Wilson Combat range tests
This past weekend I got to take my 1911 collection to the range along with a friend and family member that all brought their 1911 handguns. The real test I wanted to conduct is to see which magazines would all fall free from the guns when the magazine release was pressed and how reliable the guns were. It still amazes me that the number of people with AR15 rifle or 1911 handguns that are not using the best on the market with their guns, even though they carry them or use them for self defense. I have strongly felt that Magpul P-mags should replace every GI magazine in your inventory and I’m waiting to see if anyone comes out with handgun magazines as durable. I believe it is coming.
Wilson Combat magazines have been my favorite every since my first and only bad reliability range day with my Colt 1991A1. The second range trip with my Colt wasn’t very good because I had the same issue with the gun closing on an empty chamber. In a defensive situation, this is as bad as the gun stove piping. You will still have to manually cycle the gun to load it and you will even have to change the magazine out. Get Wilson Combat magazines and avoid the problem and toss your USGI magazines or move them to plinking malfunction drill range trips. Chip McCormick magazines are a close second place for me, but Wilson Combat has a good selection of gun accessories for your 1911 if you want to take a look.
I think more than half the guns I have picked up for my collection were police trade ins. CDNN investments is always one of the best places to find used handguns. If you are a Glock, Sig or Beretta gun lover. Check out their yearly catalog for used but hardly shot guns. I picked up a Glock 17 a few month ago and like many of the guns that are trade ins, this gun had mostly holster wear on the outside. One of my friends got one that was much more worn especially around the barrel. While something like barrel wear has to be analyzed closely, it rarely is much of a concern to me. Many of the used firearms you find in gun shops probable have less than 500rds through them and the reason they look beat up is because of the holsters that they were used with and the fact the owner didn’t clean them very well.
I had the opportunity to get out to the range again this week. I tend to bring the same bullet weights with me to firing ranges whenever I’m shooting my ARs because there can be really big differences in bullet trajectory when shooting out to 600yds. There is also a very big difference between bullet drift with just a few extra grains of weight. I’ve pulled the trigger on 150gr FMJ bullets out to 500yds that missed targets just depending on whether or not I fired during a wind gust or not. It’s really a lot of fun to shoot distances because you find out that it’s not all about how well you hold a gun down and how well you pull the trigger. Timing is something that really plays a factor when shooting into the wind. I use to shoot at a range that had a wind that blew from right from 100-300yds and when you got out to the 400-600yds, the wind blew from the left.
Back in the 1990s there was a lot of Eastern Com-Block guns coming into the Country. There were also a lot of MAK90s and SKS Rifles coming in from China. Not sure why there were so many Chinese guns coming in, but there must have been some house cleaning from the Militarys over there. You may be able to find a well made 7.62×39 rifle being made in the USA now, but they are pretty expensive and will cost you about the same as a new AR15 or more. Some of the nicest AKs are being by Arsenal Arms and they look and shoot great.
AR15s are as accessorable as legos. You can add on everyone accessory you can possible think of to an AR. There have a been a few funny spoof photos of people putting can openers and headlights on their guns, but it’s not far from the truth. There are reasons to have rails on various parts of a firearm, but most people won’t need anything more than a mount for optics, foregrip and a flashlight. Military applications open a whole new can of worms.
We all know that Glocks are tough, I won’t say they are the toughest because there are other guns out there that may be as tough, but they are in the top tier of firearms. We know that everyone likes to talk and argue about all of the flaws in firearms and which guns are more reliable than others. Some handguns are meant for concealment and are not combat worthy and aren’t expect to put 500rds through them without cleaning to function flawlessly.
The traditional setup for an AR usually means only mounting optics on the top, like an A3 AR and nothing on the sides. I know there are some variations that still can use a flashlight, but they are not as common. I was at the range putting my new setup to the test and after about 50rds of shooting, that cold hard, somewhat sharp 4 rail setup started to feel rough on my hands. I’ve decided to pick up some Tango Down rail panels to help protect my hands and the rails until I settle on which kind of M4 Carbine setup I’m going to go with. Still shopping for the right flashlight.