Tag Archives: 1911

Weapons

Kimber Sucks

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I’m going to throw down some hate on a gun company favored by many.  Kimber.  They freaking suck.  Kimber is backlogged so deep, ordering anything from them is freaking useless.  The little Solo pistol they put out is virtually vaporware as we’ve had some on order since last summer and still haven’t seen any.  We could have sold a hundred of them if we had them.  The institutionalized corporate arrogance is astonishing.  Last year we ordered a simple 9mm 1911 at the beginning of the year.  It was a Christmas Present from a mother to her son and she knew Kimber was slow.  We had estimated dates from Kimber and it looked to be fine.  He didn’t get the gun till late January.

Kimber’s attitude is worse than their guns.
1400 dollar pistol and they put in plastic mainspring housings?  Really?  Come on.
We had some pistols that had waves inside the barrels.  Kimber’s response was flippant.  “Oh, that wont effect accuracy.”  The hell it doesn’t.
Brand new Tac Custom II’s… With Slide Release and Safety Levers that look like they went through a Rock Chipper.  They didn’t want to send us new parts so we just sent the guns back to them and we had to pay for the shipping.  Nice.  And to top it all off – they only include 1 magazine.  WTF?  How useless can these people be?  Come on.  But people put up with all that BS because Kimbers have one thing going for them… They are Pretty.  People will happily pay for arrogant, tacky, high maintenance shit if they are pretty.

Yes, I just compared Kimber to Paris Hilton. My apologies to Paris Hilton Fans.

What people are going for when they ask to look at a Kimber is a good quality 1911… If that is what you want – Get a SIG 1911.  Seriously.  In many cases, you will even pay less money for the SIG which is a much better built gun. Feature for feature you are about 200 bucks less for a better made SIG than for the similar gun made by Kimber.  And you are going to get a more accurate gun as well.  My SIG C3 spanked the hell out of my Kimber Tac Custom II and Custom II, and Warrior, and Raptor, and CDP Pro II.  Look, if you have a Kimber that you like, that’s fine.  Enjoy it and be happy.  If you are looking to buy a Kimber… Buy a SIG.  You will get a much better gun and it even comes with a spare magazine. How novel is that?

Military, Weapons

The Marine’s 1911

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According to the Military Times, the US Marines are looking to officially pick up an off the shelf 1911 for it’s MARSOC program.

The choice is between the Colt Rail Gun and the Springfield MC Operator.

Between the two, I’d pick the Springfield in a heartbeat.  Springfield has shown consistent quality control and a commitment to its customer base by backing up their products with the industry’s best customer service.  Everyone I know that has one of these MC Operators has been more than impressed with them.  Accurate and reliable.

One thing I don’t understand is why the Operator instead of the TRP?  The Springfield TRP Pro was the pick of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team…. a group that is a little picky about their weapons, and absolute artists when it comes to the application of those weapons.  The TRPs roll out for about 1500 bucks and the MC Operators for about 1200.  But money isn’t a question for these guys.  It’s not the rail, because we’ve seen TRP’s with and without rails.  Mayhaps the MC Operator is more reliable than TRP?  Hmmm…

Weapons

Is the Glock “America’s Gun”?

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NPR has an interesting story. “How the Glock became America’s Weapon of Choice.”  Granted, it’s my Choice, but is it America’s Gun?  As far has handguns go, it is very popular with Law Enforcement on the Municipal level.  But on the Fed level, it’s the SIG.  In civilian sales, we have the XD and the Beretta 92FS, which has had a large resurgence in sales.  Huh, and there isn’t even a new Lethal Weapon movie out.  But if I had to pick one gun as “America’s Handgun” it would have to be the 1911.  Because that’s what most guys that come to the gun counter look at the most.  Even if they come in to buy something else, their eyes and their hearts linger on the 1911.   As does my own.  I love the 1911, but I don’t I am packing it as a carry gun less and less all the time.  I’ve only carried one three times that I remember this year… Of course this year is only 24 days in, but the entire rest of the time it’s been my Glock. There is something about the 1911.  It’s organic, beautiful, powerful,timeless and elegant… things the Glock is not.  But the spirit of the genius that went into the 1911… is found in the Glock.  The simplicity is actually stunningly brilliant.  Using a Striker system with the safety built into a transparent system for the user, it’s the easiest handgun to learn.  Or was, when it came out.  The Glock has been copied by so many other maker’s now, it’s silly.  Just like the 1911.
However the question NPR asked, was is the Glock America’s Weapon of Choice.
The answer is no.  Not even close.
The weapon of choice is AR-15.  The rifle that outsells ever other type.  The rifle that people who had never owned a gun before, snapped up after Obama became president.  The rifle used by our Military, Law Enforcement, and Sport shooters more and more every day.  Because while Handguns are popular, America is a Nation of Riflemen.
This is demonstrated in Ammunition Sales.  Just restocking ammo, we are constantly restocking .223/5.56mm.  More than any other caliber.  More than 9mm, .45, or the others.
The AR-15 is accurate, low recoil, cheap to shoot, and potent enough to be useful on anything up to deer sized creatures. (Even if that’s ethically  questionable)

You know, I really do like my Glock.  I like it the more I carry it and shoot it.  I’ve seen the M&P making serious inroads on the Glock… and the new Gen 4 Glock series has left me feeling luke warm on it… I certainly prefer the Gen 3.  But that’s just me.

Weapons

SIG’s 1911 .22

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My buddy Fenris purchased a SIG 1911 in .22.  It’s not really made by SIG like their other 1911 pistols, but it’s made by GSG for them.  The other GSG’s are imported by ATI and are otherwise identical to the SIG, save for Grips and other Markings.

