IZinterrogator
New member
I ordered this pistol back on July 2nd, and it finally came in last month. Earlier today, I set off to a friend's backyard range with 1000 rounds of Federal American Eagle 180 gr. FMJ to test it out. Due to the rather backwoods nature of the range, bowling pins, old beer bottles, and shotgun shell hulls were the main targets when shooting for accuracy. An old Army pop-up target also met an untimely death from the pistol.
Accuracy: Simply amazing. I had not shot a 10mm before, nor had I shot a full-size 1911, only two different CCO models. Yet despite this, I was still hitting shotgun shells with one shot from approximately 20 yards. I was also able to hit the necks of the bowling pins without a problem.
Reliability: The pistol was cleaned and oiled according to factory directions about a week prior to shooting it. 700 rounds were fired total, as we ran out of daylight. While the manual said that the pistol would require a 500 round break-in period, problems disappeared after about 250 rounds. Most malfunctions were failures to feed, with one stovepipe. I'd say that the failure rate was about 1 in 15 until we hit 250 rounds downrange. After that, no problems at all. The pistol was not cleaned or lubed the entire time it was fired.
Magazines: The factory Kimber 8-round magazine and two 9-round Chip McCormack magazines were used. The pistol showed no preference for either, feeding was equally good out of both types after the pistol was broken-in.
Recoil: Not bad at all from the Federal stuff. A little stronger than .45ACP, but not punishing to the point where it became a factor in my shooting. I will be trying Double Tap ammo in the future.
Night-fire: Since we were on a private range, we were able to conduct a night-fire session. The night sights that came installed on the pistol were bright and easy to line up on target. Muzzle blast was about two inches in diameter and extended roughly six inches from the barrel. As I was watching a friend shoot it, I was kicking myself for not having brought my camera along to document the muzzle flash.
Controlability: Better than I expected. I was doing double-taps and Mozambique drills with no problems, despite my inexperience with the platform and the caliber.
Overall: Money well spent. The pistol set me back $903+tax, but I have a new winner in the favorite pistol to shoot category. Simply an awesome gun.
I also took my new Kimber Desert Warrior out today, but I was concentrating on noting the details of the Eclipse's experience, since it was not only a new platform for me, but a new caliber. I'll post a range report on the Desert Warrior after the next time I shoot it. One thing I did note: no malfunctions whatsoever. None. Nada. Zilch. Not even during the recommended 500-round break-in period. Probably because the Desert Warrior is straight G.I. spec internally, but who knows for sure? Anyway, hope to get that range report out in the next month or so with a similar categorization of its attributes.
On a lighter note, I'd like to thank those who helped me fire 2,900 rounds of various calibers that I brought to the range through 12 of my guns. Now get back here and help me clean them, you lazy bums!!!!
Accuracy: Simply amazing. I had not shot a 10mm before, nor had I shot a full-size 1911, only two different CCO models. Yet despite this, I was still hitting shotgun shells with one shot from approximately 20 yards. I was also able to hit the necks of the bowling pins without a problem.
Reliability: The pistol was cleaned and oiled according to factory directions about a week prior to shooting it. 700 rounds were fired total, as we ran out of daylight. While the manual said that the pistol would require a 500 round break-in period, problems disappeared after about 250 rounds. Most malfunctions were failures to feed, with one stovepipe. I'd say that the failure rate was about 1 in 15 until we hit 250 rounds downrange. After that, no problems at all. The pistol was not cleaned or lubed the entire time it was fired.
Magazines: The factory Kimber 8-round magazine and two 9-round Chip McCormack magazines were used. The pistol showed no preference for either, feeding was equally good out of both types after the pistol was broken-in.
Recoil: Not bad at all from the Federal stuff. A little stronger than .45ACP, but not punishing to the point where it became a factor in my shooting. I will be trying Double Tap ammo in the future.
Night-fire: Since we were on a private range, we were able to conduct a night-fire session. The night sights that came installed on the pistol were bright and easy to line up on target. Muzzle blast was about two inches in diameter and extended roughly six inches from the barrel. As I was watching a friend shoot it, I was kicking myself for not having brought my camera along to document the muzzle flash.
Controlability: Better than I expected. I was doing double-taps and Mozambique drills with no problems, despite my inexperience with the platform and the caliber.
Overall: Money well spent. The pistol set me back $903+tax, but I have a new winner in the favorite pistol to shoot category. Simply an awesome gun.
I also took my new Kimber Desert Warrior out today, but I was concentrating on noting the details of the Eclipse's experience, since it was not only a new platform for me, but a new caliber. I'll post a range report on the Desert Warrior after the next time I shoot it. One thing I did note: no malfunctions whatsoever. None. Nada. Zilch. Not even during the recommended 500-round break-in period. Probably because the Desert Warrior is straight G.I. spec internally, but who knows for sure? Anyway, hope to get that range report out in the next month or so with a similar categorization of its attributes.
On a lighter note, I'd like to thank those who helped me fire 2,900 rounds of various calibers that I brought to the range through 12 of my guns. Now get back here and help me clean them, you lazy bums!!!!
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