A (Short) Tale of Two .45s

[revchuck38]

In another thread, the one about the guns we've had the longest, I wrote about my Colt Series 70 Government Model that I bought used in '83 and for a long time used as my carry gun. I decided to take it to the range yesterday to see how it felt after having rarely shot it for a few years. Short version: It felt weird, and not in a good way. Shooting slowly, it was fine and as accurate as I remember. Shooting my usual drills, it was all over the place. The front sight just didn't want to return to the same place. My Glocks, Walthers, Berettas, and J and K frames don't do that. With them, it's bang, the front sight goes up and comes back down in pretty much the same place.

I wondered if it was just my no longer being used to the recoil of my .45 hardball-equivalent handloads, so this morning I dug out my M&P45 Compact 1.0 with the Apex duty/carry trigger and tried again with the same ammo. Bang, the front sight goes up and comes back down in pretty much the same place. Perceived recoil is less too.

I could probably get back close to the level I used to shoot the Gubmint Model if I dedicated the time it required, but that would entail shooting only that gun. I guess the newer stuff has me spoiled.

December's Rangemaster Drill of the Month is the Baseline Assessment Drill. Below is my second attempt - the first one was over time on all of the strings. It's supposed to be shot cold, so I've got work to do.

[Crusader]

I know what you mean, I posted in the training section about my trouble passing the Vickers test with 45. Don’t shoot it often any more, mostly 9mm now and it showed when I did run drills with a 45. In a 12 month period I only ran the test with 45 four times, spread out through the year. Mostly 1911s and all failed, usually over the time limit, finally I ran the test with my Glock 41 and passed. I’m just shooting Glocks better then 1911s nowadays, it’s what I shoot most of the time in 9mm so it makes sense.

[MGW]

Shooting a full size 1911 in 45 really has a way of locking in my recoil control. I was pretty good with a 5” 1911 at one point in time. I remember always being amazed at how easy almost anything was to shoot fast when I was fully tuned up with the 1911.

[shane45]

This is pretty much how I feel but in reverse, meaning it feels odd to shoot a sf pistol. Was at the range I worked as a quasi gunsmith at and had a reputation for being a good shot. Friend handed me his tricked out competition m&p and like you, I was all over the place. He gave me some serious side eye! But what I derive from this is you become very used to all the recoil characteristics of a given platform and when you deviate, you will have to learn that all over again for the new platform

[JCN]

I’ll make some observations as someone who shoots a lot of different guns.

If only shooting one gun, it’s possible and likely to start drifting to assumption and cadence rather than actively feeling and interpreting what you’re feeling in your hands and seeing with your eyes.

It’s like when someone driving only on dry pavement goes to slushy cold or wet. They jerk the wheel and overcook entries because they’re not actively listening to what the suspension / tires / steering wheel are telling them.



It is one of the reasons I really try and shoot different things regularly to prevent getting lulled into assumption and expectation.

[revchuck38]

I don't think the issue is striker-fired vs. hammer-fired. This isn't an issue with my revolvers or PX4s.

It may be a trigger and/or recoil issue. My Colt is set up in old-school fashion, with a decent trigger - 4-4.5lbs, no creep; 18.5 lb. recoil spring, 23 lb. hammer spring. All my other guns are DA revolvers or DA/SA autos or striker-fired pseudo-DAO (M&P, Glock). They all have various amounts of trigger travel before the bang, even the Apex trigger on the M&P45. Having no travel or creep, just the wall and then bang on the 1911 might be part of the problem. Also, the slide on the Colt is way heavier than that of the M&P, so the additional weight moving back and forth contributes to the heavier perceived recoil.

[gato naranja]

I have had a number of such "you can't go home again" moments over 50+ years of shooting. Sometimes it is due to physical abilities - such as visual accomodation - declining (or at least changing), or it can be something like losing a shooting buddy or a hunting location. Things tangible and intangible.

Broadly speaking - WRT handguns - the days of me banging away with any 45 ACP semiauto and being GOOD with it are few and far between... same thing for .44 Magnum revolvers. Serendipitously, my ability to do so and my need/desire to do so have declined at about the same rate. I enjoy the hell out of my 9mm 5" steel 1911, but I only grit my teeth (inwardly) and fire .45 1911s out of courtesy when offered the opportunity. Identical grip and controls, greatly different "physics." Tangible.

I went through a Glock phase some years back, and became pretty competent with them, but I drifted back to hammer-fired 9mm semiautos due to my "belt AND suspenders" attitude vis-a-vis safeties. I had become accustomed to the Glock's grip (that just seems "wrong" - and almost funny - as I type it) and had to readjust... then found that some older favorites just didn't recapture the lightning in a bottle. Intangible.

("And that," he said to the room, "was when I turned to Berettas... which I used to laugh at.")