Back From The Range...OMG!

[whirlwind52]

I took my just acquired P5 to the range today to try it out. Forum members had told me how much I would enjoy shooting it, and they weren't kidding...this handgun is fantastic! Granted, I don't have a lot of experience with firearms in general, but I've been lucky enough to fire a friend's wartime vintage P-38, and I own (and love) a PP in 7.65mm. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the recoil of this 9mm handgun is so light, and I perceived it as actually much less snappy than my son in law's PPK/S in .380.

I need to do some adjustment to the rear sight, as it was firing consistently low and to the right at 25-30 feet, but I cannot wait to to get to the range again...now if I only had more magazines.

[MGMike]

It's always a delight to hear from someone who has discovered the more enjoyable and dignified alternative to plastic pistols.

If you do not have much experience with firearms, leave the sights alone for a while. Get some expert instruction first.

M

[JPK]

Originally Posted by whirlwind52

I took my just acquired P5 to the range today to try it out. Forum members had told me how much I would enjoy shooting it, and they weren't kidding...this handgun is fantastic! Granted, I don't have a lot of experience with firearms in general, but I've been lucky enough to fire a friend's wartime vintage P-38, and I own (and love) a PP in 7.65mm. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the recoil of this 9mm handgun is so light, and I perceived it as actually much less snappy than my son in law's PPK/S in .380.

I need to do some adjustment to the rear sight, as it was firing consistently low and to the right at 25-30 feet, but I cannot wait to to get to the range again...now if I only had more magazines.

I agree with MGMike. Plastic pistols are.....well, plastic. I love my newly aquired Perfect5 as well. I've shot with my friends 9mm PPS and I prefere my all metal Perfect5. He's shot mine and I think he may have buyers remorse.

[searcher451]

What MGMike said, on both counts. The P5 continues to be the real deal, and there's little reason to rejigger the sights at this juncture. Work with it a bit. This might help as well:

[whirlwind52]

Thanks for the replies, fellas....just to experiment, near the end of my range session I deliberately aimed at the upper left area of the 8" diameter target I was using, and when I did this my rounds were hitting the center area of the target.

Looking at the graphic supplied by Searcher will help me concentrate on technique at my next session...hopefully that will help the POI.

[whirlwind52]

Originally Posted by MGMike

It's always a delight to hear from someone who has discovered the more enjoyable and dignified alternative to plastic pistols.

If you do not have much experience with firearms, leave the sights alone for a while. Get some expert instruction first.

M

I have absolutely zero interest in any of the plastic wonder pistols...My first handgun purchase, made last year, was a Beretta 87 Cheetah in .22LR. After shooting my son in law's S&W made .380 PPK/S (and having always admired the PPK), I traded in the Cheetah for a stainless PPK/S in 7.65mm. I then acquired a used 100th anniversary PP in 7.65mm. I traded in the S&W PPK/S towards a S&W Model 18 in .22LR. I then purchased a used CZ 83 in .380, which I just sold back to the dealer and got the P5 from the same dealer...lol.

So my current inventory is the Model 18, the PP, and the P5. No "Mattel" handguns.

[MGMike]

Originally Posted by whirlwind52

Thanks for the replies, fellas....just to experiment, near the end of my range session I deliberately aimed at the upper left area of the 8" diameter target I was using, and when I did this my rounds were hitting the center area of the target.

Looking at the graphic supplied by Searcher will help me concentrate on technique at my next session...hopefully that will help the POI.

A quick and easy cross-check is to let someone else --preferably an experienced pistol shooter-- fire about 5 shots and see where it groups for him.

M

[whirlwind52]

I just returned from my second range trip with my P5. Using the sage advice offered here from the resident experts, I did not adjust my rear sight but instead concentrated on my technique. I fired almost 100 rounds of Federal Champion 115gr FMJ (again w/o issue) and this time my POA and POI matched very closely. This was at 25-30 feet. I really like this pistol...

Thanks again to those forum members who offered great advice (and a great technique correction chart).

Now I just need to sell my S&W Model 18 so I can get a P4...lol.

[Barnacle Bill]

Although it sounds like you got the POA/POI thing licked, another approach to resolving if it is your sights or you is to fire at fairly close range, seated, from a rest. I picked this up in the CCW class I took, where they had us do that as the first part of the shooting phase. Playing around with ballistic calculators, it looks like for a very wide range of .38/9mm/357 Sig loads a 25y zero gets to zero a bit before 15y, and is .2" low at 7y. You should be able to shoot pretty tight groups at 7y from a rest. I just did this with my CZ after getting tritium sights installed, to confirm (it was dead on).

On recoil, grip design has a big impact of how it feels. The PPK has a notoriously bad one. The P5 (IMO) has a great one, so not surprising that it felt better than the PPK.