With all this talk about folks wanting to re-institute a high capacity magazine ban, I reacted in my normal way. I’ve just order a couple 17 round mags for my Bersa Thunder 9. Last time this came up, I bought a Springfield XDm 9mm compact because it held more rounds than the other guns I was looking at.
Some may call this childish.
I say childish would be ordering a 22 round drum magazine for my Bersa Thunder 380.
So far, I’ve avoided this temptation.
Went to the gun show, and an AR lower came home with me along with a scheduled purchase I’ll talk about later.
What should I make?
…I think I resemble this YouTube vid:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpK6GcFwPKc&w=560&h=315]
I’ll have a related post up tomorrow, and no… it’s not that Garand I was talking about (guy never returned the email).
Just sent off another Form 4 this morning. This time, for a YHM Phantom 762.
I’m guessing I’ll get the stamp sometime next June.
That first one is a single shot .410, aka the only gun you’re allowed to own in some parts of the world.
I’m looking at maybe buying a used Garand this weekend (local ad, too good to pass up). Anybody have any good pointers on what to look for? I know the stock is a little battered, so I’m not looking for a collector’s piece, and I do like to shoot my guns.
So, this past Friday, I was kind of depressed. I think it’s because my birthday was Saturday, and I didn’t have much planned because just about all my friends had already made plans to be out of town or with their families or moving family members from out of town. Seems to happen every year. Maybe if I actually tell people more than a week ahead of time, that might be different.
To rectify this, Naienko decided that we needed to go shopping… specifically at gun stores, electronics stores, and/or book stores. I tell ya, she abuses me terribly.
So, at one of the gun shops on the north side of town (I had recently been to most the ones on the south side), I spotted a couple Bersa Thunder 22s. I think I’ve mentioned that I love my two-tone Bersa Thunder 380 before. It just feels sight, looks damn cool, and I’m probably most accurate with either it or my XDm compact (strange, I know). Of course, there’s also the big plus that their pistols are on the inexpensive side while still being dependable. And… well… the SS version of the Thunder 22 followed me home.
The 22 is essentially the same gun as the 380 (and the Thunder 32). According to Bersa’s website, it’s about and ounce lighter and .2″ shorter, but the same length and thickness. I’m pretty sure that height and weight difference is in the slide, which is noticeably slimmer when put side by side with the 380 version. This means that, unlike many of the “big name” .22 copies of centerfire guns that have been shrunk a bit, the experience should be as close to the same as possible. The .22 also differs from the .380 by having bright orange dots painted on the sights instead of the usual white ones. Like the rest of the smaller Thunder series, the .22 comes with 1 magazine.
I did get a chance to shoot it on Sunday, and I think I’ll keep it. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the session this past Sunday (mostly “we need to blow off steam”), I didn’t get any good targets to really show how well the gun shoots. I will say that it was at least as accurate as I am and is a pleasure to shoot. The orange sights are much easier for me to pick up than the white ones. I remember reading years ago on the old BersaTalk forum (now apparently dead) that many folks go out and get similar color nail polish to paint over the white dots on the 380 for that reason, and I can see why. The much lighter .22 rounds mean that there’s none of the sharp recoil bite in the webbing of the hand that many folks complain about with the Bersa .380 and other small .380 pistols. The magazine also hold 10 rounds instead of the .380’s 7.
This is a fun little gun. I’ve seen some folks suggest people who are afraid of larger caliber guns. I’m not sure about that, but that’s more due to the idea of carrying a .22 for self defense. I think this would be a great gun to introduce folks to shooting with, since many .22 target pistols are configured significantly different from your standard carry pistol. I’m going to enjoy it since I’ve started carrying the 380, and .380 ammo is significantly more expensive than .22 (and it wasn’t that long ago that it was impossible to find).
So, this past weekend, I was at a local unsupervised state run range with a few friends to have some fun and blow off some steam. The range is set up with a 50 yard berm on the left, 100 in the center, and then a 25 on the right. We had set up on the left so we could use the 50 for the short range stuff, and one of the 100 yard targets for the bigger rifles.
I was watching one of the guys try my Henry GoldenBoy when I spotted someone walk down range to set up targets on the 25 yard berm! I immediately tap my buddy on the shoulder and let him know what was up and to cease fire. I ask my other buddies if they had hear the call to go cold, and they say they had not. I ask the group next to me, and they had not.
*sigh*
I walk over to the guy as he’s walking back to have a little “chat.” I kept it good natured and explained to him why he should check before wandering down range. Turned out he figured it wasn’t an issue since we were shooting a good deal to his left and we would have had to really screw up to shoot him. I agreed, but told him that I’m a bit paranoid about such things. He understood, and actually came up to us as he was packing up and thank us for not jumping all over him.
Just a reminder that good folks can do stupid stuff. Remember that people tend to be there to enjoy themselves. Safety is important, but so is having a good time. Of course, had he started shooting while I was down range, I may not have been so friendly with him.