Haven't shot pistols for years, not since the halcyon days of the 1980s and the Prince of Wales Division training depot (Browning Hi-Powers). Then I moved to Texas and everything changed, so it was off to the excellent Ray's Sporting Goods in Dallas for some advice and a handgun at a sensible price.
The helpful man behind the counter was just that, suggesting the Berretta PX 4 Storm. It felt good and I meditated on the prospect for a while, trying out other offerings in the same price range - Taurus, CZ, XD, Glock et al. I kept going back to the Berretta, I don't know, maybe it was the look of the thing, or maybe the way it felt in the hand, but I bit the proverbial bullet and made the purchase. I asked for a 9mm, paid for it, bought some ammo and took it back home.
Imagine my surprise when The Nine turned out to be a .45. Ray's had upgraded me; who knows, maybe they thought a larger caliber was somehow more appropriate. Well, that's what I got and I have to say its been a real joy to shoot - far easier than I'd expected - and accurate too, that is until I get excited by the sound and fury of the beast.
Well done Beretta and well done Rays for providing hours of pure pistol enjoyment. I guess a revolver's next...
Keep pulling the trigger.
LSP
One of these days I would like to get something like that but I'm having to much fun with my 1860 Colt Army 44 Black Powder Revolver.
ReplyDelete9mm is nominally .355, most people that carry or shoot on any significant level are shooting something that starts with a ".4" designation unless they're buying a hideout/summer gun like a little .380 or such or it starts with .357 and ends in MAGNUM. They probably thought you made a mistake in ordering and were correcting the error in your ways :-)
ReplyDelete9mm doesn't make major power factor for IPSC/IDPA and it doesn't make as big of holes in things for self defense and .45ACP is easier to shoot than anything else ".4" other than .45LC (which recoils about the same and has very similar ballistics) because of the gentle strong push type recoil, rather than a sharper push like the .40. Providence.
Down the road we can introduce you to the gospel of the 1911, perhaps? Maybe some reloading dies?
For future reference, though, a real .45ACP looks more like this or this and doesn't have any Italian words on it. :-)
Welcome to the club of the .45ACP. Like a .455 Web but WAY BETTER.
I suppose we may have differing opinions as to "sensible price". Sis once asked me "How many .45s do you need anyway?" and I said "Dunno, seven or 8 unless you count .45-70s and .458s and .577-450 Martini-Henry rifles too! Then you'd need way more!" and she just grimaced and walked away.
The 1860 sounds fantastic - as you know, the nanny state in England has pretty much banned hand guns - so only the bad guys can have them... But, you can shoot black powder; a couple of friends really enjoy enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI know - I've begun to learn about the .45: far easier to shoot than I'd expected.
Gospel of the 1911 sounds right on target + reloading. You know what they say about guns, "You can't have too many".
Cheers,
LSP
PS. Really enjoy your site Rick - thanks.
Maybe if we meet up for barbecue we could combine it with a Tiger Valley or Ft. Hood range trip.
ReplyDeleteRemember though, at Ft. Hood I'm only allowed 5 firearms per day for entry on base :-) But I could bring out a couple or 4 1911s...wouldn't feel myself if I didn't bring at least one rifle...Tiger Valley I can bring as many as I want but you have to pay for range time. Compromises!
Just for braggin, cos I reckon I can get away with it, this was the first gunsmithing (black powered) project I ever did, replica of the Ethan Allens I did in 1987 or 88. She's fun too! First generation revolver before they decided maybe you didn't a needs a more than one barrels on yer gun.
Black Powder!
Black Powder!
Stick it to the MAN!
Black Powder!
Truthfully, the mid/late-1800s Colt and Rem .44 and .45 front stuffer ballistics (and copies) aren't much off from .45LC and .45ACP, just slower on reloading if you avoid the brass and bronzed ones where wrong metals (i.e. other than steel) were used to build them.
The replica looks great - TV/FH/BBQ excursion sounds powerful.
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps that God favours the 1911... what variant would you recommend?
Want to get another rifle first though. Perversely attracted to sporterised Ishapore (7.62)- but they all star to look interesting after a browse.
LSP
If you were to buy a new one, my personal bigotry at the moment is that the CZ Dan Wesson 1911 variants are the best out of the box of late. Fall in that grey area of "Production / Near Customs". They use all the right parts, the fit and finish and fitting, up to and including a sweet trigger, are all correct out of the box. But you're looking at +$1,000 guns. Drop the price point down to production guns and Kimbers and Colts are the way to go but you might want to swap a few parts around, might need minor gunsmithing to suit. Go up from the CZ Dan Wesson price point and you almost may as well just have a custom built to suit.
ReplyDeleteYup, they're most all interesting (though I've little love for combloc stuff) and everybody has their favorites. That's how I ended up with so dang many of them. Some people collect paintings...but you can't take paintings to the range or use them for hunting.