Quote:
Originally Posted by Superman
Thanks, guys. I was leaving this thread alone out of pity. KC really wants to have the last word. I don't like his chances, given my experience with this fine community of helpful advice-givers, but wanted him to have a fighting chance.
I'm glad for the additional input.
I really do like the .45 ACP. I have fired other guns and I like this one. I have the feeling I can shoot this gun better than most others.
This will be my first-ever handgun. As I mentioned earlier, I have a fair bit of experience with rifles, and some shotgun experience. So....I'm hardly a newbie with regard to firearms but I certainly am starting from scratch with handguns. I'm learning, and I'm a fast learner.
No tool is an "all purpose" tool. But again, this will be my only gun for a while. I have applied for a CCW, which should be issued in the next couple of weeks. I will, at times, carry this gun on my person. Not often, but it will happen. Mostly, the gun will live in my home. I fully intend to shoot the piss out of this gun at the range. I intend to become second-nature comfortable with it.
I may at some point have the gun worked by a gunsmith, but we shall see. If I do, the purpose will be purely functional. A reflection of my motoring approach as well. I appreciate the aesthetic beauty of a 911, but that's not why I drive one. My last 911 was "rough," cosmetically. Mechanically, it was peerless. No bling-1911 for me.
I think I may have found my gun. I had once looked at a Taurus and nearly bought it, but now glad I didn't. As it turns out, that gun is not as reliable as I want. I was also favoring a 1911 because of the time-tested reliability but now I think I may opt for the Springfield XD. Been doing some reading and looking, and this is a nice gun for the money. Hold lots of bullets (a nice feature, since zombies often run in groups). Double-stack handles are not a problem for me. They feel great, in fact. WAY better than those short-handled things where your pinkie hangs off the bottom of the handle.
What does "mil-spec" mean? Military spec, I imagine. But what does that mean? For tools and building materials, there is the term "contractor grade." Yeah ummmm.....that's not a nice thing to say about a tool.
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Good choice, being that it is the gun
you like.
"Mil spec" simply means in the original, as-issued military specification. It's nothing like "contractor grade". It's more like your car. Function over appearance, with no frivilous accessories. In a 1911, it means a Parkerized finish. Low, fixed sights. No beavertail. Standard spur hammer. No extended safeties, slide releases, magazine releases, or guide rods. No throating or polishing. No lowered ejection ports. Meant for, and most reliable with, 230 grain hardball, full metal jacket ammunition. No mamby-pamby whiz-bang over rated hollowpoints need apply. A serious gun, for serious duty, under the toughest conditions. The "baseline" 1911.
Some "improvements" from there really are improvements. Throating and polishing of the back of the chamber/feed ramp area improves reliability, especially if you want to shoot target wadcutters or - god forbid - those silly hollow points. Lowering the ejection port, and scalloping the back of it, makes it easier on brass (some guns dent the case mought on ejection) if you intend to reload it. A beavertail grip safety and Commander hammer keeps big meaty hands from getting pinched between the hammer spur and the safety. Bigger sights are easier to see. Anything beyond these basics is simply "gilding the lilly" - frivilous and unnecessary. Some additional mods help aesthetics, like checkered front straps, nice grips, different finishes and such. Others are of no value, and may even make it dangerous to carry (ambidexterous safeties come to mind).
So you "pays your money and makes your choices". Handguns are the most personal of firearms. Set yours up for you. I may not like it, you may not like mine, but that's not important. At least to folks who intend to really use them, as opposed to just admire them. Again, a lot like your car. If it fits you, it's the right gun - or car - for you.