So, I decided a trip to the range was in order this afternoon, despite the 98 degree heat. With two babies at home, I rarely get to do anything sans children, and at 9 months, its a bit early for them to shoot.
Anyway, the wife is out of town, so I asked my mom to come babysit and off I went. I spent about two and a half hours shooting various guns (mostly the mini guns shown, plus my S&W 432PD which was back in my pocket and therefore missing from the pictures). I took a "break" to help the owner unload about 3000 IDPA targets (a lot more work than it sounds like), so I was actually at the range about three hours. The lineup consisted of:
Beretta 950BS Minx .22 Short
NAA Mini-Magnum 1 1/8" .22 Magnum with a XS front night sight
NAA Black Widow 2" .22 Long Rifle
S&W 432PD 2" .32 H&R Magnum
Bond Arms Texas Defender 3" .45 ACP
I shot a lot of rounds over my chronograph, which as usual provided some interesting data, especially when it came to the mini revolvers.
The little Beretta is surprisingly accurate, much more so than its sights allow for I am sure. I shot at a bug crawling on my target from about seven yards away and hit it on my second shot. Despite all the negative things I have heard about the reliability of the small Beretta rimfires, this one functioned perfectly. Not bad for the $75 I paid for it. I tried CCI 27 grain HP and Aguila 29 grain RN. I had some CCI CB 29 grain also, but as I expected, it didn't cycle the action. The one round of it I fired over the chronograph from the Beretta was running 495 fps, so that isn't a surprise.
The Aguila averaged 896 fps and the CCI HP averaged 906 fps. Both were nicely accurate and hitting my small steel target from 7 and 15 yards was not a problem with either load.
I shot the same two .22 Short rounds from the Black Widow, plus some CCI Stinger 32 grain HPs and some Aguila Sniper Subsonic 60 grain RN. Hitting at seven yards with all of that ammunition was no problem, but at 15 I really had to concentrate on my sight picture to get hits on the steel. The two .22 Short loads had about the same velocity average as from the Beretta. I expect the longer barrel but the addition of the cylinder gap got me to break even there. The CCI Stinger averaged 1006 fps out of the Black Widow. The Sniper Subsonic averaged 693 fps, but thanks to a bullet nearly twice as heavy as the Stinger, it had only 7 ft-lbs less energy.
Then I switched to the 1 1/8" Mini Magnum. I had CCI Maxi-Mag +V 30 grain JHP and Maxi-Mag 40 grain FMJ. This gun really is an up the nose/in the ear kind of weapon. Accuracy is OK at close range (though it tends to shoot low, it still can keep shots center mass out to seven yards without a problem). However, given the lack of any sort of sight picture I didn't have much luck hitting the steel at 7 yards and no luck at all hitting it at 15. The stubby barrel made for less than impressive velocity (one will note that the Stinger out of the Black Widow had more velocity and muzzle energy than the +V from the 1 1/8" gun).
The CCI +V averaged just 962 fps (it made 1058 from the Black Widow with the .22 Mag cylinder) and the 40 grain FMJ averaged 866 fps (919 fps from the Black Widow). My preference in mini revolvers for defense is still with the .22 Magnum versions. The blast and flash are a lot more impressive, and I suspect that .22 Magnum ammunition is more well suited to carry in damp environments (like sweaty pockets) than the .22 LR is.
Then I moved on to my 432PD. I had a couple of handloads with me, a "hot" .32 S&W Long using a 100 grain RNFP and 4.5 grains of HS-6, a .32 H&R using the same 100 grain RNFP and 8.0 grains of 2400, and a 115 grain Gold Dot and 8.0 grains of 2400 (all with standard Federal SP primers). I also had some factory .32 H&R Georgia Arms 100 grain JHP.
There is nothing interesting to report about the 432PD when it comes to accuracy, its accurate. At qualification last week I was hitting an IDPA sized steel plate with every shot at 50 yards. I was more interested in velocity testing (and some practice) for the 432.
