Tag Archives: 1911’s

Weapons

I’m a 1911 guy, but…

9 Comments

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)

Weapons

In defense of the obsolete.

6 Comments

Working in a gun store again, I get to hear all the old rundowns and complaints about the “Obsolete Old Man’s Guns”.  Maybe they are guns for the Older and Wiser crowd, but one thing they are not, is obsolete.  Windows 3.11 is obsolete.  A 1911 is going stronger than ever.1911ThreadedEnhanced_3QRight_BlkBushing
The 1911 has seen continuous use by the US Military ever since it was first adopted.  Sure, it was replaced in the Mid 80’s by the Beretta, but many units chose to keep their 1911’s in service.  Typically special operations type units.  These are guys who had the option to pretty much get whatever they wanted, and they chose to stick with what has been working.  For example, Marine MARSOC just bought a whole mess of Colt 1911’s… which replaced a whole mess of Springfields, which had replaced a whole bunch of Colts. Now, forgive me, but either MARSOC is staffed by overly sentimental geriatric clowns, or the 1911 is still a fine sidearm.  Given the fact that MARSOC follows an operational tempo that makes Call of Duty seem boring… I’m guessing those guys pretty much define “High Speed, Low Drag”.  Having met many MARSOC Operator, and worked with them on various things… Let me tell you… MARSOC knows their trade.  If a 1911 is so obsolete, I don’t think they would be using them.  On a side note, they also use Glock 19’s for when they are rolling incognito and have to carry concealed.  But that’s another subject.
Competitive shooters are still running a lot of 1911’s as well.  Guy’s who’s paychecks demand that they shoot as well as possible.  They are using those old obsolete 1911’s.   I don’t know about you, but every competition I’ve ever been in, hiccups in accuracy and reliability could pretty much cost you the match.Springfield-M1911A1-GI-45-Explodedv11
Here’s the thing. The 1911 requires a bit more knowledge, and a bit more TLC than other more recent designs.  But too many guys Harsh on the 1911 for the same “problems” that they give passes on the AR-15 for.  You just gotta know your gun. Know how to take care of it. Know what ammo shoots best in it.   The 1911 is complicated some people will say.  No, it really isn’t.  It’s a very simple machine and easy to understand if you will stop holding your breath and pouting that it isn’t a Glock.   Pay attention and learn… and show some respect.  The design is over a hundred years old and remains a top choice for handguns.
For the serious 1911 Operator the rituals of maintenance are part of the satisfaction of running it.  For them, the 1911 breakdown is like a Japanese Tea Ceremony.  It brings them peace and joy, and a belter understanding every time.  The Glock Operator is a crass barbarian in comparison.ruger-gp100-factory-3-inch-adjustable-sight
Revolvers are also far from obsolescence.  .357 Magnum remains the Gold Standard of defensive handgun cartridges.  .45 Colt is no slouch either.  .44 Specials, .44 Mags, always a crowd pleaser and few can shrug off catching one of those.  Loaded Light or Hot… Heavy slugs well aimed, no, that’s not obsolete.  Never will be… until we have a 40 watt Phased Plasma option.
Revolvers offer reliability with uncompromised accuracy and power.  If you call that obsolete, I’m calling you a fool.
The only thing truly obsolete is ignorance.  Yet in this Age of Internet, misinformation is at your fingertips and Urban Legends become forces of nature.  Opinions and facts feud like Hatfields and McCoys.
There is also the fact that like older cars, these Old Guy Guns are just better looking.  The visual appeal is biological… 1911’s, Revolvers… There are no new guns is as Sexy.   Maybe this is where the older and wiser comes in.  We take the time to appreciate the finer things.
Of course, all things considered, I guess Beretta 92’s and SIG 220/226/228/229 guns are Old Guy Guns as well.

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No… they are not Obsolete.  They are Classics.  Classics never go out of style for good reasons.  It’s why they are Classics.

Weapons

Kimber’s Micro

14 Comments

You guys know I’ll call out a gun company if they put out crap… And you guys know I’ll give kudos to those that pull it together.  I’ve talked about Para, and Ruger, and others… This one though… This surprises me.
Kimber.   Kimber is a company that basically took Colt and bent them over a knee and gave them a good old fashioned whipping about how 1911’s are supposed to be made.  It changed the gun industry as far as 1911’s go.  It used to be that you bought a new Colt 1911 and you immediately set about working on it or having it worked on by a Gunsmith.  And it wasn’t just Colt, that was everyone pretty much. That’s just the way things were.
Until Kimber.  Kimber set about making 1911’s that ran right out of the box.
Until a few years ago when Kimber’s Quality Control dropped through the floor.   I had brand new guns with what looked like used parts in them.  I had barrels that had waves in them.   All this, I’ve talked about before.  It’s in the Archives at the Old MadOgre.com section.  I had to send back a whole shipment of Kimber Tac Custom II’s.  I just couldn’t trust Kimber anymore.
That was then.  This is now.  Kimber looks like they are taking things seriously again.  If fact, it looks like Kimber is better than ever.  And I’m not talking cosmetics.  I’m talking internals, machining, everything.  It looks like they are making some great stuff again.   Not only that, but they once again bent Colt over the knee and gave them a whipping again.
kimber_micro-raptor-stailess

See, Colt had the Mustang.  A mini 1911 like pistol in .380.  Colt gave the middle finger to the American Gun Owner and decided they wouldn’t sell to us unwashed masses.  Guns like the Mustang were all discontinued.  That was many years ago.   Many years later SIG came out with the SIG 238, which was SIG’s version of a Mustang.  It sold so well that Colt was like “Hey!” and they started making the Mustang again.   Well, Kimber looked at the SIG, and looked at the Mustang.  And then threw down the Kimber MICRO.  It’s like what Kimber did the the Colt 1911’s.  It makes the Colt look pretty dated.   There are various versions of the Kimber Micro.   All 13.4 Ounces in weight, all 6+1 Capacity.  All look great.  But the Micro Raptor… it just looks drop dead gorgeous.   And it’s a .380.  And I like it.  Crazy.   Now if Kimber does what SIG did… and make a version in 9mm… I’d be very tempted to buy that.  I’m very tempted to buy the Micro in .380 as it is.  And I don’t even like Pocket Guns.  That’s how cool these Micros are.

Don’t get me started about the SOLO.  Great looking guns that don’t work right.  There’s a sexist political jab I could make there, but I wont.   If Kimber could just take the SOLO back to R&D and engineer that thing to run right – That would be great.   Other than the SOLO, I think Kimber is back to making real guns again.