Cliff R

You can have trouble with any carrier and rest assured USPS ain't much better. They are OK for envelopes and small items under apprx 2 pounds, but for sure NEVER ship anything with them that's fragile, valuable or you give a chit about because they will either break it or have sex with it!.....LOL....

We received six of the "new" at that time 92F's for testing. Ran them thru the paces and they made the grade. We put WAY over 2500 rounds thru them w/o a single failure of any kind. I'd add here that I noticed the "huge" fireball when night shooting and the recoil/report was pretty hefty for a 9mm pistol but we continued to test them. At that time I was an instructor on staff at the small arms instructor training school, or train the trainer. To make a long story short we looked at the ammo supplied for them and it was designated TZZ 9mm in 64 round boxes from Israeli Industries and noted that it was pretty "hot" and designed for UZI 32 round magazines. At almost the exact same time we did this another service testing them (pretty sure it was the Marine Corps) had a slide break and injure the shooter. Almost immediately another incident with a broken slide occurred. Within days we get a Servicewide message to stop using the TZZ ammo. It was replaced with Olin Industries 9mm in 50 round boxes, which was considerably "mild" in comparison to the TZZ. Since this happened close to forty years ago I'm a little sketchy on the details but for sure the ammo was a contributing factor to slide failures. I also remember Beretta making a change to the weapons shortly after the slide breaking issues developed but can't remember exactly what they did to them....maybe some heat treating and adding something to keep the slide from separating from the frame and giving you a facial?. In any case I have personally never observed a failure with an M9 pistol and we were still using them when I retired in 2003. In all those years and being directly responsible for sending hundreds of thousands of rounds down range it's a testament to how good they really are. As an SAI it was also really nice to be able to run relays without any alibi's of any kind which was NOT possible with the aging 45's they replaced. Failure to feed, eject and "stove pipes" were common with the 45 pistols even though we gave them all the TLC they needed in the armory. So for sure it was a well needed "upgrade" for the Military in that area. Even with that said I'm personally NOT a fan of the M9 pistol and would never own one. Instead the secondary weapon in my ruck is a Smith & Wesson M & P which has about a zillion rounds thru it at this point and still flawless. It's never once done anything it wasn't supposed to, it's very accurate and feels much better in the hand that the big/bulky Beretta 92........

Yikes! Well, it passed the "Timex Test".....takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Good testament for the Glock as well, tough as nails. Hard to believe it didn't get picked for the last Military contract. I remember WAY back when the Beretta 92F was awarded the first contract to replace our aging 45 autos. Big, bulky, ugly but they offered it at a price that it rose to the top of the pile over several pistols that worked equally as well but cost more......

Thanks for sharing and sorry for the late response, I haven't checked in here in quite a while. I find the footage difficult to watch and can't imagine recovering on top of a mountain after sustaining some pretty serious wounds, outnumbered, out gunned, and everyone else has left me for the buzzards. It's also a reality check and I have trouble getting my head wrapped around the fact that you can be in one of the most desolate remote parts of the World in the worst possible circumstances you will ever face and someone is getting it on film. So in really doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing there's a good chance someone is watching you....that's pretty scary if you sit back and think about it for a minute........

Have been eye balling one of these for a while. I have the same pistol is the "S" version. Was looking for higher magazine capacity and found this one used by basically "new" condition. First time I've ever ordered a weapon on-line, the transaction was smooth and price was right. Going to ventilate the new burn barrel with it today. 13 + 1 so I woln't be changing mags as often.......

Until a few minutes ago never heard of the 45 Raptor, but I've been out of the loop since retiring couple years ago. Looks like a get-er-done-er for sure. On the larger platform for sure it has more working pressure. Hope it works out well for ya......

In these post COVID times we are still experiencing unrealist shortages on many things, plus prices are higher than they should be. To this day I don't understand the decision making matrix associated with COVID. Why would you hoard perishable items? Yes, folks were stocking up on milk, bread and other items that don't last very long and many require refrigeration instead of buying canned and dry goods that will be around for quite a while......and toilette paper....WTF? Wipe your ass with a wet washcloth dummy, saves money too! A lot of the problem is simply because people make STOOPID decisions with their money. Just because a disease swept across the country and quite a few folks we know didn't make it is no reason to realize our mortality and run out and buy chit we don't need and even worse pay too much for it. As long as that trend continues everything in our lives will cost more, and often become more difficult to obtain......IMHO......

