Posted on 09/23/2009 6:19:16 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!
After doing some interwebz research, I've come up with pictures with "normal" rails, and "cutaway" rails, but no smooth dustcovers.
My guess is all the P220STs started with regular Glock-type rails, but after requests/complaints, started cutting some away, as shown here. To this day, all other models come in "R" and "non-R" models, referring to the rail. My guess they learned a lesson with the early P220STs, and now offer almost everything with or without a Glock-type rail. But both forms are factory-kosher.
Tonight, we had dinner with the Hobbit Lass. Here she is with Bittygirl and Spiderboy. The three of them have grown some in the last 10 years. Longtime Hobbit Hole denizens may recall Hobbit Lass as Samwise's daughter.
Glad to hear stuff is surfacing there... cuz there ain’t nuthin’ in this neck of the woods... my only score this month is a 1 lb can of Varget...
beauty scattergun, nice boxes...
Bittygirl looks like she’s uptuh sumthin’...
Last Friday, I spotted this threaded barrel among other assorted parts in the accessories display case. It turns out to be for the S&W M&P .45. They also got their first spare magazines for that handgun. I immediately snapped the stuff up under the principle that "if I've never seen or heard of it before, I've got to grab it". So now I'm waiting for another M&P .45 to come in.
It shouldn't be too long a wait. They get a couple dozen assorted Smiths every week, with 90% gone within days, and the unsold ones refilling their inventory. But like a box of chocolates, one never knows what's in a shipment until it's opened. But it shouldn't be too long a wait, and I think spare mags and a threaded barrel will be harder to come by than the handgun itself. It's that way even with the magazines for the plain vanilla S&W .40 mags, too.
WOW, thanks for the blast from the past and present!!!
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
PE: Fine looking set of young ‘uns. Thanks for the visual update.
Sunrise, sunset, swiftly pass the years...
Yep, good stuff is still a mite thin on the ground. Did score a .38 caliber hollow-point bullet mould. Will be taking component scouting trip later in the week. Planning on pin-shootin’ trip to the range next week.
Holy Molly. More Hobbit kids.
She excels at being uptuh sumptin.
handguns are tricklin’ in to my local gunshop... they got two S&W snubbies in last week... one Ultralite, the other was the standard... They were still there on Tuesday... had a friend score two cans of Varget, sold one to me...
So we're thinking of a handgun for me, and I'm leaning toward a 22, mostly because the ammo is less expensive, so we can plink a lot more with it. And though it may not have enough oomph to stop a intruder, it might be enough to slow them down enough for me to get away, or knock em down long enough for me to call the cops.
She’s just stinkin cute!
The nice thing about a .22 is that even if one does not stop them it is easy top empty the whole gun into them. It is just so darn easy to handle.
There are a lot of good choices out there for a plinker. We have some Browning Buckmarks, a Walther P22 and a Sig Mosquito. I prefer the Buckmarks and the others are JenB’s
As with any handgun the way to pick is to hit a big store or a gunshow and paw a bunch of different ones. Ever you has different hands so try them until you find one that fits.
.22 plinkers come in all kinds of sizes, price ranges, and qualities, so you have plenty of choices. Finding any rimfire ammo is vey hard right now, but things are loosening up as the war on the Second Amendment has been going our way, except for a few benighted states like CA, IL, CO, and CA.
As a defensive firearm, .22 Winchester Magnum (.22WMR) is getting new attention as a minimal, but practical, defensive round. Right now .22WMR is easier to find than .22lr. But for a concealable weapon, there isn't much choice except a quality revolver. There are plenty of full-size, but pricey .22WMR revolvers out there, but they're sized for hunting and plinking, and not concealment. Handguns like the Walther P22 or Ruger SR22 are cute plinkers, but I would not trust them in critical defensive situations because they are built like airsoft guns, by the same German companies that actually do make airsoft guns. The "guts" are a stack of steel flat sheets, cut out to eliminate as much machining as possible, and held together by screws.
In my search for a "real" minimal defensive gun, I felt that the Smith&Wesson 43c series was the only way to go. Built exactly like the super-lightweight centerfire snubbies, it weighs about 12 ounces loaded, and comes in both .22lr and .22WMR. I have one of each, and the lack of ammo capacity (8 rounds in .22lr, 7 in .22WMR) is more than compensated by size, reliability, and the ease of customizing it for the user.
Here's a comparison between my S&W Shield in .40S&W (a fairly major caliber), my S&W 43c in .22lr, and a "blue gun" simulator that is an accurate representation of a S&W J-frame, and a stand-in for tons of S&W little snubbies in .38 or .357 magnum (!).
