Sounds like some kind of Hardy Boys Mystery doesn't it? No, it's actually not. This is really about my desire to have a gun that isn't manufactured. Now, you'd think that in today's world, with CNCs in everyone's start-up business, that somebody would be producing something that fits every niche, but that's just not the case. Here's my issue.
I shoot the 9mm, or more correctly, the 9 x 19mm Parabellum, often known as the "Luger". It's my favorite cartridge, I reload for it and shoot it way more often than anything else. As a matter of fact, I currently own 2 guns chambered for it and a third which is a 12 gauge shotgun with a 9mm chamber adapter. When I get around to getting a Texas LTC (Licence to Carry), I'll start saving up for another 9mm more conducive to "concealed carry". So, what is it that I need/want that isn't made?
A non-semi-automatic rifle/carbine chambered for the 9mm. What the...... why!?! Maybe, I'm weird, but I don't want to just shoot my gun as fast as possible. I want to slow things down and study the performance of the ammunition. I'm a reloader and I want to determine what my reloads are doing. So, what I really need is something along the lines of the Spanish "Destroyer" depicted above. Unfortunately, it's chambered for the 9mm "Largo" (9 x 21mm) and hasn't been made in several decades. And therefore; most importantly, around $500 when you can find one! So thoughts of having one re-chambered for 9mm Luger are not terribly realistic.
....... and therefore, we get this. My cheap solution, which is a single shot, break-open 12 gauge shotgun with a chamber adapter in it. My Turkish Fedarms SS12 was only $62 and the 9mm adapter was another $50, so that whole rig is definitely cheap. The problem is that it's also cumbersome at best. As you can see, the extractor pushes out the entire adapter, versus the fired case. It's not so much that it's a single shot, but that for each shot, I have to "break-open", pull out the adapter, punch out the previous shell casing with a cleaning rod, then load a new shell, close and fire. So yeah..... a single shot actually chambered for the 9mm or a bolt action would be awesome. But nobody manufactures such an animal!
In today's world, a person can find any number of AR based pistol caliber carbines like the one above..... although it's actually classified as a "pistol", but you get what I mean. Oh, they're cool, but I don't really need one. I don't want to shoot faster, I want to shoot slower! So, I'm out there looking for a "unicorn"..... a non-existent gun......
This was me on Monday! Presidents Day finally gave me a chance to get over to a range and try out my reloads..... and the Walther P99. Overall, I'd say, that I shot about 200 rounds of 9mm in three different guns.
The bulk of them were fired through the P99, which was fantastic by the way....
I fired several magazines through Hi Point 995 to establish a couple of things. One, it operates well had no trouble with even my handloads. Two; the issues that I read about the gun having with ProMag extended 15 round mags were also confirmed! That that I've been able to confirm the reliability of the gun, I now need to decide whether I want to continue on to build the Hightower Armory bullpup project, or sell it to buy a Kel-tec Sub 2000 folding carbine.
......then about 20 rounds through this Fedarm SS12 shotgun with a 7", 9mm rifled adapter. I I learned that it's accurate with the 9mm making it a legit multi-caliber gun, so I'm pretty darned pleased with this $63 bargain. Those are the ups.
The downs? I had some of the above.... right. Yup, some cratered and flattened primers showing some signs of over-pressure. So; some adjustments are in order for my reloading processes. All-in-all though, an hour at the range is the start of a pretty good day!
