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View Full Version : CM9's first outing.....



Elderberry
04-28-2015, 07:58 PM
Finally got to the range today. Over the last few days I field stripped this thing several times and did all the recommended clean outs from the stickies. I also smoothed up some rough edges and corners. One area that concerned me was a very sharp edge on the slide that was scuffing up the barrel just as it started to come out of battery -- the top flat portion of the barrel right at the spot where it locks up to the slide as it enters battery. I could find no evidence of any chamfer on that area of the slide and you could really feel it dragging as you racked it so I put a little chamfer on it and polished up the witness marks it was leaving on the barrel -- seemed to make it feel much smoother. (I know -- shooting it would accomplish the same thing but I didn't have anything better to do.) I also probably cycled the action at least 400 times along with dry firing.

Anyway, I put 250 rounds of 115gr UMC through it today. First off, sub-compacts weren't meant for extended range time -- at least not with my ham hands which are much better suited for full size weapons. But it was fun anyway. Painful, but fun. I ended up with a blister on the inside of my trigger finger where it would rub on the inside of the trigger guard -- Glocks do that to me in the same area and the fix is the same -- polish the plastic smooth like a steel gun...

I shot this thing every way I could think of to make it fail. Right side up, upside down, ghetto blaster, strong hand, weak hand, limp wristed -- no mid-session clean up, no rest breaks no cool down period, no additional lube. 250 times I pulled that trigger and 250 times it went bang and prepared itself for the next shot. Totally flawless.....

Accuracy was what you would expect for a small pistol. I did notice one thing -- as nice as this trigger is, my groups were much tighter if I simply did a "point and shoot" and didn't try to micro-manage the aiming and trigger. For me, with these sights and trigger my groups were half as large if I simply shot it like a close quarters combat weapon -- which, oddly enough, is exactly what it is -- rather than trying to make a target gun out of it....

Overall I am quite pleased with it and I could certainly see an all metal higher end version in my future....

OH.... When I got home the mailman had delivered my Pearce grip extensions and my new Kahr 7 round magazine with pinky rest... Looks like I'll just have to go back to the range tomorrow..... :cool:

muggsy
04-28-2015, 08:03 PM
Finally, someone who gets it. Yer my kinda man Elderberry and you shoot my kinda gun. Good on ya. :)

yqtszhj
04-28-2015, 08:29 PM
Nice post. The cm9 is a fine shooter.

OvalNut
04-28-2015, 09:30 PM
Accuracy was what you would expect for a small pistol. I did notice one thing -- as nice as this trigger is, my groups were much tighter if I simply did a "point and shoot" and didn't try to micro-manage the aiming and trigger. For me, with these sights and trigger my groups were half as large if I simply shot it like a close quarters combat weapon -- which, oddly enough, is exactly what it is -- rather than trying to make a target gun out of it....

I completely agree, as I have had the exact same experience shooting my PM9. The bar dot lollipop sights are made for point and shoot. When I overthink it I can still get it to group decently, though there tend to be more fliers too. When I just bring it up to the target and dot the 'i', I consistently hit near center of what i'm aiming at. It's an interestingly intuitive targeting system.


Tim

Elderberry
04-28-2015, 09:52 PM
Tim in all my years of shooting, this was my first experience with dot the i sights. Today convinced me of the wisdom of this design for a combat weapon. I am of the school of "focus on that front sight, mostly just ignore the rear sight and let the target blur".... Back in the 60's the rifle range DI's taught us that method. I think the dot the i sights are a perfect match for the way they taught us....

I used to be able to overthink it and still shoot decent target groups with a combat weapon. Alas, time has taken it's due. Poor eyesight, less than optimum reflexes, and a decent case of shakes. Point and shoot still overcomes quite a bit of those weaknesses for me but I was surprised to learn today that the lollipop does it much better than 3 dots...

Elderberry
04-28-2015, 09:58 PM
Ps -- one criticism I forgot to mention -- I would like a larger mag release button -- even though the data says by the time you use it the gun fight is already over.... ;)

muggsy
04-29-2015, 06:34 AM
I've never been concerned about the mag release. When my CM9 quits going bang I simply reach into my pocket for my P380. In the heat of battle I might fumble a reload. That can't happen with a spare gun.

Captrigney
05-13-2015, 06:45 PM
Ps -- one criticism I forgot to mention -- I would like a larger mag release button -- even though the data says by the time you use it the gun fight is already over.... ;)


I (carefully) put a bead of Gorilla Glue on the mag release to extend it just drop (pun intended). Seems to help.