tahunua001
Member
hello all.
even though this is about both rifles and pistols I figured I'd post this experience here and let the MODs bicker about who has to babysit
having a 4 day weekend thrown in my lap and nothing to do with myself, I decided to go to my local indoor range with a buddy of mine and just work off range rentals.
first up was the FN Herstal FS2000. I have been entertaining the idea of getting a bullpup rifle for years and on many occassions they have slipped their way into my "Hairbrained Idear of the Day". after extensive research I found that the FS2000 is the most heavily reccommended bullpup on the market so I was overcome with joy when I saw it on the ranges rental roster. after getting it to the range I noted that even though it was quite compact and ergonomic the controls were incredibly different from any rifle I've had the pleasure of shooting. the safety is mounted inside the triggerguard and the mag release, was difficult to locate in all that plastic. it shot like a dream but the aperture on the rear sight is literally smaller in diameter than your average toothpick, even in the low light evironment of the indoor range it was next to impossible to get a sight picture. in addition the trigger is a half inch wide chunk of plastic with an overly long pull that I found hideous. FN took the time of making a well built, compact and sturdy design but completely botched the two most important parts when it comes to accuracy. me and my buddy gave up after a single box of ammo and exchanged it for a bushmaster "M4" so we could shoot up the rest of our 223 we bought.
then my buddy suggested that we get a handgun so I went and got the only handgun that we had never rented before: the Sig 226. I know I give Sig owners a lot of guff on here so I was feeling a little hypocritical when I started trying to make an unbiased opinion about this gun. even though it was a bit heavier than the polymer pistols I use and love and the grip texture was a little overly agressive for my liking, the grips fit my hand extremely well. I never fired it in double action but single action trigger was smooth and very light. as customary I set my "5, 6" paper plates target" at 7 yards to gauge how I interact with a new pistol and about pooped myself when every shot hit dead center on each plate. even at the range max of 25 yards I was hitting those targets with almost boring efficiency. ok Sig Guys, I will lighten up a bit, I've finally found one that I like. unfortunately even with decocker, there is no safety beyond keeping my finger off the trigger so even though it's a little more safe than a glock, I still would not feel safe owning one and $800-ish pricing it's a bit above my normal range for handguns.
last in the pistol department my buddy asked me to rent a 45ACP so I took the sig back and got the only 45 that they had that wasn't in use at the moment: RIA 45 GI. I'd rented this gun from this range before and experienced utter defeat. this gun failed to enter battery about twice every mag regardless of grip, the other 3 shooters in my group had it FTEB on almost every shot. I exchanged it for a second and it also had the same problem, the ranges excuse was that they hadn't been cleaned that week. well on this trip the clerk actually had to wipe this one down because it had just been cleaned and had been heavily lubed. my friend, who had been with me the last time we got a 1911 here groaned when I walked in but we decided to give this one a chance since it was freshly maintained. well... no FTEBs but the trigger just felt odd. I was getting about average handgun accuracy(for me it's about 4-6 inches at 10 yards) but it seemed that the trigger broke early and full stop was where I'm used to normal break point. I have also been entertaining the idea of a 1911 in my collection for some time but I think at this point I'm just too used to the so called "toy triggers" to be of much use with a "mans gun". also even when fully lubed as it was the slide was operating lethargically and I actually found myself shooting faster than the slide could operate.
just before packing up I struck up a conversation with a retired navy chaplain who had his mosin nagant 91/30 there and he was gracious enough to let me and my friend each shoot 5 rounds from it. I have been entertaining the idea of getting a pair of 9130s and sporting one of them and leaving the other military but after shooting this I would say that would probably be a waste of time and money. even though I loved the kickk and I still plan on getting 1 for a cheap plinker it it just too long and probably require a barrel chop(which is a lot of expensive work for a $100 rifle) and the bolt is just so cheezey that I almost started laughing trying to cycle it. I've found myself talking about my enfield NO4 a lot whenever mosin threads pop up here but now that I've shot both the comparison just seems obsurd.
all in all I had a lot of preconceptions about a lot of guns shattered by a single trip to the range... ignorance is bliss.
