New horse in the Stable: I was given a Gift this evening, and it is very appreciated. I will enjoy this! This is a Rock Island M1911, Double Stack. 14+1 rounds of God’s Caliber .45 Auto.
It’s essentially a GI 1911, but “Dummy Thicc”. Slide is heavy, but smooth. The trigger is heavy, but very crisp. The gun is all steel, heavy, but well-balanced when loaded. It’s not tricked out in any way… It’s just refreshingly honest about what it is, and what it isn’t. I like that. R.I.A. has fancier guns, with more expensive finishes, but they are not actually made any better. The slide is tight, but there is no binding and no play. The barrel is fit tight as well, with no play in the bushing or breach at all. In manipulating the slide, there are no hang-ups in the action at all. Inside, the machining is exceptionally well done. Every bit as fine as in a Kimber that would cost roughly 4 times as much. This is even better than my previous R.I.A. 1911 that went about 1400 rounds without a failure, amongst numerous shooters who wanted to try it out. Only difference is that this one is machined better, the muzzle is target crowned slightly, and it uses Para P14 magazines. Remember Para? Yeah, before STI/Staccato, Para Ordinance pioneered the Thicc 1911 style. And I bet a Para holster would fit it perfectly. I’ll report more on this when I get it out to shoot.
You guys know I’m not in the Gun Business anymore – Not in any way. But once in a while, I do talk guns. Mostly folks who know very little about them, who want to run their mouths about how great their Taurus is and then ask me what I think. I have to put in effort to not roll my eyes… Smile, and say they’re a great value for the money. And then I exit stage right as quickly as possible. But sometimes, I actually have a great conversation about guns. These are rare these days, and I enjoy them. But I’ve seen a trend with Gun Guys… This is something that kinda makes my eye twitch just a little… “I’m a 1911 Guy, but…”
So, saying you’re a 1911 Guy is supposed to give you some sort of Authenticity. A Ballistically Moral High Ground. Or some sort of Trendy Gun Hipster Status. Maybe it’d to establish some sort of Fudd ground… Like saying “I’m a 1911 Guy” makes you a True Gun Guy.
And then they say “But”. When you say “But”, that pretty much means that what you said just before, is total bullshit. “I’m a 1911 Guy, But…” tells me that no, you’re not a 1911 Guy. Usually, the sentence finishes up with them saying they carry a Glock or an M&P or something other than a 1911. Look, it’s simple… If you don’t carry a 1911, then you are not a 1911 Guy.
“But wait”, you say… You are going to tell me that you shoot your 1911 at the range the most often. That you’re a competitive shooter and you use a 1911 in your matches. Really? So you do all this training and exercising of your skills with a 1911… But when it comes to what you stake your life on, you do so with something else? What you just explained to me is that you don’t actually shoot with your Carry Gun, you just carry it. For emergency use. Dude… WHY do you even carry a gun? Just to have? So that life-saving device that you carry with you isn’t the one you train with the most? It’s not the one you challenge yourself with? Of all the guns you train with… the one you should be using is the one you are packing to bet your life with – and the lives of your loved ones. That’s the one you need to be working out with. So no, you’re not a 1911 Guy. You’re a Poser.
NOTE: The only guys that get a pass on this, are you guys out there at carry a gun for a living that’s either Department Issued, or Department Mandated… I know most Departments don’t even allow 1911’s anymore – and that’s sad, but not your fault. You get that pass, because it wasn’t your choice. I’m talking about the guys that have a choice.
I’m a 1911 Guy and a SIG P22X Guy. Any SIG Pistol that starts with “22” is awesome in my book and I love them. 220, 224, 226, 227, 228, 229… and I do quite often carry an M11A1, which is essentially just a 228 with factory night sights. I’ll carry that piece on special occasions, now and then. And I’ve shot the hell out of them for hundreds of thousands of rounds, and I’m very familiar with their handling characteristics.
Back to the 1911 again. The gun I carry most of the time, almost daily, is a 1911. Because while I love the SIG 22X platform with that smooth DA/SA trigger and rebounding hammer… There’s something very special to me about the 1911. No other pistol allows me to make such accurate first-round hits. And no other hit in a firefight is so important as the first round. Most of the time, that first round is also the last round. I love that the 1911 points so naturally, it’s a thought and not an action… I don’t do it – I just think it and it’s done. Sorcery. That’s a 1911 for me. And that’s why it’s my preference for the majority of my Pistol Packing Policy.
