Exxonv

Well, I was on the fence about picking up a used (or new) Ruger SFAR because I'd seen quite a few videos and reviews where owners had significant problems. Fact is, there were also plenty of folks who said they LOVED their SFAR's, and loved the reliability and accuracy. When I came across one for sale (used), I was reluctant to consider it. However, the owner was also interested in trades, and mentioned wanting a 357 Magnum with a 5" or 6" barrel. I had a Smith & Wesson 686-6 I was willing to trade... The Ruger SFAR had been back to the factory and had the barrel, bolt and gas system replaced, and the owner told me he had 170 flawless rounds through it since the return from the factory. I decided to give it a try... I added a TUBB 308 Buffer Spring and a Stoner AR Heavy Buffer, along with a Primary Arms 1x8 SFP ACSS LVPO, cleaned and oiled her up, and took her to the range... First - NOT ONE SINGLE issue... No extraction, no failure to feed, nothing... She ran 100% reliable for 100 rounds. Second, accuracy with 150 grain ammo was excellent. If I'd put a 5-25x50 on this baby, I'm sure I could've gotten even better groups. All-in-all, very happy (relieved AND happy). Thanks for watching!!!

Decided to try my optics zero'd at 25-yards vs. 10 or 15 yards. My P320 X-Five Legion is zero'd at 25 and I love it, so these babies are now zero'd at the same range. It was a bit of a hot day, and ended with dead trigger issues on the PSA Dagger Compact. I believe those issues are now resolved, but we'll have to get to the range again to make sure... That dang Dagger, I want to love it, but it's one thing after another... First, the front sight almost comes off, then, the trigger is dead. The fix? Bend the PSA Dagger Connector into "spec", which I did. My Glocks NEVER had to have any Connector bent, so I installed a Ghost Connector. PSA is sending new trigger components. The best part of the pistol portion of the day was the cheap pistol rest - that really helped me get better groups. I SUCK at groups, so any cheat is good for me! Picked up the handy Caldwell Handy Rest NXT Adjustable Ambidextrous Rest for Pistols. Awesome purchase! Now, let's see if I can get some confidence with this PSA Dagger - already LOVE the P320 Compact and Full Size, and the Glock 17 with the Brownell's slide is solid now that I've upgraded the barrel to a Zaffiri Precision Barrel. Thanks for watching, and remember, don't use my handload recipes, test them at a lower amount of powder first to be SAFE.

Sighting in two AR-15’s (again) due to a Vortex Optic issue for all of the Vortex Spitfire 1x Prisms I purchased during Christmas. Vortex repaired two and replaced one. The Adams Arms AA-15 is an older rifle I’ve had quite awhile, and the other is a Palmetto State Armory Freedom Upper and PSA budget lower. The only upgrades to the PSA are a Night Fission front sight (Tritium) and I installed the PSA PA-10 2-stage trigger (from my PSA AR-10) when I upgraded that to a CMC 3.5lb trigger. I also used JP Reduced Power Springs, making the trigger quite nice. All shots were from 35-yards, not the best groups at all, but for me w/1x – not too bad. Not nearly as awesome as the groups from the AR-10s earlier that day!

Testing out two AR-10's - with new optics and new loads. Rock River Arms LAR-8 X1 with a Vortex Diamondback 6-24x50 Scope - running 168 grain handloads, SIE BTHP bullets, mixed cases, and Ramshot Tac at 42.8 grains. Palmetto State Armory PA-10 with an Arken EPL 6-24x50 Scope - running 175 grain handloads, SIE BTHP bullets, mixed cases, and Ramshot Tac at 42.4 grains. Both handloads are Factory Seconds bullets - zero'd at 35 yards, will next take these out to 200-yards. Both are excellent AR-10 rifles!!! Excellent loads too. As always, loads are provided for reference only. Please work up YOUR OWN loads for your safety.

