Fancy Shooting
At the range today I shot my Colt Sistema carry gun, and alternated with a Ruger MKII. The old Sistema isn't the prettiest pistol at the range, but I like it. It is the first 1911 I ever fitted a barrel to. I chose a Wilson Combat barrel and bushing for it, and worked slowly but surely over the course of a couple of weeks to fit them. 
When I first shot the pistol with the new barrel, I was in awe. Other modifications include an Ed Brown grip safety, a Commander hammer, a McCormick trigger with a trigger job, a flat mainspring housing, rubber double diamond grips, a Wilson Combat magazine, and a belt clip. The old Sistema was designed to be a car gun, and the belt clip gave me a way to carry it away from the car without a holster if needed. I had it finished in a green and gray teflon coating. It was accurate enough and quick enough with the military sights, so I kept them on the gun.
A couple of fellows were shooting one of the curly cue FN rifles with a can and holographic optics on it a bit further down the line. I was shooting double taps from low ready, and during a cold range call/target change they wandered over to take a look at my target.
"That's a Wilson you're shootin', isn't it?" one of the asked.
"No, it's just one of his barrels in an old Argentine 1911, nothing fancy" I informed them.
"Forty-five?"
"Yeah."
"I have a Wilson pistol back there," one of them piped up. "It shoots real good." He went back to the line and retrieved a target frame and set it out at the 15 yard mark a couple of spaces down from me. Then he opened up an embroidered carry bag to reveal a grey Wilson Combat pistol. When the line went hot again, he began stuffing hardball rounds into the magazine and blazing away at the target. After several magazines, his target and the cardboard behind it looked like a sieve. Holes were evenly spaced out across the cardboard backing and the targets. Nothing was untouched. A wooden leg of the target frame was splintered. Finally, he dropped the slide from slide lock on an empty chamber, and blew the smoke from the muzzle with pursed lips in an exaggerated display of aplomb.
"That's pretty amazing," I told him. He grinned. I started to ask him if I could take his photo to remember the event by, (and to post here) but I refrained. I decided it was time to leave and try again another day.
When I first shot the pistol with the new barrel, I was in awe. Other modifications include an Ed Brown grip safety, a Commander hammer, a McCormick trigger with a trigger job, a flat mainspring housing, rubber double diamond grips, a Wilson Combat magazine, and a belt clip. The old Sistema was designed to be a car gun, and the belt clip gave me a way to carry it away from the car without a holster if needed. I had it finished in a green and gray teflon coating. It was accurate enough and quick enough with the military sights, so I kept them on the gun. A couple of fellows were shooting one of the curly cue FN rifles with a can and holographic optics on it a bit further down the line. I was shooting double taps from low ready, and during a cold range call/target change they wandered over to take a look at my target.
"That's a Wilson you're shootin', isn't it?" one of the asked.
"No, it's just one of his barrels in an old Argentine 1911, nothing fancy" I informed them. "Forty-five?"
"Yeah."
"I have a Wilson pistol back there," one of them piped up. "It shoots real good." He went back to the line and retrieved a target frame and set it out at the 15 yard mark a couple of spaces down from me. Then he opened up an embroidered carry bag to reveal a grey Wilson Combat pistol. When the line went hot again, he began stuffing hardball rounds into the magazine and blazing away at the target. After several magazines, his target and the cardboard behind it looked like a sieve. Holes were evenly spaced out across the cardboard backing and the targets. Nothing was untouched. A wooden leg of the target frame was splintered. Finally, he dropped the slide from slide lock on an empty chamber, and blew the smoke from the muzzle with pursed lips in an exaggerated display of aplomb.
"That's pretty amazing," I told him. He grinned. I started to ask him if I could take his photo to remember the event by, (and to post here) but I refrained. I decided it was time to leave and try again another day.
Labels: Range Journal
posted by Xavier at 7:07 PM
14 Comments:
I don't know why it has taken me so long to ask this, knowing your preference for 1911's and Mark II's.
Is there any particular reason you do not shoot the Ruger 22/45? I do not own one, but I had the notion the grip angle on the 22/45 and controls are said to be similar to the 1911. Are they not therefor suitable as a training gun for 1911's?