Out of all of the myriad of 1911 types and configurations out there… All of them being excellent, of course… my very favorite is the classic Light Weight Commander. In .45 Auto. This formula fits me to a T. I could actually quite easily just forego all other pistols and carry nothing but an LWC-1911-45. If I knew I was walking into a situation where I was going to have to draw and shoot, and that my life was on the line… I’d want no other gun on me.
(If I knew it was going to be an actual firefight and concealment wasn’t a requirement – SHOTGUN – but that’s another article)
If I were in the market for another full sized, railed 1911, I’d be looking for a Springfield Armory MC Operator. Let me tell you why…
Back when I was still in the Gun Industry, a Springer Rep came with a number of guns to try out first hand. I shot the lot of them, but the one I kept coming back to was the MC Operator. It just felt awesome in the hand, was exceptionally accurate for me, and it was flawlessly reliable.
A couple years after that, I was visiting the MARSOC armory at Camp Lejeune. We were fitting holsters for their new Colt Rail Guns, that won the contract to replace the MC Operators. The Marine Operators there spoke highly of the Springers and talked about how they never had problems with them… and the new Colts were giving them fits and nightmares. This made a lasting impression on me… and here I am years later again, and the MC Operator remains just as accurate and reliable for those that I know that have them and shoot them.
There are a lot of great railed 1911’s out there on the market. But few provide the bang for the buck value that the Springfield MC Operator gives you.
I put out a survey and talked to a lot of Firearms Instructors about the most consistently unreliable pistols they’ve seen come through their classes. When the pattern emerged through the Signal/Noise filters, it confirmed my theory. Short Barreled 1911’s are the Most Unreliable. Let’s look at this for a second and see why.
The 1911 family of guns tend to be very reliable. During the Pistol Trials before the gun was adopted by the US Army, the Colt ran well over 6,000 without problems and thoroughly crushed the competition (Savage) which didn’t even make it halfway. Since then, it garnered a reputation for being unreliable? What happened?
Well, for a long time, Colt owned the patent on the design and if a 1911 wasn’t built by Colt, it was built under license and the guns all tended to follow that pattern rather closely. Continue reading The Most Unreliable Pistols→
Let’s try AIWB again. Let’s call this “Round Two”. A few years ago I tried Appendix Carry using what was at the time a very popular CCW type firearm in a very popular IAWB type rig. And I quickly found that it wasn’t for me. Because, let’s face it… I’m not the young high speed, low drag operator that I was in my youth.
But I wanted to try it again, and I wanted to try it with my personal favorite type of firearm ever, a 1911 Lightweight Commander.
This isn’t a gun review so I won’t even mention how fantastic my Ruger SR1911 LWC is… But it is. Ahem…
So I had a conversation with my Leathermancer, Lucas Adams. Lucas has been my #1 Go To for Holsters for the last 7 years? 8 years? I don’t know… But when I get a new pistol that I intend to carry, I talk to Lucas. He’s good. He’s that good. Even when I actually worked for another Holster Maker (Kydex, so it like, doesn’t even count) I still had Lucas make my personal carry rigs. Continue reading Adams Holsters’ “Closing Time” Appendix Carry IWB rig→
At my core, I’m a 1911 Guy. Though I have a great fondness for SIG, CZ, and Beretta DA/SA type pistols, and a love of Revolvers… my heart belongs to the 1911. I get asked about them from time to time, though not as often as I used to. Because everyone’s talking about polymer framed, striker fired pistols these days. People are generally forgetting about the amazingly wonderful 1911. When asked, I’m most often asked about what my top choices are in a 1911. And usually, I’m asked about this after the person buys their 1911 pistol and then gets their Feels bruised because their pistol isn’t on my list.
Now, as far as lists go, I’m not going to a top 5 Brands. Because that’s not just boring, but obvious. So I’m going to pick the Top 5 Pistols. The individual model version… This is a much more challenging list. Made far more difficult by limiting it to only 5 pistols when this list could easily – very easily – go to a Top 20. So if you’re baby isn’t in the top 5, it’s probably really close… so your knee-jerk reaction of “What about this?” is going to be answered with, “There Can Be Only Five.”
Also, this list is just for Production pistols… Wilson Combat, Nighthawk Custom, Carolina Arms Group, Ed Brown, Les Baer and the like, I classify as “Custom” 1911’s.
