All posts tagged Les Bauer 1911

People that are still carrying the 1911 pistol and love it

If you love the way the 1911 feels in your hand you’re probable not going to find another firearm that feels the same way.  I’ve like the traditional 1911 style guns for almost 2 decades and tried out many variations of them, but they didn’t feel like a 1911 when the makers made them a double stack.  There is something about 1911 pistols that is just balanced very well.  Once you put more than about  8rds in a 1911 the gun gets heavy and for something that is so slim and contoured right, you can mess that up with 10rd protruding magazines.  That’s fine for competition shooting but I don’t think you’ll ever see law enforcment or special operations  units running those magazines even if they are reliable.

Most of the Special operations units we deal with actually use 7rd magazines although I have found that the 8rd magazine reliability issues is a myth.  All I run through my 1911 government models are Wilson combat magazines  with the 8rd wilson combat magazines that work so well.   I have been using gun grease on my Colt 1991A1 and my Springfield GI 1911 that had some minor customizations, but I have not seen a malfunction in that firearm in years.  I am still running mostly ball ammo through my guns which is the proven reliable ammunition.  Gun grease is something that I have been using more and more on my handguns because they seem to  hold up better for long term storage.

Top

Magazines that aren’t flush fitting

I have never really liked the feel of having a pistol magazine protrude out of the bottom of the gun unless it is because the gun grip is too small for me.  I’ve seen a few of my friends do this on their Glocks, namely the Glock 26 because it is such a small gun.   I did put an extension on a Sig 239 which is the  only gun I currently own that has this.   The first gun that I owned was a Colt 1991A1 and it only came with one pistol magazine.   It was a Colt magazine which i thought would be the best gun magazine to have, but that turned out to not be true.   After having a few problems with the slide stop not catching, I found out the magazine tab was bending and causing the issue.

I believe it was at a gun show that I picked up 2 Wilson Combat magazines and my Colt 1991A1 ran flawlessly with ball ammo.  The gun magazines really ran well with hollow point ammunition but I found the gun to be too picky with hollow point ammo that I pretty much gave up on worrying about it.   If you look at the velocity that a 45acp is flying at, I don’t think you’ll have massive over penetration issues compared to 9mm ball.   Wilson combat magazines have varying base pads and from my experience this is mostly a concern for competition shooters.   If the magazine drops free I don’t need to worry about gripping it and pulling it out for a fast reload.

Top

Why pack a whole lot of handgun ammo?

It always amazes me that when people think they need a backup gun or sidearm on a training course it means packing as much ammo for the 9mm handgun as it does for the M4 Carbine.   All it takes is a short training day to find out that a big chunk of the gear you brought with you was un-necessary.   An M4 Carbine is already probable the lightest and most handy firearms you can carry with you during the day and with a gun good sling you should be able to let go of the gun and still retain the weapon.   I have several LWRCI M6A2 guns and I tend to shoot the 77gr MK262 bullets.   These bullets weight a little more than the standard M193 ammo, but in my opinion it’s a better up front round.

 

When I carry a back up gun and I’m already carry a an M4 Carbine,  I am back to the old dog, my Colt 1911.   The Colt 1911 with 2 spare Wilson Combat magazines is all I need to retreat from a position or hold off a threat until I get my LWCR M6A2 back up and running.   I have yet to have something like that occur, but I have trained for it.   I am very confident that 24rds of 45acp is plenty of back up ammo and if the fight needs more than that,  I’ll more confident just turning around and running the other way.   A couple grenades my help boost my confidence though.

Top

Uploading magazines, single stack and double stack

I use to upload all of my guns until a bad experience occurred to me with several of my gun safe firearms.   I mostly buy used firearms and my Sig 229 in .357 sat in a gun safe loaded with 12+1.   I bought the gun  used and replaced all of the magazine springs with Wolff gun springs, did a range test, and then when the gun passed the range report, I loaded it up and put it away in the safe for 9 months.  Thinking that taking this gun to an IDPA match would be a good way of testing it out and making sure it was reliable, I just took it with me and give it a run.

I had another Sig 229 with me, but this was in 40 S&W and it was also loaded to capacity.   Needless to say, both guns failed on me.   I  have a Colt 1911 with 8+1 rounds of 45acp in a Wilson Combat magazine and it has never failed me.   The only problem I have with it is that I need to really make sure the magazine is seat properly because it barely clicks in.   All magazines have been downloaded by at least 1 rd and since then, all of the guns have passed range tests even after long term storage.  Be careful about what you read on the internet, uploading many guns for long periods of time will decrease reliability.

Top

A debate about guns, caliber and concealment

I’m mentioned many times before that I have witnessed many CCW holders go from full size autos to j-frame revolvers and I don’t think they are under gunned at all.   Many of my friends are now carrying  .380 pistols and 38 Specials.    If you are not on a hit list and not a LEO, you are more than likely  only going to deal with a minimal number of threats to your life and if you train to use  your firearm properly, you should be able to take out 1 or 2 bad guys with any firearm.   I’m not going to guarantee it, but having 2.5rds per target should make a 5 shot S&W worth it’s weight in gold.

I’m also not going to argue with someone that wants to carry a full size 1911 with a 7rd magazine.  I personally have never had a problem with my Wilson Combat Magazines, whether they are 7rd or 8rd.   I’ve heard many debates that the 8rd magazines are not as reliable, but I have never used anything but the 8rd magazines and I don’t have issues.   The real advantage of the 1911 design for CCW is that it is very thin.   I would say that my 8rd Sig 239 is actually thicker in the frame than a 45acp 1911 and it is easily concealed IWB.

Top
Page 1 of 1