someone with a bad wrist who still wants to shoot pistol? To tl;dr the story, my right wrist is essentially screwed thanks to a pair of sprains that didn't heal right, so pretty much anything snappier than a full-size 9mm is painful to shoot.
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Well the obvious answer is something in .22lr, though I know .22 ammo is impossible to find lately.
You mentioned full-size 9mm. Do you currently shoot one? You might try Atlanta Arms & Ammo's I9147 load (reman 147gr at ~880fps out of a Glock 17). I've found that it shoots very soft compared to many other 9mm loads. REMAN AMMO
Last time I reloaded a batch of 9mm, it was 147gr and on a minimum load of Blue Dot. It was not reliable, and needed probably another half a grain to get there. Point being, the recoil was ridiculous. It was literally like a snappy .22lr, so not much of anything. If you reload at all, I'm sure you can reload 147gr above that minimum load I did, and below the AA&A 147gr load I mentioned (which is at 130 power factor for competition), and have a really soft level of recoil.
Also, you could try shooting with your other hand, and possibly shooting one hand only with that other hand.
I have tendonitis in my right wrist, some of it due to stupidly overdoing it with grip strength training years ago. So I feel your pain.
I'm in the same boat but my particular injuries aren't a problem as long as my wrist is firmly locked. Unfortunately, after consulting with doctors I expect the condition to deteriorate over time and feel pretty sure that when I'm truly old, I'll be shooting left-handed with anything that kicks at all.
Follow-up to Blind Sniper's question - Do you think gun design can help? My H&K P7 PSP, for example, feels "soft" to me even with full-power loads. The low bore axis and gas retardation seem to make it more pleasant to shoot than the size and weight would initially indicate.
Blind Sniper
Well-Known
Right now the only pistols I shoot are a Beretta M9 and a Ruger P95, both of which are fairly easy for me to handle with either hand. I just mentioned full-size 9mms because literally everything else I've fired has left me hurting (room-mate's 1911, his friend's 6" Python loaded with 158 grain .357 Mg JHPs, dad's Super Redhawk loaded with 240 grain .44 Mags, and dad's 3" Judge loaded with pretty much anything). In fact, the second sprain happened when I was firing the Judge, and had forgotten that the fifth shot was a load of .410 000 buck.
I actually have been working on left-handed pistol shooting for the past month or so, and at least during dry-fire I noticed that I'm a good bit steadier as a lefty. Only real drawbacks are the mag release on the M9 (awkward but workable), and manually cocking the hammer for single-action fire (the M9's 10-pound DA trigger is still a little tough for me - keep pulling down and right).
So, aside from becoming a lefty and looking at different load options, is there anything else I can do? Or is it all practice from here on?
You could add some rubber wrap-around grips to either gun, which might reduce the felt recoil a small amount. Might not be much, but every bit counts.
Also, on the M9, you can swap the mag release around to the other side. It's easy to do. Basically remove the grips and push down on the release while pulling it backwards IIRC, then just flip it around.
Also for the M9, another thing worth considering. You can replace the mainspring with a "D" spring (92D, the DAO model). This will drop the DA pull to ~8# and the SA pull to ~4-4.5#
Quick question Blind Sniper. Can you give me a better idea about what aspect of pistol shooting is hurting your wrist the most. Is it the actual recoil impulse, muzzle flip and the corresponding upward bending motion from it? To some degree, differences in technique might help a bit here, depending on what's affecting you the most.
Also, on the M9, you can swap the mag release around to the other side. It's easy to do. Basically remove the grips and push down on the release while pulling it backwards IIRC, then just flip it around.
Also for the M9, another thing worth considering. You can replace the mainspring with a "D" spring (92D, the DAO model). This will drop the DA pull to ~8# and the SA pull to ~4-4.5#
Quick question Blind Sniper. Can you give me a better idea about what aspect of pistol shooting is hurting your wrist the most. Is it the actual recoil impulse, muzzle flip and the corresponding upward bending motion from it? To some degree, differences in technique might help a bit here, depending on what's affecting you the most.
The height of the bore axis over your hand merely affects the amount of muzzle flip. P7's, since they sit so low in the hand, definitely have quite a bit less muzzle flip as a result. It's just an opinion but, I don't think that fact alone really has an effect in this case. I think the larger difference comes from the gas delayed blowback design.
Here's some other random thoughts that popped into my head, as far as the subject of low recoil goes.
-1895 Nagant revolvers have the absolute softest recoil I've ever felt in a center fire handgun. They're cheap too.
-Suppressed handguns tend to shoot considerably softer than unsuppressed. I haven't played around with handloads a whole lot, so you could maybe achieve a similar decrease in recoil with just really light loads. What I do know is, I've shot standard pressure SAAMI spec ammo through pistols with suppressors that have a booster, that have shot ridiculously light while still cycling properly. Kind of a lot of trouble and expense to go to for achieving light recoil, but an interesting idea nonetheless. One such gun I shot was an H&K USP9 Tactical with I think an AAC Evolution can, and was one of the softest shooting centerfire handguns I've shot. The P30 is as well, and possibly more so considering the ergonomics of the grip.
