I think I've gone and bought a Frankengun. Update! Range report post #55

[M E Morrison]

Everytime I tell my wife well this is it this is my last gun I'm going to "need" so don't worry about it every time I run across a thread like this and think man I wouldn't mind having something like that . Invariably I'll run across something and next thing I know om telling the wife this is it this is the last gun and she don't even argue anymore she just rolls her eyes and say yes I know it's the last one you'll ever "need" .She says this all started back in the 80s when you bought that big old long 44 magnum because you want to be like dirty Harry ( actualy it's a 629-1 8 3/8 but you know how girls are) then your great uncle left you that old cowboy gun ( its an old M&P in 32/20 beat up but shoots pretty good) and this last one remember you traded for it and that target gun you .Then you said but hon these laser grips cost more than the gun I traded so yea yea I know .Just go get back on the computer and you fellas tell each other how nice your guns are and look at pictures and find one more you just "need" I guess I should be happy those guys don't collect women .

Not a god idea - women are a LOT more expensive than guns....

 

[Muley Gil]

Not a god idea - women are a LOT more expensive than guns....

I agree. And often times, they either take your guns WITH them or you have to sell the guns.

 

[stansdds]

Not a god idea - women are a LOT more expensive than guns....

I agree! And with guns, you can legally and ethically trade an old 44 for a pair of new 22's.

 

[Muley Gil]

I bought a de-mooner from Brownells years ago. It looks like a nut driver. One can easily be made from a piece of pipe with a 1/2" ID. Grind away about 3/4 of one end, leaving a small teat. If you made it long enough, you can plug the other end and capture the empties.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

I agree! And with guns, you can legally and ethically trade an old 44 for a pair of new 22's.

Some of us prefer 44's to 22's...

 

[Kinman]

I appreciate the suggestion. If posting the picture isn't too much trouble, I'd be interested in seeing it. I haven't investigated the cost of .45 Auto Rim. I don't reload, but I already have .45 ACP out the wazoo for my autoloaders.

I spent a bit of time this morning loading half of the 50 moon clips that came with the gun, just doing it by hand while on the computer. We'll see how onerous it is to get the empties back out after the trip to the range next week.

 

[Kinman]

That's the best I can do for a picture of my homebuilt de-mooner.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

That's the best I can do for a picture of my homebuilt de-mooner.

Thank you kindly.

 

[lamarw]

This is the crude but effective way my system works. The first part is showing adding the last of 6 each .45 ACP rounds to the clip. You lay the clip over the lower nut which is the size of the inner ring of the clip. You line up an open slot and place a single round in front of it and then slide your little handle with the electrical tape on in against the round and push it into the clip.

To de-moon, you lay the open end of the demooner over the spent brass or in this case a live round and twist it which dislodges the piece of brass or a live round from the clip.

All of this is not my idea. It was just the crude but effective way I carried it out. It works for me. The de-moomer with the yellow handle came free with some clips I bought off Amazon. I simply attached a leather strap to it and then attached it to my mooner so they would stay together.

Pictures should make it easier to visualize.

 

[lamarw]

Here is the de-mooning:

 

[JSR III]

I consider myself a collector more than a shooter. I have gotten lazy and it's much easier to buy guns online than it is to pack them up along with all of the range gear and go 10 miles to my range. Plus then you have to clean them and the wife hates the smell of Hoppe's.

All that said, I would have bought that GUN in a cocaine heartbeat. I have said this more than once on this forum, any N frame S&W for around $500 is a bargain IMHO. It still shoots and goes bang right? A 1917 is typically $1,000 or more and yours has target sights too. Many folks like to collect guns that have been modified to fit a certain shooters desires. There are thousands of 1917's out there but only a few with this modification. It's a freakin .45 for $500, how can that be bad????

 

[AJ]

Well, how does it shoot?

 

[BaldEagle1313]

Well, how does it shoot?

Going to the range this morning; it opens in a couple of hours. Gun came with 50 moon clips, and every one of them is loaded up.

 

[AJ]

Going to the range this morning; it opens in a couple of hours. Gun came with 50 moon clips, and every one of them is loaded up.

I too, have a frankengun. Mine is a Colt Model 1909 U.S.Army in .45 Colt. What makes it a frankengun is that the original barrel was changed out with a commerical Colt "NEW SERVICE" barrel of the same caliber. Mine shoots great, hope yours does too.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

Range report

Gun performed flawlessly. Person on the trigger... not so much.

I was fine on single action slow fire, but my double action rapid fire needs work. A lot of work. Not going to show you those targets. Yuck. I wasn't happy at all with my performance. Although, compared to some of the targets I saw in adjacent lanes, I was Annie Oakley.

Like I said in a previous post, any inaccuracy is the not the fault of the weapon. When you hit the nail and it bends instead of going in straight, it's not the hammer's fault.

Doing my job versus not doing my job. Pulled the first one low, overcompensated on the second one high, then settled down.

 

[revolvergeek]

I would have bought it in a heartbeat. .45 Auto Rim is the way to go unless you either already have a bunch of .45 ACP around or just don't want to bother with reloading. I think it is a cool old gun myself.