I'm developing the Shield as an alternative to my current carry gun, the S&W BG38. For your purposes, the S&W 43c, as with other revolvers, have the benefit of a wide choice of aftermarket grips to fit to your exact preferences. While the .22WMR has very light recoil, almost anything is an improvement over the factory grips, which look like the skinny ones on the blue gun. Holding on to a lightweight, but high-recoil, weapon is critical. There is also a tendency to develop a horrendous flinch, or lose control of the gun completely, especially in a stressful situation.
You'll have none of those problems with the ,22WMR, but having grips that fit your preferences, and might also look nice, are a big plus. Be prepared to pay $50+ (depending on how fancy you want to go) for the grips you like. It's a critical factor in any defensive firearm, where you don't want to be distracted, even on the subconscious level, on the proper grip position, and whether it will help your accuracy and comfort.
I'm starting to work-up the Shield because it's about the same size, but considerably slimmer and flatter, than a revolver. That round cylinder is the fattest part of a small revolver. Also, the Shield is working out to be a very accurate and comfortable handgun in .40S&W, with none of the "snap" and recoil of other .40s I own. I'm trying to learn what brand of ammo the weapon and I both like.
And just as a casual FYI, here's one of those "cute" NAA five-shot micro revolvers in .22lr. I fired ten rounds at a range of six feet, and while most of them hit the paper somewhere, every single round was traveling sideways.
Plus it kept trying to fly out of my hand with each shot. Great for a cute novelty, but as a serious weapon, I'd estimate the effective rang of three feet, max.
So I already know what the weapon can do, so everything else is up to me now.
And my break-in/tuning project for the S&W Shield is complete, with less than a box of ammo expended. A good shooter (the sales guy, who probably gets 50x the trigger time I get, because they shoot the demo guns after the store closes, and only pay their wholesale price), was able to get my Shield to do this
I also learned a few tips, so I expect to progress further and faster as I "audition" defensive ammo. And I have a baseline to compare my other .40s against. The guy did express amazement at the way I got the results from the gun. Two precision parts from Apex Engineering ($75 total), about $2 of Nanolube, and 25-30 of my time and effort. Their stock Shield in 9mm (I grabbed the first .40 that came in) is vey nice as is, he said, but my efforts produced something that he said equals or exceeds his $2500 Kimber Custom Shop carry piece. :)
Morning Win-Mag..oh, that’s a helluva target, especially with fixed sight, mid size pocket/carry sidearm like the S&W Shield. Lower cost ammo and a plethora of weaponry to ‘test-fire’ appears to have stood your friend in good stead. Tip of the baseball cap to him.
I understand the nano-lube and your tlc process but what, pray tell, are the two ‘Apex’ parts you mention. Certainly appears to a worthwhile investment.
btw-Ive yet to shoot a Shield, the range doesn’t have one in the their rental stable yet. In the owner’s words, ‘can’t seem to hold onto one long enough to put it in the inventory. He’s still getting full retail for his, when he gets one.
My buddy was trying out his new sights, green rear and red front at the range last week. Sure popped the sight picture. His ohter one has just the front red. I may have to pop for a red front one to replace the white one. or not, only time will tell.
Got a three day shoot this next weekend. mmmm. the smell of blackpowder in the morning.
OB
It's the sear, and the striker block, which is the little "mushroom button" in the slide that a part of the trigger bar must slide over, and push in, to unlock the firing pin. The smoother the button works, the less friction, and force needed, to get the trigger to that point.
It's a common tweak for any Glock-type striker-fired pistol, because it also removes a lot of grittiness in the initial takeup. For the Shield, it's a weightless takeup, followed by a slight "stop" that tells you the firing mechanism is now in contact.
The sear contributes to the 6 pound, 5 ounce final trigger pull, which seems far lighter due to its crispness and consistency. It already has a round-to-round variation of only about one ounce, which amazed me, and the sales guy with the $2500 trigger. In fact, he took my unloaded weapon and insisted everybody else on his side of counter to try it. They all knew what a stock S&W Shield could do, but found what $75 of parts, and some focused effort could do to an already nice $500 handgun.
I have to admit, the consistency of trigger pull right after the new parts were installed left me stuned, too.
Me thinks its apex tactical maybe.....
https://apextactical.com/store/product-info.php?pid65.html
Yes / No ?
Good read as usual !
Stay safe ya’ll !
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