New member and a new 1974 P64
Posted: March 15th, 2016, 2:23 pm
Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and the P64. My name is Steve (aka Lotema) and have been collecting a fair amount of milsurp firearms for the past few years. Mostly I've been collecting rifles (the Mosin being my downfall) but have recently started getting into surplus pistols as well. The P64 is the 2nd surplus pistol I've grabbed recently, the other being a 1916 Nagant.
Over the weekend a friend and myself found a couple of P64's at a local shop and after looking them over I decided to grab the 1974. It had a bit more wear in the finish than the others but I liked it as the serial number started with the same letters as my last name. Goofy reason to pick it over the others but that's the one that called to me.
I wound up taking it back to the range on Sunday, along with my oldest son. Was good to have him back out shooting with me again. He got his first job last year and has been working on the weekends so hasn't had a chance to hit the range with me. Got him setup shooting the Glock 17 (his choice, I offered him my Kimber 1911 but he wanted the Glock! Crazy kids). I got myself all ready to shoot, target lined up, pulled the trigger and holy cow that little gun has an angry side! I've read about everyone saying how snappy it was but I still wasn't quite prepared for it! It absolutely grabbed my attention! I was happy with the shot placement though, just left of the bullseye. Fired the rest of the magazine and started getting used to how it handled. Managed a pretty respectable grouping for my first magazine. Wouldn't have won a competition with it but would have dispatched a bad guy no problem. I let my son give it a try and well, he does not care for that one at all! He shot pretty well with it but was rubbing the webbing of his hand afterwards. He said thanks but no thanks and went back to shooting the Glock.
I put the rest of the box of ammo through it and was pretty happy with the results. Like most reviews I've seen, it's snappy but very accurate. I totally agree. By the end of the box, I was pretty much done shooting it. Definitely not a pistol that I'd shoot 100 rounds through at the range but can see it being a fantastic carry weapon. I measured the trigger on it last night and the single action was a bit under 4 pounds. Double action wouldn't register on my scale as it only goes up to 15 pounds. I figure that it was probably close to double that in double action. I tried a couple of double action shots at the range and did ok with them, about 3" off from POA. In the real world if I had to use it that way, it would be much worse I'm sure. The single action though was surprisingly light. I'm going to hold off on the spring kit until after Titanium Hammer replaces his. I've read how it really helps the double action but can make the single action too close to a hair trigger. As light as the single action is, I don't know that I'd want it any lighter!
Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the pistol. In single action it's got a very smooth and light trigger pull and is quite accurate. I don't carry often but when I do, I think this will be a great little pistol to fit that role.
And of course no story is complete without some photos!
Over the weekend a friend and myself found a couple of P64's at a local shop and after looking them over I decided to grab the 1974. It had a bit more wear in the finish than the others but I liked it as the serial number started with the same letters as my last name. Goofy reason to pick it over the others but that's the one that called to me.
I wound up taking it back to the range on Sunday, along with my oldest son. Was good to have him back out shooting with me again. He got his first job last year and has been working on the weekends so hasn't had a chance to hit the range with me. Got him setup shooting the Glock 17 (his choice, I offered him my Kimber 1911 but he wanted the Glock! Crazy kids). I got myself all ready to shoot, target lined up, pulled the trigger and holy cow that little gun has an angry side! I've read about everyone saying how snappy it was but I still wasn't quite prepared for it! It absolutely grabbed my attention! I was happy with the shot placement though, just left of the bullseye. Fired the rest of the magazine and started getting used to how it handled. Managed a pretty respectable grouping for my first magazine. Wouldn't have won a competition with it but would have dispatched a bad guy no problem. I let my son give it a try and well, he does not care for that one at all! He shot pretty well with it but was rubbing the webbing of his hand afterwards. He said thanks but no thanks and went back to shooting the Glock.
I put the rest of the box of ammo through it and was pretty happy with the results. Like most reviews I've seen, it's snappy but very accurate. I totally agree. By the end of the box, I was pretty much done shooting it. Definitely not a pistol that I'd shoot 100 rounds through at the range but can see it being a fantastic carry weapon. I measured the trigger on it last night and the single action was a bit under 4 pounds. Double action wouldn't register on my scale as it only goes up to 15 pounds. I figure that it was probably close to double that in double action. I tried a couple of double action shots at the range and did ok with them, about 3" off from POA. In the real world if I had to use it that way, it would be much worse I'm sure. The single action though was surprisingly light. I'm going to hold off on the spring kit until after Titanium Hammer replaces his. I've read how it really helps the double action but can make the single action too close to a hair trigger. As light as the single action is, I don't know that I'd want it any lighter!
Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the pistol. In single action it's got a very smooth and light trigger pull and is quite accurate. I don't carry often but when I do, I think this will be a great little pistol to fit that role.
And of course no story is complete without some photos!