Range Report: CZ 97B and Springfield XDe

1
So today was the day, I finally got the chance to fire my XDe and my new CZ 97B. I went to a new range I hadn't been to before, the benches had rife rests protruding, which was a good place to stage my gear but made the lanes cramped. Getting my self situated and ready to fire felt a bit uncomfortable. Ventilation was excellent, I had no powder residue taste in my mouth after leaving. Lighting was a little dim, but not terrible. Sound control wasn't great, echoes would reverberate three to four times before dying off. But, it was cheap. $5 per shooter for an hour, lots and lots of lanes, not crowded.

I started off with the XDe, using the magazines with grip extensions, using Winchester in the white box, FMJ.
Grip Extension, 9yrd.jpg
9 yards out, 16 on paper out of 27 fired. This gun flips like a bastard, some early shots missed because I just wasn't getting back on target when I thought I was. Even taking my time and shooting slowly didn't help that much though. The gun may be shooting low, I'd find my front sight raised up above the rear sights while taking a shot, yet as you can see nothing hit above the bullseye.

After three mags with extenders I switched to the flush fitting mags. Getting a tight grip on the gun I could get half my pinkie on the grip, but after the muzzle flipped up it would be off and floating. This did not help my shooting.
Flush, 9yrd.jpg
24 shots, 11 on paper. This is ugly.

If I were a better person, I would say this was a humbling experience. But I'm not, so this was a frustrating experience. When you look at the second target you can see I was faulting left, but the first couple were nowhere near the paper and I had no idea where they were going. I had to make a few random compensations and figure out where my point of aim was at, not getting all my fingers on the gun really threw me off. The finger extender floor plate didn't help at all, somehow it was just as bad as having a floating finger, so however the back of my palm is interacting with the gun has a lot to do with whether I can hit a target or not as well.

More practice is needed, but I'm not sure this gun is for me. A lot of it is the fact that I just haven't been shooting very long and haven't developed my shooting skills, some of it is that this is a small gun meant for concealment, with a 3.3 inch barrel and little mass to reduce the effects of recoil. Still, 27 feet isn't that far, and I felt like none of what I shot should have missed the paper. Moving on.

I came to the range with all the mags I brought already loaded, I had 20 rounds of the nylon jacketed Herters ready to go for the 97. No issues cycling, but I noticed that round at the top of the magazine was slightly deformed from the mag being rammed in. After those 20 rounds were gone I had a box of American Eagle which I used most of. For the Herters, I'd read a few reviews online that they're loaded a bit hot and have a bit more recoil than other rounds. I didn't notice any more recoil compared to the American Eagle, but the flash was a bit larger.

I shot the first 30 rounds I fired at 10 yards. I count 29 holes, I'm not sure if one got eaten by overlap or if I missed the paper. Unlike the XDe, I could see how the errors in my form affected accuracy with the 97B. While with the smaller gun I felt like I was taking a lot of time, trying to be very still, and hitting nowhere near my point of aim, with this one I could tell when I was missing and what was happening wasn't due to the gun. (That was every shot, by the way.) I could fire couple, make an adjustment, and see a different result. With the XDe I felt like the bullets were going random places, especially with the shorter mags.
10yrd.jpg
Last edited by Bang on Wed Sep 27, 2017 12:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: Range Report: CZ 97B and Springfield XDe

2
After the first few mags through I switched targets with the intent of seeing how much I could improve on my errors. Even though I moved the target out to 12 yards, I went slow, focused, and felt like all in all everything was tighter. One the last target I had one near bullseye, on this one I had two. I think that's a good sign of improvement.
12yrd.jpg
The 97 fits my hand better that the XDe, and I felt that changes in my grip had more effect on where the bullets were going. All in all, I think the 97 is a better platform to improve on, and believe it or not I think it might actually conceal better. With a few different kinds of pants I tried putting both in different pockets and in my belt line in different positions. The XDe has flat sides which cut a stark line in fabric, but the 97 breaks up the look of the clothing less even though it's bigger due to its tapered edges.

Re: Range Report: CZ 97B and Springfield XDe

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i'm not a trained instructor, so i'm not qualified to evaluate your shooting.

but i will anyway. :yahoo: obviously you're pulling left. and a bit low. consistently so. that looks like grip issues to me.
slow down. get control of the piece. figure out where your finger lands on the trigger. adjust your grip, not your point of aim.
quit adjusting the range for a bit. figure out what's happening at 7 yds before you move further out.
work on proficiency with one pistol before switching to the other.
If I were a better person, I would say this was a humbling experience. But I'm not, so this was a frustrating experience.
:clap: i respect this statement tremendously. with that in mind, you'll do fine. keep at it.
that's my 2 cents. :roflmao: worth every penny.
i'm retired. what's your excuse?

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