For sure there will be a Youtube "hero" on there someplace with a good recipe for snapping turtle soup. Hopefully the wind woln't be blowing in the microphone, the fat lady next door is yelling at her kids in the background, loud diesel trucks "coaling" folks on the main road in front of his house.......and you don't have to listen to everything the guy did before he reached puberty BEFORE you get the soup recipe....LOL. I remember dad cleaning them and boiling the meat till it was tender, of course he put onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and a handful of salt/black pepper and two about two tablespoons of flour in it like just about all the other wild game we cooked up back then.........

Damned good eatin right there! Haven't had turtle soup since I was a kid. We used to catch a lot of those in small streams in these parts. Dad would take them home and fatten em up some with corn in a big barrel. We caught a really big one about 25 pounds that would take chunks out of a shovel handle when we poked it at him. Better than getting hold of your fingers! Just about every year a few females come out of the swamp across the road to lay their eggs on my property. I take them back across the road in the side-by-side so they will live to make the journey again next year......

RK has had their fair share of troubles with folks walking (or running) right out the front door with merchandise. Right after they opened I was getting out of my truck in the parking lot and a guy comes running past me with a Milwaukee tool kit, one of those big boxes with half a dozen tools in it. Not far behind him were a couple of store employees. He threw the big box into the bed of his F-150 and sped off. I'm sure there have been a lot more similar incidents as store security seems to be pretty lacking there. I've been at the front registers many times when no one was even around the service desk and at most one or two at ringing folks up.......

Help yourself, no one is watching! Good friend of mine shows up to work (he manages the "gun barn") at a local RK store. He notices that several displays he set-up and filled the day before are emptied. He asks fellow employees if they sold all that ammo and none of them know anything about it. He takes a few minutes to check video footage. Turns out a guy comes into the store, grabs a big push cart that you'd typically load up with feed bags or heavy items. He goes past a display of those big black totes with the yellow lids. Grabs one, throws it on the cart, swings by the ammo displays and unloads them into the tote. He heads right out the front of the store and gone. Turns out he hit two other stores the same day in the same fashion and no one noticed anything until they checked stock and video footage. Haven't heard if they found him yet or not. Seems pretty bold and for sure they need to make some changes to their security. This is not the first incident and earlier this year an employee at another store was killed when he confronted a shoplifter stealing ammuniton. You'd think some major changes would be in order. Locking down the ammo like they do the guns maybe? Right now they require all ammo purchases happen at the Gun Barn, but I've bought ammo multiple times there off of displays in the front or other parts of the store and paid for them at the front registers. Anyhow, doesn't look like video surveillance and requiring ammo purchases happen in the Gun Barn is helping out much. I suspect it will be the few who make it bad for the many and we'll have to buy our ammo from an employee behind a locked gate at some point......

Holy chit batman, an hour and twenty two minutes......sorry.......at my age I'm not willing to give the kid that much of my time....sorry. "It’s been a pretty rough year. But I have missed you guys. And I couldn’t pass up a chance to help get Tom riled up more on a thread." I also hope things get better for you. Did you retire recently?......

We should learn from our past, NOT re-write it. It should ALL remain just like it is as a contant reminder for us to do a better job in the future.......IMHO.....

Agreed. In any and all cases the threat needs to be iliminated. The guy killed 8 civilians so about all that putting few extra rounds into him after he's down just makes sure he doesn't get to plead not guilty a few days later........IMHO.....

"Mainly drawing from the pocket holster and quick firing groups of 2 and 3 shots at a 6" target at about 5yds. (15 feet). By the end the hour, I was up to 90%" Do that daily for a month and I'm betting you'll be up to 100 percent! Sights are not needed for "close quarters" work, IMHO. I practice drawing and shooting frequently. I consider "close quarters" 3' to about 10'. No need for sights or coming all the way up with the weapon. I don't "hip shoot" as was commonly taught decades ago and depicted in Bill Jordan's excellent book. I prefer to bring the weapon up further to chest level with a solid two hand grip. Without using sights and some practice all your rounds should fall inside a playing card without much effort. Quick aquisition sights have taken over the industry in recent years and I can see why. I prefer them on my AR-15's and have my "go-to" AR outfitted with an Eotech and a Red Dot on another one that I really like. It's motion activated which is pretty cool so no buttons to mess with when it's time to get to work with it......

