Mixed Day At The Range

[Havok7416]

I went to my local range yesterday to test two new (to me) guns. The first was a S&W Shield 380EZ. I've owned a few over the years and they always seem to find their way into a new shooter's hands. This one will likely end up with my mom. But before I made that decision, I knew I'd have to test it out, so along it came. These guns are pretty run of the mill, and apart from the gun shooting left of POA there isn't much to say about this gun. its getting a red dot installed anyway.


The second gun I've been pretty anxious to test. It's a PSA Dagger Compact that I picked up during on of PSA's constant sales. For around $470, counting transfer fees and taxes, I got the gun, 10 mags and a very nice soft case. The gun is also optics ready out of the box, has steel 1/3 cowitness sights and a threaded barrel. For those who may not be familiar with these guns, they are essentially Glock clones (the 19 in this case), but there are improvements to the grip and trigger primarily IMO.


Before I went out on the range, I checked out the used gun display (I always do). In the case was a stainless/alloy Taurus PT92 AFS. For most this would likely be a big yawn, but this model has the frame mounted safety, which as it happens, is exactly what I've wanted in this platform for awhile. Further, the price OTD ended up at $323, so I bought it and brought it out to the range with me. It has potential, but I'm too far out of practice at the moment to bring it out.


Anyway, the day had it's ups and downs, but I think I came out ahead at the end od it.

 

[Rebel Dave]

Nice Pistols, thanks for posting.

Dave

 

[21H40]

Awww... c'mon, man! I need to hear more about that Dagger! I've had my eye on them for a while, but hadn't really been in the market for a 9mm. Now I am, and I'm really curious about how yours worked on the range

 

[Havok7416]

Awww... c'mon, man! I need to hear more about that Dagger! I've had my eye on them for a while, but hadn't really been in the market for a 9mm. Now I am, and I'm really curious about how yours worked on the range

This thread was originally intended to heavily feature the Dagger. I will get back out with it, but it will be a few weeks. I will say that the trigger is a major improvement from a Glock. The face is much wider and seems flatter as well. The frame allows for a higher grip. It gives it a feel somewhat close to a CZ for me.

 

[Havok7416]

Annoyingly, I discovered that PT92 and Beretta mags are not interchangeable... at least not without some work. That puts a slight damper on the new Taurus but I will overcome eventually.

 

[Havok7416]

I got the Dagger back out and shot it extensively on 2 occasions (3 total outings). The 2nd attempt with the gun ended up being a miserable failure - the screws for the optic wouldn't stay put and I forgot the tools I needed both to tighten the screws back down and to adjust the optic itself. On the way home I made sure to purchase some blue Loctite. A quick application of the Loctite at home and I was good to go for the next day. The 3rd trip with the Dagger was great and really showed the potential of this gun. It is obviously very similar to a Glock, but it just feels better in my hand. The trigger is wider than a stock Glock version and this helps distribute the pressure from my finger more evenly. I still need lots of trigger time with the Dagger to get it really dialed in, but I really have been lacking time to shoot generally and my skills have gone downhill massively. In the pic below, the holes filled in with black (the top targets) are from the 2nd time at the range when the optic came loose. Most of the holes that have white backfill came from the 3rd outing where I was able to get everything sighted in properly. All shooting was conducted just beyond 10 yards, although I traditionally shoot around 15 yards. The very bottom left target has a hole way below it - I pulled a shot badly.



I have a further update on the PT92. I took it into my phenomenal gunsmith and told him about the gun not working with Beretta 92FS (Mec Gar) magazines. Originally I wanted him to make cuts to my Mec Gar magazines so they could be used in either the PT92 or any Beretta 92-type magwell (such as my Beretta Cx4). After discussing things for a bit, he suggested modifying the mag release on the PT92. Today I picked up the PT92 and my gunsmith outdid himself. Not only does the gun accept its original magazine, it also accepts the Mec Gars that it was modified for. The only hang up is that the slide will not lock to the rear with the factory PT92 mag (which I don't care about). The cost was a super affordable $42. I could not be more pleased. All that remains is to take the gun out and test fire it to make sure everything functions properly.

 

[1KPerDay]

Any details on what he did to the mag release?

 

[Havok7416]

Any details on what he did to the mag release?

From how he explained it initially, he was going to remove material from the square contact area on the mag catch itself to match the shape of the hole on the Mec Gar/Beretta mag. The original plan was to make the gun function with both types of mags by modifying the mags themselves. The concept came from Triple K, who make mags for out-of-production guns. They offer a mag for the Beretta 92FS that says it also works in the PT92. Sadly they don't have a picture online and that mag is $40 (plus it only holds 15 rounds). Comparing the two mags side by side we figured they took PT92 mags - which have a square cutout to engage the mag catch - and simply made a narrow, oblong, horizontal cut through the middle of the original hole that matches the profile of the Beretta catch. The downside to that from our point of view was that each mag (6 total) would have to be hand fit - a waste of his time and my money.

The picture below isn't an exact alignment of the 2 mags, but it's pretty close. As you can see, the Taurus design wraps around the front of the mag, while the Beretta design is much thinner. I assume when he made the cuts on the mag catch he got the measurement off by just a hair, which caused the PT92 mag to drop down just far enough when seated to load rounds into the gun while also preventing the follower from engaging the slide stop.

 

[Mstafford88]

Awww... c'mon, man! I need to hear more about that Dagger! I've had my eye on them for a while, but hadn't really been in the market for a 9mm. Now I am, and I'm really curious about how yours worked on the range