Okay, so we're having fun w/the Glock and the Dagger Glock Clone, but not loving the dot... Need to sight these all in at 25-yards where I have my Sig P320 X-Five zero'd w/an optic. Run the Glock 17 Gen 4 w/the Holosun 407c and a new Zaffiri Precision Barrel. The barrel is OUTSTANDING and I love the Glock 17 all around anyway - never a big fan of the Glock trigger or grip, but love the gun. I'll have to get all the optics pistols at 25-yards, but I'm feeling better about the dot - just won't be moving all my guns to optics anytime soon (if ever). Still old school, love iron sights. Trigger time is good time, and good trigger time is great time! I hope you enjoy the video!

Setting up two AR-15's for 100yards. The Springfield Saint Edge with a Romeo 5 XDR and a 3x Juliet Magnifier goes first, followed by a PSA build with a mid-length gas system (same as the Saint), and topped with a Holosun 510c and a Sightmark 5x Magnifier. Running 55 grain and 77 grain rounds, and wow, the 77 grain rounds performed in these rifles (both twists at 1x8 and 1x7). The 3x and 5x performed very well, the only major problem was wind - significant wind that was first front to back and then side to side! It was a busy wind day for sure... Impressed with the rifles, even had time to zero the backup offset iron sights at 25 yards. I hope you enjoy the video!

Well, I know I'm sort of late to the PSA Dagger Game, but I'm a fan. It's a great value for what it is - a sweet Glock Gen 3 clone. What I love - the price, the value, the options and the overall feel. What I don't love - the steel roll pins in the frame... Yep, that's about it... You can get a CZ P-10c for about the same price when they're on sale on Grab-a-Gun (don't buy a CZ anywhere else!), those are optics ready and have an incredible out of the box trigger, but you still have to get night sights. This baby came with a very good out of the box trigger (not CZ P-10 great, but good), a threaded barrel, an RMR slide, and suppressor height night sights (with an orange front sight, my favorite combo along with the Sig X-Rays). Now, I'm not an "optics on a pistol" fan just quite yet. I see the value. I understand the goodness. What I don't like: Sighted for one range and you need to know holdovers - yes, irons are similar, but I can see those quickly and most production pistols are sighted at 25-yards out of the box, I'm used to that... They get dirty - gun oil, gun crud, spray, rain, mud - all that can get in the way of the "window" and block your view. Battery power... Those are all cons to me - but hey, I get they have value. No, I'm NOT going to sell all my iron sight guns and get optics ready stuff. I LOVE iron sights... Now, for the PSA Dagger - I LOVE the gun for the value and the trigger ain't too shabby out of the box - great overall gun! Thanks for stopping by and watching!

I bought myself a PSA Dagger Compact – why? $299 with an RMR slide, Suppressor Night Sights, and a threaded barrel. I also purchased a non-threaded barrel for $65.00 more (for carry). Crazy cheap… Was looking at a Brownell’s G19 Gen 3 slide ($199) plus Night Fission sights ($100) to have an upper for my G19 Gen 4, but for the same price, I was able to get this baby (just watch for the sales!!!). The Holosun 407c mounted right up, and I replaced a spring (plunger spring), replaced the slide release, and added a different back plate. Since, I’ve taken the plunger spring back to factory, and replaced the screws in the Holosun, as they were too deep and were hitting the extractor assembly in the slide… I’m sure my red dot will be better (zero’s) after that fix – the pistol was shooting left quite a bit… Not a bad deal at all, and for the money, I’m happy. I am not a super Glock fan, they’re nice for what they are, but their triggers always left something to be desired. I also don’t care for the roll pins that PSA users in the Dagger, I prefer the pins in the Glock. All minor stuff, so I’m happy, and can’t wait to put more rounds through this baby.

