Finally bought myself a 1911, but nothing fancy.

[Jay]

Well, it is a cheap base version, but still it is a 1911 platform. I love my glocks, but have always wanted to have a 1911, just couldn't justify spending the money. Well, I finally broke down and picked up a Springfield A-1 Mil Spec.

Love the no frills look, and have always liked the feel of the grip, so we'll see how it does at punching paper in the next few days barring wet weather.

[AAllen]

Well what did you get?

[Jesse T]

Congrats Jay!  let us know how it shoots!  Happiness truly is a warm .45!

[tonopah]

I bought myself a 1911 for Christmas. It came with rosewood grips, but I put hogue grips on it. Truly my favorite firearm.

[tonopah]

Im shopping for a black rifle now. Either a Rock river or Bushmaster. I bought my Son a Bushmaster when he got back from Iraq, should have bought 2. They are kind of tough to find. Price went up a bit also.

[Jay]

Thanks guys, I'm looking forward to heating it up!

The Springfield A-1 Mil Spec is basically the G.I. model with better sites, lowered ejection port, and slanted rear slide serrations (no front serrations).

I picked it up used (if I end up liking it I can see myself getting a little nicer one new) and really like the flat finish and black plastic grips. There are a couple of marks on it, but nothing that is too bad, or wouldn't happen from normal wear and tear anyway.

I love the look and the feel of it, but the real test is still to come.

[Rule#.308]

I know you love your Glocks but the 1911 is going to make you feel much more comfortable.  Being able to have one in the chamber with the hammer down but off the pin and safety off is much safer than cocked and locked.  As you you get comfy with it your thumb is going to naturally go the the hammer as you present the weapon and it will be ready to use.  I'm an old farm boy and I grew up mistrusting anything with more parts than necessary or tiny parts that are supposed to keep something major from happening.  Call me paranoid but having a loaded weapon on my side with just that little safety switch makes me uncomfortable and I would be constantly checking it to make sure it didn't slip off safety somehow.  Congratulations and enjoy.

[Jay]

I don't know, I would really have to like it a lot to replace a Glock as my carry gun. I don't want to start a platform war here because I like both of them, but higher capacity, nothing to do but pull the trigger in a heated situation, and proven reliability are hard to argue with.

I'm sure if I had started out carrying a 1911, I'd be making the argument in reverse, though.

Then again, I loved my DA/SA S&W before I got a Glock so who knows...

It wouldn't bother me at all to carry a 1911 cocked and locked.

To me, the best gun to have will always be the one you have with you at the time.

[Chris Z]

Excellent! I bought a Springfield GI model a little over a year ago. Had to put some Heine slant pro sights on it, because the GI has horrible sights!

Carry what works best for you, what you feel comfortable with, and what you can operate under stress.

[Rule#.308]

I guess capacity is a non issue for me.  I have two that I switch back and forth on depending on the weather.  When I have heavier bulkier clothes or I'm not going to do lots of walking around, I carry my .45 I guess If I can't hit em with ten then two or three more won't make much difference.  as it gets warmer and I wear lighter clothes, I have a nice little .38 S&W wheel gun which hides away very nicely and since I have always preferred hammered handguns, when it comes out it's ready to go.  Of course Chris Z is also correct in his statement of what you are comfortable with.

[Jay]

Don't get me wrong, Rule, capacity isn't a big hang up for me, but I definitely take it into consideration in the big picture.

I'm sure I'll carry my wife's new J-frame at some point this summer, and I'll feel just fine with five available rounds.

Mostly, it's just that I have large hands, and small guns just flat out don't really fit me comfortably, so since I'm going to be carrying a larger framed gun whenever possible anyways, might as well carry as many rounds as I can also. But if I were to want to carry a 1911, like you said, I wouldn't let a few less rounds be the only reason I wouldn't carry it.

Like everyone has said, you gotta carry what you are comfortable with, and in a stressful situation, as much as I like some of my other guns, right now I want my Glock in my carry holster.

