25y - 20r

[Dr Mordrid]

25 yards, 20 rounds, 2-hand standing

SIG Sauer P250 .40 S&W Federal 135g HST

1" grid (tear @6:00 was done removing target)

[MultimediaMan]

Nice Shooting!



50 feet; 10 Shots: 1 Hand, Standing

Pistol: Benelli MP3-S .32S&W Long Wadcutter.

90 Grain Hornady Swaged WC; 1.8 Gr VV N310; Federal Cases; WSP Primers.

[Dr Mordrid]

Isn't that a competition B76 (?#)?

Haven't seen one of those in 20 years - nice gun, interesting action IIRC.

[MultimediaMan]

Correct: It is the target version of the B76. The .32S&W Long variant is straight closed breach blowback: It still shares the chinese puzzlebox disassembly procedure of the parent B76.

The magazines are heavily modified to feed the blunt wadcutters. It has a fully-adjustable sear with target grips and fully-adjustable sights. There is a muzzle weight shrouding the barrel (which serves as a mount for the front sight).

The thing shoots better than I do, for certain. I'm glad I have this thing over a S&W Model 52 or a Colt National Match in .38 special... loading the .38 Special for those pistols tends to be a difficult proposition. (Actually, I'd prefer a newer M1911A1 in .38 Super...much easier to load for.) My dream centerfire target pistol is a Walther GSP-C or Hammerli P240...

[UtwigMU]

At previous job we had such targets hanging around offices.

[Dr Mordrid]

Either the Walther or the SIG/Hammerli would be sweet

[Dr Mordrid]

May have found out why there's so much .40 135g ammo around now

The US Dept. of Homeland Security put up an order for up to 200 million rounds in 2009. Probably for both pistols and their HK MP5/40 subs. With a 135g there would be a reduced chance an overpenetrating round could hit an innocent in the background - same reason the Air Marshals use the lighter .357 SIG round.

Winchester Ranger got a lot of the order, but now that spec is coming out of the woodwork. Federal sells its HST to police (and apparently overruns to WalMart). Cor-Bon makes 'em too.

Federal also makes 135 in an expanding FMJ line called Guard Dog for use where hydrashok hollow points are restricted. A FMJ that acts like a hollow point.

[Dr Mordrid]

Another range day.

The first 2 were at 15 meters (25 and 10 shots respectively), and after warming up a 20 meter / 50 shot run.

New SIG Sauer P226 Mk25 (civilian version Navy SEAL pistol) with a .40 kit.

[MultimediaMan]

Maruader Session...

This is from my .25 Caliber Benjamin Marauder (M-Rod) about three weeks ago;

5 shot groups/ 50 yards; ~840FPS.



Starling Slayer Extraordinaire (Here in the US, the European Starling is an invasive species; displacing many types of more beneficial species.) They breed like flies.

[Dr Mordrid]

Benjamin Marauder - as close as a sub-kilobuck airgun gets to being a sniper rifle

I still have my .22 Crosman 1400 pump, which is after decades is still a deadly SOB when it comes to varmint control. Got an aftermarket scope mount for it and mounted a 3x9 Weaver that wasn't busy.

[MultimediaMan]

I spent more on the fill system than the rifle...
I spent more on the scope mounts and optics than I did on the rifle...
I'm not unhappy with this at all. Why? Because I can shoot 1000 rounds of Premium pellets for under 50 bucks, no earplugs, indoors or out.

[Dr Mordrid]

I got my SIG Mk25 (9mm) from a friendly local dealer for $850, then when I registered it with SIG up pops a printable coupon offering an X-Change kit for $284.80 + free shipping + no sales tax.

Kaching! .40 cal, please!

[MultimediaMan]

Nice! Never was much of a .40 Fan (Internal ballistics are kinda weird). I preferred the older 10mm Norma downloaded (aka FBI Loads).

[Dr Mordrid]

IIRC in creating the .40 S&W just shortened the 10mm case case enough to take the reduced FBI load but without the airspace so it would fit a smaller framed pistol. They also made base milling changes (45 v 35 deg beta angle etc.) and a slightly larger diameter so the .40 wouldn't fit a 10mm. Otherwise, very very similar.

[MultimediaMan]

Correct; the .40 is just a shortened 10mm Norma with a lower peak pressure limt. But, when they shortened the case they reduced case volume and that played hob with the pressure curves. A .40 is VERY touchy to work up a reliably accurate load for (you don't see too many .40's in bullseye... you see lots of .45s, 9mm/.38 Supers and a smattering of 10mms);

From my experience, it's worse than the venerable 9mm by a fair margin to develop an accurate load for (and I've worked up some ~very~ accurate 9mm loads); lower interior case volume/ higher bore volume ratios and a dearth of powders designed to work in the region of pressure the cartridge is designed for don't help, either. The .45 ACP is an example of a very forgiving cartridge to reload for...with reasonable quality bullets, if the pistol can chamber the ammunition at all, the the odds are it will be reasonably accurate. The 9x19mm is quite a bit more finicky, but the .40 is downright mercurial. The problem with the .40S&W is the round was designed to work at high pressure (and it does, very well), but when attempting to load for accuracy, there isn't much difference beween a full change defensive load and a target load which will perform predictably, which makes for a louder and heavier recoiling target pistol.