P95 & other 9mm impressions

[ArmedinAZ]

On a business trip to Atlanta last week I was able to spend a couple of hours at an indoor range with Mike J shooting range guns, his guns, and generally having a good time talking...GUNS. Following are my impressions of the pistols we shot. Keep in mind the situation before you disagree and/or defend your favorite blaster. Most pistols were shot with only one or 2 dry fires, some just loaded up and shot. I think I shot at most 4 - 5 shot strings out of any of the pistols.

P95. I really wanted to shoot one of these, it's probably the most loved P-gun Ruger makes. I made 2 dry fires, loaded 5 in the mag and shot deliberate shots at 10 yards at a 5 bull target, (3" black?) 1" group with 4 shots touching in 3/4". Total surprise considering the "combat accuracy" reported generally. Feels fine in the hand and the pull was smooth and probably in the 5 lb range. Don't like the slide mounted safety but could live with a DC model. If I come across one of these for a good price I'll buy it. I handed it over to Mike,he shot a couple of semi rapid fire strings and liked it. Problems started when I tried to put some more rounds through it. Turned it in for the SR9.

SR9 Round mag release. Trigger STIFF & stacking. Someone jacked the rear sight, shooting 8" high @ 10 yards. Shot 3 strings to be fair and could only do 2". Wish they had the D button to try. Blah.

P944 Mike handed me his 944 with Hogue grip. Felt just like the P93 I had, trigger not quite as nice as the P95, shot best of 1.065" with a flyer. Other groups under 1.5". Snappier as expected.

XD40 Next up Mike's XD40. Nice grip shape, trigger fine, (these are really S/A triggers), best group 1.125", others under 1.5". Feels better to me than the XDM I tried.

GLOCK 19 Grabbed this one for Mike to shoot. I shot kinda fast at a full size silhouette since I have one of these and know what it does. Loosest mag I've ever felt. Mike liked it.

Beretta P92 Been curious about these, hear mixed reviews. Nice trigger but I got 1.75" best groups @ 10 yards. For the heck of it I ran the silhouette out to 50 feet and shot 5 shots under 2" with it. :shock: Big grip feels good.

HK P30 A $1000 plastic gun? Best trigger in the bunch (better be), feels good, best groups 1.25" but by this time getting tired.

KelTec P11 Mike's gun. I hated the only other one I shot but Mike reshaped the trigger with hot water and a broom handle :!: :?: so it didn't hurt me. Long DA pull, best 3.75" at 10 yards. Couple of FT somethings, can't remember.

Dan Wesson 357 Ya gotta make a big noise at an indoor range and it delivered! Nice trigger, nice groups. Hogue grip really works on this revolver. Mike's gun.

Heritage Arms with birds head grip. Great shooting little .22! Never shot this grip before, actually fits really well. Despite the lack of a decent rear sight it shot good groups. Mike's gun.

GSG 1911 .22 Last but not least. Good heft, nice trigger. What a blast to shoot a 1911 with NO muzzle flip. Just watch the front sight and shoot. Gotta git me one of these!

Good range trip and a good visit over coffee afterward. Hope Mike kicks in with his thoughts. I came away liking the P95 and still cool on the SR9. The Beretta was a surprise at 50'. Gotta get one of those GSGs. I think the rentals at this range live a hard life so the problems don't bother me. Usually a gun doesn't get more accurate with abuse. :wink:

 

[polseszczyk]

Thanks for the nice mix of impressions. Glad you had a great time.

samuel

 

[revhigh]

Good shooting Jeff !!

REV

 

[Cheesewhiz]

I was wanting to know who was the snazzier dresser.

Sounds like you guys had fun.

 

[ArmedinAZ]

I just remembered that Mike works away all week so he'll probably add something on the weekend.

Rev, Thanks, but I'm a middling shooter at best and was really concentrating on the feel & function of the pistols. The P95 really surprised me.

Cheez, I'd say we were equally working class.

 

[Mike J]

Jeff really did a lot more detailed examination of these guns than I did.

I did like the P-95 It felt nice in my hand. Jeff is right it does have a nicer trigger than my P944.

The trigger on the SR9 did feel really stiff. I guess someone had raised the rear sight on it up to try to compensate for their flinch. I would like to try to shoot one of the newer ones or a SR9c to see how different it feels.

The Glock 19 was easy to shoot nice trigger, nonexistent recoil.

I liked the Beretta. I liked the way the grip felt & I liked the trigger the DA/SA transition was really easy. I think I could get used to one of these.

The HK felt really nice in my hand & was easy to shoot. What I actually liked the best about this gun was the front sight. It had a narrow blade that made it easier to see in the rear sight notch.

Like I said Jeff was taking his time & carefully evaluating each of these guns. Some times I have a hard time making my self slow down that much but this was a lot of fun & Jeff is a great guy. It had actually been a long time since I had shot a 9mm other than the little Kel Tec. After shooting mostly .40 for the past few years I found recoil on all these guns to be negligible.

The Kel Tec failed to go into battery a couple of times when I shot it the other night also. I believe this is my fault I have not been carrying it & I had not cleaned it since the last time I shot it before this. Please don't ask how long ago that was.



The GSG 1911 .22 was a really neat gun. Fun to shoot. It stovepiped on me a couple of times. I think it was either just dirty or maybe it didn't like the Winchester bulk pack ammo we were feeding it.

 

[ArmedinAZ]

Some times I have a hard time making my self slow down that much

Yeah, it was pop-pop-pop-pop-pop in the other lane.

After shooting mostly .40 for the past few years I found recoil on all these guns to be negligible.

Wish I could get my Glock 29 in your hand. :shock:

 

[Bapple]

I love my Beretta 90 two as well! It has a great trigger from the factory but I lightened it up by changing the hammer spring (at about 4 lbs SA). It is my first handgun and has never had one failure to book and shoots all my reloads (no FTF, FTE, or light strike).

But I also love my new SR9c. They are both in different classes for sure. The SR9c I'd say is easier to get used to because it shoots DAO all the time, the trigger bites quicker, and the gun is so light. But, the Beretta has its place and is accurate as hell.

I think if you give the SR9c a try you will prefer it over the SR9. The light trigger feels great.

 

[Mike J]

Some times I have a hard time making my self slow down that much

Yeah, it was pop-pop-pop-pop-pop in the other lane.

After shooting mostly .40 for the past few years I found recoil on all these guns to be negligible.

Wish I could get my Glock 29 in your hand. :shock:

That would be fun.

 

[Mike J]

Just wanted to add that when I wrote recoil on the 9mm's was negligible it wasn't a criticism. 9mm really is more controllable.

It was fun Cheese. Jeff is a great guy. It was neat to get to sample different guns.

 

[oldiron1]

Thanks for the review!

In regards to the GSG, I wanted to just add that I have one and absolutely LOVE it! I have been in the market for a 1911 platform rimfire for a while and for the last few months have been reading reviews on the new GSG, but unfortunately no dealers in my neck of the woods had them.

About two weeks ago a small dealer got a couple in and it was love at first feel for me. I bought it and have only put about 200 rounds through it so far with no malfunctions. I've only used the CCI's and it has been flawless. It's a very accurate, easy to shoot gun, but it feels very well constructed as well.

My only complaint is just cosmetic and has to do with all the white lettering GSG put on the right side of the slide, but that's my ONLY complaint.

I would recommend the GSG to everyone!