I just wanted to share a few impressions of my new Alfa Proj 9mm Revolver, which I bought earlier this year from a site sponsor, but which I hadn't really had a chance to try until last week. This wasn't exactly the very first time I shot it, since I had it out about a month ago, but only put a few rounds through it quickly at the end of a session, since I was busy practicing for an upcoming local IPSC match. Here is the disclaimer: This is my first revolver, so I don't have anything really to compare it to, other than my semi-auto pistols. I am not a particularly experienced handgun shooter in general, either, having really just started shooting them last summer, and since then I've put about 3500 rounds downrange. This isn't really meant to be a review or anything, just some of my impressions as a wheelgun newbie.
I initially bought this gun because the idea of a revolver chambered in 9mm intrigued me, and since I already own 2 other 9mm pistols, it wouldn't involve me stocking another caliber. I like the idea that it takes moon clips, which seem to be the quickest way to reload a revolver (as far as I know, from watching Jerry Miculek) I was also playing with the idea of shooting some of my local IPSC matches with it, just so that I could finish first in a division (since nobody else, where I often shoot, does it with a revolver!) Hence my buying a holster for it as well.
So, this is model 9251C, with the 4.5" barrel, and long cylinder. When deciding between this model and the one with the short cylinder, I picked this one because I liked the look of it better, without the gap between the front of the cylinder and the frame, even if the short cylinder model makes the overall length of the gun shorter while still keeping a canadian-legal barrel length. Some of the .22 and .38 revolvers they make have an alloy frame, but this model is all steel.
In this next photo, you can see where the cylinder face is milled to accept the moon clips that this revolver uses. You can also see where the rounds headspace off the mouth (is that the proper term?) of the cartridge, so that it is possible to use the gun without using the moon clips. However, the ejector does not catch any part of the cartridge if it is loaded without moon clip, and so ejecting the empties becomes a bit of a chore if you decide to use it this way.
Here's two rounds loaded sans moon clip, just to show that it can be done.
The revolver feels nice to hold, and I was pleasantly surprised that the rubber grips were quite comfortable. The bright orange front sight is very easy to pick up, even on a bright day. I haven't tried it in low light, but I suspect that it will be good in any conditions that I'm shooting in. The rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation.
I usually use a two handed grip, but I had to hold the camera with the other hand for this pic! Speaking of... having shot mostly semiauto, it will take a bit of practice to keep my weak hand thumb out of harm's way, but I'm catching on. Luckily with the longer cylinder, and my somewhat small hands and short thumbs, I've managed to stay out of trouble.
Here is a picture of some (empty) moon clips, followed by the demooning tool that comes with the revolver when you buy it.
The moon clips are pretty easy to load by hand, but getting the empties out without a tool was a bit of a chore. Luckily, the included tool makes an easy job of it! The empties just fall down into the middle of the tube of the demooning tool, and after you are done one clip, you dump the tube into your brass collecting bag (or garbage, or whatever you do with your brass).
The biggest downside to these moon clips is their cost. While most moon clips for revolvers run somewhere on the order of $1.50 to $4 each, these are $9 each. Now, some unusual revolver moon clips cost nearly as much (S&W lists there .38 Super Performance Center moon clips for $7.64 each), but I admit I was a bit taken aback by the cost for a piece of stamped sheet metal. And, since I can see these getting stepped on and bent with use, you will probably want to own more than the 2 that you get for free with the gun.
To me, the revolver feels overall well built. Take this with a grain of salt, however, since I have never owned a S&W or Ruger or anything else! All the pieces feel like they fit very well together, and to my inexperienced eye, the exterior machining and finish seem quite nice. There is a wee bit of cylinder movement at lock-up, probably well less than a millimeter. I haven't had it apart yet to see what the machining on the less visible pieces is like, but there is at least one thread on here where someone did just that, and it seems that some of the interior surfaces may be a bit rougher.
