A.J. Holst

My wife put 200 trouble-free rounds through her P22 in our first range session with 4 different types of ammo. Regarding the videos / reviews out there on any handgun, my opinion is there are more non-failures reported than failures. The reviews are things that could go wrong, not stuff that will go wrong. When you look at cars, how many hard-core "will never buy again" stories have you seen vs. the hundreds of thousands of satisfied owners.

Congrats on the Sig! My buddy has been a Sig man for years, swears by them. Good shooting and he has had flawless reliability with his

I think it is safe to say in this thread the SP should be the benchmark by which all snubbies should be measured!

I also went through Hickory and Red definitely makes it entertaining. There were 5 of us in my session, all experience shooters, Red does a great job of teaching to skill / experience level.

+1 on the Trausch grips for an SP Slightly bigger than the Hogue mono, but so worth it. For me, almost feels like a custom grip. Gray, How do does a 9mm feel through a weight / action of 1911 frame? When I started researching 1911s, I saw the RIA in 9mm and had seriously considered it.

I am armed from when I put on my pants in the morning until I go to bed.

I forgot to mention I am going to push the warranty envelope while it is in for service. DS tweaked the sear and I have had NO repeats of the hammer traveling to half-cock, but still having it inspected; replace under wtty if out of tolerance It failed to return to battery 3x out of 300 rounds, I am having the slide/frame/spring checked and repaired / replaced under wtty if out of tolerance One failure for the hammer to release when trigger was pulled, having grip safety / trigger / related parts inspected; repair / replace under wtty if out of tolerance

I saw .357 on your list, but I just so happen to have one each of .357 LSWC, SJSP and FMJ sitting on my desk and you are more than welcome to them. Work over in East Knox...

My wife just shot her P22 Sunday and I'm already thinking of an upgrade, though if she becomes deadly with the .22, why would she need anything bigger? I personally like the PK380 over the LCP. The PK is so similar to the P22, it seems to be a natural progression if she moves up in caliber. I have shot the LCP and don't like it. I know it's a pocket gun, but the small grip and light weight, it can be a handful for, as you describe, the "weak of wrist" +1 on the LCR! I'm a Ruger wheelgun guy, carry an SP101 and have carried the LCR. The LCR has a great trigger right out of the box and carries very well in a pocket, IWB or OWB; even in a "notebook/dayrunner" holster I had. With the new .357 LCR you can pick up some weight and with a low recoil .38 round, really offset perceived recoil. After our first shooting session, my wife's mindset got "right" "I have no problem emptying a magazine into a bad guy trying to hurt me."

The repair ticket by GM is "billed to Bersa Warranty" so there is some connection between Metro in the Philippines, Bersa in Argentina and Import Sports / Eagle in New Jersey. Almost seems like a "Lord of War" gun-running operation... Eagle / Import is definitely in the loop, they responded to my email with a list of wtty centers, GM was the closest. I probably could have gotten them to send me a replacement part without having to drop off my gun, but I am glad I went to GM since Red is going to try to install a Colt forged bushing.

Even with the failure, I am not turned off by the AC brand and would still recommend folks consider one during their 1911 search. After talking with DS when he did a little tweaking to mine, I was planning on saving, then spending a few bucks over the next few months for some new non-MIM or high quality MIM internals. I figure I will spend another $75 - $100 on the internals which will put me with with less than $600 in the gun. I will end up with a pretty nice and reliable 1911 with all the external bells and whistles - knock-off Novak sights, extended grip safety, rounded (bobbed / combat?) hammer, skeletonized trigger with travel adjustment. Kesava --- My budget was $500.00 or less. I wanted new since it would be my first 1911 and had decided on a Commander-sized model. Did as much research as possible on the RIA and AC. I didn't come across any negative reports on either brand. I went with the AC over the RIA due to: The AC I bought with all the bells and whistles was only slightly more expensive than a GI (mil-spec?) RIA and there were NO RIA Commanders of any trim level available at the Knox gun show when I was ready to buy. Had I purchased a RIA, I would have spent alot more just upgrading the sights.

The LCR in a Simply Rugged does pretty well.

My belt upgrade was to a 5.11 Tactical "casual" Simple style, decent looking buckle. I was prepared to spend some money, but not $75+ It gets the job done, but is MADE IN CHINA I do not know the life expectancy of the 5.11, but upon replacement, I will step up and buy American. Some of the other forum members have gotten YEARS of service from their higher-priced American-made belts.

On Sunday, I put 200 rounds through it, Rem 230gr MC and Win 230gr JHP 300 rounds total through it. Got home, proceeded to strip and clean Upon removing the barrel bushing, an "extra" part fell out. The key on the barrel bushing obviously broke. Closer inspection revealed some crystallizing of the metal. Took it to Gander Mtn (warranty center) Red took one look and said "cheap part, that's one way they keep cost down." Good news, covered under wtty, so no cost and as an added bonus, he will install a Colt bushing (if it fits) in lieu of another MIM Metro Arms bushing. For you AC owners, you MAY want to consider changing this part out.

