Tag Archives: 1911

NC Alcohol Bureau’s 1911’s

NC Alcohol Bureau has to ditch their unreliable weapons.
This is an interesting article and needs to be read.  To see what these guns are, take a look here.  As you guys know, I am a huge fan of the 1911.  It is a romance kind of thing.  I can’t help myself.  However I am also a huge fan of the Glock, because, well, Glocks take away doubt.  Doubt about reliability.  Doubt about reliabilty can really put a sour taste in my mouth about any gun.
As much as I love the 1911, one company has caused more than one raised eyebrow for me.  And that company is Kimber.  About two years ago I started seeing some Quality Control issues with Kimber.  Some of them minor details, others glaringly obvious factory fumbles.  I had to send two guns back to the factory that had just arrived.  In my Defensive Pistol training classes, I had a couple Kimbers come through that didn’t want to run… one in particular, a full sized SIS, just about refused to function altogether.  That thing jammed like a jazz band.

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You gotta love Mas!

You gotta love Mas. (Massad Ayoob) The man gets it. He wrote an article about getting reacquainted with the 1911. This is something I’ve just experienced myself… “Coming Home.” I spent much time away, but my roots are forged by Browning. For daily CCW carry, I can’t get away from my Glock 23 Reaper. The balance of firepower, size and weight are just ideal. But it’s like fast food. Breaking out one of my 1911’s is like Prime Rib… with bacon. Now, when I’m instructing, I’ll continue to use the Glock and the reason being is that it illustrates that the weapon is just the tool and it’s all about the shooter’s application of skill. I don’t want a student thinking that he can buy skill by splurging on a 1000 dollar plus handgun. My 500 dollar Glock gets the job done. Just like gobbling down Whopper kills the hunger pains… but real satisfaction comes from that Prime Rib with the sides and the whole spread… Oh yeah, baby. Other guns do a lot things well, but the 1911 does something better than anything else. Hitting first, hitting hard, and hitting right precisely where I want to it. Coming out of the holster, coming up on target, and drilling the target with a .45 caliber slug. It follow’s Sun Tzu’s directive. Hit first, and hit so hard that the enemy can’t hit back. That’s what the 1911 is all about. Now let’s look at the other qualities that “Old Slabsides” has. The way it looks… like a BMW, the lines are just “right” in the blending of form and function… it looks sleek, because it is. It looks authoritative, because it is. It looks menacing, because it is. The 1911 looks like perfect. The way the barrel and bushing mate together giving it the distinctive muzzle characteristic that no other handgun can ever have… it’s iconic. Now the way the 1911 feels… this is the greatest thing about it… you can make it feel precisely how you want it to feel by changing the grips and the main spring housing and the grip safety… you can tune it. Well beyond what any “Small, Medium, or Large” backstraps can afford. The only gun that can do this is the HK P30 and for the price of one of those you can get into a 1911. Let’s face it, the 1911 is classic American Muscle. It’s the American Hot Rod. It’s the Classic Rock. All wrapped up in what is easily the most successful handgun in the world. It’s foundational. Everything the American Shooter is all about.