Ok, so I'll give my first time range report, but I don't have the pictures of the two targets I shot, they are lost somewhere in cyberspace between my wife's smartphone and my computer
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I took what I thought were four boxes of factory ammo (2 S&B 124gr, and 2 Fed 124gr), plus a container of about 150 of my reloads, to run through the P-09 on its first outing. I was mainly concerned with function testing, not really accuracy. I just want to say first that the pistol functioned perfectly, absolutely zero malfunctions, failures to feed or fire or eject. I was very pleased with that.
However, I didn't get to shoot as many rounds as I had planned. It turns out that one of the boxes that I thought was factory ammo was not, it was a batch of my early reloads placed in a factory box (and properly labelled as reloads, I just didn't notice the label). Well, as I was loading the magazine with them, it occurred to me that they looked a bit long, so I performed a "plunk" test in the chamber, and it was a no-go. Same thing with the other container of reloads. Grrr! I was done after 150 rounds. Not what I had planned.
Even though I didn't shoot as much as I wanted to, I was thrilled with the pistol. I set up a target at 7 yards (sorry Joe L, can't do 30, 50, or 100 yet!), loaded 1 round, and fired. Hit about 2" left, but elevation was POA. Then loaded 2 rounds, same thing. Then I started loading full magazines (boy, that number 19 can be tough to get in!, did I mention it was about 26 degrees here in PA on Saturday). I was shooting somewhat methodically, and quickly, just allowing the sights to come back on target, feeling the trigger reset, and firing again. Well, let me tell you, this pistol points very naturally for me. Raising the pistol from a low ready position and extending it, I could get on target very quickly, quicker that I can with any other pistol I own, I believe. And the pistol comes back onto target quickly also. The muzzle rise seemed minimal, and I could get back on target almost immediately when the muzzle leveled off. I could see how this pistol could be great for competition.
The trigger seemed pretty decent while shooting. I had mentioned in a previous post that I had some misgivings about the trigger, but even though their seems to be alot of take-up, it didn't bother me. The reset was very clean, with a noticeable click and feel. I shot entirely in SA, as I installed the safety in place of the de-cocker. One thing about that is, the safety will take some getting used to. The safety lever is flatter than what is on my 75 & 85, and i had to focus on switching it off, as well as having to re-position the pistol in my hand a bit in order to switch it back on. I did miss it once or twice. It may just take some getting used to. The function of the safety was positive, it moves from one position to the other crisply. There is no doubt that it has been switched.
I did about half of the shooting with thin gloves on due to the temperature, but then I thought that I should shoot without the gloves, to see how it feels in my hand. Well, the texturing on the grip sides, and the raised serrations on the front and back straps, make this a very sure and stable pistol. I shot through entire magazines without any movement of the pistol, and no need to adjust my grip in the slightest amount. It just didn't move.
I was pretty happy with the way it shot. I will post the targets if I can. I shot the first target with 100 rounds of the S&B (I did that on purpose, it seemed appropriate that the first rounds though it were Czech), and like mentioned earlier, the group was centered about 2" left of the bull, with 90 out of the 100 rounds within the 5 1/2" black, all rounds inside the 7" ring. The Federal ammo gave the same results, about 2" left, with all 50 rounds in the 5 1/2" black (the group is actually about 4"). I don't plan on drifting the rear sight yet, I need to shoot it a few more time to confirm that I need to do that. As I said, I wasn't really shooting for accuracy. I am positive that this pistol is very accurate, and if i was trying, I could put the majority of the shots in a 2" circle from 7 yards.
I think I'm going to be very happy with the P-09, in fact I am sure of it. Thanks again, everyone!
