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View Full Version : First Range Day----New Guns



BruceB
04-04-2014, 02:05 AM
NVCurmudgeon and I recently acquired some new iron.

His is a Cimarron replica of the Richards-Mason conversion of Colt percussion revolvers to cartridge-firing ability. His revolver now fires the .38 Special cartridge.

Compared to his 1870s technology, my new pistola represents a quantum leap to the latest-and-greatest. It's a Ruger LC9 (9mm, of course) with a Crimson Trace laser sight mounted below the barrel. The trigger is double-action-only.

Both handguns performed very well.

The Cimarron .38 has a very nice, crisp trigger, at about three pounds or so. Even from 50 yards with geezer-vintage eyes, we agreed that any deserving bad guys would have collected a whole cylinder's worth of extra belly-buttons if such action was needed.

The revolver handles VERY nicely, and all functions worked just fine. It's also a lovely piece to look at, with semi-fancy walnut grips, deep blue and colorful case-hardening.

The sights are rudimentary for eyes as old as ours. The rear is just a tiny notch in the top of the hammer, and the front a small brass tapered post.... if you've seen an 1860s Colt replica, you'll know what I mean.

This is a very fine revolver, and highly recommended.

I tried a small variety of commercial ammo in the Ruger LC9. The first was Cor-Bon 115 JHP. I've chronographed this stuff in another gun with 3.25" barrel, where it hits 1270 fps.... that's a serious load!

The Cor-Bon load worked perfectly in ONE of my two magazines, but the gun flatly refused to even chamber the first round from the second mag. Repeated attempts did no good. I think this is a magazine problem, but this same mag worked fine with Federal "Guard Dog" rounds, Federal FMJ, and a bunch of my cast-bullet handloads

Apart from the glitch with the Cor-Bons in the one mag, the little pistol worked perfectly. The laser was invisible in the bright sunlight at the Carson City range, but I expected that.

I was more interested in how *I* was going to manage the long DAO trigger pull. Answer: not bad, but I need more practice.

Sitting around my apartment and "shooting" at targets of opportunity, I find that the laser's bright-red dot is NOT pulled off-target by the DAO trigger when I dry-fire at small objects. Very encouraging! At in-house ranges and in poor light, I believe this will be an effective system. It sure does beat looking for black sights in a dark room, and that, after all, is what the laser system is intended to do.

So....we both came home happy with our new additions. It's always nice to find that new toys live up to our hopes, and these two certainly did. Mine is a much more 'serious' device than NVC's, since it's fated to be my main "social purposes" carry gun. NVC's pistol is definitely more on the "toy" end of the spectrum, but it could still answer the bell if called-upon.

Happy, happy......

wcavasos
04-04-2014, 10:01 AM
Very nice Bruce. Did you have anything in mind for a carry holster? I'm curious if someone makes a holster for a gun that already has the crimson trace laser on it. Or is this a nightstand/truck gun?

BruceB
04-04-2014, 11:26 AM
I'm using a clip-on Bianchi IWB holster on the wheelchair. The gun just nestles right down at my side, and is easily hidden simply by placing my arm on the armrest. The holster clips securely to a steel side plate on the chair.

In the near future I'll get a "Sneaky Pete" belt holster, which looks Like a pouch for an electronic device such as a Smartphone or PDA. It has a flap retained by magnets, and is specifically fitted to the gun (laser/no laser, left-hand/right hand, etc). It seems to be an elegant solution, and the gun is "hidden in plain sight". Access is fast and easy.

The Sneaky Pete costs $49, and may be seen on-line by searching for "sneaky pete holster".

bedbugbilly
04-04-2014, 11:51 AM
Sounds like you fellas had a lot of fun! I was interested in hearing about the Richards-Mason conversion and how it shot. I'm looking at a 1872 Colt "open top" (Uberti) in 38 spl. I'm used to shooting '51 Nsvies and as you said, there isn't much of a sight other than the front post and the notched hammer. The more he shoots it though, the better he'll get with it.

Sounds like your Ruger LC9 is also a nice shooter. I now a lot of folk don't like the feel of a DAO but I still think it's just a case of getting used to the pull and the pistol. I had a LCR at one time for CCW and although it took a bit to get used to the trigger - practice helped a lot.

Always nice to have a "shooting buddy" and it sounds like you both enjoyed the "old" and the "new"! Have fun and enjoy your new shooting irons! :-)