REVIEW: Smith & Wesson 642

I've shot a number of different handguns, among them a few revolvers of varying sizes--.357 Magnums, .38 Specials and a .41 Magnum. All were fun in their own way, but I generally prefer autoloaders. When I had the opportunity to shoot a little snubnose revolver recently, I wasn't expecting much.

It was a Smith & Wesson 642 Airweight in .38 Special. Made of alloy, it only weighs a pound. The barrel is less than 2 inches and the cylinder holds 5 rounds. Sights are very basic, with a blade in front and a groove in the top strap for rear sights. The grip is rubber and short enough to leave your pinky dangling unless you have tiny hands. It's also hammerless (well, the hammer is inaccessible). Everything about this gun is designed for concealed carry and close-range self-defense. Shooting targets with it didn't seem promising.

My initial impressions were kind of what I expected. I kept shooting high, and it took a bit to adjust to the long, double-action trigger. Recoil might be a bit much to a novice, but it was less than expected and not bothersome at all. I was firing Remington UMC 130gr. FMJs and could have shot all afternoon.

After about 10 rounds, I figured out the sight picture and trigger and began nailing targets. I wasn't getting tight groups or anything but hitting smaller targets at greater distances than this gun was really designed for. At 10 yards, I was able to hit a small spinner target (about 5 inches across) 3 times out of 5. For a "belly gun" (push it into the assailant's belly and pull the trigger), this was most impressive.

So, my gut instinct that snubbies are too much of a compromise to be worthwhile was wrong. The 642 is a great little gun. More accurate than it should be or needs to be, it's also completely reliable and a nice size and weight to be carried daily. The capacity is about half what one could get in many small autoloaders, but a 5-round speed strip for reloading wouldn't add much bulk.

One suggestion I would make is to consider the Crimson Trace laser grip. I didn't shoot with one, and it adds another $230 to this $400 gun, but it would also add about a half inch of grip for your pinky and compensate well for the minimal sights, particularly in low-light situations.

This May Sound Alarmist, But...

OK, I'll get right to the point. It's October 22. The election is November 4, and the next President takes office in January. If McCain is elected, your 2nd Amendment rights will likely remain intact, though a super-majority of Democrats in Congress could hamper that. (Not saying one party's always right and one's always wrong, but Dems are usually wrong on the right to bear arms/self-defense. There are some independent-thinking Dems, too.) If Obama is elected, you can expect the sorts of infringements that Clinton pursued and more. His rhetoric is accommodating but his record is very anti-gun.

So, if you've been thinking about buying a gun, now's the time. In Illinois, you need a Firearm Owner's ID (FOID) card. That costs $10 now and lasts 10 year--a bargain. The turnaround time is about a month, so get an application in now. In the meantime, start saving up your pennies. $300-350 should cover a decent 12- or 20-gauge pump shotgun or a semi-auto .22LR rifle with transfer fees and a little ammo. Shotguns are hard to beat for home defense. A .22 rifle is not particularly powerful but is the preferred way to learn to shoot if you're new to shooting sports. There are other options, but those would be my suggestions.

If you've never been shooting, let me know (friends and acquaintances only, please). I'd be glad to introduce you to your first gun and range. Please DON'T buy a gun without getting some thorough training, though. Gun ownership is not for everyone and should only be undertaken by those willing to learn how to safely and responsibly exercise this right.

Wow, has it really been a year?

Hey folks. Plinkers is not dead, but it has been on hiatus for a number of reasons. Though we're not currently doing regular outings, I am always excited for an opportunity to shoot and am especially excited for opportunities to introduce people to shooting. So, if you'd like go sometime, feel free to contact me and we can try to work out a one-on-one session or small outing.

Space guns and FOIDs

If you didn't go on this last outing, you didn't get the chance to shoot this--

So sorry. (It's an FN FS2000...the model number is also the price!) You also missed out on a Glock 21 .45ACP, a Ruger Mark II and the usual Plinkers rifles.

Even more exciting than the gear, though, was the fact that we had a record four new people this outing! Thanks to everyone who came out. I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all. We will be going again at the end of May, likely on a weeknight.

On a related note, if you haven't gotten your FOID card yet, the turnaround time has improved a bit. I believe it took just three weeks for me to get my renewal (arrived just yesterday). This is pretty quick and dramatically faster than Chicago's annual processing of my gun registrations. If you still need motivation, check out this article.

