Order of Operation? Pistol Break In > Sight In > Ammo choice?

Canadian_Eh

Canadian_Eh

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Order of Operation?
Break in: Some suggest 500 rounds before the POI settles down. Some say just start shooting.
Sight in: Point of Aim (POA) the same as the bullet’s Point of Impact (POI)
Ammo: Each firearm has dietary preferences (manufacturer, grain, powder, etc.)​

Now what order makes sense? Break in seems the most random from posts here on CGN. It also seems capable of screwing up the other two if it has not settled down. Sight in seems straightforward. Do you sight in your pistol with a bench rest? Maybe something like the bench below? Sighting in seems to be a pre-requisite of testing ammo. Do you use a rest for testing ammo?

[youtube]JdPS0mOX-I8[/youtube]
 
Simple:

1) Break in = BS = just shoot it
2) Sight in = adjust the sights so the bullets impact where you are aiming no special
equip needed
3)Ammo = you will need to test different types of ammo to see what your gun likes if
you need great accuracy and not minute of balloon.

And you will probably need to adjust the sights for different types of ammo as it will shoot different than other ammo.

Does that answer your questions?

Shawn
 
Just shoot the damm thing adjust to where you shoot simple this is not rocket science lol
:sniper:
 
break in questionable? More like loosen up after 500 rounds.

Sight in, I sight my gun in, the same way as I intend to shoot it. I add or subtract powder to change my POI. My STI TargetMaster has 3 settings on the rear sight for different ranges.

Ammo. I reload so I tuned my reloads to my guns preference.
Need to know what the end use is for the gun to share my experiences.
Be safe and have fun!
 
M&P for IDPA

Canadian_Eh said:
I plan to shoot IPSC and IDPA with it. M&P 9 Pro.
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I have 3000 rounds down the tube of my M&P 40 shooting IDPA. No special sight in, no changes...unbox , load, point , pull trigger, repeat as necessary. That gun will not stop for nothing as well. Great piece .
 
I have that hyskore sighting rest....don't use it to sight in open sights but very handy for sighting a red dot though
 
Mozzer said:
I have that hyskore sighting rest....don't use it to sight in open sights but very handy for sighting a red dot though
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Thanks Mozzer.

Q. Should I assume my S&W comes with accurately adjusted open sights?

Q. Is the sand-bag rest the way many of you take the human error out of ammo testing? Or have you got to the point where your aim is consistent at a certain range (standing) and so you notice the ammo differences by comparing your POA and your POI?
 
Canadian_Eh said:
Thanks Mozzer.

Q. Should I assume my S&W comes with accurately adjusted open sights?

Q. Is the sand-bag rest the way many of you take the human error out of ammo testing? Or have you got to the point where your aim is consistent at a certain range (standing) and so you notice the ammo differences by comparing your POA and your POI?
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Haven't heard of one that doesn't. If your Pro seems to shoot low, I can bet you are not shooting at 15 yards with heavier bullets (that's what it is zeroed at and with).
 
Canadian_Eh said:
I plan to shoot IPSC and IDPA with it. M&P 9 Pro.
Click to expand...

Some barrels that I've shot from new seem to have rather open groupings for the first 50 to 100 rounds then settle. Some would suggest that this is due as much to getting used to the gun as it may be due to "breaking in" the barrel. It's happened to me enough times that I think it's at least 50-50 and that some barrels do close up their groupings after the rifling gets polished up a bit by a few rounds whizzing past. There may be some further narrowing of the groups as more rounds are shot but the ones I've had this happen with were fine by around 100 rounds. Others shot fine right from the beginning.

The sights are typically set to be right when shooting factory ammo of 115 to 124gn. Shooting 147's may change this so that the gun is shooting a touch high. That's because the heavier bullets are slower and take longer to leave the barrel so they exit further during the recoil lift. So either load your own that shoots to POA or stick with lighter bullets.

All the M&P's I've seen use fixed sights. The Pro seems to follow this trend even if they are a bit taller. If you find that the windage seems to be out then it's more likely that it's because you're not holding the gun quite right, you're flinching in some manner or you're not using the proper part of your finger on the trigger. Work on yourself before you assume that the sights are out. You can also let some known excellent shooters shoot the gun to help prove if it's the sights or you.

Shooting from a rest will alter the way the gun recoils and thus the POI. So results based on shooting from a rest will not be consistent with shooting from the regular two handed freestyle grip. You want to sight in your ammo reloads using the same hold on the gun that you'll use during all the rest of your shooting. You just need to shoot a full magazine to see where the group is centered. If I'm trying to sight in my ammo reloads like this I'll typically shoot 3 cylinders or two mags and then look at the results. I ignore the obvious flyers and look at the center of the rest of the grouping.
 
4string and BCRider - Super helpful and very thorough. Many thanks. Tomorrow I'll pickup 115, 124 & 147 grain in a few brands and just get to it. Good times.

Now that we've covered bullet weight, are there preferred bullet types (FMJ, JHP, FNEB or TMJ) for IPSC and IDPA? Obviously they all punch holes in paper, but in your opinion is one more versatile, say for pumpkin or watermelon shoots and other such non-IPSC scenarios ;)
 
I've shot most of those types and they all are just fine. As you say the steel and paper won't care so it comes down to how well does your gun handle the different shapes. The only way to tell is to shoot some of each. And when you find some that works particularly well then ONLY shoot those types in actual matches. You don't want to be trying out a new bullet style or new brand in a match just in case.

It's the same with reloading your own. You want to work out loads and overall lengths that smoothly chamber with no hitches of any sort. You only find such things out by trying them. For example my CZ's don't like overly long total lengths. Particularly with bullets that don't taper strongly to the front. I quickly learned that I need to field strip one of my guns and have the barrel handy for the first few cartridges to chamber check for the best overall length for each bullet style and weight.
 
Mini range report: First 150 rounds through the M&P 9 Pro with no problems.
  • 115 gr - FNEB - Remington UMC
  • 115 gr - FMJ - Blazer Brass
  • 147 gr - FMJ - Winchester Ranger

As suggested by others (above) the 115 grain group generally spread around the center, while the 147 grain group was predominately above the center. The 147 gr group was slightly smaller which was nice. The difference at 17 yards was not huge, but it was enough of a factor to be noticeable. I am no sharpshooter so when my skills are less of a factor I'll post any clear M&P 9 appetite preferences.
 
Glad it was everything you were expecting.

If you change the optic, a hint is to put a dab of crazy glue on on the rod. I changed the green out to a red one and snapped 4 in one range trip before I researched and found out that the front optic on the Pro has sharp edges and it is not uncommon for them to break if they are not secure.

Steve
 
4string said:
If you change the optic, a hint is to put a dab of crazy glue on on the rod. I changed the green out to a red one and snapped 4 in one range trip before I researched and found out that the front optic on the Pro has sharp edges and it is not uncommon for them to break if they are not secure.
Click to expand...

Q. Do the fiber optic rods come free of the housing and break when the optic hits a surface or does the whole housing (fiber rod and metal sight frames) come off because the sight has sharp edges that are easy to catch on stuff?

Q. Do you glue the front sight metal to the slide metal or the fiber rod to the sight metal? It sounds like you mean the whole front sight is coming off.
 
The fibre optic is somewhat loose in the housing. It is loose enough to make changing the optic easy, but big enough that the fibre optic moves if it is not glued in and will break.

The housing is fixed firm to the slide so no worries about it moving.
 
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