In addition to the simple joy of shooting again, I’d been itching to revisit my old SIG Sauer P226. That pistol had served me well in many USPSA and IDPA matches before I moved on to the striker-fired P320. A couple of weeks ago, I started dry-firing the P226 and decided it needed an upgrade. I swapped the stock sights for the same Dawson Precision setup I use on my P320s, installing them just last week in anticipation of this trip.
I kept all my shooting at the 7-yard line — partly for focus, partly because I wanted my brass landing in one general area to avoid excessive bending when picking it up later. The first shot felt good. It took a bit to reacquaint myself with the long, smooth double-action pull and the short single-action follow-ups. There were a few fliers, but overall, the groups looked solid. The new sights seemed well-installed, and while the trigger feel was different, the sight picture was comfortingly familiar.
The first 15 rounds grouped nicely, most of them fired in pairs after drawing from the holster. I’d planned to stick with draw-and-shoot drills, but couldn’t resist trying some strong-hand-only shots as I finished up the last magazine. From 7 yards, I hit the head area every time — a pleasant surprise after so long away.
After 100 rounds, I called it a day. The brass pickup went smoothly enough, despite some stiffness in my back. I might have been nervous on the way there, but I drove home with a grin on my face.
I’m not sure yet when I’ll be ready for a match, but it feels like the long shooting drought may finally be breaking.
Cheers!
I'm sure glad you made it back to the range. Work is keeping me from the range, I'm finding that miserable. What you've been enduring is much worse.
ReplyDeleteHave you ceased firing your 320's due to the news on them? I have one, and I don't shoot it much, but I'm not ready to give up on it yet.
I had been actually thinking about shooting the P226 again prior to my back issues. Even took it to the range once but it needed new sights -- then my back intervened. IDPA announcing a ban on the P320 was a motivator for sure -- in case I can get back to IDPA in the near future.
DeleteAs far as the supposed issues with the P320 (I have two) I am not convinced it's defective. In cases I've seen on film, something appears to have gone into the holster, and manipulated the trigger. And then there's the guy that pinned the trigger back with a screw and yelled "Unattended discharge!" Granted there may be something SIG can do to make it safer from carelessness, but right now the issue is "bad news gets social media clicks." Time will tell.
That said, the P226 is fun to shoot, even if I do need to practice a bit
The P320 is the only striker fired pistol I have. I remain an Browning design fan, so I tend to stick in the Browning pistol category.
DeleteI agree regarding the holsters, and I wonder if the issue is there. The most recent incident, the one at F. E. Warren, now includes an arrest, so the defective pistol may have been a cover story in that one.
I've never done any IDPA shooting, and indeed the only handgun competitions I've ever done have been service firearm competitions that included a service pistol. So I'm not in the same category as you are in regard to pistol use, and no doubt skill as well.