PPQ 45 and Henry Small Arms Rifle - first trip range report

[JohnRyan 12]

Very happy with both.    

 

First up was the Walther PPQ.  I put 100 rounds of S&B 45 230 grain FMJ, 50 rounds of American Eagle 230 grain FMJ, and 25 rounds of Remington Golden Saber +P 185 gr JHP down range. 

 

Nothing unusual to report for the S&B and American Eagle.  During shooting the second magazines of the Remington +P JHP I had one instance of the slide locking back and not returning.  Unclear as to the cause.  Maybe my grip contacted part of the ambidextrous slide lock? Maybe it's the JHP?  This is a first for me, hasn't happened on any of my other semi pistols.  

 

As expected the Walther was accurate.  My hands were a little shaky, perhaps from the morning coffee, but despite that I was still able to punch out the center bullseye up to 10 yards and groups were tight at 15.  

 

I need to get used to the trigger.  This is both my first polymer and striker fired gun.  I'm used to the double action pull of a revolver, and aside from my 1911, my other semi's are all DA/SA.  The way the trigger safety engages throws off my pull and it feels like I'm staging the break after fully engaging the safety.  I'm not used to using one pressure then increasing it up for the break.  

 

I noticed my shots were grouping slightly to the right.  I checked my rear sights and sure enough it is slightly off center to the right.  I think I saw a notch for a flat head on the side so I'm going to check that out and hopefully it's a quick adjustment.

 

Next up was the Henry.  I have a Henry Big Boy and it's probably my favorite rifle to shoot, although it may have a challenger now with the Small Game Rifle.  I was going to get a Golden Boy and put a Skinner sight on it, but after discovering I could get a similar setup like that from the factory, sans brass receiver, and for a cheaper price, the choice was simple.  I also prefer to have the peep sight mounted on top of the receiver like I was able to do with my Big Boy.  

 

First 100 rounds of CCI mini mags were finished as fast as I could shoot them.   This thing was so fun to shoot.  I never felt a 22 rifle barrel get this hot before.  My groups were a little high and to the right.  I got out the allen wrench and was able to rotate the peep 180 degrees clockwise, which now put it at its lowest height possible.  This was enough to correct the elevation at 25 yards, but I was still shooting every so slightly to the right.  I have to figure out if I should lightly tap with my brass punch on the peep sight or the front side for that correction, but I'm leaning towards the peep.  

 

Next up was 40 rounds of Winchester Super X.  Every hole was touching each other at 15 yards.  Not saying it is more accurate than the CCI, I was probably just been getting used to the rifle.  I had one failure to fire.  Upon inspection there was a dent on the rim, so perhaps a light strike or bad ammo. 

 

I finished up with 100 rounds of Aguila Super Extra 40 grain plated with the eley primers.  I like this ammo, although I did have another possible light strike.  Again not sure if it is the ammo or rifle.  Just as accurate for me as the previous.  

 

The action on the Small Game Rifle is super smooth, far better than the action on my Big Boy which I always thought was great.  The large loop lever was not noticeable in any negative way and the action felt very natural to work as quickly as I wanted to in between shots.

 

I have to experiment with a larger aperture size on the peep sight.  The plastic ring installed seemed to be smaller than the ones I am used to on my Big Boy and 10/22.  Taking the aperture out and using a ghost ring helped me with a sight picture at 25 yards.  I have a bag of the sampler from Skinner so this should be an easy test to see what fits best.

 

Regarding the different aperture sizes, they all seem to work their way lose quite easily across my three rifles that have Skinner peeps installed.  I'm thinking once I'm decided on aperture size maybe drop a little blue loctite on the threads.

 

I've been home for 4 hours and I already want to go back!

[Ricky_Bobby 130]

I just got a PPQ M2 in 9mm - I can't wait to shoot it, the 45 has to be such a beast!

[JCH 18]

I love my PPQ Gen1 in 9mm, by far the best trigger of a striker fired gun I own. 1911s being my favorite as far as trigger and over all feel. I love the PPQ so much I bought a second one also in 9mm but the 5" Gen2. I also found out that the mags are not interchangeable between the two though.

[jm1827 284]

Great range report!

[Ricky_Bobby 130]

I love my PPQ Gen1 in 9mm, by far the best trigger of a striker fired gun I own. 1911s being my favorite as far as trigger and over all feel. I love the PPQ so much I bought a second one also in 9mm but the 5" Gen2. I also found out that the mags are not interchangeable between the two though.

 

Yeah the M1 and M2 mags are not interchangeable -