Took my new to me-3913NL. Wife came along.


Both of us green to handgun usage.


Rented a M&P22 for her.


We shared a lane, bought 4 targets, 2 boxes of 22 ammo, one box of 9mm.


Had a blast. Wife really enjoyed it way more than I thought she would.


I'm pretty happy with how well I did, especially on DA only pulls at 5 and 7 yards. I listened to what was said about doing DA only work. The pull isn't hard like I'd thought it would be. But, it is a really, really long pull.



I'll link some pics later. We're on our way to hang with the family and grill today.


Cheers! Happy 4th!

Your lucky your wife likes to shoot!teach her well. Enjoy the 4th!

The long DA pull is to allow the gun to clear holster and level on target. You can train yourself to lean on the trigger all the way out..(Don't try this with striker fired. Can cause Glock leg.)

Short DA pull can cause premature detonation.

Congrats on joining the fraternity. Repeat as often as circumstances permit. Familiarity with your weapon is important. At some point you may want to think about some formal training, but if you are having fun safely and hitting what you are shooting at, that is hard to knock.

Congrats on your range day, it is too fun for sure!! Glad your wife enjoys it too, my wife is as addicted to shooting as I am. Just to caution you, if you get hooked in this hobby, it gets expensive quickly but it is totally worth it!! Enjoy the the rest of your holiday weekend.

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SW22 Victory(2),Sigs(4)

Pic above. 7 yards body shot. 5 yards head shots. All DA work. I'm definitely happy with it considering how green I am. And yes, training is on the agenda. Just gotta deal with work hours as well.

Cool. My 17 year old son and I went to the gravel pit range about 10miles from our lake cabin today.
Shot my new GSG 1911 22lr conversion. Tried out the mags I just bought for my Erma 22 Luger, shot the 1920s era M&P that just got a new mainspring, plus some 45s through my 1917s shot a few 44 specials through my model of 1950. Had a good time, then picked up a few hundred range brass to finish the day. Good day.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I went to my club's range today... a 40 minute drive... to test fire my Model 639 Franken-Smith. Unfortunately, the firing pin nose was gone, lost in the process of assembly.

Fortunately I had several revolvers on hand as well so I got to exercise my 2nd Amendment right to celebrate Independence Day. Then I drove my Chevrolet to Wal*Mart and bought some hot dogs and apple pie to finish out the stereotypical American Day!

Froggie

Bad advice in general, REALLY BAD advice to someone
who says he's a novice shooter.

DO NOT start pressing trigger until your sights are
on the target. Don't start pressing trigger as you're
pulling pistol out of holster.

I'll second that on the very, very bad advice.
Finger off the trigger till the muzzles On Target.

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2 Cor 5:17
John3:16

Your finger shouldn’t even touch the trigger until your sights are aligned and you have decided to shoot. Awful advice for anybody, especially a new shooter.

Congratulations!

Isn't it amazing how quickly ammo disappears? Nice move to involve your wife. I bet she will feel more secure.

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" I don't recall, senator."

I wouldn’t say my wife is as addicted as I am but she loves shooting her 22’s every opportunity. It started a couple of years ago when I coaxed her to try the Henry 22 carbine she gave me for my birthday. She loved it and didn’t give it back. Then she fell in love with a Smith 317 and two weeks ago she got a new Ruger Wrangler. See what you’re headed for

The #1 first safety lesson is "Finger off the trigger until you are on target and know your background is safe".

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

When I read "first time today" I thought you went to the range two or three times in one day - and I thought "right on"!

Well, I finally got up my courage and harvested the firing pin assembly from the leftover slide and repaired my Franken -Smith late yesterday evening. It seems like it’s getting a little easier to do with repetition, but I still struggle with pre-setting the recoil spring. I went on and ordered a replacement for the broken firing pin (thanks, eBay!)

Now, back to the theme of this thread, I’ve got to schedule another trip out to the range (hopefully Tuesday) to do a test run on my repairs. I wish it weren’t quite so far to go... but in the meanwhile, I can test function with a few empty primed cases. Fun to do while watching NCIS Los Angeles reruns, but not quite as good as actual range time.

Froggie

Ducks in a row, worms back in the can.

Project Franken-Smith is reassembled, function tested, and ready to go back to the range. I’ve still got a box and a half of that Chicom ball ammo ready to go back to the range. Now to hold on for Tuesday!

Froggie

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I don't understand.

What happened to your firing pin?

John

Jerry Miculek

Watch the first 30 seconds. Take particular notice at 17 seconds.
Even though he contradicts what he says later. and this is a striker.

What a professional shooter might do during a timed competition on a controlled range is one thing. I didn’t watch the whole thing but I assume by your post he says at one point to not touch the trigger until on target. Either way, he’s a professional shooter. The OP literally fired a handgun for the first time.

My shooting range is a private club, but it’s really just a place to shoot in the woods with a gate And fence around It. No range officer. I always go on off times and rarely see anyone there. I do practice shooting from a draw and my finger never touches the trigger till I’m on target.

Welcome, seldom have a bad day at the range, unless a firearm malfunctions!

You know the part of the firing pin that actually goes through and hits the primer? That whole part was gone. I’m new to S&W autos as you know, but this is a whole new kind of break for me.

Froggie

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Fascinating!

I've never seen that happen before.

I wonder what caused it?

John?

You’re not Jerry Miculek and neither is the first time shooter you’re attempting to advise.

The slide was an orphan, so I don't know what its history could have been. I do know that the firing pin was complete when I started working on harvesting parts from the slide assembly and when I started reassembling it to use for the build. I'm guessing it may have been cracked already and when I put it together the pin gave up and came adrift. There was a time when everything seemed to bind up, but then everything settled in, but of course the firing pin seems to have been broken by then, in fact, that may have been what was binding everything.

While I've been taking the attitude that these Smiths can be played with like Erector Sets, there is still the fact that in use they get subjected to serious stress and damage which may not be immediately visible. Keeping spare parts on hand is looking like a good idea!

Froggie

John,

Your comment piqued my interest so I went back and looked with magnification at what was left of the firing pin body. It looked like it had been parted off in a lathe... no roughness, just a slight point on the remnant where the thin part of the firing pin should have been. I'm guessing it had a stress line machined in at the factory and finally just finished breaking loose. Glad I have a spare FP coming this week.

Froggie

PS I used to see this kind of break on the firing pins of some single shot rifles (Winchester and Stevens for instance) but I didn't expect it here... so I didn't make the connection immediately. The Smith's actual "pin part" is much longer, so I can see where there would be leverage to stress the place where it goes into a larger diameter.

Well I can close this chapter in my S&W adventure. The Franken-Smith is now healthy and eating well... it went through the rest of the box of Norinco Chicom ammo without a bobble. Maybe they really can be mixed and matched pretty easily. In this case I just had a faulty firing pin in my F-S 1.0, but by 2.0, all is well. Life is good, and even a hot day at the range is better than a day stuck at home.

Froggie