Anyways, without any more preamble, here’s my Top 5 Production 1911 Pistols: Continue reading Top 5 Production 1911 Pistols.→
A few weeks ago I added a Ruger 1911 Lightweight Commander to my personal collection. I wanted to go back to a lightweight Commander style 1911 as an EDC for some time, for a variety of reasons… Namely style, accuracy, hard first shot hits… and I’ve always been a 1911 guy and it’s been a few years since I really carried one. I really appreciate the narrow profile of a 1911. So I started my shopping process. I wanted to try something a little different. And I’ve been impressed with the quality and value that Ruger has been churning out lately. So I overlooked my normal Go To brands… and I’m glad I did! Continue reading RUGER 1911 Lightweight Commander .45 UPDATED→
North Carolina is home to one of the best, most advanced 1911 Custom builders in the world, Carolina Arms Group. You’ve read about them before here, and you might again in the future. The owner if CAG is a fellow I call a friend… so it’s not unlikely.
I’ve watched the growth of CAG go from essentially one man with a file to a full fledged Gun Manufacturer. And along the way, the company has evolved in a way that’s quiet remarkable. The quality control gets tighter and tighter, and the standards get higher and higher. The gun themselves have always been amazing. But now I have to admit, these are the best 1911’s money can buy. Period. Let me show you why… Continue reading Visiting Carolina Arms Group Again→
I stopped by Carolina Arms Group today to sign a copy of UPRISING USA for Jim, and while I was there, I got the chance to examine the completion of a very special 4 gun set.
These two were complete and the other two were getting final touches done.
Absolutely flawless. Now, CAG has a lot of very cool new things coming… things that I’m sworn to secrecy on, so I wont tell. Even if the NDA is a Handshake, it’s still an NDA, so I’m not saying anything other than this… Give CAG a Like, follow them on FB. Because you are going to want to keep your eye on them.
There is one new thing about to drop that I CAN talk about.
CAG is going to be releasing Fire Control Parts that you can order to be put into your gun. I’ve examined these… FANTASTIC. You are going to want to put these on your gun. Machined from forged billet stainless and absolutely the top quality you would expect from CAG. Also slides and pretty much everything you need to build your 1911 save for the Frames. And since not all of us are Gunsmiths – you will be able to send in your 1911 and CAG’s own Gunsmiths will give you their FEEL THE DIFFERENCE treatment. All of the services will of course be on a menu for pricing and such. So bookmark this page too: http://carolinaarmsgroup.com/
I stopped into a joint called “Nichole’s Store” in Rockhill, SC and found this little guy sitting there, all alone in a display full of other Ruger 1911’s. This little one was all alone, because he’s a Davidson’s Exclusive. Ruger is the Master of Distributor Exclusives. I didn’t even know this guy existed.
This finish on the slide looks blued, not coated. If it is coated – I don’t know what it is. But it has some color tinge to it, it’s not just black. Depending on how the light hits it, it can look purplish, bluish, or brown – ish. It’s pretty unique and the photo does kinda capture it, but then it really doesn’t. It looks very nice in person.
Like all Ruger 1911’s, the gun feels pretty solid and well made – and smooth. But without feeling tight like a custom. You can tell this is a Working Class Production Gun. With tolerances generous enough for Reliability over Bank Vault Pleasures. One one is going to mistake this for a Nighthawk or a CAG… But no one is going to mistake it for a Rock Island or ATI either.
It has two warts. One you can see… the Novak Rear Sight. Which is The Devil on a gun for this purpose. The purpose being, this is a Defensive Gun. Which means it’s a Fighting Gun. And Novak Sights should not be on any Fighting Gun. Ever. The sights need to be replaced anyway, as they are just white 3 Dot sights… and any defensive pistol NEEDS Tritium. That’s not a point I’ll argue about. That’s God’s Own Truth. This is why He created Tritium. So it can be used on His Saint, John Moses Browning’s handguns. While I’d be getting Tritium sights – I’d just make sure the Rear wasn’t Novak, and that it was a Straight 8 instead of 3 Dot.
The other wart is the Manual Safety… it flicks on with a nice snap. The way it should. But it flicks off, with no click, no snap, no tactile sign, and no audible tell. It just… slides off. Way too easily. Like it was loose or broken. That is a huge turn off to me. Going Off Safe should be Tactile and Deliberate. This feels like it could slide off if you had it in the holster and jumped up and down more than once. This is of course, an easy fix. But it’s a fix that would have to be made before you loaded it.
