Fun Day at the Range

[Dave2]

I went to Targetmaster with a couple of friends & coworkers today, and we all had a great time. I'm posting this, though, to share what I've learned.

1) My new PPS was exactly as I remembered from when I rented one a month or two ago: the recoil is a smidgen too stout to truly be a "fun" gun, but it's totally manageable and still enjoyable to shoot. I just wouldn't pick it to go shooting all day with. Also, it has non-trivial FTF issues with 115gr Cor-bon +P JHP ammo (3 FTFs in 21 rounds). I strongly suspect it's because of how blunted the nose of that ammo is, as it was flawless with regular FMJ ammo. If it's still doing it after a few hundred more rounds of break-in, I'll look into finding JHP ammo that's a bit pointier.
2) I've missed shooting my P226. It'd been probably six months or more since I'd had it at the range with me, and firing that gun again was like running into an old friend and losing track of time while catching up. Really a great gun... I can't recommend it enough.
3) My new PPQ might be my favorite pistol now, though. I'd shot one before (same time as when I'd rented the PPS), and it was everything I'd remembered. I actually shot better (both speed and accuracy) with it than with my P226, which really surprised me since that P226 is by far the gun in my collection that I've shot the most.
4) My friend's new Kimber Aegis II has a really nice trigger, and is much lighter than I thought it'd be.
5) I stand by my theory that it's best to introduce or reintroduce someone to the world of shooting with a .22LR. The other friend/coworker that came with us today hadn't shot a handgun in years, and he said that even though he liked my other guns, too, the .22 was way easier to shoot.
6) After a 3 hours of switching back & forth, I actually prefer Walther's paddle-style magazine release over the normal push-button used by Sig and every other gun company in the world (except H&K). Didn't see that one coming... I knew from when I'd rented both guns earlier that I could get used to the paddle style easily enough, but it quickly became easier and more natural to me than a button. For this reason, I'm kinda disappointed that Walther switched away from it for their new PPX.

Anyway, this range visit has reinforced my idea of transitioning my P226 from EDC to Nightstand Duty (with a suppressor, because guns are loud), and making the PPQ my new EDC with the PPS being my backup/summer/lazy gun.

[n5wd]

1) My new PPS was exactly as I remembered from when I rented one a month or two ago: the recoil is a smidgen too stout to truly be a "fun" gun, but it's totally manageable and still enjoyable to shoot. I just wouldn't pick it to go shooting all day with. Also, it has non-trivial FTF issues with 115gr Cor-bon +P JHP ammo (3 FTFs in 21 rounds). I strongly suspect it's because of how blunted the nose of that ammo is, as it was flawless with regular FMJ ammo. If it's still doing it after a few hundred more rounds of break-in, I'll look into finding JHP ammo that's a bit pointier.

FWIW... I've had good luck with both Critical Defense and now, Critical Duty running through my PPS. You might want to give it a box or two of a try.