Yesterday was beautiful. Sunny, 64 degrees and no wind... a perfect day to spend on the range. I took two Lugers and a 1911A1 clone made in the Philippines. one Luger is a 9mm and the other a .30 caliber.
The 9mm sports an 8 inch barrel and is quite accurate. When received in 1958, the mis-matched 1939 Mauser had a standard 4 inch barrel that had been counter bored. It was not reliable so my father bought the Italian made 8 inch barrel and a local gunsmith did a great job of installing it. But, it proved to be as unreliable as the shorter barrel. So, for years it sat in a drawer and was rarely shot. It became mine in 1999 and pretty much stayed in my gun safe until a few years ago. It was then that I noticed the chamber ramp was very narrow. A Dremel tool was used to throat the chamber and now it's as reliable as a Luger is likely to be. Yesterday it was shot with 115 grain flat nose bullets at 18 yards. It shoots a little low but went through two magazines (Mec-Gars) without a hitch. I can't recall the last time if malfunctioned.
The second Luger is a matching Alphabet commercial in .30 caliber that had been nickel plated many years ago. I got it in a trade with a friend. It has a sweet trigger, is accurate and has never failed to function correctly. I shot it with two different 90 grain bullets; a Hornady .309 hollow point and a Sierra .312" hollow point bullet with an exposed lead nose. The Sierra bullets are run through a .310" Lyman sizing die before loading. It also went through two magazines without a hitch.
Below are the targets, both shot two handed at 18 yards or a bit farther. The groups, while not great, are quite satisfactory to me.
