Latest range trip. 4 guns, all ran 100%

TruthTellers · February 20, 2017, 05:03 PM

Just got back from the range to test the reliability of some guns I've got, some I'm shooting for the first time. Started off with the small and worked my way up in calibers. Here's my results and such:

Raven .25

This ran 100% with no issues, which I consider amazing for a $100 gun. Shot about 25 rds and it was fun! Past 10 yards this gun was tough to shoot accurately, but this was off hand and my first time, so maybe the groups will tighten up over time. I only shot fmj and I advise anyone interested in shooting .25 to only shoot and carry fmj.

Ruger LCP Custom

This was the hardest gun to shoot today. The low weight and the recoil and blast made it difficult to hit well with. I think had this been the original LCP, I likely wouldn't have hit the paper. The trigger is great and the sights helped a lot and they are the two main reasons I bought this before they all disappeared onto Gunbroker for $300.

The other thing I noticed with this was that is was overly difficult to insert new mags and seat them fully. I literally had to palm thrust the mags into the gun like a martial artist. Reloading this gun will not be fun in a fight.

One of the mags I used was a Promag 10 rd extended magazine. It ran 100% with hollow points and Ruger Polycase ammo.

I put the least amount of rounds through this gun, so don't take my results to the bank. All I can say is if there was going to be an issue with the 10 rd mag, it would have happened and it didn't.

Glock 35 with Lone Wolf 9mm barrel.

I did not replace anything other than the barrel for the gun. It ran flawless with the stock .40 extractor, ejector, and recoil spring.

This was perfect with both a Glock .40 mag and a Magpul 9mm mag. However, I would absolutely not use a .40 magazine to shoot 9mm in for defense as I noticed during loading the mag that the 9mm would get loose and stagger in the magazine. Not something you would want to happen in a life defending situation.

The 9mm Magpul mag ran fine, no issues. I used Winchester NATO 124 grain, 115 grain JHP, and 147 grain JHP. No issues with any of them. The NATO ammo was noticeably hotter than the other stuff and the Glock was very easy to shoot and was the best of all four guns I shot. I look forward to continuing shooting the 9mm in this gun with longer mags to test reliability.

Ruger Redhawk .45 Colt/.45 ACP

It's a revolver, it went bang all the time. Fiocchi Cowboy ammo .45 Colt had some nice blast and recoil to it and shot fine.

A lot has been bandied about on this forum about the accuracy of the .45 ACP in this gun. I can say with PPU .45 ACP worked fine. I shot this gun rested at times with some Plainfield ammo boxes and found that it was accurate enough to get 3 inch groups out to 20 yards.

It is my estimation that with more trigger time and handloading, the .45 ACP can shoot just as well out to 25 yards as .45 Colt can. Past that, I cannot fathom what results one can expect.

Overall a good day. Didn't shoot my best, but I had one hour to test 4 guns and load mags, so I was blasting through it as fast as I could.

Fishbed77 · February 20, 2017, 05:43 PM

Quote:

It's a revolver, it went bang all the time.

That's good. I've shot revolvers (mostly Taurus) have failed to do that.

I've shot a Raven .25 on occasion (belongs to the same family friend who owns the offending Taurus revolvers), and it does shoot surprisingly well (in terms of reliability and accuracy) for what it is.

Quote:

The other thing I noticed with this was that is was overly difficult to insert new mags and seat them fully. I literally had to palm thrust the mags into the gun like a martial artist. Reloading this gun will not be fun in a fight.

I have noticed this with LCPs as well.

It's best just to avoid fights altogether.

TruthTellers · February 20, 2017, 08:01 PM

^ A wise policy, however some fights are unavoidable given the state of society today.

I was just so pleased with the Raven. I've read many things on the internet to the effect that they are the best of the Saturday Night Specials/Ring of Fire companies and it didn't disappoint. I really appreciate Mr. Jennings for starting the Raven Arms company and all the employees who produced a decent gun for a low cost. It's allowed me to own and shoot a .25 caliber pistol which otherwise would have cost me an extra $200 to do with another pistol of higher quality.

That $200 is going to go to something else that I want to own and experience.

EDIT: However, I don't think I will ever get another .25 ACP pistol. It's not much better than .22 LR in accuracy or defense. For plinking, it's less common and more expensive to shoot and unlike .22 LR, there's no match ammo or high quality target guns made for the cartridge.

Fishbed77 · February 21, 2017, 09:24 AM

Quote:

EDIT: However, I don't think I will ever get another .25 ACP pistol. It's not much better than .22 LR in accuracy or defense.

.25 ACP considerably better in defensive use than .22LR due to more reliable ignition of centerfire primers.

Both are tremendously underpowered as defensive cartridges considering the small size of some .380 ACP and even 9x19mm pistols available today.

