Tuesday, December 15, 2020

I wouldn't be 'that guy'

 If I took my 1911s to a gun class.  I was checking my shooter logs.  

You know.  'That Guy' the guy that brings a 1911 to class.  Just one.  And 4 factory magazines, and no loader.  And his gun breaks halfway through and was never reliable up till that break, and he spent all his time frantically reloading and never really kept up.  The gun was, say, a Kimber?

I'd not have that problem.  I'd bring a couple dozen after market magazine I have tested through multiple range days.  I'd bring 2 guns. Duplicate set ups.  Those are tested too.  

The T-Bolt 001 gun has over 1200 rounds logged through it.  Zero malfs.  Never cleaned, yet, either.  I have oiled it a few times.

The Springfield backup 1911 I rebuilt has over 1300 logged.  I learned not to shoot Semi-Wadcutter though it.  It doesn't feed that ammo reliably, and I don't count those as malfs in the 600s.  Self-defense stuff works fine.  I lean toward Federal HST 230g, and American Eagle FMJ.  Three malfs in 1388 for this gun.  This gun has not locked back on the last round 3 times.  #442, #544, and #1369.  I am watching the mag I used on #1369, the next thing to look at is the slide-release geometry, obviously. 

I'd bring to the log to class to allay the fears of the instructor.  If it was more of a plastic doublestack class and not geared to 1911 fossils, I'd make arrangements for the proper pistols to come with me and leave the 1911s at home.  But if it was 1911 friendly class "as long as it is reliable" then hell yeah, I'm bringin' em.


5 comments:

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

I probably wouldn't need it, but I'd consider it a good idea to carry some spare springs, a pin kit, an extractor that fits

Marty said...

Next time you visit, bring the TBOLT01 and we can go to range and I'll finally get to try it!

Will said...

Find out ahead of time if the class requires you to shoot with thumb on safety. If so, you will have to deactivate the grip safety to get reliability. The 1911 is the ONLY handgun they will mandate this bullshit. Really stupid policy. These idiots don't realize, or care, that lifting your thumb like that pulls your palm away from the grip safety, and is worse if you have the beavertail mod. Even with a bump on the safety, forget it. And this badly affects gun handling and accuracy because it destroys recoil control, since your palm can't deal with recoil as it should.

They will cite their "god", Col Cooper, who still had to eliminate the grip safety, even with his fat hands. Shame he turned into a cult figure, and pretty much ruined the appeal of the 1911. I stopped taking my 1911's to class, and them stopped bothering with classes entirely. If they are illogical about this, what else are they being stupid about?

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

I always ride the thumb safety. I have to forget to do that to not ride. Either way I don't get failures. I ride it FOR the recoil control. I'm not sure what you are experiencing. If we ever meet at a shooting range you will have to show me.

Tam said...

Will is funny.

I've shot I don't know how many tens of thousands of rounds through 1911s with my thumb atop the safety. Never needed to deactivate a grip safety.

No matter what class you go to, they won't care as long as you bring enough magazines to come up to the line with fifty rounds loaded in magazines. You'll just do more mag changes than your fellow students.

And stop waiting until you're "good enough" to go to a class. That's backwards. It's like waiting until you're well enough to go to the doctor.

The purpose of going to a class is to learn to shoot better, not to show everyone there how much you know.