Familiarity Breeds Competence.....Frankenstein's 1911

A good portion of Saturday was spent cranking off rounds with friends. It was a much-needed good time. I put at least 300 rounds through Uncle Gaston's plastic pal.

I was noticing a readily discernable time between the shots and the impact with the targets relative to 9mm and .357 Sig. The .357 really gets to the target in a hurry. If one is shooting at any distance, it's very noticeable how quickly the round hits. It's also noticeable how loud that round is when touched off. I was also keenly aware of the displaced air when the shot was fired. That's one hot round.

In comparison, the 9mm is shooting about the same size of bullet, but it doesn't get there quite as quickly. When shooting a reactive target such as an empty metal cylinder, it's apparent the .357 is hitting with more kinetic energy that the 9mm. Lots more.

I am not a fan of the .357 Sig. It recoils very sharply, and I'm just not a fan of shooting something that's painful to the giver as well as to the receiver. I'd hate to be around one without ear protection, for certain. There's a huge muzzle flash as well, when the round goes off. I suppose if you missed your target at close range, you can at least set it on fire.

A friend of mine has been shooting the same 1911 .45 for about 16 years or so. Well, pretty much the same 1911. It's a custom frame that's had some additions over the years. It's huge, clunky, and heavy. If Dr. Frankenstein built a 1911, it would look a lot like this one. If it runs out of ammo in a fight, he can beat his targets to death with it. It's got huge sights on it. It's got a huge fat hammer, and a very smooth trigger. Otherwise, there's nothing really special about this .45. No fancy polymer frame. No night sights, no fancy custom trigger, no light rails, etc. There's nothing on the pistol that could be considered, "tactical" by the modern standards of such. But it worked, and worked well. Not one jam. Not one misfire. Not one miss on a target, from what I could tell. I couldn't say the same. Though to be fair, I only had one jam that was attributable to bad ammo. Another lesson learned.

This friend has pretty much carried this gun for 16 years. It fell out of service for awhile when a Glock 17 showed up. But it came back. It then got shifted to the back burner when a Sig interloper tried to move into contention. But again, it came back. He's always loved the feel of this gun, and the way it handled. It's been a constant in his life.

More importantly, he shoots the old warhorse phenomenally. We shot combat drills with it, as well as plain target shooting. To say that he beat the rest of us soundly is an understatement. He's accurate. He's fast on the draw, and fast on the target. There was a noticeable level of skill with the old Frankenstein 1911 that none of the rest of us had. The scary thing was, this guy hadn't shot in over a year. And he shamed the rest of us.

I can't tell you how many pistols I've gone through over the years. I can shoot just about anything decently. I can qualify with just about any auto that I've picked up. But I can't hit the shots that he can hit. I have no confidence in the preciseness of my shot placement with any of my guns. I am nowhere near that good as this friend of mine with the Frankenstein 1911. He's scary good.

I think the reason is that he's been married to one pistol for all these years. It's almost a part of him. He can pull off any shot he needs to make with this pistol, probably without thinking about it. Even if he hasn't shot it much lately, he still carries it day to day. He still puts it on his bedside table every night. It fits his hand.

If a critical, life-or-death pistol shot had to be taken; I'd want him to take it with the monster 1911. This friend of mine knows that pistol inside and out. It's been a constant companion. And it shows.

So the lesson learned is to pick one weapon. Learn it inside and out. Carry it every day. Clean it and take care of it. Learn its quirks, its likes and dislikes. Learn to trust it. It will pay off dividends if needed. It will fit the hand like a glove, and point as naturally as a finger. The bullets will hit where they were intended to hit.

I've got to pick one pistol and stick with it, and put in lots of range time to ever catch up in the competency department.