But I don't want to get shot with any of them. Hence the recommendation to avoid fights. It's not that hard to.

lamarw · February 21, 2017, 09:41 AM

In my experience, 100% reliability is to be expected. It is a rarity when I have a firearm that does not perform as it should.

I can only remember two firearms with failures in the last ten years. One was a used firearm replaced by the manufacturer and the other was a brand new firearm with repairs by the maker.

I wish I were so perfect.

TruthTellers · February 22, 2017, 12:39 AM

Quote:

In my experience, 100% reliability is to be expected.

I don't disagree, everything should work as advertised, but this is guns and the internet we're talking about. It's a recipe made to blow things out of proportion

roashooter · February 22, 2017, 10:54 AM

Quote:

It's a recipe made to blow things out of proportion

words spoken from experience...

February 20, 2017, 05:03 PM	#1
TruthTellers Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2016 Posts: 3,883	Latest range trip. 4 guns, all ran 100% Just got back from the range to test the reliability of some guns I've got, some I'm shooting for the first time. Started off with the small and worked my way up in calibers. Here's my results and such: Raven .25 This ran 100% with no issues, which I consider amazing for a $100 gun. Shot about 25 rds and it was fun! Past 10 yards this gun was tough to shoot accurately, but this was off hand and my first time, so maybe the groups will tighten up over time. I only shot fmj and I advise anyone interested in shooting .25 to only shoot and carry fmj. Ruger LCP Custom This was the hardest gun to shoot today. The low weight and the recoil and blast made it difficult to hit well with. I think had this been the original LCP, I likely wouldn't have hit the paper. The trigger is great and the sights helped a lot and they are the two main reasons I bought this before they all disappeared onto Gunbroker for $300. The other thing I noticed with this was that is was overly difficult to insert new mags and seat them fully. I literally had to palm thrust the mags into the gun like a martial artist. Reloading this gun will not be fun in a fight. One of the mags I used was a Promag 10 rd extended magazine. It ran 100% with hollow points and Ruger Polycase ammo. I put the least amount of rounds through this gun, so don't take my results to the bank. All I can say is if there was going to be an issue with the 10 rd mag, it would have happened and it didn't. Glock 35 with Lone Wolf 9mm barrel. I did not replace anything other than the barrel for the gun. It ran flawless with the stock .40 extractor, ejector, and recoil spring. This was perfect with both a Glock .40 mag and a Magpul 9mm mag. However, I would absolutely not use a .40 magazine to shoot 9mm in for defense as I noticed during loading the mag that the 9mm would get loose and stagger in the magazine. Not something you would want to happen in a life defending situation. The 9mm Magpul mag ran fine, no issues. I used Winchester NATO 124 grain, 115 grain JHP, and 147 grain JHP. No issues with any of them. The NATO ammo was noticeably hotter than the other stuff and the Glock was very easy to shoot and was the best of all four guns I shot. I look forward to continuing shooting the 9mm in this gun with longer mags to test reliability. Ruger Redhawk .45 Colt/.45 ACP It's a revolver, it went bang all the time. Fiocchi Cowboy ammo .45 Colt had some nice blast and recoil to it and shot fine. A lot has been bandied about on this forum about the accuracy of the .45 ACP in this gun. I can say with PPU .45 ACP worked fine. I shot this gun rested at times with some Plainfield ammo boxes and found that it was accurate enough to get 3 inch groups out to 20 yards. It is my estimation that with more trigger time and handloading, the .45 ACP can shoot just as well out to 25 yards as .45 Colt can. Past that, I cannot fathom what results one can expect. Overall a good day. Didn't shoot my best, but I had one hour to test 4 guns and load mags, so I was blasting through it as fast as I could.

February 20, 2017, 08:01 PM	#3
TruthTellers Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2016 Posts: 3,883	^ A wise policy, however some fights are unavoidable given the state of society today. I was just so pleased with the Raven. I've read many things on the internet to the effect that they are the best of the Saturday Night Specials/Ring of Fire companies and it didn't disappoint. I really appreciate Mr. Jennings for starting the Raven Arms company and all the employees who produced a decent gun for a low cost. It's allowed me to own and shoot a .25 caliber pistol which otherwise would have cost me an extra $200 to do with another pistol of higher quality. That $200 is going to go to something else that I want to own and experience. EDIT: However, I don't think I will ever get another .25 ACP pistol. It's not much better than .22 LR in accuracy or defense. For plinking, it's less common and more expensive to shoot and unlike .22 LR, there's no match ammo or high quality target guns made for the cartridge. Last edited by TruthTellers; February 20, 2017 at 08:06 PM.

February 21, 2017, 09:41 AM	#5
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	In my experience, 100% reliability is to be expected. It is a rarity when I have a firearm that does not perform as it should. I can only remember two firearms with failures in the last ten years. One was a used firearm replaced by the manufacturer and the other was a brand new firearm with repairs by the maker. I wish I were so perfect.