Читать книгу Gun Digest 2011 онлайн

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In addition to being pleasantly surprised at the off-hand accuracy of the gun, I was favorably impressed by how mild the recoil of a 262-grain bullet traveling at 600 fps feels when fired from a 37-ounce revolver. Light recoil means faster recovery time between shots, a definite plus in short-range fighting. The British may have had something after all, with their affinity for heavy, slow-moving bullets.

Though I tried to approach the range session objectively, with no preconceived notions or expectations, the test results proved somewhat surprising. Perhaps subconsciously I assumed the old Hand Ejectors would deliver better accuracy than they did. Prior to this, the only .45 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver I had tried in the Ransom Rest was my Model 25-2 chambered in .45 ACP. With select loads, that gun will regularly group under 1-1/2 inches at 25 yards. Past experience with the Model 25-2 may have influenced my thinking, creating unrealistic expectations of the vintage Smiths.

I suppose it’s possible that the.455 Mark II service ammunition issued in the First World War might have shot better in one or both of my .455 revolvers than the commercial ammo used in these informal tests. In regard to the Model 1917, limiting the test to a single brand of .45 ACP ball certainly limits the validity of the findings as well. It is not at all unusual for a handgun to shoot admirably with one brand of ammunition and abysmally with another.