Outing this Saturday, April 28th

Reminder:

The next outing will be this Saturday, April 28th. Contact me for further details.

Oh, and Happy St. George's Day!

April Update

NEXT OUTING
Our next outing will be Saturday, April 28th. We'll likely leave mid-morning and get back mid-afternoon. Location TBD...

THANK YOU
Thanks again to all who have supported and continue to support David S. in Iraq. Thus far, he's received a BoreSnake, tons of snacks, a very nice SOG folding knife and a SureFire helmet light. His wife and family have also received notes and gifts. Thanks for letting God use you to bless them.

If you have a friend or family member serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, please let me know. I'd like to at least send them a note and a BoreSnake (very quick, handy gun-cleaning gear) and be praying for them. Thanks!

GOING CO-ED
Plinkers is going co-ed. I've debated this for awhile, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. We've done a couple of co-ed outings in the past, and they were great fun (and a little humbling...with first-shot bullseyes and that sort of thing). My reasoning is as follows: 1) Anyone who wants to become more than just familiar with shooting and firearms really needs to do it more than 2 or 3 times a year. Not every woman will want to join us for each outing, but I want to allow that option for those interested. From a sporting perspective, it's just like anything else--practice makes...better. 2) If another aim of Plinkers is promoting chivalry, I have to recognize that making men into effective protectors is not sufficient. Women should be encouraged to do that as well. A good man is hard to find, as they say, and not guaranteed to be around when needed. And, 3) It's just fun to have a mixed group! Men should feel free to bring their spouses if they'd like, and women just wanting a challenge all their own should feel welcome as well.

Let me know if you're interested in going on the 28th. If you're new to Plinkers and have questions (or want to give me a hard time about going co-ed ;), feel free to contact me!

Splat!

For February, Plinkers joined a paintballing excursion to Challenge Park near Joliet (www.cpxsports.com). We arrived to bitter cold and the promise of a snowstorm, everyone with itchy trigger fingers.

We decided to break up into teams, North versus South, for the first two games and kept the teams throughout the 4 game fields and 8 games. The fields ranged from a small field with numerous drainage pipes on their ends and sides that made for close, fast play to an expansive wooded field with a fort on a hill that had to be alternately defended and overtaken.

So, who won? The good guys! The snipers! (Plinkers provides some transferable skills, apparently, and Brian P.'s Lasik surgery must have been successful:) I think the Southsiders technically won, but everyone seemed to have a good time--welts, twisted ankles, battered bodies, frozen extremities and all.

This was a great bunch of guys to shoot and be shot by! Thanks to Brett Champan and Brian Pittman for coordinating this outing. I'll keep you posted about future paintballing opportunities and, hopefully, we can get some some guys to join us in playing with real guns.

Mini-Reviews: Beretta 85 & Ruger P345

I had a chance to shoot a few interesting handguns over Christmas vacation. One was a S&W .357Mag. which shot sweetly, but I've reviewed one similar before. The other two were as follows:

1) Beretta 85, .380ACP--This is the most handsome gun I've ever fired. It's essentially a scaled-down version of the Beretta 92 only in .380ACP (also know as 9mm Kurz or 9mm Short). It had blued steel and gorgeous checkered wood grips. Like I said, it's a handsome gun.

Now, I was told that it was quite accurate before I shot it and was very disappointed that my first group was...huge. If I were shooting at a watermelon, most of the shots would've hit, but I was hoping for head of lettuce or even grapefruit groups. The problem was two-fold. One, the grips are small, so the shooting finger of a larger hand doesn't fall naturally into place on the trigger. The second issue was the heaviness of the trigger.

So, while I loved the look of this little piece and it would be adequate for defensive purposes, I didn't find it to be as much fun as I'd hoped.

Oh, one other thing. I managed to jam this one. I think it was my own careless mistake, but I'll blame the smallish size partially. Apparently I'd let the thumb on my right hand creep up while I was shooting and managed to engage the safety mid-cycle resulting in a locked slide. I got it cleared but felt a bit chagrined at my mistake. Live and learn, I guess.