Does the Hellcat have eluminated sight? I've never looked at the ones on mine and don't use the sights for close quarters work. I draw, point and shoot. The weapon needs to be an extension of your hand like pointing your finger at something. Shooting for self defense needs to become instinctive. You have to hone your skills and trust your abilities. Ya, even drawing in front of the mirror and dry firing like you did with all your cowboy gear on like you did when you were a kid. Just don't be like a good friend of mine who incidentaly left a round in his 357 magnum and destroyed the wifes vanity mirror in the bathroom! The bullets will be there, you just have to practice, practice, practice before anything like that simply becomes second nature. They always told us (SAI's) that it takes apprx 1000 rounds before this will happen, so stock up on ammo and get out there and start shooting. My target of choice here are the lids I cut out of my 55 gallon barrels so I can use them to burn trash. They are about the right size and you can see all your hits. Paper targets don't cut it for this type of practice....at least for me as I like the instant gratification of hearing the rounds slam home and know for sure I'm ventilating the target. Ya, I know, we teach sight picture, sight alignment, proper grip, stance, breathing and trigger squeeze, etc, etc. Not saying all that isn't important here. However, most folks don't hit what they are aiming or pointing at with handguns simply because they jerk/slap the trigger, anticipate the shot, fight the recoil, or just don't have good shooting skills perfected yet. Most gunfights will happen at very close distances. Poor lighting is likely, targets will be moving, and you may be taking fire. Sights will be the LAST thing you'll be looking for when this happens.......FWIW......

I'm with ya on the 500 rounds thing w/o a hiccup. I've went thru a good many auto pistols in recent years because they will not "run". I've had ZERO luck with anything from Taurus and tried a Ruger LCP and it wouldn't run 100 percent. My S & W 45 Shield wouldn't run either. Neither will my S & W Bodyguard. It will only run effectivley with 380 hard ball ammo. The 45 Smith went back to S & W and thru their custom shop and got a full makeover, but I still woln't carry it. In contrast my Shield in 9mm is 100 percent flawless, and eats anything. So is my full size M & P, never jams no matter what. I've moved over to Springfield Armory for carry pistols aside from my 5 shot S & W 38. Currently carrying a Hellcat and it's never grumbled once no matter how many rounds I fire thru it or how much it is neglected in between. For a back-up pistol hunting out West and camp carry I retired my S & W 629 44 Magnum (too heavy and bulky for my old ass) and carry a Springfield Armory Subcompact 45 instead. I load it with 185 grain hollow points at 1135fps so it's knocking on the 10mm door pretty hard. It not only runs flawlessly with them it's deadly accurate as well. I've always been very fond of 45ACP and shot Bullseye Matches when I was on active duty back in the mid to late 1980's. I sold my Colt Commander a while back because the sights were WAY off with my custom 185 grain high velocity loads. The exit the barrel so fast it was hitting like a foot low at 20' and not much I could easily do about it plus I LOVE the grip safety striker fired Springfield Armory 45 so it made the decesion pretty easy. As a Small Arms Instructor I highly advise folks I've taught in recent years to consider a revolver for home defense and concealed carry. I bought my daughter a Rossi 5 shot 38 and she's really good with it plus none of her young children are strong enough to fire it. Yes, 5 or 6 shots is PLENTY and they are a LOT safer for the "average" shooter than any type of striker fired auto pistol. No magazine to dick with, don't have to worry about not pulling the slide back far enough to fully chamber a round, no jams, fail to feed or fail to eject, or the magazine release gets hit and the mag drops down leaving the weapon pretty much useless when you pull it out. Plus you get the piece of mind of knowing that no matter what happens they will ALWAYS go bang when you need them to. Little if any of this applies to most of the tough guys on here, but something to consider for beginners, the meek/mild, and those that don't have Pythons for arms and PLENTY of testosterone in their veins!....FWIW...... Pics below are my Springfield Armory 45, jammed S & W Shield 45, my custom 185 grain 45 rounds (on right) and one of the 185 grain bullets recovered after passing thru three one gallon jugs of water and putting a pretty good dent in a 2 x 6.......

