They can still be had for $300 or so, if you shop around. It came with two mags (7 round and & round); I bought three more 8-round mags. I'll probably get one more 7-round mag so I have a spare for that.
I have 200 rounds through it; 100 rounds of Ten Ring range ammo and 100 rounds of Winchester's steel-cased ammo. Neither brand is exactly premium fodder. One of the Ten Ring rounds had a bent-over case mouth that escaped QC. The Winchester stuff, on occasion, didn't have enough oomph to cycle the slide.
Some Federal HST ran flawlessly.
The sights were off enough to require a trip to a gunsmith to move them over. Both the front and rear sights were off. He centerized both with an impressive piece of kit, a MGW sight tool and verified alignment with a micrometer. A quick trip back to the range confirmed it.
It shoots pretty well. It weighs 18.4 oz empty on my postal scale, putting it a few ounces over a Model 442 Airweight, and being much easier to shoot. Part of that is because the gun itself is using up some of the recoil energy to function; whereas in the Airweight, you get it all. Not to mention you get 8 or 9 cartridges instead of the Airweight's five.
One downside is one really should shoot a fair number of rounds through a new auto to ensure that the gun is past the infant mortality stage. With a revolver, it's more shoot enough to confirm the sight alignment and you're mainly good to go.
Hey EB. I'm just getting back to shooting after a long hiatus, and am wondering about which handgun to buy. I"ll head to our local range to rent and test as many as I can, but beyond that, any advice on what to test and how to choose would be most welcome.
ReplyDeleteThanks
John,
ReplyDeleteThat is too broad a question. What are you planning to use the gun for? Target shooting (and what kind)? Hunting? Home defense? Concealed carry?
Do you have any physical limitations?
How are you carrying that little thing? I've currently got a Ruger LCP for pocket carry and a Glock 19 for IWB. I'm now considering something in the Shield\G43 range for appendix carry. Any thoughts on the suitability of the Shield? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFS, mostly IWD at around 3:00 position. Depending on your body type, a Shield would work. I don't know that I'd want to carry a striker-fired gun AIWB without either a thumb-safety or a control device, like the gadget.
ReplyDelete