2) Ruger P345, .45ACP--I read about this gun when it first came out. It is an intriguing idea--a non-1911 platform .45 with a polymer frame and fairly compact dimensions. While most of the money spent on .45s is spent on classic 1911 style guns, there are plenty of people out there who are sold on the .45 but want something smaller or safer than a single-action.

I am a huge fan of the 1911 and have said before that I shoot it more accurately than most other handguns, so I was somewhat skeptical about the P345. Though it has won several awards, I assumed it would be a compromise pistol. I was pleasantly surprised.

The P345 has a polymer body, a stainless slide, excellent big-dot night sights and an 8-round magazine. It has a 4.25 inch barrel and weighs 29 ounces, roughly a half pound lighter than a typical 1911. Best of all are super slim safety, magazine and slide releases, and the 1.2 inch wide slide. Though somewhat larger than the typical CCW, this would not be burdensome or difficult to carry and conceal. So how does it shoot?

Great. Though the DA trigger pull is on par with the Beretta 92 reviewed previously in that it goes on forever, the SA pulls that follow are smooth and easy. Recoil was very comfortable, and it was nearly as easy to shoot accurately as the 1911s I've tried. The ergonomics are just right, too, with the slim controls easy to operate.

When you consider that most 1911s are well over $600, the fact that this gun shoots nearly as well but is safer, more compact and only costs $400 is astounding. Highly recommended.

No Brass Knuckles

Besides some great shooting, I had a chance to go to my first gun show while on Christmas vacation. I definitely had some preconceptions going in based on things I'd heard and read. I was expecting a small militia and/or neo-Nazi contingent, a huge assortment of jerky and lots of dusty, rusty gear at great prices. Well, I wasn't too disappointed.

Upon entering the fairground pavilion where the Gun & Knife Show was being held, a friendly, older woman asked if I wanted the 1-, 2- or 3-day pass and if I had any guns on me. "Just a pocket knife. And one day will do. Thanks." She stamped my hand.

Going on a Friday, I was missing out on some of the vendors that didn't come in until Saturday morning, but the pavilion was still a good two-thirds full. The majority of items for sale were guns and gun parts. Being from Chicago, these interested me only marginally as I could buy none of them without the hassle of getting them transferred from FFL to FFL. Most I had seen or read about before. It was fun to get my hands on an M1A and an M1A SOCOM-16, though. Much heavier than I'd have guessed; I can better understand the 5.56 vs. .308 rifle debate now.

There was a surprisingly small selection of dried meat products, much to my disappointment. My hopes of bringing home some ostrich jerky went unfulfilled. I did, however, pick up a nice scope. I gave the fellow a low-ball offer (my haggling skills aren't great, so I went right to my cutoff price) and, to my surprise, he took it. Many of the vendors were profficient salespeople. Others were not. One fellow was trying to sell me on a knife that had a very unique way of deploying and stowing the blade. "It's a great little knife. Retails for $50. I usually sell 'em for $20 but Chuck down there's selling 'em for $10, so I have to. The operation is kinda' neat. Not very intuitive." Hmm...$50 down to $10. A tool that's not intuitive...that's never a good thing. I passed.

As for the neo-Nazis, well, there was some historical Nazi gear. Difficult to say whether the sellers' interests were historical or more, shall we say, "political." No Nazi salutes or "hate talk" were observed.

Perhaps the funniest thing I took away, other than the interesting crowd, was an announcement on the P.A. shortly after I arrived. "We've just received a report that someone's selling brass knuckles in here. You can't be selling those. You gotta' get 'em out of here. No brass knuckles allowed." The fellows handling AK-47s (semi-auto only, of course) nearby just chuckled. I'm sure the guys buying new concealed carry handguns and those at the knife tables all shared a moment, as well. A good time was had by all.

Magic!

Because of a recent Chicago ordinance that has been flown under the radar like the bulldozers at Meigs Field, many gun owners will unknowingly be in violation starting in February. The following is my effort to be in compliance with the new restrictions. No, don't thank me. Just doing my part to keep us all safe. Click to enlarge:

Affordable Weaponlight Setup

One of the rules of gun safety is to always be sure of your target and what is behind it. Since most defensive uses of firearms occur at night, it follows that a good weaponlight is important. For those who can legally own a handgun, a flashlight in one hand and gun in the other works fine. For those limited to long arms, however, a compromise must be made.

