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View Full Version : Went to the Range Yesterday



ltorlo64
01-17-2015, 04:09 PM
It was great day in some ways and not a great day in others. First the good news. Last time I took my Walther P38 to the range I fired it once and the dust cover came off. Turns out I had missed a section that was still full of cosmoline. I fixed the issue and cleaned it again and took it back out. I fired about 60-70 rounds out of it with no issues. It seems to fire low, but consistent, so that is good. The military black blade sight is not the easiest to see when trying to line it up with the rear sight and against a black target background. I know this is exasperated by my need for new glasses. I need to bite the bullet and get bifocals, but I cannot get new glasses until May. Oh well, it is probably just an excuse anyway.

Now for the bad. I had all sorts of magazine issues. First was the P38. I bought two extra mags when I purchased the pistol. Those two mags would not allow me to load them. The bullets became jammed inside the magazine when I tried to load them. It is like the inside of the magazine is too small for the rounds as the bullet would contact the front of the magazine when the second round was inserted. I will take the magazines apart and if I can't fix them I am going to call J&G and see if they can help me as that is where I bought the pistol and mags from.

A second issue I had with the P38 was when I first inserted a loaded magazine into the pistol. It would not strip the first round and return the slide to battery. I had to retract the slide slightly and it would then load correctly and it would work fine when I fired the pistol, just on the first round it would not load correctly. This was just a nuisance, but I would like to figure that one out.

I also took my CZ-82 since I had not fired it in a while. I was going to try to get through the Silver Bear ammo I bought. I loaded up two mags with 10 rounds each. They are supposed to hold 12 rounds but I have never been able to load more than 10 into any of my mags for this weapon. I loaded the first magazine into the pistol and fired. I went to shoot the second round and nothing happened. When I checked the weapon the rounds in the magazine had not pushed up when the first round was stripped. This happened with both magazines I had loaded. Because of this I think it had to do with the lacquer that is painted onto the Silver Bear ammo. I have used these mags before with this ammo and they worked fine, but not yesterday. I am going to try cleaning the magazines and see if that fixes them.

I had taken my G19 as well, just for some trigger time with it as it is the weapon I keep for defense. It worked well and with the contrasting sights I could see both the target and the sights, this greatly improved me accuracy over that of the P38. I want to keep the P38 original so I will not be doing anything with its sights, but the thought did cross my mind!

All in all, it was a good day as I got to shoot. The real distressing thing is I have to clean the CZ-82, which the Silver Bear ammo will make very dirty, and I only put three rounds through it before I gave up and moved to the Glock. All that work to clean the CZ for only 3 rounds. What a bother!

Helen Keller
01-17-2015, 06:21 PM
I still need to get out.
Using factory 9mm or reloads? Possibly an OAL issue.
OR they have a source of Pro-fag P38 mags.



I spent 2 hours a few weeks back cleaning cosmo out of the Steyr M95 I bought.
These things went from basically being given away with ammo and now everything for them is $$$$$


I did get out a few minutes around new years and fired 5 rounds out of my bren for headspace/lockup testing. Nothing like shooting .303 with the recoil of a 10/22

Schuetzenman
01-17-2015, 06:47 PM
Most mag feed problems on surplus type weapons happen (based on my experience) because the modern ammo is too long for the magazine. Sometimes it can happen because these C&R types were made for round nosed type FMJ and we attempt to shoot either HP or Truncated FMJ ammo.

ltorlo64
01-17-2015, 09:11 PM
Most mag feed problems on surplus type weapons happen (based on my experience) because the modern ammo is too long for the magazine. Sometimes it can happen because these C&R types were made for round nosed type FMJ and we attempt to shoot either HP or Truncated FMJ ammo.

I was wondering if the original 9x19 ammo wasn't shaped slightly different. I took a good look when I got home and the it is the tip of the bullet is contacting the magazine right where the bullet drops down inside the magazine body, like the bullet is just slightly too long. I have some other manufacturers so I will try them to see if they are any better.

alismith
01-17-2015, 09:20 PM
I know you want to keep the P-38 original, but how about putting a spot of white paint on the front sight ramp? It's still "original" and the white paint can be scraped off with your fingernail when you want to "restore" it back. The white paint might help you acquire a contrasting sight picture with the rear sight.

I've had good luck doing this on my pistols and the paint isn't permanent.

ltorlo64
01-17-2015, 09:21 PM
I still need to get out.
Using factory 9mm or reloads? Possibly an OAL issue.
OR they have a source of Pro-fag P38 mags.

Factory ammo, Remington UMC, 115 gr, FMJ rounds. I have 3 mags. The one came with the pistol has no marks on it except for a hand inscribed number. This mag works great. The other two are Walther mags and were manufactured in 1958, at least that is what is stamped on them, and are possibly refurbished. They came in packaging that identified the manufacture as Walther but it was definitely not circa 1958 packaging. It is the two Walther manufactured mags that will not take the ammo.

ltorlo64
01-17-2015, 09:22 PM
I had thought about that but had expected it to be permanent. If I can scrape it off that would be great, and it would definitely help to actually see the front sight.

alismith
01-17-2015, 11:11 PM
I had thought about that but had expected it to be permanent. If I can scrape it off that would be great, and it would definitely help to actually see the front sight.

If you decide to paint the front sight ramp, buy a little bottle of model paint (like Testor's). That goes on thick and will scrape off with your fingernail when you decide to take it off.

Helen Keller
01-18-2015, 01:34 PM
Rem UMC green box or the yellow bulk box??


remington is the only 9mm I ever had issues with being just a tad too long even for certain SMG magazines.
toss them in a seater die and come down .001 at a time until it's right. Long as you dont go past the bullet ogive it's fine.

ltorlo64
01-18-2015, 02:39 PM
Rem UMC green box or the yellow bulk box??


remington is the only 9mm I ever had issues with being just a tad too long even for certain SMG magazines.
toss them in a seater die and come down .001 at a time until it's right. Long as you dont go past the bullet ogive it's fine.

These were from the green box. I have a box of UMC in the yellow, but I haven't tried them, and probably won't. I think I have some Federal, and if I don't I will soon, and will try them.