even though this is about both rifles and pistols I figured I'd post this experience here and let the MODs bicker about who has to babysit
having a 4 day weekend thrown in my lap and nothing to do with myself, I decided to go to my local indoor range with a buddy of mine and just work off range rentals.
first up was the FN Herstal FS2000. I have been entertaining the idea of getting a bullpup rifle for years and on many occassions they have slipped their way into my "Hairbrained Idear of the Day". after extensive research I found that the FS2000 is the most heavily reccommended bullpup on the market so I was overcome with joy when I saw it on the ranges rental roster. after getting it to the range I noted that even though it was quite compact and ergonomic the controls were incredibly different from any rifle I've had the pleasure of shooting. the safety is mounted inside the triggerguard and the mag release, was difficult to locate in all that plastic. it shot like a dream but the aperture on the rear sight is literally smaller in diameter than your average toothpick, even in the low light evironment of the indoor range it was next to impossible to get a sight picture. in addition the trigger is a half inch wide chunk of plastic with an overly long pull that I found hideous. FN took the time of making a well built, compact and sturdy design but completely botched the two most important parts when it comes to accuracy. me and my buddy gave up after a single box of ammo and exchanged it for a bushmaster "M4" so we could shoot up the rest of our 223 we bought.
then my buddy suggested that we get a handgun so I went and got the only handgun that we had never rented before: the Sig 226. I know I give Sig owners a lot of guff on here so I was feeling a little hypocritical when I started trying to make an unbiased opinion about this gun. even though it was a bit heavier than the polymer pistols I use and love and the grip texture was a little overly agressive for my liking, the grips fit my hand extremely well. I never fired it in double action but single action trigger was smooth and very light. as customary I set my "5, 6" paper plates target" at 7 yards to gauge how I interact with a new pistol and about pooped myself when every shot hit dead center on each plate. even at the range max of 25 yards I was hitting those targets with almost boring efficiency. ok Sig Guys, I will lighten up a bit, I've finally found one that I like. unfortunately even with decocker, there is no safety beyond keeping my finger off the trigger so even though it's a little more safe than a glock, I still would not feel safe owning one and $800-ish pricing it's a bit above my normal range for handguns.
last in the pistol department my buddy asked me to rent a 45ACP so I took the sig back and got the only 45 that they had that wasn't in use at the moment: RIA 45 GI. I'd rented this gun from this range before and experienced utter defeat. this gun failed to enter battery about twice every mag regardless of grip, the other 3 shooters in my group had it FTEB on almost every shot. I exchanged it for a second and it also had the same problem, the ranges excuse was that they hadn't been cleaned that week. well on this trip the clerk actually had to wipe this one down because it had just been cleaned and had been heavily lubed. my friend, who had been with me the last time we got a 1911 here groaned when I walked in but we decided to give this one a chance since it was freshly maintained. well... no FTEBs but the trigger just felt odd. I was getting about average handgun accuracy(for me it's about 4-6 inches at 10 yards) but it seemed that the trigger broke early and full stop was where I'm used to normal break point. I have also been entertaining the idea of a 1911 in my collection for some time but I think at this point I'm just too used to the so called "toy triggers" to be of much use with a "mans gun". also even when fully lubed as it was the slide was operating lethargically and I actually found myself shooting faster than the slide could operate.
just before packing up I struck up a conversation with a retired navy chaplain who had his mosin nagant 91/30 there and he was gracious enough to let me and my friend each shoot 5 rounds from it. I have been entertaining the idea of getting a pair of 9130s and sporting one of them and leaving the other military but after shooting this I would say that would probably be a waste of time and money. even though I loved the kickk and I still plan on getting 1 for a cheap plinker it it just too long and probably require a barrel chop(which is a lot of expensive work for a $100 rifle) and the bolt is just so cheezey that I almost started laughing trying to cycle it. I've found myself talking about my enfield NO4 a lot whenever mosin threads pop up here but now that I've shot both the comparison just seems obsurd.
all in all I had a lot of preconceptions about a lot of guns shattered by a single trip to the range... ignorance is bliss.
