Today began with a long drive and big breakfast. I rather like road trips.
UPDATE
I am in my native place and have met a friend who is on the Minneapolis PD. We have begun to kill some paper.
NB: muzzle flash!
I tried my XD-S. I wasn’t happy with the results today. Everything else I shot well. The XD-S though…. I am going to have to send a lot more rounds down range before I decide about this one. My friend shot it better than I did but he found it odd. The trigger doesn’t feel good at all after the factory recall.
Later I’ll meet up with my literary group. Today we will read some Richard Wilbur.
UPDATE
We read a fine selection of Wilbur’s poetry. Talented guy, charming content. I was struck by A Plain Song For Comadre and also … several others, frankly, for sparking in me what Walt Whitman might have called “spots of time”.
For supper the group went to a nice sort of fusion resto.
I started with a salad that had crunchy things and little green plants that tasted good. There was also some goat cheese. And for the curious the wine – which one of the reading group members brought – was a Barbera. The thing on the little plate is bread, brownish in color, all in all.
My next course involved fettuccine made in the house… that’s a kind of pasta for those of you in Columbia Heights. The stuff on them was a ragu of venison (which they lamely called “bolognese”) and kale, with little cubes of thingy, and creme fraiche. It was well with the Nottola Vin Nobile di Montepulciano. Quite well. Well tasting indeed!
Both sadly and happily I had to share the wine with 4 other people. Alas some of the members couldn’t join for supper. Which reminds me of the poem about the Wedding Toast poem.
The reading group was enjoyable and instructive. This was refreshment for the mind and spirit.
Shooting range… Poetry with friends of decades… Vino Nobile… a roof, hot water and a cot….
The last three being more than what many have tonight.
Ant. Salva nos, * Dómine, vigilántes, custódi nos dormiéntes; ut vigilémus cum Christo, et requiescámus in pace.
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Father Z, maybe there is some misalignment int the sights. Was your shot group tight? I’m spoiled with the Glock, but that XD-S should be pretty tight.
HK 45. Pricier but worth it. S/F
Sights…. I would like to think it was that. I think it was my anticipation of the recoil. It’s a .45 and it is really small.
I am a long-time fan of the .45 ACP, starting in 1959 with a $25 GI 1911. My first venture into mini-45 autos was a Kahr CW45. Great trigger and fantastic accuracy for the size and weight. What it did not have was reliability. It has been on consignment now for several months with no takers. Great concept, not so great in the execution. (low-ball offers, anyone?)
Although a confirmed Glock-hater, I recently parked my 5 shot J frame and sprung for a Gen 4 Glock 19. It not only runs like a Timex and fits my smallish hands; but I can actually, unlike a previous Model 17, hit well with it. We may have a winner here. As a retired LEO and firearms instructor, reliability is the name of the game.
In view of all this I may well take a very hard look at the Glock 30S mini .45 which is getting very good write-ups.
Front sight and follow through!
If it’s really small, could switching out the grips possibly help? I had a Smith .357 that felt a little clunky to me until I changed out the grips. If that still doesn’t do it for you, you might have to have the trigger function re-worked. Wasn’t that part of the issue with the recall to begin with? Maybe their “fix” isn’t much of a fix?
Sights…. I would like to think it was that. I think it was my anticipation of the recoil. It’s a .45 and it is really small.
You were probably jerking the trigger if they changed it after the recall. In that case, I agree with the more rounds you send down range, the tighter your grouping will become. You otherwise sound very proficient.
What poems did you end up reading? Richard Wilbur is fantastic!
Maybe a trip to a gunsmith and have the trigger pull weight adjusted down a tad? Not expensive and can make a big difference is trigger pull weight has changed.
I am not partial to .45ACP. It is too expensive to shoot on a routine basis. I have a Walther P99 in 9mm. Some will argue a 9 does not have stopping power. I make up for that with Hornady Custom Critical Ammo and 15 round magazines.
Dienekes says: 30S
YES! I really want to get my hands on one of those. Hard to get right now. The Gen 4 will be even slimmer, I understand.
tstracey says: Richard Wilbur
We haven’t started yet. One of the members of the group put together a reading list which should be reasonable and representative. If I have a little time later I’ll share some of the titles.
However the first few will be
Matthew VIII 28 ff
A Christmas Hymn (I would like to hear this set to music by James MacMillan)
The Pelican
A Plainsong for Comadre (wonderful)
Hamlen Brook
To the Etruscan Poet
A Summer Morning
Etc.
Any idea what the recall was for?
Often times trigger springs do not pass pull-weight tests; being too light.
James Joseph says: recall
It was slam firing when slapping in a mag and could go full auto when doing double taps, which I think we can agree is not optimal.
The trigger is definitely tighter and less smooth. At one point, after about 50 rounds or so, it just went sort of “crunch” and didn’t fire. It wasn’t the round. Strange.
Congratulations to the cameraman! He was able to capture the muzzle flash with what I assume was your smart phone’s camera.
I predict that with more rounds downrange you will get back on target.
Father, for the life of me I just cannot fathom why anyone would not like the M1911-A1. Perhaps I’m too old and set in my ways? I like the Canadian Army arsenal-marked Browning Hi-Power that my father acquired from a North Vietnamese Army officer who no longer needed it. It shoots well, but … the grip just seems a tad uncomfortable to me; as well, the M9 grip is just too doggone fat.
Still …. I’d rather have seven .45 ACPs than thirteen NATO 9 mike-mikes.
–Guy
Is it just me or are those very small eggs?
Hope you get the weapon sorted out.
Frjim, LOL! Maybe the plate is extra large? Either that or those are Banty eggs.
That was a cool shot, with the flash and all!
I’m still waiting to get my XDS back from the recall. Sadness.
ghp95134 says: 1911
I have been looking at a 1911 by Springfield Arms called the Range Officer.
Anyone know it?
BTW… Re: 9m… How about 17+1 with a good self defense round?
I still like my Ruger P345 in .45 cal.. I can shoot it very accurately and hardly notice the recoil. My 9mm Makarov kicks harder. or should I say sharper. Self defense round is 230 grain LHP by Federal.
I like the bigger caliber bullets rather than having “extra 9mm” rounds.
But its like the old timers say; its not what you shoot’m with but where you shoot’m.
1) I’m glad I finally recognize a food that Fr. Z eats with the breakfast pic.
2) I am also reminded that I need to go to the range.
3) Glocks are solid.
That is almost a proper New England breakfast. Just needs a couple of fat link sausages and a pot of baked beans!
It takes minutes to learn how to hold a gun, and gain your sights, but years to practice the trigger-pull.
Try this: have your friend load live rounds with dummy rounds, and then watch how your gun still twitches even when the round doesn’t go off (you’re right: the anticipation is what throws your group off, but it is much more than that.)
For me, the trigger is like my love’s cheek: I caress it, I don’t jerk it! Use the tip of your finger, sight your target, and close your eyes–you are on a beach or wherever you find peace–with your eyes still closed, and your breath half out, SLOWLY pull the trigger (nice little trigger trigger!); don’t blame your trigger for the small little explosion that is about to go off in your hand–LOVE your trigger! You will shoot better with your eyes closed then your eyes open!
[Nice speech. On the other hand, the XDS is the only one I have this problem with.]
Father, that target is looking awfully close . . . just joshing with you