Range report

Sadly no pictures since our brains apparently run out our ears when we get to any range.  I'll blame it on the uncomfortable humidity today.  Nice temp, but it felt like a bathroom after you take a hot shower.  Ah Indiana, the humidity capital of the midwest.

The M19 shot well, it'll shoot better than I can make it right now.  That's good right?  Full length double action is different for a guy who's main irons are SA Rugers and 1911.  I'll adapt fine with practice.  A K-Frame is about as small a revolver as I can manage, its tough having hands the size of dinner plates.

The 125 grain loads I developed turned out to be too hot for our tastes, the low end is somewhat manageable in the K-Framed revolvers, but in Judge's J-Frame, they are just plain sick.  There is no follow up shot unless you're doing Anti-Aircraft drills.  The hot stuff is uncomfortable even in the K-Frames.  Luckily, I had purchased a box of Speer 158 grain Gold Dot PD rounds.  I shot them for comparison and they are a much milder load than the harsh 125 grain.  I like them quite a lot and I think Judge may just be swayed, especially after shooting them in his J-Frame.

So now the search is on for a good 158 grain hollow point that has good expansion properties.  From what I've read so far, these expand well at the 1,200 fps range which is the ballpark the Speer GD are rated.  I can't find Speer 158 grain JHP online, there are many other makers and I'll just have to pick one, the Hornady XTP has a good rep as does the Winchester Silvertip and Remington Golden Saber.  For some reason though, a partially jacketed hollow point appeals to me as well as Judge.  For me, it may come down to looks, which is a horrible reason to pick a bullet, but I'm flawed.

One thing I'd love to have during this process is a chronigraph so I can know exactly what the speed of a given load is out of different guns and from load to load.  Looks like I'll have to put that on my list of stuff to buy.  Guns is not the least expensive hobby, maybe I should have gone with stamps?

In other news, we also shot our respective 1911s.  Judge's ran fine which makes me happy to know that my hands were all over it and its been dead reliable since the last of the smithing.  Mine, not so much.  The slide stop kept engaging with rounds in the mag, very bad.  I just tried out some of Brian Enos' Slide Glide and while I don't think it caused the problem, I'll go back to something else next cleaning.  I'll polish up the slide stop pin which is what I think is causing it and try again.  Suffice it to say the M19 is now my carry gun.  I hate having no confidence in a gun!