Maybe I'm asking the wrong question.
Gale_H
Who makes the carry clip, and how well does it work?
A picture is worth a 1000 words......you should have taken the picture of the guy at the range......
I shoot more like that guy than like you, but I don't brag about it. Now that the annual Ice Age is over, I'm putting some .22LR down range. I expect to use up a lot of it now that daytime temps are above freezing.
word verification: "vaarnal." That's an easy one: "What equinaax just occurred, Alex?"
He obviously didn't catch the sarcasm in your "that's pretty amazing" comment.
Pretty amazing that he's such a lousy shot and doesn't know squat about how to properly care for his pistol.
It's a pity when people spend that kind of money to buy quality, and then a) abuse it and b) don't take the time and trouble to learn to use it properly.
As long as he minds the four rules, they're his bullets to expend in whatever ineffective manner he likes, I figure. Not that I wouldn't chuckle a bit, though.
Jim
I understand the condescencion - some people are clowns and don't know what they've got or how to care for it, let alone use it.
I often wonder how to change this, hell, if it is possible to change this... I think sometimes leading by example is about the only thing one can do.
For example, the wife and I were at the range this morning (Chicago got serious SNOW!) and, with her help (she reloads mags for me during my "hour" and I reload and police brass for her during her "hour"), I worked on nothing but double-taps/mag-changes with my .22 conversion kit. Our range allows controlled "hammers", and fast reloads, but generally prohibts drawing from a holster unless it is an event or you rent the joint out.
Anyway, some folks started coming in and saw what I was doing. They look at the mechanics, look at the target, and after they realize that you're there with an agenda and not just "sunday shooting", really start to think. Invariably, when my wife and I switch (we rent one lane so as to help each other out) some of those folks decided to start asking questions - at which point I can direct 'em to our IPSC group, sportsmen's club, and give 'em a name for a local training group.
Overall, I'd say that 70% of those folks never come out or pursue it further, but that the remaining one see that there is more than "square range" stuff...
I love it when they first show up to an IPSC or IDPA competition, usually "just to watch", and see the swingers, movers, plates. That look is priceless!
Gale, the slick plastic of the 22/45 just never appealed to me. If they would make the MKII with a 1911 grip angle, and make it use 1911 grips, i would go that route in a heartbeat. The heel magazine release doesn't bother me on a handgun, not even when I was carrying a HKP7 PSP.
Homer, I got the Belt clip from Midway USA. It works well for short jaunts into a store. I wouldn't want to carry with it all day, too insecure.
Well, to be FAIR, he said the GUN shoots real good, not that HE shoots real good :)
You should have taken a picture. Then he'll have a before and after shot to compare when he blows his nose off.
My two cents on .22-45s:
I've got a Mk II Bull, Mk III Bull, and a .22/45 and some standard barrel Mk series .22s. I guess I'm indifferent to the grips. They all shoot about the same to me. It's a toss-up as to which grip angle I prefer. I think I shoot the Mk II more of late.
When I shoot 1911s, my 1911s are rather disparate from 3" super compact to Para double stacks so as far as training with a .22LR when not shooting .45, nothings really going to be the same but my stance, grip, and trigger actuations.
I think 1911s shooting .45ACP are good training guns for shooting 1911s in .45ACP.
Honestly, outside of how much of a bastard it is to load the magazines, my favorite .22LR pistol for general purpose use is my polymer Olympic Arms Whitney Wolverine, since they updated some parts that caused the early ones (like mine) to have reliability issues. It points really natuarally to me, the magazines are hard to load, and it has possibly the worst heel magazine release (same as the original Whitneys) of any firearm I've ever handled out of the box. I made an extended one. Olympic can't make them with extended ones because it would violate the terms of their agreement to make recreations of Wolverines. I asked. Oh, the safety also works backwards same as the original, flick a 1911 style thumb safety UP to unsafe the weapon. Still points nice though and super easy to field strip and clean for those people that have trouble with Mk series field stripping and think it's a black art of some sort.
Semi off-topic but I thought Gale_H might find it useful.
Corsair: All of my firearms shoot better than I do.
Once in a while I shoot almost as well as they do.
If he practices he might get it down to minute of dinner table like me. :O
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