Well, Fenris and I took it out for the first time and we had a mixed box of random bulk rimfire rounds.  We fired 250 rounds through it. The accuracy was remarkable and the reliability was flawless.  Impressive for any rimfire…

Now SIG has a new version…  One I like a bit more.

Oh baby… That’s a good looking .22 Rimfire pistol right there!  Yes, t really is green… OD Green with simple walnut wood grips.

Training

Getting ready for the MAG-40 Class.

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Crusader Weaponry was invited to Massad Ayoob’s MAG-40 course coming up next week in SLC. Here’s the problem. I want to shoot the course with all my guns. Can’t do that. I have to pick just one. One gun, one holster.
Knee-Jerk option is one of my 1911’s. A newer style tactical 1911 that is all decked out, which was my first choice. Then part of me wants to run the course with my old GI 1911 in a G-Code holster, which I wear when working around the ranch or range.  That might be a solid option.  I wear that set up often now days.  Also worn often is my Glock 23, being packed in my Adams Holsters rig.   Choices choices choices.

Glock or 1911.  Hmmm.

Weapons

Remington R1, another look.

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I’ve taken a closer look at the Remington R1 1911 pistol.  Six of them, actually.  When they first came out, my impression was favorable.  I liked them.  And I wanted to still like them.  For 699 they seemed to be a great deal.  And for some, meaning Remington Fanboys, they still are.

Closer examination of the R1 reveals a shortcoming I didn’t expect from Remington.  When I stripped them down and looked closely at the internals, I didn’t like what I saw.  The internal machining was sub-par.  A 450 dollar ATI has better machining.  A Taurus has better machining inside. Though for 699, you do get to beat your chest about “American Made”… right alongside Charter Arms, Auto Ordinance, and Hi-Point.  Great.

The good news is that Para USA is now making guns in the USA.  So if you want a Remington R1… Buy a Para USA Wild Bunch.

Weapons

Getting a 1911 ready for Duty

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I had a message about getting a Springfield 1911 ready for duty use.   The fellow was concerned about having to replace parts, which is a common misconception.  You only have to replace a part if it breaks, and you don’t know if a part is going to.  Preemptive replacing of all the small bits when there is no reason to is wasteful.  A Springfield is a great gun for the basis of a solid duty gun.   The gun is pretty dang good out of the box and I wouldn’t say that it needed much.  But it does need some work.

First, if the gun has it, I’d get rid of the full length guide rod and put in a regular short GI type guide rod and spring cap.  The FLGR adds in more friction, more spots for binding and more friction while it unnecessarily complicates things for no tangible benefit.  Get rid of it.

The rails need to be smoothed out.  Frame and Slide.  These need to be polished.  You can do this yourself with some polishing compound and some elbow grease.  Under the slide, where the hammer drags across it… that needs to be polished as well.  Don’t get too carried away, just make sure it’s smooth.  Sometimes this area isn’t and that’s adding drag where you don’t want it.   I’ve seen some 1911’s where you could pull the slide back a bit and the hammer would allow the slide to stick there.  Let’s take that sticky spot away.

I’d replace the factory Springs with a Wolff spring that’s 2 pounds heavier.  Duty ammo is a touch hotter, so that extra grunt is going to help buffer slide battering, but more importantly the extra push in the slide is going to help chamber a round that might not otherwise want to feed all the way in.  The most common jam in my pistol classes with 1911’s when they get hot and dirty is a failure to feed.   Usually the slide stops about a quarter inch short of home and a tap with the palm of the hand to the back of the slide usually does the trick.  A spring that is a little stronger reduces that type of jam.  Some guys think that they have to ream out the chamber and throat… when really all they need is a smoother action and a stronger spring.   Now, sometimes you do need to have a chamber and throat job.  But most of the time, you don’t.  And most of the time those guys that think they do are running Handloads and blame the gun.  Sure “Factory” runs fine, but with your absolutely flawless handloads – must be something wrong with the gun… they made the chamber too tight.  Uh huh.

Run Factory Ammunition.

Lubrication is critical.  This is why Crusader made Slipstream Weapon Lubricant.   Clean your 1911 with MPRO-7 Cleaner completely.  Get some Slipstream and soak that 1911 in it… apply it generously to all the moving parts and friction bearing surfaces and work that in.  Cycle it by hand a hundred times.  Then strip it, do it again.   Now, get out to the range and go shoot it.  A lot.  Then clean it and Slipstream it again.   The Nano Lube that makes Slipstream black… those particles… will get into the metal, imbed in the surface and will seriously slick that gun up.  This is beyond what your favorite oil can do.  I’ve a Springer GI – nothing fancy.  But it’s slicker than a Nighthawk Custom and it’s never jammed on me… Since I Slipstreamed it.   500 rounds in a single day?  No problem.  No failures.

Smooth, Simple, Slick, and Strong… that’s what the 1911 needs to run flawlessly.

That and Factory ammo.   Speaking off ammo.  We all know the 1911 was designed to run Ball Ammo.  Modern Hollowpoints sometimes don’t run in 1911 without a little work.  Typically those rounds being 230 grains.  I’ve seen many times, and once even in my own Springfield… where a 230 grain JHP round failed to feed.  But the same load using a 185 grain ran flawlessly.  These were Hydrashocks in my gun, but I’ve seen the same thing with others JHP’s.  Going down to 200 or 185’s generally let finicky 1911’s run perfectly.  I happen to prefer Medium to Light bullets for caliber in handguns.  In my experience most guns seem to shoot better than using that rather than heavy for caliber loads, such as 230’s in .45 or 180’s for .40.   But that’s just me.