Running some loads through the chrono - several 62gr and a couple 77gr handloads with CFE 223 and H335. Rifles were an Adams Arms AA-15 14.5" Pinned and Welded Barrel pistol rifle and a PSA Freedom 16" Rifle (DI, Carbine Length). Optics were both new Vortex Spitfire 1x Prism Scopes (yes, I'm getting older and my eyes are too...). I ended up sending all 3 of my Vortex Scopes back, two of them had problems. One started only turning on illumination in between clicks, and the other was shutting off and on... Sent back the third w/them because I bought them all together from MidwayUSA for $150 each on sale... Shot the AA-15 and CFE loads and the PSA and H335 Load to keep the barrels w/the same powder. Also had to sight in the optics, so way too much going on to get anything more than good chrono readings...

Running some 185 grain .45 ACP loads through my FN FNX 45. These rounds were expected to be hotter (CFE) then I ended up getting - pretty strange to me... Tried the Berry's Hollow Base Round Nose bullets (HBRN), seated to 230 grain depth. No idea why they were that slow. The Green Dot was awesome, and I believe the CFE will be if I load them a bit hotter... Next up - JHPs in 185, will start those at 8.1 grains CFE and might try some TiteGroup. Thanks for watching, and as always, I am not doing this so you can replicate, just doing this to show you what I’ve done. Work up your own loads at your own pace and be safe!

In search of the best load for a small barrel 9mm pistol, I thought I’d try a 90 grain XTP over 6.4 grains of CFE Pistol. Holy wow, these are smoking fast! 1400+ through a Glock 17 and 1300+ through a Sig P365 3” barrel, these are for sure going to expand. No idea on penetration, but I’d consider these as a viable self-defense load for a Sig Sauer P365 or any of the Micro Subcompact Pistols on the market today. These were impressive! Recoil was low, no signs of over pressure, exceptional performance in FPS. Had some inconsistency in loads, but using pulled and primed brass, so I’m not shocked. All-in-all, these were done on a Hornady Lock-n-Load, so progressive press, done well enough to prove my point on speed. Ammo Manufacturers, take note, this is a solid type of self-defense load I’d buy from you if you made it! Thanks for watching, and as always, I am not doing this so you can replicate, just doing this to show you what I’ve done. Work up your own loads at your own pace and be safe!

Creating some 380 ACP handloads for range shooting – these are using pulled VCrown bullets (90 grain JHPs) from American Reloading, plus 4.3 grains of CFE Pistol – the bullets seated at a depth of 0.974. Not the best spread at 189 fps, but I’ve seen factory that bad… High was 992 fps, low was 897 fps, all-in-all, not bad for spinking, and some really great accuracy from some of the rounds. I’m sure pulled bullets are not the greatest for accuracy, but some had no pull marks. Happy enough to keep this one for plinking, will make a few more for the summer.

Running some 38 Special +P 110 grain XTP handloads through a Ruger LCRx 1.87 inch barrel revolver. These are rounds I was making to attempt to create a lower recoil, hot 38 Special +P round for self-defense. These are 7.0 grains of CFE Pistol with a 110 grain XTP, loaded at 1.455 depth. My 20 shots were a wide range from 791 fps to 1104 fps, no idea why. Removing all the 700 fps range placed this at an extreme spread of 251 with an average of 965 fps. Pretty hot for a snubbie, pretty dirty too. I'll probably try Titegroup next time to get to the 110 grain XTP load I'm looking for - not happy with the CFE Pistol on this load, but hey, using pulled brass, so who knows... Oh, and I can't hit anything w/a snubbie 1.87" barrel at 10 yards :(....