Most long arms cannot (or should not) be fired one-handed. Thus, a light attached to the weapon is a good way to insure good control of the firearm and illuminate potential threats. Hey, you may say, doesn't this violate the other rule of gun safety? The one where you never point your muzzle at anything you don't intend to kill or destroy? Yes. It is not ideal. That's why disciplined trigger control, another rule, is vital. Keep your finger off the trigger completely until you're ready to fire. With an attached weapon light, your light and your muzzle are generally parallel. A headlamp may be the best option of all, allowing you to light up your target without covering it with your muzzle, but this may not always be realistic in an emergency.

So, with the caveat that the use of a weaponlight is a safety compromise, let me add that many of the best lights are quite expensive. Some feature a pressure pad activator on a coiled wire that's well-suited for someone with a semi-auto but could be obtrusive for those relying on the home defense standard, the pump shotgun.

A simple, fairly inexpensive setup I recommend would be this: an ATI magazine clamp, which can be found for $15 shipped on eBay, and a Brinkmann Maxfire LX, going for roughly the same (don't pay the MSRP). The clamp is simply a two-ended clamp with one end attaching to your barrel or tube magazine and the other end holding your flashlight. The Maxfire is a cheap version of the Surefire G2 with a click on and off instead of a twist. These are somewhat difficult to find but, again, eBay's a good source, with WalMart and Target apparently carrying them on occasion, too.

Prior to discovering the Maxfire, I tried a Mini Maglite 2AA flashlight with an LED and tailcap switch conversion. This gives you a more recoil resistant bulb and an easy-t0-activate switch, but the light is just too little for this purpose. Though the Maxfire is not quite as bright as a SureFire, it is close and will actually accept the same lamp assembly as many of the SureFire models.

If you've found other affordable solutions, whether weaponlights or other shooting gear, let me know!

Nov. 7th Referendum - Vote NO!

The following is a referendum that is on the ballot for the November 7th election:

"For the health and safety of children and the entire community, shall the State of Illinois enact a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, sale, delivery and possession of military-style assault weapons and .50 caliber rifles?"

Please keep an eye out for this if you live in Cook County and vote "NO." Though this wouldn't have the force of law, it would be considered by the lawmakers in Springfield when it comes time to vote on related legislation. This measure is overbroad and part of an incremental attempt to ban private gun ownership. It is a regurgitation of the Assault Weapons Ban that had no effect on crime and has rightfully expired.

Kid in a Candy Store

I recently had a chance to sample a fellow’s gun collection on a beautiful bit of private land. The fall colors were at their peak, and the air was cool with a slight mist. We had several guns to try out and more than enough ammo. The milk jugs never had a chance.

Here are the guns and some brief impressions:

Beretta Storm CX4, .45ACP—A light, polymer, semi-auto carbine with a futuristic look. Though initially skeptical of such an “attention-seeking” gun, I found it to be very accurate, quick-handling and comfortable to shoot. Its squared post front sight and large aperture rear sight made double-tapping four milk jugs in quick succession easy. The only downside is that the factory magazines take only 8 rounds, but it is a .45. The 9mm or .40S&W variants would have a larger capacity.

Bushmaster AR-15 type, .223/5.56mm—There are almost unlimited variations on the AR-15 platform. This model featured a full stock, fixed handle, iron sights only and a 20 inch heavy barrel. I did not shoot from a bench but found this to be very accurate. Because of its heavy barrel, though, it was a little front-heavy. I would’ve preferred this with a traditional rifle scope or red dot scope to maximize the benefits of the barrel. Recoil was negligible, and it felt a bit like shooting an air gun—partly because of the lightweight plastic construction and partly because of the springy sound of the recoil buffer that is heard through the stock with every shot. Overall a fun gun.

Ruger GP100 .357Mag. revolver—Very handsome gun with a stainless frame and nice rubber grips with wood inlays. I didn’t spend a great deal of time with this one, because I’d tried a .357 revolver before. It was interesting to see the great difference in point of impact between .357s and .38s fired through the same gun. The muzzle blast was not a problem as I was shooting outdoors. Good thing to note—a gun that’s intimidating indoors may be quite manageable in open.

