Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Firearms

Hers ‘n’ Hers

A little over a year ago, we got a pair of Smith & Wesson 908 9mm pistols: a 908s for Damsel and a black 908 for me. I took a photo at that time similar to this one that Damsel took today after cleaning the guns.

The interesting thing about this picture (to me) is that the apparently smaller of the two is a .45 caliber compact Para Ordinance Warthog with a 10-round magazine capacity, while the 908 is a 9mm, 8-round magazine capacity pistol. When Para claims this is the “most compact 1911,” I tend to believe them.

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03 Nov 2007 by Firearms Photography

The Devil’s Suppository

wadcutters.jpgA wadcutter is a bullet specially designed for shooting paper targets, usually at close range and with significantly subsonic velocities under 800 ft/s (244 m/s) such as are found in handgun and airgun competitions. A wadcutter has a flat or nearly flat front, which acts to cut a very clean hole through the target, making it easier to score and ideally reducing errors in scoring to the favor of the shooter. Because the flat nosed bullet is not well suited for feeding out of a firearm’s magazine, wadcutters are normally used in revolvers or specially designed semi-automatic pistols. Wadcutters are also sometimes known as the Devil’s Suppository.

Text and title stolen from WikiPedia. Click the image for big.

02 Nov 2007 by Firearms Photography

The Wait Is Over

Again.

On Tuesday evening, we finally were able to take delivery of our new .45 ACP pistols. Damsel got her new Para Warthog and I got my Glock 30. We went into the range and put about fifty rounds through each of our new guns.

The Glock 30 performed about like my Glock 26, but with a more robust kick and a louder report. It was a little difficult for me to get the last couple of rounds in the magazines, but I managed to do so without using the loader tool. The magazine springs will eventually break in and loading should be easier in the future.

My accuracy using this pistol will need some improvement, but first shots generally were in the black with a couple outside the outer ring and maybe one on the red bull. I’ll keep trying.

Damsel’s Warthog magazines were a little easier to load, but there is no indicator to let you know how many rounds are inside. It seemed best to count out ten rounds and then load them into the magazine.

When shooting, the pistol performed pretty well, but a couple of times the action jammed. When that happened, we removed the magazine and cleared the action back which kicked out the stuck round. At this point, we don’t know why it jammed and the rest of the time it performed flawlessly.

In my mind, the acquisition of the .45s was to have been our last. Over the past year and a half, we purchased firearms that we wanted for entertainment and for home protection. I thought these two pistols were the last on the list. But then Damsel saw this . . .

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01 Nov 2007 by California Firearms

Peek-a-Boom! Halloween 2007


happy-glockoween

My new Glock 30 .45ACP Pistol sits on a spooky table tapestry that shows up around this time each year. You can click on the image for a close-up view.

Once again, the leaves are falling and the pumpkins in the patch are ripe. It’s the time that all restless spirits set forth in their annual ritual of calling on the living – and demanding treats. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With our modern calendar, however, the real cross-quarter day will occur next week. Visit Astronomy Picture of the Day for a spooky Ghost Nebula and more about Halloween.

We’re looking forward to the visitations of all the little goblins and spirits at our door tonight. We plan on posting some spooky pictures here tomorrow.

31 Oct 2007 by Culture Firearms

Bullseye

I’m not a southpaw, but when shooting left-handed yesterday, I managed to get eight 9mm rounds on the target at 25 feet with one round squarely on the bullseye. Not bad for a girl who just started regular target shooting a little over a year ago.

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29 Oct 2007 by Firearms Photography Sports

Quoting Harry Callahan

revolver-barrelI know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

When I saw this picture that Damsel took today while cleaning our guns, it reminded me of the famous line from Dirty Harry.

Of course, some of that description of the gun would be inaccurate. First this is only a .357 magnum, and far from the most powerful handgun in the world. Next, this Smith and Wesson 686 has a seven-round capacity, not six as in the .44 magnum version Harry used.

As far as feeling lucky? We do. We had a very good day at the range today and are glad that we have the opportunity to shoot at least once a week. This week, we will have an extra session at the range when we finally get our new pistols after the unnecessary California 10 day waiting period.

28 Oct 2007 by Entertainment Firearms Photography

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