First Range Trip Review
I've been dying to shoot since early October and my new S&W Shield 45 finally forced me to make some range time! I took the new pistol, 100 rounds of Berry's Plated 230 gr ball over 5 gr of Bullsey, 50 rounds of Speer 230gr ball, 50 rounds of Speer Gold Dot LE 230 gr HP and 50 rounds of Remington Golden Sabre 230 gr bonded JHP to my club's indoor range. Have five mags, three 7 round and two 6 round. Oh, and my Maglula loader, dang those mages have tough springs.
I fired the first seven rounds of Speer 230 grain at 25 feet and realized this would be no real challenge for me or the pistol! Moving back to 40 feet (we have a weird range setup) I loaded all the mags with more Speer ball and proceeded to shoot from a Weaver stance until I'd used up the 50 rounds. All shots were good elevation wise but three or so inches the the left.
Next came the Speer Gold Dot HP. Hit the exact same places as the ball, but in a tighter grouping. Centered but left. At least I know I wasn't jerking the trigger as none were breaking low. Recoil was a tiny bit more, however the pistol recovers very quickly and the white dot sights a super easy to keep on target.
I shot 30 rounds of the GDHP then moved to the Remington Golden Sabre. My first seven rounds hit in about a hand sized pattern to the left of center. Not as tight as the previous ammo. I tried three more mags and got similar results. I'll save the rest for my Range Officer, it loves Golden Saber.
No one hiccup yet, and I was loving the feel of the pistol.
Finally, I moved on to my 100 rounds of handloads, a duplicate of military ball ammo. The attached picture shows my first target of 33 rounds (6,7,7,7,6) all fired standing at 40 feet. On another target I was able to print a 7 round 3 inch group. I kept shooting without any problems until the final three magazines. The feed ramp had become very dirty causing the first round from each of the last three mags to hang-up, and the third round from the final mag stovepiped. Impressive performance, over 200 rounds from a brand new compact pistol (cleaned and lightly oiled before shooting) before any type of issue, and that was due to dirt.
The grip did not abrade, redden or irritate my hands at all. Moreover, the aggressive grip texture kept the Shield from moving in my grip making aimed rapid fire quite easy. The only thing I need to address; I have to drift the front sight to move the bullet impact to the right. I can't wait to try the Shield for accuracy after I've had a few more range sessions to get all my mechanics back in line!.
33 rounds on the target from 40 feet standing hold. Check out that bag of empty brass. The Shield 45 impressed me!
I've been dying to shoot since early October and my new S&W Shield 45 finally forced me to make some range time! I took the new pistol, 100 rounds of Berry's Plated 230 gr ball over 5 gr of Bullsey, 50 rounds of Speer 230gr ball, 50 rounds of Speer Gold Dot LE 230 gr HP and 50 rounds of Remington Golden Sabre 230 gr bonded JHP to my club's indoor range. Have five mags, three 7 round and two 6 round. Oh, and my Maglula loader, dang those mages have tough springs.
I fired the first seven rounds of Speer 230 grain at 25 feet and realized this would be no real challenge for me or the pistol! Moving back to 40 feet (we have a weird range setup) I loaded all the mags with more Speer ball and proceeded to shoot from a Weaver stance until I'd used up the 50 rounds. All shots were good elevation wise but three or so inches the the left.
Next came the Speer Gold Dot HP. Hit the exact same places as the ball, but in a tighter grouping. Centered but left. At least I know I wasn't jerking the trigger as none were breaking low. Recoil was a tiny bit more, however the pistol recovers very quickly and the white dot sights a super easy to keep on target.
I shot 30 rounds of the GDHP then moved to the Remington Golden Sabre. My first seven rounds hit in about a hand sized pattern to the left of center. Not as tight as the previous ammo. I tried three more mags and got similar results. I'll save the rest for my Range Officer, it loves Golden Saber.
No one hiccup yet, and I was loving the feel of the pistol.
Finally, I moved on to my 100 rounds of handloads, a duplicate of military ball ammo. The attached picture shows my first target of 33 rounds (6,7,7,7,6) all fired standing at 40 feet. On another target I was able to print a 7 round 3 inch group. I kept shooting without any problems until the final three magazines. The feed ramp had become very dirty causing the first round from each of the last three mags to hang-up, and the third round from the final mag stovepiped. Impressive performance, over 200 rounds from a brand new compact pistol (cleaned and lightly oiled before shooting) before any type of issue, and that was due to dirt.
The grip did not abrade, redden or irritate my hands at all. Moreover, the aggressive grip texture kept the Shield from moving in my grip making aimed rapid fire quite easy. The only thing I need to address; I have to drift the front sight to move the bullet impact to the right. I can't wait to try the Shield for accuracy after I've had a few more range sessions to get all my mechanics back in line!.
33 rounds on the target from 40 feet standing hold. Check out that bag of empty brass. The Shield 45 impressed me!
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