A quick story about CCW's. ALWAYS fire the damned thing and practice drawing and firing it. I'll bet 95 percent if not more of the folks who buy and conceal these weapons don't do much more than shoot a few rounds thru it, load it up and start carrying concealed. Most do NOT practice drawing it out from under you coat or outer garmets. Ya, sounds pretty simple but it adds to your reaction times, so get good at it. A few years back we leased a huge log cabin down by Old Mans Cave in Southern Ohio. A bunch of couples went for a weekend Winter retreat. The men all decided mid-day Saturday to take a walk on the property and do some shooting. One guy had a Glock, full size but can't remember the exact model #. It failed to feed every single time, jam, jam, jam so only good for one round no matter what you tried to do with it. He had purchased it new, it went right into the dresser drawer beside the bed and used for home defense. After the trip he sent it back to Glock and it came back working like it should. So just because you buy well made name brand chit it's still a good idea to make sure it works. I'd also HIGHLY recommend to do a LOT of firing with the ammuninution you plan on using in the weapon. Shooting hard ball thru your 9mm then loading it up with some very expensive self defense hollow points is another recipe for DISASTER. I've seen a good many auto loading pistols over the years that just will NOT function reliably with certain ammo and in almost all cases it was some of that fancy stuff in 25 round boxes they price like it's gold plated. IF you are going to trust your life on your auto pistol make sure it "runs" with your ammo of choice.......FWIW.......

"Glad you brought that up - most Civilians think that Military personnel must be good with firearms. Not so. Most are NOT good with firearms, nor are most good at shooting said firearms, nor is safety their main concern (unless it's when they're on the qual range, with someone watching every move they make.). Most military people are NOT "Gun Guys" in any stretch of the imagination. I could go on, about military personnel and firearms, but I'll leave it at that." Sad but true. I run a very "tight ship" when doing small arms training. Remove your rank insignia and forget you are in charge of anything when you come to my range. Everyone still gets the respect they deserve but I'll can your ass in a micro-second if at any point you do NOT follow directions or create an unsafe condition while your on my watch! When it come to shooting at least from what I've seen, which includes 20 years as a SAI, and having to maintain weapons quals for over 45 years for my LE career, is that in almost all cases the weapon shoots better than the person holding it!......FWIW......

I was a SAI for 20 years on Active Duty and responsible to make sure all of the personel at every unit I was assigned to were thoroughly trained every 6 months per the requirements to maintain weapons quals. Even so, I still saw many of these well experienced shooters "fumble" at times loading/unloading and often hesitate any time they experienced a weapon malfunction. On a slow fire Marksmanship course they teach the shooter to stop firing, keep the weapon pointed down range and raise the non-firing hand to indicate a problem or "aliby". NOT good when half hour later you then teach the same shooter to get behind cover and make an attempt to clear the same weapon and make it operational again when something goes wrong. I never liked that deal but had to obide by the rules in place at that time. Basically we play how we practice with these things, and there is no such thing a too much practice! As far as striker fired weapons go I'm pretty fond of them as they don't have a huge transition from double to single action like the M-9 pistol. Even so without an added mechanical safety they are a very poor choice for putting in your pocket, tossing under the seat of the truck, or just throwing them in a night stand or dresser drawer for home defense without being in a suitable holster to prevent an accidental discharge.....IMHO.....

Couple of things to consider here, and forgive me I haven't watched the video yet. In the real World there are just a lot of folks out there who should NOT be carrying striker fired auto pistols, or even auto pistols for concealed carry nor should they be using them for home defense. Yes, you read that correctly. Right to start with "most people" don't practice loading and unloading them, and when they do they don't step outside and point the pistol toward a a suitable backstop, bucket full of sand, or in a safe direction. I'd also add here that a striker fired pistol w/o a working safety is the MOST dangerous type of weapon you can have hidden or laying around your house with children around. Most people don't buy the right holster for them, it either doesn't fit the weapon or doesn't fit them, or both. Nor do they practice holstering the weapon, drawing and firing it. Dangerous moments for sure especially if you are wearing outer clothing, a jacket or your blouse or shirt is untucked. Most people never check to make sure that the magazine release didn't get pushed inadvertantly and the weapon is now pretty much useless. Yes, this happens pretty easily and more often than you think. I got in a habit of checking the magazine in my primary weapon frequently as I carried concealed daily for 16 year doing CSI work for the County (retired 02Jan2022) and carrying off duty dating back to the late 1970's when I started my career in LE. In the last 16 years I've had the magazined drop down about 3-4 times. So although not that often, and with the EXCELLENT holster(s) I was using it shouldn't have happened, it still did. I got in a habit of every single time I'd get out of the truck at a crime scene that I'd push the magazine to make sure it was home, 99.99 percent of the time it was fine, but wouldn't you want/need the damn thing to work like it's supposed to that .01 percent of the time? Most people seldom, if ever do periodical maintenence on their auto pistols as they can and will get dirty and soome lint packed into them if you carry daily. Dry, dirty and gritty doesn't cut it so they need to be cleaned often. Most people don't practice with them either. They buy the weapon, fire it once or twice, then start carrying it around. Without practice and repitition (it takes about 1000 repititions till it starts to become second nature) you will NEVER be truely proficient with it, and more times than not familiar enough with it to be able to reload/change magazines without looking at it or fumbling around some. My primary weapon for most of those years was a S & W shield in 45, then replaced it with a Springfield Armory 45, then went to a Hellcat in 9mm that last half dozen years or so. I also carry a 5 shot stainless S & W 38 revolver because no matter what happens or how deep the chit gets that thing will ALWAYS go bang every time you pull the trigger. Anyhow, with all that said I'm in the group that carries ready to go so there isn't any fumbling around or delay time the day the chit gets deep and I have to end someones existence........FWIW

