Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins
I know I've mentioned him before, but Ross Seyfreid (out of Oregon) won the world IDPA championship when it was held in South Africa some 20-odd years ago. He had a pair of matching 1911's that were built for him by one of the old 'smiths who knew what it was all about. This was back before the "race guns" took over, so his two guns would probably fit the "production gun" class these days. One can certainly buy guns today, right off the shelf, that are far more "custom" than his were.
Anyway, Mr. Seyfreid was adamant that he would not trust either gun in an important match - or with his life - if was clean. He insisted on putting several hundred rounds through them before he would have trusted them to have "settled down" and started to shoot consistantly.
I find it amazing that a combat sidearm that served our armed forces for generations, having earned an enviable reputation for reliability while doing so, can be so primped and preened as to render it unreliable. And shooters have been conned into not only accepting that, but paying vast sums for that... amazing...
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Well they are usually pretty simple to clear, but a few seconds worth of hiccups in an IDPA stage drops you several positions in a match. To be fair, I am not saying all 1911's have hiccups in every IDPA match, but when there is a problem at a match, I would guess 60-70% of the time it is a 1911.
I hated Glocks (triggers feel aweful initially compared to single action guns) when I was getting started in IDPA, but a friend who places well at the Nationals and other big matches convinced me to buy a Glock due to their proven reliability in competition. I have to say that he and most of the top IDPA shooters are right in choosing Glock for THIS TYPE of shooting. After one whole season of competing and practicing several times a week (probably around 8000 rounds), I have never had a single malfunction with my slightly modified Glock. I have a few Glock mags and 8 cheap aftermarket Korean mags.... they all run flawlessly and I have never had any of them apart for cleaning even though they all have been dropped many times in the dirt/sand/gravel/mud.