Webster

The Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions." --American Statesman Daniel Webster (1782-1852)


Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Shooting Range Part#2

 This is the second part of my shooting run...the first part is Here..

I went shooting over a week ago, Eric@ammoman sent me some ammo for me to do an evaluation on...The ammo sat in my bonus room for about 6 weeks while I tried to find time to go shooting.  I thought I had my preferred venue locked in and it fell through, so I went to my alternate.  I went to the local range.  It is a very nice range, but very busy.   Apparently a lot of people like to handle things that go *boom*. 



I  pulled out the 308 Enfield, she was made in 1966 by Ishapore Armory in India for the Indian Army, she is a model 7.62mm2A.  The Rifle is similar in design to my 303 but a bit shorter.  The 308 is fed through a 10 round box magazine.

 I was using PMC Bronze 308(7.62 NATO 147 grain FMJ-BT.  I looked at the ammo first, the quality seemed first rate as far as appearance so I went digging up for some information, I have heard of PMC but knew little of the company.   PMC ammunition is manufactured in South Korea by the Poongsan Corporation (ISO certified) which produces cartridges ranging from small arms ammunition to large howitzer rounds for the South Korean military. The Poongsan Corporation dates back to 1968 and since its founding it has grown to become on one of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of ammunition.  In years past the ammo has gotten a hit or miss reputation.  I can't answer for others but I can give you my impressions.  I fired the 308 enfield and it fired similar to the 303 as far as recoil.  I fired the first magazine then rolled the target trolley to see how the rifle did at 50 yards with iron sights. 
I fired up all the ammunition I had in 308 and the rifle functioned flawlessly and the ammunition seemed consistant in groupings and "shoulder feel".  I was very pleased with the performance of both the rifle and the ammunition.  You can find the ammo HERE!!!

My 308 Enfield and the ammo.
I then took a break and switched to pistols.  I used 3 pistols for the shoot.  
I used a wide variety of pistols to get a better  feel for the ammunition.  They are a S&W sigma caliber .40, Glock 22C 40 cal  and a Taurus Millennium 40 cal.
 I first used my Dads Glock 22C, he was kind enough to let me use his service pistol to augment my pistols for the shoot.   It shot like a Glock does...the pistol has picked up a huge following due to its total reliability and functionality.   I then switched to the Smith&Wesson Sigma 40.  This was Smith and Wesson first pistol that was designed to compete against Glock and it worked too good...As I recall, Glock sued them about it.   I picked the pistol up in the late 90's.  S&W had a bad reputation back then for sucking up to the gun grabbing Clinton White house and the brand was *mud* as far as most shooters were concerned.  When I got the Pistol and fired it and it functioned well, until a piece broke off in 2001?.  I contacted S&W and they sent me the part *free*.  I always heard that you get what you paid for, especially with Pistols.  Well S&W showed me that.  Since then the pistol has functioned with no issues.  I also used my Taurus Millennium .40 caliber.  It is my newest pistol, I bought her about 4-5-6 ish years ago.  It is qualified as a "compact" pistol, I wanted something a bit smaller to carry and have a "man stopping" caliber and yes I can tell the difference in the pistol especially with recoil compared to the "full size" of the Sigma and the Glock.  
 I used the PMC Bronze 180 grain FMJ.  I initially fired carefully to place my shots with the Glock, followed by the Sigma then finally with the Taurus.  I then reloaded all the pistols and this time I fired quickly not really for careful aiming but to see how the ammo functioned as far as feeding and cycling through the weapons.  The ammo functioned as it should, I had no misfires, no jams, no feeding issues, I dumped a lot of ammo down the range and the ammo and pistols played together well.  The initial grouping was "ok" and that was more me than the ammo.   I had the target set up at 10 yards, I believe that that is the acceptable distance for "combat" or "house" distance,  I could have fired farther, but I believe that most pistol confrontation is a lot closer than the capability of the pistol.   You can get the ammo HERE!!!

 
      I had an audience, partly waiting for a lane assignment and also people admiring my rifles...Apparently there are not a lot of unmolested battle rifles around anymore.  I don't mind it, but it is distracting and my performance suffered a bit.  The next time I go shooting, I hope to use my normal venue, the Scout range where it is quiet...and outside. 
     I then went home, watched Netflix and ...you guessed it.....


2 comments:

  1. We had a brand of very pricey, "state of the art" SD ammo give failures to feed in not one, but TWO Glocks this week. Guns and certain ammo sometimes don't get along. If you plan to use a gun for self defense, you need to test, test, test for consistency before you think about packing, or placing it within reach for home defense.

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  2. Nice rifles indeed. (Pistols aren't bad, either.) I love my .308 Ishapore.

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