Range report from Saturday

Gene L

Had a good day Saturday, fired 3 handguns I hadn't shot in a while.  A .32 PPK, a 1917 S&W .45 ACP, and a .22 High Standard HD military.

I initially had a problem with the first round loading into the .32.  I believe it was something wrong with the round as I had the same problem with my second mag, same round.  I tossed the round and fired three mags, no problems.  Quite accurate and a really pleasant shooting pistol.

Second was the 1917 S&W.  Half-moon clips which were limited in my possession and damned near impossible to charge.  Few rounds shot as a result, but the gun was quite accurate and shot to the point of aim.  I ordered plastic full-moon clips last night which are supposed to be a lot easier to charge.

Last was the HD.  I'd bought it a few months before but never fired it.  An accurate pistol at 20 yards.  Well pleased.

My shooting bud shot his Ruger 101 (Not sure about the model, it was the 5-shot .357.  100?)  He reported it was a handful with the .357s but pleasant with .38s.  I shot it with the .38s and it was pleasant and accurate.

He confirmed zero om his AR at close, HD range.  He insists on using the large aperture rear sight, and was able to get an acceptable HD group, and refused to use the small aperture as he figured the large was faster to acquire.  Which I guess it is.

One more thing about 1917s.  On another board, a guy bought what was sold as a 1917 S&W.  It wasn't, it was not a military model, but one where some faker had faked both the lettering on the butt and the "Property of the US Army" lettering on the bottom of the barrel, by hand.  It was done pretty well and attempted the same font and spacing as the factory, but it was hand engraved and not perfect.  It would have fooled me, but it didn't fool the members of that board who quickly pointed out the difference between the original and the fake, and once pointed out, it was obvious. A lot of it had to do with spacing...stood out to the experts on that board like a sore thumb.

I had no idea there was such a thing as a fake 1917.  There must be a market for the real thing that led someone to hand cut the lettering.  Must have taken a lot of time and a good amount of skill at engraving.  So if you're in the market for a 1917, look carefully at it before you invest money.

earlyagain

From poking around on line it seems like all kinds of odd or common paraphernalia from WWII are finding demand of varying amount as time marches on. Im sure 1917's will only increase in value.

I found a video this morning about Drillings issued to the Luftwaffe. Fascinating stuff, and very expensive, well made guns.

I guess the different apertures are the difference between shooting at distance for fun and close up for survival.

NN

Yeah, half moonclips are a PIA; I tend to bend them getting the center piece of brass out and need a pliers to hold them after one case is removed.

Diver43

A Army buddy had a revolver that used  45 apc with moon clips. His issues ensured I never bought my own 

Gene L

Mine shoots pretty well and so far, no issues.  It's as accurate (IMO) as a 1911 GI .45.  But that's not saying a lot.  Acceptable trigger and a relatively smooth DA for a 100 year old Army N frame revolver.  Once I get some clips for it, I can wring it out and be a better judge.

earlyagain

Id suggest auto rim cartridges, but loading would likely take more time than using the clips.

JunkCollector

They make tools for loading and unloading of moon clips.
They also as Gene mentioned have the plastic clips.
You can use autorim.
You can even shoot acp without the clips and they will either fall out with gun inverted or can easily be pushed out with a pencil.

Nothing too difficult about them that isn't easily fixed.
Many that shoot them regularly have a supply of clips and load unload at home.