[Jay]

Well, I got off work just early enough today that I had time to fly home and run exactly 2 mags through it before it got too dark and cold, so I thought I'd give you a run down now that I just walked back inside. I know 14 rounds through a gun is not enough to tell you anything, but hey, it's the best I can do now. I couldn't wait for this weekend to break it out when I had more time.

As some here know, I am not a great shot with a handgun (yet). I grew up on a farm shooting blue rocks and hunting and am very confident in my skills with a long gun, but we just never really had a use for a sidearm, so I am still a relative newb with them. In fact, it was just a couple years ago that I bought my first handgun.

So... Until tonight, I had never fired a 1911 type gun. In fact, I had never fired anything in a .45 so I wasn't sure what to expect.

So here are the only 14 rounds I have ever fired through this, or any other .45 so take this for what it is worth.

I was firing off hand, seven yards away, using Magtech 230 gr. FMC ammo that Cabella's had on sale.

This is the first mag. I was firing slowly, with a couple deep breaths in between shots while I was getting the feel of it. The flier was me, I felt myself twitch as  I pulled the trigger. I know this is a heavier gun than my G22, but I was surprised at the lack of felt recoil. My .40s all seem to have much more muzzle flip. I had read this before, but was surprised that there was that much difference. This was really much more of a steady push back that was controllable.

Oh, if it looks like there are keyholes, my backstop that I tape my targets to is made from old railroad ties, and they are obviously a rough surface and starting to get pretty shot up, so splinters poke through the paper just from the pressure of taping up the targets.





For the second mag, I sped up my shots, just taking a quick breath in between rounds and firing about as quickly as I could get the front site back on the target.  I wanted to see how quick of follow up shots I could get, (plus I was starting to get pretty cold).





I obviously have not fired this gun anywhere close to enough to really see how well it functions or groups, but as for right now, I am really happy with it. For a newb like me, and a gun that I have  less than  $500 into, (I traded another pistol that I couldn?t hit the broadside of a barn with and a little cash), I think it?s a keeper.

I can't wait to get some real practice time in with this gun and see what I can really do with it.

[WarHorse1961]

Note to self, practice more!

[Jay]

Thanks, I surprised myself.

I have been practicing a lot after getting completely embarrassed by the ccwne guys when they came down to shoot bowling pins at my place, but I can't shoot any of my other guns that well.

Maybe it was first timers luck, I don't want to get too excited until I really run some rounds through it.

[Rule#.308]

Ahhh.  Very nice.  It's not beginners luck, it's a 1911.  I knew you would be pleased.  There is a reason it has been in the U.S. arsenal for near a century now and that reason is that it is very difficult to improve on perfection.  In one on one conversation I have had several high ranking military officers tell me the primary reason we went to the 9 mm was not because it is the round everyone else in NATO shoots.  You will have to figure out the main reason because I don't want people getting mad at me here on the forum for spilling the beans.  However I will tell you Marine Corps Special OPS still carries the 1911.

[Jay]

This is very bad...

A few days and several hundred rounds later, I've come to the realization that when they designed the 1911, they had me specifically in mind.

I now own more than one.

This is going to get expensive. 

 

[Jesse T]

congrats.. what is the new one?

[Jay]

Oh, it's just another used Mil Spec that has had a little work done to it. One of those impulse buys that I have a bad habit with.

I was waiting in line to fill out the paperwork on the new G17 I bought at the Fremont gun show when I noticed the guy waiting in line behind me had it for sale. We struck up a conversation, I really liked it and he accepted the offer that I made on it, so I took it home and spent yesterday firing the heck out of it.

[FarmerRick]

Oh, it's just another used Mil Spec that has had a little work done to it. One of those impulse buys that I have a bad habit with.

I was waiting in line to fill out the paperwork on the new G17 I bought at the Fremont gun show when I noticed the guy waiting in line behind me had it for sale. We struck up a conversation, I really liked it and he accepted the offer that I made on it, so I took it home and spent yesterday firing the heck out of it.

I miss all the good deals...

[Jay]

You left too early, FarmerRick, he walked up about 10 minutes after I told you I was getting the Glock.