The .32 Long handload averaged 727 fps (I say its "hot" because factory ammunition with similar weight lead bullets is usually in the 550 fps range from a 2" barrel). It still felt very mild, and I would consider bumping it up more if I needed more velocity for plinking, but I don't. I'm already well over "max" for published data for the .32 Long.
As for the .32 H&R, the 100 grain load averaged 884 fps and the 115 grain load made 852 fps. Neither felt particularly hot, and extraction was fine, but primers had started to flatten a bit. I'd be willing to go a little farther with 2400 here, but perhaps confine hotter loads to my Single Six .32. As a side note both of those loads averaged above 1000 fps in the Single Six.
The Georgia Arms factory load averaged 889 fps from the 432PD and felt very similar to my 100 grain RNFP load.
Finally, the Bond Arms Texas Defender in .45 ACP. This little gun is huge fun to shoot. Recoil isn't mild, but its not painful or excessive either. I had a couple of handloads along, a 200 grain RNFP from Missouri Bullet, and my own cast 220 grain Lyman 452374 RN, both with 5.0 grains of Titegroup. I had one factory load (which will be my carry ammunition if I ever decide to carry this little gun), Winchester Ranger T 230 grain.
Both of my handloads averaged around 750 fps +/- from the 3" gun. The Ranger T averaged 793 fps. Here is a video of the recoil of the Bond shooting the Ranger T one handed.
YouTube - .45 ACP Bond Arms Derringer Recoil
I was watching the camera rather than the target, so I missed. However, hitting my steel target at 7 yards with either barrel was no problem (using the same sight picture). Out at 15 I had some trouble because the barrels were hitting farther apart. Other than the importance of sight picture with this gun, one has to remember to pull the trigger down and back, rather than just back, if one hopes to stay on target. Overall, I was very impressed with the Bond. If one has in interest in Derringers, the Bond is a must have. I'm considering several extra barrels for mine.
All in all it was quite a relaxing day, despite the heat, just thought I'd share.
Anyway, the wife is out of town, so I asked my mom to come babysit and off I went. I spent about two and a half hours shooting various guns (mostly the mini guns shown, plus my S&W 432PD which was back in my pocket and therefore missing from the pictures). I took a "break" to help the owner unload about 3000 IDPA targets (a lot more work than it sounds like), so I was actually at the range about three hours. The lineup consisted of:
Beretta 950BS Minx .22 Short
NAA Mini-Magnum 1 1/8" .22 Magnum with a XS front night sight
NAA Black Widow 2" .22 Long Rifle
S&W 432PD 2" .32 H&R Magnum
Bond Arms Texas Defender 3" .45 ACP
I shot a lot of rounds over my chronograph, which as usual provided some interesting data, especially when it came to the mini revolvers.
The little Beretta is surprisingly accurate, much more so than its sights allow for I am sure. I shot at a bug crawling on my target from about seven yards away and hit it on my second shot. Despite all the negative things I have heard about the reliability of the small Beretta rimfires, this one functioned perfectly. Not bad for the $75 I paid for it. I tried CCI 27 grain HP and Aguila 29 grain RN. I had some CCI CB 29 grain also, but as I expected, it didn't cycle the action. The one round of it I fired over the chronograph from the Beretta was running 495 fps, so that isn't a surprise.
The Aguila averaged 896 fps and the CCI HP averaged 906 fps. Both were nicely accurate and hitting my small steel target from 7 and 15 yards was not a problem with either load.
I shot the same two .22 Short rounds from the Black Widow, plus some CCI Stinger 32 grain HPs and some Aguila Sniper Subsonic 60 grain RN. Hitting at seven yards with all of that ammunition was no problem, but at 15 I really had to concentrate on my sight picture to get hits on the steel. The two .22 Short loads had about the same velocity average as from the Beretta. I expect the longer barrel but the addition of the cylinder gap got me to break even there. The CCI Stinger averaged 1006 fps out of the Black Widow. The Sniper Subsonic averaged 693 fps, but thanks to a bullet nearly twice as heavy as the Stinger, it had only 7 ft-lbs less energy.
