The 1911 .45 ACP is been
described as the premiere gun fighting tool to which all others are compared
and king of the feed ramp jam. That is
why I don’t carry a 1911 .45ACP.
But they are fun to
shoot. There are few legal pleasure
greater than hammering steel plates with a 1911 .45.
1911 Only
I recently shot a Single
Stack Classic at a local range.
Considering the difficulties, it was a great match. The difficulties? Recent renovations and a very wet spring and
summer have left one range too swampy to use.
But that’s another topic.
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| Everything you could ask for, steel, hostages and shoot targets |
Most of the targets were
relatively close, just over 10 yards in distance. These are distances most of us non-law
enforcement and non-combat citizens will find our conflicts limited to. Still, it’s not a bad idea to assure yourself
you can hit at longer distances. While I
don’t expect to slug it out with a rifleman at 100 yards, 20 yards isn’t
unreasonable. Next time you’re at the
range see what kind of group you can shoot at 20 yards with your carry gun.
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| Weak hand only |
The match had a variety of CoF which were at times complex. For those of us who routinely double tap every target we see as we pie a corner, the instructions could trip you up. One string required that each target of four targets get one shot before returning to the first target to shoot it a second time. This was the reef I kept sailing into.
Despite my poor
performance, I like it because forcing your mind to step outside your habits is
good for the armed citizen.
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| Shoot three targets off each star and knock over the tombstone poper |
I once watched Ken
Hackathorn demo the timed difference between shooting a double tap on two side-by-side
targets or shooting each one once and then a second time. Both strings resulted in two rounds in the
center of mass and the time difference was in the hundreds of a second. Not enough to affect your survival.
But Ken knew there were
only two targets. What if there were
four? Would the time difference become significant? Would the elapsed time required to giving two rounds to each of
three assailants, as compared to one round each, make a difference to a fourth
assailant? One of the question you want
to ponder is "Does an armed and wounded assailant become easier to deal with or not?"
What if you didn’t know
how many, but suspect more than one assailant? What if you dropped your reload going out the door and all you had was
what’s in your fist?
I’m suggesting,
especially to myself, don’t let ridged concepts involving tactical shooting prevent
you from seeing opportunities and potential.
The things you see
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| Do what you want dude, but that's just wrong. |
I’m a little dogmatic on
some things. Extra magazines should be
carried weak side, base plate up and bullet tips forward. Experience has taught me that a second (or
third) magazine carried on the strong side has advantages, like when your weak
side is jammed against cover and those magazines are blocked. Still, I ran into a shooter who carried them facing
backwards bullet tips down. You can do whatever
you want, but that’s just plain wrong.
Holsters
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| My newest holster Anyone who doesn't have several holsters for each gun just doesn't get out enough! |
I just got new holsters
from Ricky’s Holsters. I got one for my
Springfield Champion 1911 in gray Kryptek Kydex as well as a double mag
carrier. They are very cool and Ricky
does amazing work. There is a high level
of attention to detail and a deep interest to make sure you get what you
want. I wanted blue rivets and that’s
what I got. I purchased one in black
earlier for my Glock with a gun light.
It’s larger than most of his holsters, but it really fits my need.
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| Translucent! It really shows off the gun! |
My wife is an early adopter
(well, maybe not) but she had a holster and double mag carrier made for her
Springfield 1911 from transparent kydex.
They are stunning! It sure answers
the question “What’s in your holster?”
Visit Ricky at:
https://www.facebook.com/Rickysholsters/
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