First off, did you like the “gun joke”? If you don’t know a little about the military handgun trials from roughly 1910 until modern day, it might not make sense. From the 1911 handgun (WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam) to the M9 Beretta to the Sig Sauer P320 (semi-auto era), these have been the US pistols. Glock lost out twice, as did other gun manufacturers. Say what you want, but the 1911 was on the throne the longest, and to me, still has the best trigger – the trigger all other handguns aspire to have – some get close, but none are as good to me. I’d not want to carry a WWI 1911 these days, but in 1917, I’d have wanted one FOR SURE! Today, I’m super happy with my Springfield TRP. Shooting a Glock 17 Gen 4 with a Brownell’s RMR cut slide, mounted a Holosun 407c X2 (green) and Night Fission sights. I’m having problems with the slide due to the striker spring(s). Started with a Ghost spring (light primer strikes), then a black spring (Gen 1), now going with the original configuration. Also shooting a CZ P-10F Optics Ready with a Holosun 407c X2 (Red), an adapter plate, and Night Fission sights. This one is almost good to go – I’ve put roughly 500 rounds through it with the optic, feeling better about it. Shot a Sig P320 Full Size with a Brownell’s P320 RMR cut slide, mounted a Holosun 407c X2 (green) with Night Fission sights. This was my favorite to shoot today, hands down. First time shooting w/the new slide, and I’ll get at least another 200 or more through before I feel confident. Last, shot the Sig P320 Compact with a Brownell’s RMR cut slide, mounted a Holosun 407c X2 (green) and it has Night Fission sights. This baby was also exceptional and fun to shoot – first time w/this new slide as well, feeling much better on this platform and will also put another few hundred down range before I am ready to carry it. I’m not 100% sure I love optics on carry guns yet – but warming to the idea. I’m old school for sure, iron sights are simple, they don’t need a battery, and they just work. Optics give me a better sight picture, and (I admit) some slightly better accuracy at distance, but I’m still getting used to the sight picture. Up close, I’m good with target focused shooting, that’s how I shoot anyway – at distance, I’m trying to get used to the co-witness (1/3rd) and the dot in the picture – again, trying to remain focused on the target, but still working on that… Hey, all good – just happy I could get the optics (Freedom Gorilla) and the slides (Brownell’s) to transform 3 older pistols into optics ready, but I can still go back to the iron slides… The CZ P-10F was already good to go, but I do miss that slide w/out the optics sometimes!

Running some 9mm handloads through the chronograph to see where they are at in terms of velocity and power factor. 125 is the minimum power factor for USPSA Minor, these loads all are fine for meeting / exceeding that number. The 9mm 115 load is a favorite for most shooters because it’s ubiquitous and inexpensive. Lower priced bullets, but it uses more powder, and does sometimes introduce a little muzzle flip. It’s 9mm, so not anything like a .357 Magnum for sure, but muzzle flip = slower splits… 124 grain is the “middle ground” and most self-defense loads are 124 grain Plus P (hotter). This 124 grain load is Plus P for sure, but I really need to double check that the 115’s and 124’s didn’t get mixed up, more on that later… 147 grain is my “go to” for USPSA practice and frankly, I carry Federal HST 147 +P rounds or Critical Duty 135 grain +P in my full-size handguns. 147 grain seems to have a little more backwards recoil, but way less muzzle flip for me, and it uses less power. All-in-all, my favorite. For USPSA Matches, I use 150 grain Federal Syntec, it’s been awhile since I shot a match ☹. The 147 HSTs were on sale (pulled) and I bought 1,000 for fun, and it never hurts to have a good solid self-defense load you can make “just in case”. As always, DO NOT use my recipes, test your own and always start lower and WORK YOUR WAY UP to avoid any issues!

Building up some 77grain Sierra HPBT MatchKing 2nds using Lovex D73-04 Powder. Lovex D73-04 does not show a load for 77grain, so I thought I'd try this out at 22.2 grains to start. Solid accuracy (only at 40 yards) and no over pressure signs, average FPS was around 2522, so not too fast. I'll try this with a few loaded at 22.8gr and maybe at 23gr to see what we get next.

Running the CZ P10F Optics Ready pistol w/a Holosun 407c X2 – needed a plate to get this mounted. I went with the CHPWS plate from Freedom Gorilla – seems to be holding up so far, but I also felt like I was chasing the zero on elevation a few times. Just getting used to the dot maybe… The CZ P10F ran well, good accuracy – I actually enjoyed the Glock a little bit more this time (not normally how it goes). Looking forward to trying out the Brownells Sig Sauer P320 RMR Cut Slide soon! Take care!

