Month: November 2022

Categories
1911 Commander holster

New Holster On The Way!

I ordered a kydex holster with a leather backer today, as I wanted to take advantage of Black Friday sales. I didn’t want one of those small kydex-only holsters (I have one for my Grand Power and it’s uncomfortable to use).

I’m specifically looking for an IWB holster that’ll fit Commander-sized 1911s. As well, I’m looking at appendix holsters (AIWB).

Personally, I want a Tenicor Velo4 but Tenicor is not participating in Black Friday sales, although they do have sales of blemished holsters, but do not currently have any for Commander-sized 1911s. I’ve also added the Tenicor Velo4 to my Elfster wish list (that’s how my family and extended family tracks gift purchases), so there’s a chance that someone will buy it for me for Christmas.

I’m also interested in Tenicor’s Certum holster (the Velo and Certum are not the same holster – the Certum has better adjustability and can be used as both IWB and AIWB, but the Velo is dedicated to appendix carry).

I’d also been looking at the Vedder LightTuck, but their sales folks aren’t helpful enough to help me commit to the purchase – I needed to know if the holster fits the Rock Island Armory Rock Ultra MS, and they said it wouldn’t but when I researched with Google, I found that there are a decent amount of folks using the LightTuck with RIA 1911s. Also, the LightTuck is maybe $5 less than but also less refined than Tenicor holsters. Due to those details and the fact that the Vedder sales folks were unhelpful, I decided to give my hard-earned money to a business other than Vedder.

While I wait to see if someone buys me the Tenicor for Christmas, I decided to buy Crossbreed’s The Reckoning holster and opted for the claw. I didn’t want to wait another 30 days, especially since I’m not sure if anyone is going to buy me the Tenicor.

I almost bought the The Reckoning holster system (which includes a mag holster side car), but was trying to keep costs down – I can always buy the side car separately. This specific holster can also be converted for strong side carry (in case I don’t like AIWB).

The holster was 25% off for Black Friday sales (was a bit over $50, excluding tax and shipping).

This will be my first time using an AIWB holster. I may find that I don’t like the holster, but it’s reported to be very comfortable. If I find that I don’t like it, I’ve the option of returning it. We’ll see.

Categories
1911 9mm RIA Rock Island Armory

Range Visit Summary For 11/15/2022

I visited the range for the first time since April 2022. I’m still focusing on 1911s, and I’m preparing to carry my RIA Rock Ultra MS in 9mm.

Why carry the 9mm instead one of my 45ACPs? The two 45ACP 1911s I have are the Metro Arms American Classic Commander and the Tisas Duty (full-sized). I’ve found that even though the heavy metal frame soaks up a good bit of the recoil of those 1911s, 9mm shoots even better from the 1911 frame. As well, 9mm is cheaper and easier to find, locally or otherwise.

Another thought: If I end up ever having to defend myself, I’d have to temporarily give up my gun for case evidence. I do not want to give up any gun but of my 1911s, the ugliest is that 9mm Rock Ultra! While it’s the ugliest, I shoot it the best, by far!

I didn’t want to bother with capturing video footage during this range visit, so I have none, but I did keep the targets and I’ll post them down below.

The below pictures are in chronological order of when I shot at them. Each second picture is a picture of quick range notes (written on the back side of each target).

I shot between 7 and 10 yards – anything further and I struggle to see where I need to hit (all but one target are designed to be shot from 7-10 yards. My actual range notes will be at the bottom of this page.

I’ve two holsters that’ll fit the Rock Ultra without issue, but I’m wondering if I should try carrying appendix – I’m eyeing a holster but need to know if I can commit to it before spending $100-120 on a AIWB holster.

I also just bought two extra 10-round mags so that I can use my two WC mags for carry duty.

Photos of the targets:

I numbered in which order I shot at each mini-target.
I numbered (and circled the number) in which order I shot at each mini-target. I also counted each hit per mini-target.
I aimed between the dead space between the right-side mini-target, attempting a group of five.

Range Notes:

**********************

I brought 350 rounds with me, but only shot 228 (one box of 50 was half empty).

I brought the following brands:
Norma 115-gr FMJ (100)
Federal Hi-shok 115-gr JHP (50)
Belom 115-gr FMJ (50)
Fiocchi 115-gr FMJ (28)

Of the total, there were 8 FTFs and one FTE (stovepipe). It was with one brand of ammo – the Federal Hi-shok JHP. The FTFs were almost certainly due to the hollow points – I expected as much. The FTFs only occurred at the top of each mag (top 3 rounds). After the 2nd-3rd round, the issue stopped. It stopped after 3 mags, as well. Note that the mags were Wilson Combat mags and two ACT mags. It happened with both mag brands, so this wasn’t a mag issue.

This gun is accurate as all hell! I ate the middle out of a target at 10 yards (shot 50 rounds). It’s flat-shooting. Yeah, the initial grouping had opened up but I found I had to just be steady (and watch my breathing as well) to get tight groups.

I will probably begin to carry this gun, which is why I put so much ammo through it this range session. I just need to refer to my notes on which JHP this gun didn’t have issues with – I think I shot some 9mm SD ammo through it last range visit.

Rock Ultra MS in 9mm