Trigger pull in DA is somewhat heavy. I don't have a scale, but I can tell you it is heavier than DA on my CZ75 Shadowline (no surprise there!). Despite being heavy, I found it fairly smooth, with no roughness or binding.
Trigger pull in SA is of course lighter, but again by how much I can't say without a scale. Again, heavier than SA on any of my semis. Since I plan to rarely shoot in SA, I limited my "testing" to a few rounds only, and all the rest was shot DA.
Here are some (poor) examples of groups I shot at various distances. This first one is at about 7m. The first 3 shots were fired in DA at a rate of about one per second (that's the 3 close together). The other 3 shots were more like .5 second per shot.
Here is at 15m, again about one shot per second DA. Yeesh, I need some practice! (first time revolver, remember, don't be too critical!) The sixth shot is at the very bottom, in the orange part over the writing.
And, just to show how bad I really am, here is 25m, again one shot per second approximately. I should have gone slower. As you can see, there are only 5 holes on the paper. I pulled one low, off the target.
I should have tried shooting slower, to see what kind of groups I could get if I really took my time, or if I tried it in SA. But I was having so much fun, I just naturally wanted to shoot at that pace or faster. The gun seems to have little muzzle flip compared to my semis, and the sight just seems to return to target more quickly than I think I expected. (well, almost to target... as you can tell by my large groups!)
The feeling of shooting it was... different... than shooting my other pistols. This is probably a revolver vs semi thing, and I can't quite explain it. Different angle of the recoil impulse maybe? Lack of large hunks of metal reciprocating back and forth? I'm not sure how to put it, but whatever it was, I liked it.
Now, for some of the accessories...
I bought a Bladetech Pro series Speed Rig holster made for the S&W 686 5" barrel, since I thought I had read somewhere that the frames were roughly the same size, and I decided to take a chance. I ordered it right from the US company site, and it arrived in less than 2 weeks, which I thought was not bad delivery time.
The holster is not a perfect fit, by any means, but it appears that with minor adjusting, it will work well enough and safely enough to use in competition, should I choose to try it.
The barrel tip just barely makes it to the part of the holster that covers the front sight, but that part of the holster doesn't really hold onto the gun, I think it is more just to protect the front sight.
The area around the cylinder seems a bit wide, probably because the 686 has a larger cylinder than the Alfa? Maybe someone with both can comment on that. The gun is mostly held in place by the retention of the trigger guard, as is common on this style of holster, I believe. Initially, it was too loose, but with some tightening of the adjusting screw on the holster, I managed to get it tight enough that the gun was secure when running, but still easy enough to release quickly on the draw.
My times to draw, and fire one shot in DA mode, and hit either A or C zone on an IPSC target at 7m, was on average 1.47s, which just means I need more practice.
I also bought some Bladetech moon clip holders to try out. You can see them here:
They seem to hold the clips OK, but if you push them in too tight, the can be pretty hard to get out. Leave them too loose, and you risk dislodging some when you reach for the next on your reload. (And then having them drop to the ground, where you will step on them and bend your $9 moon clip!). With a bit of experimentation, you can get the tension about right, but them seem a bit finicky. I may try other options to hold the clips to my belt.
Needless to say, never having practiced revolver moon clip reloads, my attempts were abysmal. I am going to make up a bunch of dummy rounds, and practice at home until I can get better. The few I didn't drop on the ground while reloading, were in the range of 3.5-6 seconds from last shot to next shot.
Anyway, enough rambling. My conclusions after this first real range trip with the Alfa Proj 9mm revolver are as follows:
- I like this gun more than I thought I would. It seems very good value for the money. Time will tell about durability, and/or availability of parts and service, of course.
- It shoots better than I thought it would (less muzzle climb, good feel, etc) and I need to just take my time with it and see what it is really capable of in terms of accuracy, when I'm not in a rush
- The holster works OK with some adjusting. I'm not sure if there are any out there (competition style, that is) that fit any better, but if anyone knows of any, please let me know, I'll try them
- The moon clip holders are adequate, but probably not the best solution. I may try some other types to see what works for me.