Blind Sniper
Well-Known
It's muzzle flip and the inherent motion of the wrist that screws me. My right wrist doesn't seem to be able to "lock up" like the left does, which is most likely because of the sprain(s). There's a noticeable difference between my left and right hand shooting in that regard.
I've been looking for a set of Hogue wrap-around grips for the M9, just haven't found any yet (same goes for a Talon wrap for the P95). I'll swap the mag release around tomorrow though, see how well that works. Right now I either do a quick transfer from left to right-handed or pop the release with my left trigger finger, and oddly the transition is just a hair faster.
Not -too- concerned about the trigger pull, but next time I'm feeling adventurous I'll look into a spring swap. Hadn't considered that before.
ETA: Surprised you mentioned the old Nagant, Sig
I can one-hand mine with almost no issue aside from that horrifyingly tough DA trigger (that I can't even work reliably - I treat mine like SAO guns). First time I fired it I was actually shocked at how little flip there was.
I've been looking for a set of Hogue wrap-around grips for the M9, just haven't found any yet (same goes for a Talon wrap for the P95). I'll swap the mag release around tomorrow though, see how well that works. Right now I either do a quick transfer from left to right-handed or pop the release with my left trigger finger, and oddly the transition is just a hair faster.
Not -too- concerned about the trigger pull, but next time I'm feeling adventurous I'll look into a spring swap. Hadn't considered that before.
ETA: Surprised you mentioned the old Nagant, Sig
I can one-hand mine with almost no issue aside from that horrifyingly tough DA trigger (that I can't even work reliably - I treat mine like SAO guns). First time I fired it I was actually shocked at how little flip there was.
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Well with muzzle flip being the issue, I would definitely look to shooting guns with as low of a bore axis as possible, which will help to a degree.
Also, if shooting with both hands, I would definitely recommend using as aggressive of a thumbs forward grip as possible. The geometry of the support hand in that position, and the direction in which your support hand is rotated is directly the opposite of the direction your gun hand wrist wants to move under recoil, so it has the effect of significantly reducing muzzle flip.
Also, if shooting with both hands, I would definitely recommend using as aggressive of a thumbs forward grip as possible. The geometry of the support hand in that position, and the direction in which your support hand is rotated is directly the opposite of the direction your gun hand wrist wants to move under recoil, so it has the effect of significantly reducing muzzle flip.
If there is enough room flip the scope over, or even try it rotated 90º. This should help you narrow down the problem. If it still shoots to the left then it is the rifle rail or the mount. If it shoots a different direction then it is the scope.
Blind Sniper
Well-Known
So low bore axis, possible alterations to the gun grip, and a thumbs-forward hold. Seems easy enough.
Thanks for the advice, Travis
One last question before I go back to lurking. Let's say that I can't manage a good/"aggressive enough" thumbs-forward grip with either hand. Should I stick to one-handed shooting, or is there a different grip I could try to use?
Thanks for the advice, Travis
One last question before I go back to lurking. Let's say that I can't manage a good/"aggressive enough" thumbs-forward grip with either hand. Should I stick to one-handed shooting, or is there a different grip I could try to use?
If an aggressive thumbs forward grip isn't possible, that's fine. Not everyone can do it. For many people, especially with wrist/hand issues, arthritis, etc. it can be extremely painful camming the support wrist all the way forward. You can still achieve ~80% (arbitrary made up number by me) of the same results with a slightly backed off version of the thumbs forward. Here's a thread covering some of the differences:
http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/...ientific-look-thumbs-forward-pistol-grip.html
The main thing is thinking about trying to get the support hand's base of the palm (adductor pollicis muscle) clamped into the grip as high up on the gun as you can realistically achieve. By doing this, you're getting as much of the support hand physically on the gun as much as possible, which is allowing some of the recoil force to be more evenly distributed through both arms instead of primarily just the gun hand arm. With some of the other older grip methods, like the typical thumb over thumb "revolver grip", you have a smaller "contact patch". Just like tires on a car, wider is generally better and gives you more traction.
http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/...ientific-look-thumbs-forward-pistol-grip.html
The main thing is thinking about trying to get the support hand's base of the palm (adductor pollicis muscle) clamped into the grip as high up on the gun as you can realistically achieve. By doing this, you're getting as much of the support hand physically on the gun as much as possible, which is allowing some of the recoil force to be more evenly distributed through both arms instead of primarily just the gun hand arm. With some of the other older grip methods, like the typical thumb over thumb "revolver grip", you have a smaller "contact patch". Just like tires on a car, wider is generally better and gives you more traction.
AMERICANTARGETS741776
Member
About two months ago I bought some .40 caliber Hornady 'critical duty' Hollow points W/ Red tip. (I have had the "critical defense'" before with great results.) - and still have them. Anyway, I get home to inspect the ammo before loading a spare mag. and notice Red permanent markings on the primer. From my experience at the range, I've seen these before on spent casings and heard they are re-loads. But for factory grade ammo, this cant be true right? what does it mean? Thanks!