Smith & Wesson .40S&W Scandium autoloader—Smith & Wesson makes a number of Scandium alloy guns. They’re generally much lighter than their steel counterparts and more expensive. As light as a Glock, I suspect, this slim gun shot quite well. Once I got a feel for it, I was able to do respectable groups, even shooting one-handed. Though recoil's supposed to be worse than a 9mm, the fact that I was shooting Magnums the rest of the time made this one seem quite tame, even in the lightweight frame.

Smith & Wesson Mountain Gun .41Mag. revolver—Ba-boom! This unusual cartridge was designed to fill the gap between the .357 Magnum and the .44 Magnum. Though the recoil would be less than a .44Mag. (which was part of the aim), it still generates twice the recoil of a .357Mag. in guns of equivalent weight and is adequate for hunting many large game animals. This gun was a pleasure to shoot. Big but comfortable, it had nice rubber grips. You have to hang on to it but, with a firm grip, it simply flips up a few inches and is easy to get back on target. Makes me curious to try the .44Mag. now—just not indoors.

Thankfully, I didn't embarass myself. (Or so I believe. I may well be the butt of jokes for weeks to come for some gaff that escaped me.) I have a standing offer to continue exploring this gun collection and enjoying this park-like space and look forward to taking advantage of it. I wish you’d been there! I truly mean it.

Logo?

I've been toying around with the idea of getting hats or shirts made for folks who'd like them. What do you think of this as a logo?

Lending Library

I don’t have a huge collection of gun-related books. I glean most of my knowledge from the Internet and magazines like "American Rifleman," "Field & Stream," etc. There are four books I’m going to post here, though. You may borrow one at a time if you’d like. If there are others who'd like to offer some books as part of the Plinkers Lending Library, let me know.

Boston’s Gun Bible by Boston T. Party

Publisher’s description—“Revised edition with 10 new chapters and over 200 additional pages. A complete firearms reference book with real-world information on law, politics, market forces, tactics, firearms type and usage. Test results and equipment rating charts help you select the right firearm for your needs. Learn how to buy and sell, how to avoid BATF stings, how to get quality training in safety and tactics, how to defend the 2nd Amendment and what's next in gun control. Chapter 32 is one of the most concise and stirring rebuttals to "reasonable gun legislation" ever written.”

My thoughts—This is an entertaining read. There’s a lot of good information here as well as some strong opinions, some worthwhile and others not. Though it covers many things, its biggest and most thorough coverage is of MBRs (main battle rifles), none of which I can own. Carbines, shotguns and handguns get minimal coverage. Still, there are many valuable tidbits in here and much that is just entertaining if you’re into guns at all.

NRA Firearms Sourcebook

From the NRA Store website—“Without question the most comprehensive review of technical gun knowledge, ballistics, safety and firearms history ever compiled into a single volume. Produced by NRA publications, this long-awaited compendium spans some 536 pages. No other book compares to the sheer volume of information compiled in the NRA Firearms Sourcebook.”

My thoughts—This thing is big, pricey and fairly dry. It’s good as a reference book but goes into such things as how various types of rifling are done and which metals barrels are made from. Not really a book I’d sit down and peruse for pleasure but will likely answer many firearms questions for you. Incidentally, this is not a illustrated guide to small arms. While there are some diagrams that identify the various parts and styles of firearms, you won’t find different makes and models.

The Poor Man’s Scout Rifle: A How To Guide by Bob Cashner

Publisher’s description—“Learn how to fashion home-built scout rifles from a variety of old military actions, from the 98 Mauser to Mosin-Nagant and the venerable Springfield. Each of the author's creations, built with common tools and easy-to-come-by parts, met most of the basic criteria for a scout/utility rifle yet cost him less than a quarter of what the commercial models would have. Ammo and shooting slings are covered in detail.”

My thoughts—The “Scout Rifle,” defined and popularized (though not invented) by Jeff Cooper, is currently only made by one manufacturer, Steyr, and costs more than $2,000. This book looks at ways for people of more average means or gunsmithing hobbyists to incorporate many of the same features for much, much less. This is particularly interesting if you’re sold on the “Scout” idea; not everyone is. It’s also fun if you just enjoy seeing how people have taken cheap guns and made them unique and tailored to their own particular tastes.

Principles of Personal Defense by Jeff Cooper

Publisher’s description—“This revised edition of Jeff Cooper's classic on personal defense is the best study of the guiding principles of survival in the face of unprovoked violence by human assailants. Cooper discusses the vital elements of defensive mental conditioning, including alertness, decisiveness, aggressiveness, speed, coolness, ruthlessness and surprise.”

