Some of you have expressed interest in the defensive 1911. Some others have written in with more general questions about 1911s. These days there aren’t a whole lot of people – at least people of my generation – taking 1911s very seriously. Today I’m going to talk about some reliability factors of the defensive 1911, maybe a few things to think about before taking up the 1911.
Stockpiling Ammunition: A Thorough Approach
I have long advocated the practice of stockpiling ammunition. Today I’m going to attempt (again) to encourage you to purchase ammunition at your leisure rather than in knee-jerk response to external stimuli.
Setting Up a Range Bag
I hate to admit this, but despite a lifetime of being a shooter and firearms enthusiast, I only put together my first range bag about two years ago. Honestly, it changed my life. I cannot imagine not having a range bag now. I know there are a whole lot of new shooters finding their way into the sport, so I though this might be a good time to talk about setting up a range bag.
Shotgun Ammo Selection: The Slug
In my last article about shotguns I mentioned being a fan of the slug. I had planned to address this, but it drew quite a bit of email, so I’m addressing it a little sooner than I expected.
Thoughts on Defensive Shotgun Setup
During the month of April I am doing two-a-days with dry practice. Aside from my normal practice routine with my EDC handgun, I am also spending ten minutes per day with my shotgun. This has me thinking a lot about the defensive shotgun setup. Additionally, with the surge of gun sales in recent weeks I’m sure at least a few people are the brand-new owner of a shotgun, so I will share a few of my ruminations.
Why the 9mm 1911?
I recently received the following question from a reader: “How about a blog post on what led you to your current EDC handgun? A 9mm 1911 isn’t the most common choice, and I know you had been working with revolvers for a while there.” He’s absolutely right; a 9mm 1911 is a pretty unconventional choice for several reasons. Let’s take a look at them, and the gun itself.
Ammo Rotation with a Heavy Dry Practice Regimen
I have dry practiced every day this year and I dry practiced over 320 days last year. The vast majority of that practice has been with my carry gun. This necessitates a lot of loading and unloading of my carry gun, and some wear and tear on my carry ammo. This is how I manage ammo rotation with a heavy dry practice regimen.
Malfunctions: The Squib Load
Last week I had a squib load…and then another. Both were from the same box of factory ammo. If you shoot enough, eventually you’re probably going to run into this ammunition-related malfunction. It’s important to know to recognize this one. Failure to recognize it could result in serious damage to your gun and serious injury to you.
Nighthawk Custom Carry 5K Range Report
Eleven months ago I posted a “First Look” at my Nighthawk 1911. I had just 750 rounds on the gun at the time. I have since increased the round-count to just a little over 5,250. I have also carried this gun more or less daily for 10 months (so far). This is a follow-up report on the performance of my Nighthawk Custom carry.
Marking and Numbering Magazines
Numbering one’s magazines seems like something that is just common knowledge in the firearms world. I don’t see a lot written about it. I searched and found a couple articles, but it seems there is a gap for this information, so I’m going to talk about it today.