So I called a friend I haven't seen in a year or two and hooked up a range trip. I called ahead and booked a private shooting bay, outdoor range about 40x60 if I had to guess. Had to pay for an RO to watch us as we are not certified. He turned out to be a really nice guy, had a good chat and spent about 2 hours banging away at a little steel and some paper targets.
I have a 226 X-5 competition that I deem the cats pajamas. Soft shooter quick follow ups, seems to land on target ever shot.

The RO had an STI DVC, stainless with a gold barrel. It looked a little pimpish for me but he allowed me to try it. Frankly I was afraid to pick it up. I have wanted an STI for years but stopped shooting uspsa and don't really have a need for one.

I "reluctantly" picked it up, a few dry fires later I gassed it up and dropped the hammer. Wow, that gun is nice. It seems to cycle twice as fast as the X5, and the sights and grip angle seem to mirror the X5s. It is remarkably shorter than the X5 and its lighter even though its holding more ammo. I think that is a big kudos to the massive grip size.

Then the old chap pull sout a 365XL and lets us bang away with that. For sure that will be replacing my Khar p9 in the truck.

A few thousand rounds later we go to the rifle range to sign in some long guns and that is going well. Then some tool manages to blow off his finger. Turns out that he thought it was a good idea to hold his left hand in front of the barrel when pulling the trigger. I felt bad for him and I didn't all at the same time.

It just so happened that there was a paramedic there at the range. He had a tourniquet on the guy about 40 seconds after it happened. I was surprised at the amount of blood that came from loss of a finger. For sure I will be adding this to my range bag. I would highly suggest others do it as well. Fired dept took about 15 minutes to get there and then its about another 20 minutes to a hospital. This could have been a lot worse.

So post range trip my shopping list is
STI $2400
365xl $400
2 tourniquets $35

That's the most expensive range trip for me ever.

All aside I had a great time catching up with an old friend and that was worth every penny.

If you get a 365xl for 400 that would be a great deal! Everywhere seems to have them for 575.

Glad it wasn’t you who blew off their finger, looking up tuniquits now

quote:

Originally posted by mhughes:
If you get a 365xl for 400 that would be a great deal! Everywhere seems to have them for 575.

Glad it wasn’t you who blew off their finger, looking up tuniquits now

You're not going to get 2 tourniquets for $35, either...at least not good ones. Your basic CAT runs about $30 ( https://www.narescue.com/comba...ourniquet-c-a-t.html)

So did you guys get to keep shooting after dumbass shot himself, or did they close for the day?

Other than that, it sounds like a great day! Id love to try out an STI sometime

Buy decent tourniquets from a reputable source. Avoid the temptation to buy “bargain” medical supplies. There are other good ones out there, but I prefer the CAT from North American Rescue.

quote:

Originally posted by Phred:
Buy decent tourniquets from a reputable source. Avoid the temptation to buy “bargain” medical supplies. There are other good ones out there, but I prefer the CAT from North American Rescue.

I cannot agree with this statement more. Please get the good one.
As to the 365XL you might find a used one for 400 but I do not see them being that cheap new.
If you like I am no longer shooting open and have a full open SVI with 6 mags COM holster and DA belt for sale so if you are interested hit me up off line.

Guy blows his finger off and you guys are worried about my pricing on the 365......BEST FORUM EVER!!!

Haven't shopped for a P365 yet as I think I know how it will turn out. Yeah, just one?

Good medical supplies are a must. Having them where you can find them when needed also helps. While we hope he gets well and hopefully can get his hand fixed as good as possible, we can't help the guy who can only count to nine.

I was able to find an STI in 10mm and it is one of the better pistols that I have. STI customer service is the worst I have dealt with. I can't see buying another STI for that reason.

Let us know what you find.