My thoughts—This is not really a gun book, though Jeff Cooper is best known as a curmudgeonly elder-statesman in the gun world. This book is more about attitudes and how to think and behave in a defensive manner. It’s a quick read. You (and I) may not care for all of his ideas, but there’s some good stuff in here.

A Word About the NRA

The National Rifle Association gets a lot of bad press. Some of it is deserved. Most is not, unless you believe that the government is your mother and the military/law enforcement is your father. The NRA is a flawed organization that sometimes goes too far in defending gun makers and gun dealers and not far enough in promoting things like national concealed carry. But theirs is an incremental fight. Gain some ground here, lose a little there and hope that you've come out a little ahead at the end of the day. It is not a racist organization nor is it strictly a defender of "big gun business," though these corporations must be allowed to exist and to serve the market. It is, quite simply, the most effective and broad-reaching defender of our "right to keep and bear arms" going. If that changes, I'll put my money elsewhere.

While pushing for greater "gun control" is the current mental fashion, this country's founders did not intend for us to be "subjects" but citizens. We have the right and responsibility to defend ourselves and those without defenders and to fight tyranny should the necessity arise (may it never). You don't have to join the NRA (though it's a good idea and they include a great magazine) or quote Charlton Heston, but if you value your rights, do something about them. Get your FOID card, write a Letter to the Editor, email your legislators, introduce others to the shooting sports, etc. Thanks.

There's Nothing Like Shooting Outdoors

Indoor ranges are fun. You have the controlled environment, the CSI-style shooting range with paper targets on wire runners and the large assortment of guns waiting, like various Wonka confections, to be sampled. But there's nothing like shooting outdoors.

The first shooting I ever did was sinking cans in the Caney River (OK) with a bolt-action .22 when I was about five. To this day, I still take every chance I get to do some open air shooting. As is often the case, I got a chance just last weekend while visiting my parents and brother.

My mission was two-fold. First, I wanted to pattern buckshot in my shotgun. Second, I wanted to try out two types of .22LR ammo I haven't tried before.

Patterning buckshot. You may or may not have run across this term before, but it's basically figuring out where a particular gun puts a particular type of shot at a particular distance. Contrary to popular belief, you do have to aim a shotgun. While buckshot and birdshot will spread as it exits the barrel, it does not just immediately fly into this lethal cloud that seeks out whatever you will it to. So, I set up a large cardboard box top with a large silhouette target stapled to it (something you can only do outdoors). Then, from about 25 feet I fired a couple of slugs for warm-up. They went were they belonged. I then tried out the buckshot, aiming at the center of mass. Surprisingly, the spread was a bit higher than I expected but turned out to be good, at least for defensive purpose. Aimed at center of mass, the 20 pellets spread from armpit to armpit and sternum to chin. The shot cup/wad left a nice big hole as well, roughly in the "love handle" region. Very satisfactory.

Fun with .22. I have gotten in the habit of buying only CCI Mini-Mags for my .22. It's a little pricier than the bulk stuff, but it is super reliable, accurate and has as much oomph as one could need in a .22LR. But, I ran across a box of Remington Subsonics not long ago and also thought I'd give the cheaper Federal brand bulk stuff ($9 for 550 rounds) a try.

The appeal of the Remington Subsonics may be obvious. I was just curious to see if it would really make much of a difference in decibels and whether a 10/22 would cycle them. Well, I gave them a try. Very slightly quieter than the bulk Federal but nowhere near "silenced" or air gun levels. They did cycle just fine in my rifle and seemed accurate enough, though I was shooting standing and not doing precise bench tests. My conclusion: nothing particulary special but they work. Some argue that standard and subsonic rounds tend to be more accurate than the high velocity rounds like the Mini-Mags. I'll have to put that to the test at some point and see.

The bulk Federal ammo is just an amazing deal on the surface at less than two cents per round. In looking at the rounds, I noticed that the quality control wasn't particularly good. The metal jackets on the bullets were uneven at the base, appearing to overlap the shell slightly on some. In terms of accuracy, they seemed to do fine, though. Again, I wasn't doing rigorous scientific testing, but it wasn't difficult to keep all 10 rounds from each magazine in the black. I only had one failure to fire with this ammo. My 10/22 has been extremely reliable over the years, so this was surprising, but I think it's reasonable to assume that the problem was with the ammo and not the gun. Still though, for plinking it's a steal.