Running a Glock 17 Gen 4 Brownells RMR Cut Slide with a Holosun 407c X2 (green dot). I wanted to try optics on my duty guns, but didn’t want to cut the slide(s), so I bought the Glock 17 Gen 4 Brownells RMR Cut Slide, as well as the Sig Sauer P320 Full Size and Compact Brownells RMR Cut Slides (those reviews coming soon). The only problem I ran into was from using a Ghost Striker Spring – that gave me some light primer strikes. I’ll get that fixed and this baby will be ready for prime time!!! Enjoy!

Running a couple pistols w/optics and a rifle. The pistols were a CZ P10F with a Holosun 407c X2 and a Sig P320 XFive with a Romeo Pro. The rifle is a sweet piston driven Adams Arms rifle with a CMC 3.5lb trigger and a Vortex Spitfire X1 Optic.

Picked this baby up in an Estate Sale for a great price, thought I'd better get it out to the range to see how it performed and wow, awesome rifle!!! Savage rifles have the AccuTrigger which is a major plus, this baby also came with a Pentax 3.5-10x50 scope and a bi-pod. Factory muzzle break was awesome, and while she is a bit heavy, dang, nice shooter!!! I hope you enjoy the video.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Okay, so I love Glocks and I love Sigs (and CZ's and Beretta's and, and, and...). But it has been a bit since I ran a sort of full size non-competition pistol. I've shot the P365 P380 and a few awesome resolvers, but today was 9mm Compact Pistol Day! This baby SINGS!!! She's a beauty, runs like a competition pistol, is accurate, fun to shoot, and makes me look good! Thanks for watching!!!

Shooting my HK 416 SBR. Decided to chrono two different 22lr loads to see how far off the published velocity they might be - amazing results: Winchester 555 36 grain 22lr stated 1280 fps. Through the HK my chronograph reported an average of 1214 fps. Federal Auto Match 40 grain 22lr stated 1200 fps, through the HK my chronograph reported an average of 1151 fps. The HK 416 is a great little pistol, or configured as I have mine, a great SBR (yes, it's legal, relax!). I hope you enjoy the video! Dave

Follow-up, got the chronograph working and captured performance for 6.5 grain and 6.7 grain loads of MP-180 through a Ruger LCRx (1.87" barrel) and a Smith & Wesson 686 (6" barrel). The data provided from American Reloading was simply this: MP 180 Stick Powder - Burns around 35 - 38 on Hodgdon Burn Rate chart Caliber – 9mm Charge – 5.2 gr Bullet – 115gr FMJ Avg. Velocity – 1,100 fps Work up all loads minus 10% Minimum Load American Reloading had it cheap at 5lbs for $103.99 shipped (including Hazmat) - so a great deal. Awesome performance and accuracy - will be my standard 38 Special and 38 Special +P powder till I use it all!

Working up a load for MP-180 Powder (from American Reloading). The data provided was simply this: MP 180 Stick Powder - Burns around 35 - 38 on Hodgdon Burn Rate chart Caliber – 9mm Charge – 5.2 gr Bullet – 115gr FMJ Avg. Velocity – 1,100 fps Work up all loads minus 10% Minimum Load I've gotten from 5.5gr to 6.5gr and it's doing great! Plan is to get GOOD chrono data at 6.5, 6.7, and 6.8gr and see how this powder does... American Reloading had it cheap at 5lbs for $103.99 shipped (including Hazmat) - so a great deal.

Loading 300 Win Mag using Accurate 4350 powder, mixed headstamps, and Hornady Interlock 180gr Bullets. Chrono through a Savage 110 and a Vortex Venom 5-25x56 optic, and then out to 200 yards to sight it in. Some EXCEPTIONAL groups and some weird stuff after moving the reticle around a bit to see how accurate I could get - will need to go back and double check on zero, but fired almost 50 rounds downrange to have some fun. Nice setup for a newbie (to rifles) like me - 300 Win Mag is a nice all-around big game round for me. Thanks for watching!