You'll love Reloader 7 in 45/70. If nothing else it measures about 8000 times easier that IMR 3031!..... Sadly I've replaced most of my older rifles (hunting) with modern black rifles. My go to rifle these days is my 450 Bushmaster. DEADLY one hole accuracy, don't have to reload for it, and if you miss something out to 250 yards without holding over you just should have stayed at your day job instead of hunting.......LOL.....

That would be PLENTY. After trying several powders for 45/70 I settled on Reloader 7. The chrony tells me it's very efficient in that caliber and I've never observed any signs of excess pressure even with a full charge of it. In the B-78 and Ruger #1's you can use 60 grains of it w/o issue with the 300grain bullets. Probably a good idea to back off a bit for the Marlin 1895's but they are still very strong rifles. If you ever want a lesson in recoil put a full charge of Reloader 7 behind a 500 grain bullet in a Ruger #1. A friend handed me his Ruger #1 back at a range in the late 1980's and I fired it ONCE......and it still hurts!.........

I use close to 60 grains of Reloader 7 to push 300 grain bullets thru my 45/70's. They go across the chromy at 2400fps. They can be very hard on the shooter, and pretty hard on the remaining loads in the magazine tube, so a very tight crimp is not optional. Don't even bother to wear glasses or a hat sighting it in, they will be on the ground after you touch a round off anyhow! Couple of years ago I used a metal rifle rest to make sure the Marlin 1895 was ready for our deer hunting season. The idea was to save my shoulder a little punishment. I touched off a couple of rounds and went to pick the rifle up and the stock was split nearly into two pieces....oops! I was on the list for a new one for couple of years and finally found a pretty nice used one on Ebay. I repaired the original stock by drilling, pinning and gluing it, you really can't see the repair unless you are looking for it. I decided to just leave it in place and save the new one for the next time pull a STOOPID move like that!.....

The main purpose of crimping is to keep the projectile in place during cycling and firing. In a bolt gun (unless you are single loading) a slight crimp on the load insures that the remaining bullets in the loads in the magazine don't move forward. I've seen this happen, especially on hard hitting/heavy recoil calibers. I'd also add here that this problem becomes more of a possibility as you "work" your brass with mulitple reloading operations expanding, stretching, thinning and weakening it. Another purpose of the crimp is to keep the bullets in the tube magazine from pushing the seated bullets DEEPER into the cases during loading and once again under heavy recoil. I've seen this happen with "high performance" 45/70 home grown loads in my Marlin 1895 rifles, for example. For auto loading rifles we need the crimp for obvious reasons like when the bolt slams home or quick cycling/rapid fire or full auto fire. The LAST thing you want to happen is for a bullet to come loose during those events/processes. As far as accuracy one way vs the other I wouldn't have a clue but have never really done any testing in that area. I have done some testing with bullet distance to the rifle lands in the barrel for how far they have to "jump" to get there. Most of that was with 22/250 and my bolt action .223 Remington 700BDL bull barrel rifle. Once again one should use some caution there as some small light bullets don't have a lot of engagement left in the cases when you start moving them out to get close to the rifling. You are also more times than not limited to how long you can make them due to restrictions in the magazine. For hunting rounds and this might help Magwa out a bit, if this weapon is being used for big game hunting I'd do a decent crimp on it and stay within recommended overall length for the round. Any slight reduction in accuracy or potential higher pressure would be a LOT less of a concern vs leaving one too loose and have a weapon malfunction when you are miles from camp and have spent many hours working your way on a big bull Elk for a good shot. IF you are using old style bullet seating/crimping dies one must make absolutely sure that you establish the crimp at the bottom of the stroke of the handle and NOT before. If your crimp die isn't adjusted correctly you can deform the case and it's NOT going to be a happy day at the range when that round is slammed into the chamber.......hope this helps some........