[Follow-up: I took the bulk Federal to the range and again had problems with it. One failure to fire, which did fire with a second strike, and one failure to eject. It's still a good deal, but I'd recommend it only for plinking and maybe only for non-autoloading firearms. CCI Mini-Mags have always been reliable and accurate for me.]

Schedule through December '06

August—Weeknight outing to an indoor range, likely Maxon or Gun World.

September 23rd—Outing to Kishwaukee Archers in Sycamore. A fellow Plinker has generously agreed to let us use the facility and a couple of his bows to try out archery (or revisit it on a much more advanced level than in our youth). This is a bit of a drive, but I'd like this to be a family outing with a cookout and some good time of fellowship.

October—To be announced...

November— Firearm instruction with professional (not me). I’m currently researching options and am looking for something reasonably-priced and geared toward the novice. I’d need to have a commitment in advance so we can reserve the instructor and space.

December—Indoor range outing, possibly holiday-themed (Grinch targets? Santa hats? Firearm-themed gift exchange?).

Update

Plinkers is not gone. It's just taking a breather while I adjust to being a new father again. Our next scheduled outing will be in August, but there may be an impromptu outing before then. We anticipate having something Plinkers-related every month starting this fall.

Even while we're not at the range, there's still fun going on behind the scenes in the area of researching guns and gun purchases. I'm eagerly anticipating the purchase of a .223 rifle this fall and have been discussing the pros and cons of a few models with another Plinker just recently.

If you're interested at all, I weigh in now and then on a very active gun forum called The High Road. My user name over there is Another Inkling, and it's a great place to read about 2nd Amendment issues and the whole gamut of subjects related to firearms. Even if you don't spend much time there, it can be a good place to get feedback on all types of questions you may have regarding various gun models, accessories, etc. If you decide to register and post over there, let me know your user name so I can see what you're up to.

Thanks for checking in. I look forward to hitting the range with you soon!

REVIEW: SIG Sauer P226

The first two handguns I ever shot were 9mms, but there’s never been a 9mm reviewed for Plinkers. Though I didn't need an excuse to try out a new gun, I rented the SIG Sauer P226 on our latest outing.

The P226 is a full-size, semi-auto handgun available in 9mm, .40S&W and .357Sig. The gun I rented was a 9mm and featured a stainless steel slide with a matte black Nitron finish.

The P226 is a double-action/single-action with a decocking lever and an exposed hammer. When you chamber a round, the gun goes into single-action mode with the hammer cocked and only a short, light trigger pull required to fire the gun. To carry the gun in a safer state, you can depress the decocking lever. This lowers the hammer safely and puts the gun into double-action mode with a longer, heavier trigger pull required to both cock the gun and fire the gun. Upon firing in double-action mode, the gun returns to single-action.

This gun feels great in the hand. It has nice stippling on the handgrip and the controls are all easily reached with the thumb of the shooting hand. A variety of magazines are available for the P226. The magazine I used was a double-stack 10-round magazine, but 15- and 20-round magazines are also available.

So how does it shoot? Great. It took me a couple magazines to get the feel for it, but I found that if I did my part, it performed very well. For this shoot, I went through two boxes of Magtech 115gr. FMJs and allowed my compatriots to go through a third. I found that when I was being sloppy or shooting left-handed (I’m a righty) my ten rounds would frame the target. In a secure stance, though, it was not difficult to put all ten in the black. The sights were fairly standard and allowed a decent sight picture while the weight of the gun and general ergonomics made recoil very manageable allowing for quick and steady follow-ups.

The fit and finish of the P226 were excellent. You can tell that this is a well-made gun. It’s no wonder this is a very popular gun with law enforcement and various government agencies. Incidentally, if a civilian wants one, they run from $700-900 depending on the configuration.

One final note—when the Department of Defense looked into replacing the .45 1911 back in 1984, two finalists remained at the end of the trials—the SIG P226 and the Beretta 92. Though both guns did extremely well, the Beretta apparently won out largely due to its lower cost. Maybe we’ll have to get our hands on a Beretta and do our own comparison.