I have had a VERY Stressful 3 three weeks at work, well life in general, and I had to clear my head. I grabbed four pistols from my office safe, filled my ever growing range bag with ammo, and headed off to the range!

I'm working on article that examines recoil along more than one dimension. Instead of just looking at the force of recoil; the usual Gun X has mild recoil while Gun Y has strong recoil, I'm also looking at the speed at which the recoil event takes place. Some of the guns I shot today and some of the drills I did are part of my research for this particular article; which will continue over a number of future range visits.

The first gun I shot today, however, had nothing to do with this research. When I was at SHOT Show a few weeks back there was only one gun that really caught my attention and said to me "Log onto Gunbroker and buy me today!" So I did! You would think the strange part about this is the talking gun, but even stranger was the fact that this talking gun was a Single Action Revolver?!?!?! I have literally shot a total of 5 or 6 cylinders of ammo through a Single Action Only Revolver in my entire 51 years. But this was no ordinary Single Action Revolver; it was the new Ruger Wiley Clapp BlackHawk with a non-traditional 4" barrel, matte black finish, XS Big Dot Sights, and 45LC and 45ACP cylinders. It also goes by the name The ClappHawk.

My New Ruger Wiley Clapp BlackHawk with a Non-traditional 4" Barrel and Finish





Today was the first time I shot this Tactical Single Action Revolver. This gun is so much damn fun to shoot, it was very hard to put it away after running over 70 rounds of 45ACP through it. I felt like a kid with a new toy who could not wipe the smile off his face every time I cocked the hammer and let it drop! This thing is also very easy for me to shoot accurately! Looks at these groups!

First Cylinder Fired



As I was wrapping up my session with the ClappHawk, I decided to send the target to the end of the range and see if I could hit it. I was EXTREMELY impressed with the results...



A few months back I was doing some Steel Shooting with my buddy and I shot his STI DVC L 9mm 2011. I fell in love with the STI's fast action, mild recoil and endless capacity! So I bought one. This piqued my curiosity about STI's current 2011 tactical offerings. About a month ago I took a chance and picked up a Staccato P 9mm hoping it would have the same mild recoil and fast slide action. Much to my joy, it did! Not only is the recoil on the Staccato P so mild, the recoil event happens very quickly, meaning the slide cycles faster then my typical 1911 9mm pistols and is back on target very quickly ready for the next shot.

My First STI Staccato P



I was so impressed with the Staccato P, I felt compelled to grab another one last week before then ran out! STI just revamped their entire lineup and changed the Staccato P in ways that I don't care for; I don't like the sights, slide, dustcover, rail, hammer, and grip safety. STI also removed features like the magwell, and the DLC coated barrel. Personally think the Gen1 Staccato P is the better gun when compared to the Gen2. I had put over 1000 rounds through my first Staccato P in the first few weeks I had it. It was no time to take out Staccato P #2 and see if it is of the same quality. Indeed it is!

My Pair of STI Staccato Ps (Gen1) in 9mm



Typical Groups inside 10 yards with the Staccato P Gen1



Where the Staccato really shines, because of its fast action and mild recoil, is rapid-fire drills. It is absolutely effortless to print the kind of double taps pictured below. The gun just doesn't really come off target very much at all in between shots. I simply cannot wait to try this gun out at a USPSA Match!

Double Taps with the Staccato P



After firing a few boxes of ammo through the Staccato P, I needed to run a few mags through one of my trusty favorites, the Dan Wesson Specialist Commander 9mm, to inform the article I am working on about recoil. My Specialist is just one of the guns that just feels perfect in my hands, it is also one of my most accurate pistols. Though it's been a few months since I shot it, once I inserted the loaded magazine and raised it toward the target, it felt like I was born with this gun in my hand. Hey, now that I think about it, maybe that's why I had my birthdate engraved in the frame?

Typical Inside 10 Yards Performance



Yesterday I received my most recent Wilson Combat purchase back from Wilson Combat. I had them round the square butt on my new bronze-frame Carry Comp 9mm Compact. I ran 100 rounds through it to help contribute toward the break-in of this particular Carry Comp; I hit 500 rounds today :) I am also going to be using my Carry Comps heavily in the article about recoil I am working on. While the action may not be quite as fast as the action on my Staccato P, there is no defensive handgun manufactured in 9mm that has recoil as mild as my Carry Comps. The Carry Comp in 9mm is documented to have over 60% less recoil than a typical 9mm carry pistol. There is simply no doubt about it. If you shoot a WC Carry Comp side by side with any other 9mm carry gun you can come can up with, you will see exactly what I'm talking about.



Typical Wilson Combat Carry Comp results inside 10 yards



Spent almost three hours at the range with these four pistols today and enjoyed every second of it! Next time you are felling stressed out at work, I suggest slipping out to the range for a few hours. Golf just doesn't it for me!

That is some nice hardware there.  Thanks for sharing that.  I have always liked the looks of single actions with the birdshead grip, but it just looks like it would be uncomfortable to shoot. I am glad it worked out for you.  I have to work on taxes tomorrow morning so tomorrow afternoon might be a good time to go out to the range.

You have some really nice pistols.  The Wiley Clapp BlackHawk looks pretty cool.

Thanks for posting.

You have some very fine firearms, always interesting to me, even hough I don't have quite the budget as you do to work with.

I do want to check out the Wiley Clapp Ruger.

Wow, those are some really nice shooters!  I kind of like that Wiley Clapp Blackhawk, it's weird in the best ways.  I know I love my stainless Wiley Clapp GP100.

I have an STI Elektra .45 acp that is my favorite gun in the whole world that I wanted to use as a carry gun but since STI stopped making them and I couldn't afford to replace it (it was a gift) I can't bring myself to carry it.  I shoot it extremely well but if I ever had to use it I can't risk it ending up in an evidence locker and never coming home.  Evidence lockers are terrible places where your prize gun is not treated well in most cases.

If I could afford it I'd choose another officer size 1911 or small 2011 like the Staccato C.  You've got an awesome collection!  Thanks for the write up