Range Report:
I was able to sneak over to the local indoor range today during my lunch break. Wasn’t for very long but I finally got to shoot my 442-1.
Ammo shot:
38 Special 158gr Speer Lawman TMJ (20)
38 Special S&B 158gr FMJ (40)
38 Special +P Winchester 130gr JHP (10)
38 Special +P Underwood 100gr Xtreme Defender (10)
Target:
8” Shoot-n-c @ 25 feet or so
Accuracy:
Gun is very accurate if the time is taken to line up the tiny sights. With a rough site alignment and a decent pace kept most shots on the 8” target with a few outside. Acceptable for my efforts and purpose.
Hybra-Port Impressions:
The thing I was curious about the most was of course the porting. I used the Ti cylinder from my 337 and assume the weight to be about an once heavier then 337 due to the steel crane on the 442.
I didn’t perceive any reduced recoil with the standard pressure 158gr rounds however I do feel there was some reduced muzzle flip as it felt easier to shoot faster. However trying to line up those tiny sights would take away any time it may save.
I also did not perceive it to be louder to myself or louder then others shooting next to me. Nobody took notice, no comments, no issues. A 2” J frame is pretty loud already, it would be interesting to test this with a decibel meter but for this particular configuration it’s a non issue for me.
Muzzle flash was interesting as well. I was in a very poorly lit indoor range, which I think is a good environment to test this out. I could definitely see flames coming out 45deg from both sides of the barrel as well as from the muzzle. With an expensive camera I bet you could get some really cool pics exaggerating this but realistically it wasn’t any brighter then the flame coming out the muzzle of my 337. It actually puts the gases away from your line of site so in a way could be better perhaps? It definitely wasn’t distracting and I don’t believe it would be any different then shooting a non ported revolver at night.
It Gets Better:
After shooting about a box and a half of the standard pressure 158gr’s I was feeling a little underwhelmed, so I stepped it up to some +P ammo. I remembered the 130gr +P PDX1 rounds to be pretty snappy out of my 337 so I tried them first. After the first cylinder I thought I had loaded the wrong rounds because the recoil felt substantially reduced compared to the 337. A little bit louder but no noticeable change in muzzle flash and very comfortable to shoot. Pleasantly surprised!
Next I shot the only other +P ammo I had with which was the Underwood 100gr Xtreme Defender. I don’t have much experience with this round but when I saw a few boxes at my LGS I picked them up as I was interested in trying ammo from this manufacturer. The bullet design is quite radical but I am still on the fence if this is a gimmick round or not? Well whatever it is it’s def fast and light and shoots with even less recoil then the PDX1. They must also use a low flash powder as it was harder to see flash exiting the V8 ports. If some research proves this is in fact an effective bullet design this would be a top contender.
Overall Impressions:
The fit and finish of this gun is suburb. Gemini did a really great job with the trigger and the lock up and it runs great. The porting appears to work well with light and fast rounds. Will need to try it next time with some heavier +P ammo. The V8 configuration seems a better design then a top exit as the gases are pushed away from your line of sight rather then into it.
All in all I am very happy with this revolver and I look forward to getting to know it even better.
