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| Old Eyes and Old Barrels | November 2019 | |||||||||||||||
| Gerhard Schroeder | ||||||||||||||||
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Those 2500 each did not last long, all consumed via those open-sighted guns. The
most memorable shot happened during a bird hunt, always with that Star on my hip. A
snake slowly crawled across a narrow dirt path along an irrigation ditch. One shot
from that pistol and the snake instantly took to spastic convulsions. About forty
steps later we were at the snake. A lucky hit had mangled its jaws, but the head was
where I had aimed.
Fast-forward 40 some years. Another addiction had entered my system, in the form of
a SigSauer suppressor. And, with the 2016 election results bringing all forms of
hope, a suppressed 45 Auto Contender seemed irresistible. Why? At subsonic speeds,
the 30 Herrett just did not kill game with authority. Soon a used, original octagon
lightweight Contender barrel in 45ACP was in my possession. Unfortunately, the
suppressor law change did not happen. My 45ACP project went dormant.
Back when quail were more plentiful, that barrel one day knocked seven of them out of
the air. Pure fun. Enter the German combo gun mindset. The 45-410 barrel was good
for more: silhouettes. No, no, not in 45 Long Colt, but via insert barrels in 22LR
and 22Hornet. A TC Contender can do a lot!
Back to the 45s. How would they compare in accuracy? Especially with cheap(er) lead
bullet loads. The early Arizona May of 2019 was invitingly mild, perfect for testing.
But there was a problem. Those open sights looked like a mirage to my old eyeballs!
Turns out I could fix that by wearing two sets of glasses. This made those nicely
machined Contender sights stand out perfectly sharp. What a joy! BUT … now the
target, about twenty steps away, was utterly blurred. After experimenting with several
different types and colors, aiming worked best with round darker ‘aiming areas’ which
were at least 4 inches in size. Since hitting was less of a goal than grouping, aiming
off the bench took concentration but appeared repeatable. Shooting finally began.
However, here is what jacketed stuff did:
This accuracy did not surprise me because years ago I killed a javelina with the 45LC
load. It collapsed where it stood. 45s kill!
Oh yeah, one more possibility: 410 slug loads. Factory Remington ammo looked encouraging
even when fired with choke tube installed. In fact, I found and bought another box.
That’s before ‘discovering’ that handloading 410 slugs can be done by substituting shot
with some type of 9mm or 38 caliber bullet. Either fits neatly inside the small 410 wads.
Components were on hand. So I tried many of them, with 2.5” and 3” hulls, with bullets
weighing from 90 to 250grains. Useful accuracy remained elusive.
The best ‘slug’ option remained the Remington factory fodder. OK, so I purposely also shot
a mild lead bullet load with choke installed. Results appear useful. I may explore that a
little more.
OK, even though it was off the subject, I did fire the insert barrels, this time scoped
(good old fixed 6X Tasco). At 50 yards the results are silhouette worthy.
In summary, my 45-410 barrel is a blast as a 410 ‘shot’gun, accurate in 45LC configuration
WITH CHOKE REMOVED and firing jacketed bullets, borderline useful with slugs and choke
installed, and quite OK on silhouettes with both the 22Hornet and 22LR insert barrels and
that 6X scope, all held taco-style. It will not please when fed lead bullet loads. When
bird hunting it makes for light travel. I just carry the pistol in my hand, while my pocket
holds plenty of skinny 410 shells.
On to 45ACP. This barrel is super light, therefore tends to kick. Since the Contenders,
both original and second generation, are very strong guns, it’s no problem to go up to +P
when pouring powder. That of course kicks even more. The glove came out.
Since a Contender is a single shot, all types of projectile shapes will work when seated
deep enough to chamber. By the way, growing up with single shots, the WH35, the combo,
the Anschutz Mod 54, a ‘custom’ 22 pistol, those all taught me to make the first shot count.
Right away, this 45ACP barrel did not have much of a problem with lead bullets. Here are
a few examples:
No complaints here, especially since for each shot the target was super blurred. EXCEPT
point of impact changed a lot! With those open sights all the way down, the 155s printed
a good 6 inches low. I could have adjusted for that. 200 grainers were about “on”, but
not great on accuracy. Unfortunately, my favorite for field applications, the 260 SWCs
printed 8 inches high. Maybe that is why this barrel was for sale.
Anyway, the barrel, old and skinny as it is, shoots! What to do??? Don’t tell Steve,
but I removed the rear sight, attached a Weaver base, and onto that a Holosun Red Dot
sight. I’m suspicious of anything requiring batteries. But for old eyes a red dot seems
to be a very good fix. Clearly, aiming and shooting unsupported is a lot easier than
dealing with blurred sights and/or targets.
Interestingly, accuracy did not improve too much. So at least off the bench, with plenty
of time to carefully align crisp open sights with severely blurred bullseye type targets,
still allows useful shooting. OK, useful only for testing different loads. Blurred
sights and certainly target(s) is not a practical way to put bullets where we intend them
to go. Either a scope or red dot sight will fix that. Turns out with today's designs
that red dot sights can be tiny and almost offer the compactness of open sights. And,
once in hand, I find them to be faster than open sights, certainly with a little practice.
Plus, the dot covers less of a target and thus provides more accuracy potential.
The ship seems to have sailed for equipping this 45ACP barrel with a suppressor – wait,
wait, it does not have threads and is oh so thin. Trust me, I had a solution in mind –
moot point now. At least the barrel is accurate. Plus, I enjoy launching fat slugs at
moderate velocity. Those 45s make bigger holes, kick up more dirt, rip off more bark –
you get the idea. Equipped with a red dot I lucked out getting a fun and cheap-to-shoot
plinker in the end. Like with all single shots, it’s the best tool to practice for
accuracy, and a box of ammo lasts a little longer. Of course, it would make a fine
hunting tool as well for anything up to javelina, or even deer out to about a hundred
paces. None of those critters would argue with a 185XTP at +P speeds coming at them from
any 10” barrel. However, not for me, not anymore. I now would want a suppressor while
hunting. Will we ever get reasonable suppressor laws, like they have them even in
otherwise over-restricted western Europe? 2020?!? Vote!
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