I carry a SP101 with 2.25", got a little paranoid and switched to my P95, but I'm back with the SP with a speed loader of two in my front pocket. It is solid, steady and 100% reliable with the flexibility of finding the "perfect" round for you out of all the .38spl / .38+p / .357 ammo out there. I think it conceals well and mine is "bigger" with a Trausch grip in a High Noon Hidden Ally IWB (untucked shirt) Carry the RIA when you may be in higher risk areas and think you may need a few more in the gun and faster re-load with a mag.

We went to Gunny's yesterday (ladies shoot for free) Took about an hour at the house to go over handgun safety, get her familiar with the P22 mechanicals, and basic grip / sight picture At the range, only corrected grip and stance (forget to talk about stance at home) She fired 200 rounds and loved it, if I had continued to load mags, she would have kept on firing. Best part, she is referring to the P22 as "MY gun" Next trip we'll work a little more on sight picture and bring more ammo! Her final target, 7 yards

I got the HiViz from Optics Planet and had it installed for $35.00

I am 5'9" 165# Once I got a good belt to compliment my decent holsters, it made all the difference. I have carried: an SP101, not full size, but 26oz - so weight is not an issue, a P95 and a 1911 Commander in the near future. All IWB with an untucked shirt.

G - After shooting yours, I thought I may get a set of Hogues. I fired about 75 through it on Tuesday at Coal Creek (was on that end of town) and the checkered wooden grips, while look good, simply were not comfortable after extended shooting. Hope to test out the feel of the Hogues this weekend. I'm still getting use to the sight picture, seems to be hitting a little low, but it may be me. Had no issues with the hammer returning to 1/2 cock during cycling, but I had one strange occurrance. Round fired / ejected / cycled normally, pulled trigger, hammer did not release. Hand cycled, cleared and re-fed, operated normally. FYI - have about 100 rounds through it total (plus your reloads) all Remington UMC 230gr MC, no failure to feed / fire / eject (other than the one issue listed above)

Hello ladies, I need some advice based on my thread title. We got her a Walther P22; she liked the feel of the gun in her hand. I got started shooting on .22 and for a beginner, the low recoil and noise made the most sense. My plan is to get her super familiar with the mechanicals tomorrow (Saturday) and see if she is the next Annie Oakley on Sunday. I hope she likes it and wants to pursue her HCP, lots of scumbags out there... So I don't make her angry, nervous or so pissed off she'll never want to shoot again, what do your ladies HATE when being instructed at/on the range?

Finally got my camera working and interfacing with my laptop, so here are some pics. My original carry gun, A Ruger SP101 .357 with Trausch grips and HiViz sights. My newest toy and future carry gun, A Metro Arms American Classic Commander with Hogue grips

I need a ballistics lesson: Handgun: Ruger SP101 with 2.25" barrel Ammo fired, Remington UMC .357 125gr SJHP .38+p 125gr SJHP Obviously the .357 has more recoil and bigger bang. (plus gets more attention on the range) The .38 seemed to have more muzzle flash, but is much more comfortable to shoot. I shoot both rounds equally well, but can get back on target slightly faster with the .38 Here's the question: Will a .38 158gr LSWC have more recoil than the .38 125gr JHP? The reason I ask, it makes a good SD and target round and is cheaper than .38/.357 HPs I know I will be looking at more cleaning with a lead bullet, but I clean after each time at the range, so a little more effort is no big deal. TIA

I haven't shot the .357, but can give you my impressions on "either" side, having owned and carried the .38 LCR and still own and carry the bigger brother, a .357 SP101 with 2.25" barrel Use rough numbers: .38 LCR is is 7oz lighter than the .357 LCR (13 vs. 20) the SP is 6oz heavier @ 26oz. The .38 LCR is not uncomfortable to shoot with the Hogue Tamer grips with 125gr +p JHP, but not "fun" 130gr FMJ, a little more fun, but again, the LCR is not really a range gun. The SP can be handful depending on the .357 round you choose, but very comfortable, controllable and fun with .38spl and .38+p I think the .357 LCR with .38+p would be a nice combo. Regarding LCR grips, I haven't seen many choices other than the Hogue Tamer, Hogue Boot (smaller) and C.T.

I had the opportunity to shoot DS's full size side-by-side to my commander, the recoil was noticeable between the 5" barrel of the full size and the 4-1/4" barrel of the commander. I spoke with DS and some other 1911 owners about the compact / officer''s model, I'm glad I got a commander. If I'm not mistaken, there is also an older post on the forum which discusses why a compact / officer's can/may have a higher probability of mechanical hiccups. With price points starting in the low $400s and going up to thousands, you can buy a entry model and modify to your heart's content or start at the upper range and not have to do much. DS did let me know IF you do get a entry model and really go hog wild, you won't re-coup your investment, the frame will still have "Metro Arms or RIA" stamped, not Kimber, Dan Wesson, etc. I got my first 1911 2 weeks ago --- I now understand the addiction!

I just picked up a Walther P22 for my wife, great grip, seems to have a pretty heavy trigger. Both the Ruger MKIII and 22/45 were high on the list, but I got a buddy deal on the P22