Then I switched to the 1 1/8" Mini Magnum. I had CCI Maxi-Mag +V 30 grain JHP and Maxi-Mag 40 grain FMJ. This gun really is an up the nose/in the ear kind of weapon. Accuracy is OK at close range (though it tends to shoot low, it still can keep shots center mass out to seven yards without a problem). However, given the lack of any sort of sight picture I didn't have much luck hitting the steel at 7 yards and no luck at all hitting it at 15. The stubby barrel made for less than impressive velocity (one will note that the Stinger out of the Black Widow had more velocity and muzzle energy than the +V from the 1 1/8" gun).
The CCI +V averaged just 962 fps (it made 1058 from the Black Widow with the .22 Mag cylinder) and the 40 grain FMJ averaged 866 fps (919 fps from the Black Widow). My preference in mini revolvers for defense is still with the .22 Magnum versions. The blast and flash are a lot more impressive, and I suspect that .22 Magnum ammunition is more well suited to carry in damp environments (like sweaty pockets) than the .22 LR is.
Then I moved on to my 432PD. I had a couple of handloads with me, a "hot" .32 S&W Long using a 100 grain RNFP and 4.5 grains of HS-6, a .32 H&R using the same 100 grain RNFP and 8.0 grains of 2400, and a 115 grain Gold Dot and 8.0 grains of 2400 (all with standard Federal SP primers). I also had some factory .32 H&R Georgia Arms 100 grain JHP.
There is nothing interesting to report about the 432PD when it comes to accuracy, its accurate. At qualification last week I was hitting an IDPA sized steel plate with every shot at 50 yards. I was more interested in velocity testing (and some practice) for the 432.
The .32 Long handload averaged 727 fps (I say its "hot" because factory ammunition with similar weight lead bullets is usually in the 550 fps range from a 2" barrel). It still felt very mild, and I would consider bumping it up more if I needed more velocity for plinking, but I don't. I'm already well over "max" for published data for the .32 Long.
As for the .32 H&R, the 100 grain load averaged 884 fps and the 115 grain load made 852 fps. Neither felt particularly hot, and extraction was fine, but primers had started to flatten a bit. I'd be willing to go a little farther with 2400 here, but perhaps confine hotter loads to my Single Six .32. As a side note both of those loads averaged above 1000 fps in the Single Six.
The Georgia Arms factory load averaged 889 fps from the 432PD and felt very similar to my 100 grain RNFP load.
Finally, the Bond Arms Texas Defender in .45 ACP. This little gun is huge fun to shoot. Recoil isn't mild, but its not painful or excessive either. I had a couple of handloads along, a 200 grain RNFP from Missouri Bullet, and my own cast 220 grain Lyman 452374 RN, both with 5.0 grains of Titegroup. I had one factory load (which will be my carry ammunition if I ever decide to carry this little gun), Winchester Ranger T 230 grain.
Both of my handloads averaged around 750 fps +/- from the 3" gun. The Ranger T averaged 793 fps. Here is a video of the recoil of the Bond shooting the Ranger T one handed.
YouTube - .45 ACP Bond Arms Derringer Recoil
I was watching the camera rather than the target, so I missed. However, hitting my steel target at 7 yards with either barrel was no problem (using the same sight picture). Out at 15 I had some trouble because the barrels were hitting farther apart. Other than the importance of sight picture with this gun, one has to remember to pull the trigger down and back, rather than just back, if one hopes to stay on target. Overall, I was very impressed with the Bond. If one has in interest in Derringers, the Bond is a must have. I'm considering several extra barrels for mine.
All in all it was quite a relaxing day, despite the heat, just thought I'd share.