NEW CARRY GUN

[sixshot]

I picked up a new carry gun Monday that had interested me but they had been hard to find. Located one at Buds Gun Shot in Kentucky & it arrived at my dealer Monday & I took it to the range for a test drive. After about 150 rounds of jacketed factory & a few handloads I went back to the range with my tried & true cast loads for some real shooting, I thought. This gun was one of the new Kimber KDS9c models that kind of resembles a Commander in many ways, has a barrel just over 4", exposed hammer & a double stack mag holding 15 rounds with a fluted barrel, what's not to like?
I hadn't tested any of the jacketed loads on paper, just shooting plate racks for a couple of hours while I sat on a stool so I could rest my new replacement knee. In all that time, shooting at 20-25 yds I missed one plate. It looked like, at least on steel that the gun was going to be a shooter. With a retail price of $1,500 it probably should, Bud's Gun Shop is a few hundred bucks under that plus free shipping.
My initial run with my cast loads was a shock, they were not good, most times shooting cast in a 9mm sized to .356" with a good powder produces fine accuracy from a quality gun, not this one, yikes! I was shooting 10 shot groups sitting on my folding stool & using my Bog Pod for a rest, this usually works out pretty good, even for an old guy, today was a dud.



Thoughts anyone???

[Fowler]

Try going to a .358" bullet, really helped my sons Tisas 9mm...

If it will chamber it...

[sixshot]

So, today it was back to the drawing board. The great thing about reloading is you can change things, switch powders, switch primers sometimes, seating depth, etc. The great thing about cast bullets is, you can change bullet diameter. Most times a 9mm likes .355" jacketed bullets & .356" cast bullets & that's where most of my 9mm's live. This one was shooting terrible with .356" bullets & I was hoping that was the problem, for a gun with this price point could .001" make that much difference? Of course it can & many times it does.

Just by a simple change in bullet diameter this gun went from patterns to groups at 20 yds from my trusty stool. The ground squirrels are going to hate these 15 round mags & fast reloads for a few weeks with this 127 gr cast HP. The group was 5 shots in 1.089" at 20 yds, even the little squirrels can't dodge this load.

Dick

[45MAN]

INTERESTING AND AMAZING HOW .001" CAN MAKE SUCH A DIFFERENCE.

SIXSHOT: JUST CAN'T GRASP, IMAGINE A REVOLVERIST LIKE YOU WITH A SEMI-AUTO, AND A 9mm TO BOOT.

[contender]

Glad to see you got it figured out. Of course,, that's not a big surprise. You are a caster.

But this exactly why so many people who "try" cast bullets & decide they are "terrible" and put them down. These very same people are not casters,, but instead,, buy commercial cast bullets,, and DO NOT test different things.

I made a mistake a while back & sized some of my .9mm bullets to .355 to see how they'd do. The mistake was doing too many before testing. I figured it out when I went to the range,, and thought; "Crap,, now I need to find a gun that'll shoot these,, or remelt them & start over!" So far,, I've tried a few other guns,, and none like the .355 ones. They are set aside for my next casting session now.

[dougader]

My Sig Sauer P320 is similar... it shoots jacketed bullets like a laser, but my usual cast bullets at .356 would keyhole on the target. Bumping up to .357 was a huge help, too.

[tj3006]

Glad she is working out.
That is a nice-looking pistol!

[AxeHandle]

Bet it says Troy Alabama on the other side! Roll Tide!