AZAndy
Member
I went shooting with a friend yesterday, and took along a few things for him to try out:
Colt 1903, .32ACP
Dan Wesson Valor V-Bob, .45ACP
S&W Model 325PD, .45ACP
S&W Model 67, .38 Special
S&W Model 19 6", .357 Magnum
As I was cleaning all the above, I reflected on how I'd done with each of them that day and in the past, and was surprised to discover that out of everything I have, I really simply like shooting the 1911 the best. I'm more accurate with it and it takes the least amount of effort to shoot well for me. I got interested in revolvers in a serious way about ten years ago and have spent a lot of time with them, and can shoot a .38 about as well and as fast as a 1911 (as long as that .38 is not a snubnose), but it's a lot more work somehow. Even after tens of thousands of rounds, keeping those sights steady in double action takes some work, especially when shooting fast. With a 1911, it's not like that.
.32ACP is a fun .22LR-level experience that I can reload for, so it has that going for it. But I have serious accuracy issues with that cartridge, regardless of whether it's the Colt with its invisible sights or one of my Berettas with adequate sights. My shooting companion, who has waaaay more shooting experience than me, had the same result, and considers the .32 to just be inaccurate generally. Oddly, I do better with my KelTec P32, which I can't really explain, though not that much better. Maybe I can improve that when I finally get around to experimenting with some different loads for it, but even if I do, so what? It's still mostly going to be a fun-time plinking round, not something I'd really want to carry all the time. I don't mean this as an insult to the chambering; I'm aware that it's possible to use it for self-defense, but I can easily do better by stepping up to at least a .38, which I have plenty of.
I didn't take any .32 Long revolvers with me this time, but I've had similar accuracy problems with them-- not quite as bad, but a little over 2" at 10 yards from a rest is the very best I can do with them. Shooting offhand, single-action groups are at least an inch larger than what I can do with a 1911 (at 10 yards), and that's after doing quite a bit of load experimentation with both wadcutters and flat-nose LRN.
The .45 revolver is a hoot to shoot, especially since I put a reflex sight on it (those things really should be considered cheating!), but man... cleaning it is a pain in the butt, and fiddling around with the moonclips might be more trouble than it's worth, much as I like shooting with them.
The .357, well, yeah, it's a really great gun-- target model, original grips, all that, and it's hard to miss with especially in single action-- but I think I'm kind of tired of .357. I make my shot, read about a quarter of a book on thermodynamics, and the barrel's finally lined back up again for the next shot. Sometimes when the sights are ready to go again, my wrists go on strike and refuse to allow me to fire again. "Oh, no, you don't, buster, we're not doing that again today." As you can guess, I'm not Mr. Muscle to begin with, and my skinny wrists sure aren't getting any younger.
So I'm going to go back to focusing mostly on my 1911s in .45. I won't be getting rid of the other stuff, but the 1911 is how I started this grand handgun adventure when I got back into guns almost twenty years ago, and now I've come full circle back to them after a detour through many other designs and cartridges (in addition to what I've already mentioned, there's also .25ACP, 7.62x38R, 7.62x25, .38 S&W, 9mm, 9x18, and .380).
This wall of words isn't intended to persuade anyone of anything, and I'm sure that rational arguments can be made against any of my opinions-- but I thought it was funny that I'd started with 1911 in .45, wandered around through a forest of other stuff, and finally figured out that I'd had it right the first time, as far as my own enjoyment goes.
Colt 1903, .32ACP
Dan Wesson Valor V-Bob, .45ACP
S&W Model 325PD, .45ACP
S&W Model 67, .38 Special
S&W Model 19 6", .357 Magnum
As I was cleaning all the above, I reflected on how I'd done with each of them that day and in the past, and was surprised to discover that out of everything I have, I really simply like shooting the 1911 the best. I'm more accurate with it and it takes the least amount of effort to shoot well for me. I got interested in revolvers in a serious way about ten years ago and have spent a lot of time with them, and can shoot a .38 about as well and as fast as a 1911 (as long as that .38 is not a snubnose), but it's a lot more work somehow. Even after tens of thousands of rounds, keeping those sights steady in double action takes some work, especially when shooting fast. With a 1911, it's not like that.
.32ACP is a fun .22LR-level experience that I can reload for, so it has that going for it. But I have serious accuracy issues with that cartridge, regardless of whether it's the Colt with its invisible sights or one of my Berettas with adequate sights. My shooting companion, who has waaaay more shooting experience than me, had the same result, and considers the .32 to just be inaccurate generally. Oddly, I do better with my KelTec P32, which I can't really explain, though not that much better. Maybe I can improve that when I finally get around to experimenting with some different loads for it, but even if I do, so what? It's still mostly going to be a fun-time plinking round, not something I'd really want to carry all the time. I don't mean this as an insult to the chambering; I'm aware that it's possible to use it for self-defense, but I can easily do better by stepping up to at least a .38, which I have plenty of.
I didn't take any .32 Long revolvers with me this time, but I've had similar accuracy problems with them-- not quite as bad, but a little over 2" at 10 yards from a rest is the very best I can do with them. Shooting offhand, single-action groups are at least an inch larger than what I can do with a 1911 (at 10 yards), and that's after doing quite a bit of load experimentation with both wadcutters and flat-nose LRN.
The .45 revolver is a hoot to shoot, especially since I put a reflex sight on it (those things really should be considered cheating!), but man... cleaning it is a pain in the butt, and fiddling around with the moonclips might be more trouble than it's worth, much as I like shooting with them.
The .357, well, yeah, it's a really great gun-- target model, original grips, all that, and it's hard to miss with especially in single action-- but I think I'm kind of tired of .357. I make my shot, read about a quarter of a book on thermodynamics, and the barrel's finally lined back up again for the next shot. Sometimes when the sights are ready to go again, my wrists go on strike and refuse to allow me to fire again. "Oh, no, you don't, buster, we're not doing that again today." As you can guess, I'm not Mr. Muscle to begin with, and my skinny wrists sure aren't getting any younger.
So I'm going to go back to focusing mostly on my 1911s in .45. I won't be getting rid of the other stuff, but the 1911 is how I started this grand handgun adventure when I got back into guns almost twenty years ago, and now I've come full circle back to them after a detour through many other designs and cartridges (in addition to what I've already mentioned, there's also .25ACP, 7.62x38R, 7.62x25, .38 S&W, 9mm, 9x18, and .380).
This wall of words isn't intended to persuade anyone of anything, and I'm sure that rational arguments can be made against any of my opinions-- but I thought it was funny that I'd started with 1911 in .45, wandered around through a forest of other stuff, and finally figured out that I'd had it right the first time, as far as my own enjoyment goes.