- I need lots of practice before considering using this for IPSC. Mostly on the reloads. Shooting in DA only all the time may not be as big a hurdle as I thought, though
- I think I really like revolvers! I may need to buy more...
Cheers,
Trav
I initially bought this gun because the idea of a revolver chambered in 9mm intrigued me, and since I already own 2 other 9mm pistols, it wouldn't involve me stocking another caliber. I like the idea that it takes moon clips, which seem to be the quickest way to reload a revolver (as far as I know, from watching Jerry Miculek) I was also playing with the idea of shooting some of my local IPSC matches with it, just so that I could finish first in a division (since nobody else, where I often shoot, does it with a revolver!) Hence my buying a holster for it as well.
So, this is model 9251C, with the 4.5" barrel, and long cylinder. When deciding between this model and the one with the short cylinder, I picked this one because I liked the look of it better, without the gap between the front of the cylinder and the frame, even if the short cylinder model makes the overall length of the gun shorter while still keeping a canadian-legal barrel length. Some of the .22 and .38 revolvers they make have an alloy frame, but this model is all steel.
In this next photo, you can see where the cylinder face is milled to accept the moon clips that this revolver uses. You can also see where the rounds headspace off the mouth (is that the proper term?) of the cartridge, so that it is possible to use the gun without using the moon clips. However, the ejector does not catch any part of the cartridge if it is loaded without moon clip, and so ejecting the empties becomes a bit of a chore if you decide to use it this way.
Here's two rounds loaded sans moon clip, just to show that it can be done.
The revolver feels nice to hold, and I was pleasantly surprised that the rubber grips were quite comfortable. The bright orange front sight is very easy to pick up, even on a bright day. I haven't tried it in low light, but I suspect that it will be good in any conditions that I'm shooting in. The rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation.
I usually use a two handed grip, but I had to hold the camera with the other hand for this pic! Speaking of... having shot mostly semiauto, it will take a bit of practice to keep my weak hand thumb out of harm's way, but I'm catching on. Luckily with the longer cylinder, and my somewhat small hands and short thumbs, I've managed to stay out of trouble.
Here is a picture of some (empty) moon clips, followed by the demooning tool that comes with the revolver when you buy it.
The moon clips are pretty easy to load by hand, but getting the empties out without a tool was a bit of a chore. Luckily, the included tool makes an easy job of it! The empties just fall down into the middle of the tube of the demooning tool, and after you are done one clip, you dump the tube into your brass collecting bag (or garbage, or whatever you do with your brass).
The biggest downside to these moon clips is their cost. While most moon clips for revolvers run somewhere on the order of $1.50 to $4 each, these are $9 each. Now, some unusual revolver moon clips cost nearly as much (S&W lists there .38 Super Performance Center moon clips for $7.64 each), but I admit I was a bit taken aback by the cost for a piece of stamped sheet metal. And, since I can see these getting stepped on and bent with use, you will probably want to own more than the 2 that you get for free with the gun.
To me, the revolver feels overall well built. Take this with a grain of salt, however, since I have never owned a S&W or Ruger or anything else! All the pieces feel like they fit very well together, and to my inexperienced eye, the exterior machining and finish seem quite nice. There is a wee bit of cylinder movement at lock-up, probably well less than a millimeter. I haven't had it apart yet to see what the machining on the less visible pieces is like, but there is at least one thread on here where someone did just that, and it seems that some of the interior surfaces may be a bit rougher.
Trigger pull in DA is somewhat heavy. I don't have a scale, but I can tell you it is heavier than DA on my CZ75 Shadowline (no surprise there!). Despite being heavy, I found it fairly smooth, with no roughness or binding.
Trigger pull in SA is of course lighter, but again by how much I can't say without a scale. Again, heavier than SA on any of my semis. Since I plan to rarely shoot in SA, I limited my "testing" to a few rounds only, and all the rest was shot DA.
Here are some (poor) examples of groups I shot at various distances. This first one is at about 7m. The first 3 shots were fired in DA at a rate of about one per second (that's the 3 close together). The other 3 shots were more like .5 second per shot.
Here is at 15m, again about one shot per second DA. Yeesh, I need some practice! (first time revolver, remember, don't be too critical!) The sixth shot is at the very bottom, in the orange part over the writing.
And, just to show how bad I really am, here is 25m, again one shot per second approximately. I should have gone slower. As you can see, there are only 5 holes on the paper. I pulled one low, off the target.
I should have tried shooting slower, to see what kind of groups I could get if I really took my time, or if I tried it in SA. But I was having so much fun, I just naturally wanted to shoot at that pace or faster. The gun seems to have little muzzle flip compared to my semis, and the sight just seems to return to target more quickly than I think I expected. (well, almost to target... as you can tell by my large groups!)
The feeling of shooting it was... different... than shooting my other pistols. This is probably a revolver vs semi thing, and I can't quite explain it. Different angle of the recoil impulse maybe? Lack of large hunks of metal reciprocating back and forth? I'm not sure how to put it, but whatever it was, I liked it.
Now, for some of the accessories...
I bought a Bladetech Pro series Speed Rig holster made for the S&W 686 5" barrel, since I thought I had read somewhere that the frames were roughly the same size, and I decided to take a chance. I ordered it right from the US company site, and it arrived in less than 2 weeks, which I thought was not bad delivery time.
The holster is not a perfect fit, by any means, but it appears that with minor adjusting, it will work well enough and safely enough to use in competition, should I choose to try it.
The barrel tip just barely makes it to the part of the holster that covers the front sight, but that part of the holster doesn't really hold onto the gun, I think it is more just to protect the front sight.
The area around the cylinder seems a bit wide, probably because the 686 has a larger cylinder than the Alfa? Maybe someone with both can comment on that. The gun is mostly held in place by the retention of the trigger guard, as is common on this style of holster, I believe. Initially, it was too loose, but with some tightening of the adjusting screw on the holster, I managed to get it tight enough that the gun was secure when running, but still easy enough to release quickly on the draw.
My times to draw, and fire one shot in DA mode, and hit either A or C zone on an IPSC target at 7m, was on average 1.47s, which just means I need more practice.
I also bought some Bladetech moon clip holders to try out. You can see them here:
They seem to hold the clips OK, but if you push them in too tight, the can be pretty hard to get out. Leave them too loose, and you risk dislodging some when you reach for the next on your reload. (And then having them drop to the ground, where you will step on them and bend your $9 moon clip!). With a bit of experimentation, you can get the tension about right, but them seem a bit finicky. I may try other options to hold the clips to my belt.
Needless to say, never having practiced revolver moon clip reloads, my attempts were abysmal. I am going to make up a bunch of dummy rounds, and practice at home until I can get better. The few I didn't drop on the ground while reloading, were in the range of 3.5-6 seconds from last shot to next shot.
Anyway, enough rambling. My conclusions after this first real range trip with the Alfa Proj 9mm revolver are as follows:
- I like this gun more than I thought I would. It seems very good value for the money. Time will tell about durability, and/or availability of parts and service, of course.
- It shoots better than I thought it would (less muzzle climb, good feel, etc) and I need to just take my time with it and see what it is really capable of in terms of accuracy, when I'm not in a rush
- The holster works OK with some adjusting. I'm not sure if there are any out there (competition style, that is) that fit any better, but if anyone knows of any, please let me know, I'll try them
- The moon clip holders are adequate, but probably not the best solution. I may try some other types to see what works for me.
- I need lots of practice before considering using this for IPSC. Mostly on the reloads. Shooting in DA only all the time may not be as big a hurdle as I thought, though
- I think I really like revolvers! I may need to buy more...
Cheers,
Trav
