I wanted a place to discuss my handguns and firearms in general. Everyone seemingly has lots to say about guns, so I promise you this won't be a rant blog.
1. We bought Remington R1 mags (45ACP doublestacked) for use with my RIA 10mm HC, since I can’t find any Armscor mags. One mag feeds well, the other does not. Also, the R1 mags will fit the OEM 10mm base plates.
2. We had feed issues with the RIA 22TCM extracting spent cases (the cases were getting stuck in the chamber). This was an ammo issue – I had half a box of older ammo that I’d put aside because I was blowing primers and one case refused to come out of the chamber. I’d forgotten that this was a box I wasn’t supposed to finish shooting. In fact, there was one primer that was blown out in this range visit (I forgot to mention that in the video).
3. I’ve been frustrated with all of my 1911s, thinking that I can’t shoot them because I’m never able to have tight groupings or that I’m always hitting low left (meaning I’m flinching or have bad trigger discipline). Well, I prove that’s not the case on this range visit, as I also took my 9mm RIA Rock Ultra. My groups were tight and directly under the bullseye. I was shooting this gun the same way as the other two. This proves I need to make sight adjustments. In this case, I need to move the POI up 2 inches. In the case of the 10mm, I need to adjust the sights up and to the right a few inches. Not sure yet on how I need to adjust the sights on the 22TCM (maybe 2″ to the right).
I show where I damaged a reverse plug on a bull-barreled 1911. I’ve replaced the reverse plug with a new one that is a revised part (the replacement part has what appears to be a barrel cradle).
I also show how to use the slide to disassemble the recoil rod assembly. I know most folks use their hands but I feel for them if they’re using their hands to disassemble a RR assembly from a 10mm. I can barely use my fingers when doing it to my 9mm. I got this procedure from sootch00 (specifically his SR1911 10mm video).
Used my old Go Pro Hero 4 Silver, which I thought had died…turns out, the SD card was bad and the camera was fine
I’ve a 10mm 1911 on the way here. It’ll be my first full-sized 1911 and my first 10mm. I purchased a RIA Rock Ultra FS HC chambered in 10mm. I’d been looking at Glock 20s and 29s but didn’t want the shock of recoil to bug me. While the Glocks weigh around 2 lb empty, the RIA 10mm weighs around 2.5 lb and is all steel. I won’t be carrying this gun but I do want to experience 10mm without regret. As well, I had a difficult time finding a Glock 20 and 29 in stock.
What’s cool about this 10mm is that it is double-stacked (what some folks call the M1911A2; it’s not a true 2011, as the 2011 is modular in nature while the M1911A2 is not). It is a full-featured handgun. What’s not cool is that the handgun only comes with one magazine.
It’ll probably be 2 weeks before it ships to my FFL. The FFL will probably take another week to call me to pick it up. In 3 weeks time, expect a table top review.
I’m about to order another magazine and will begin looking for ammo. I hope to have both the mag and ammo will be here before the gun arrives.
This is what I ordered (from Hinterland Outfitters):
UPDATE (2/15/2021) – I just got notice that the firearm shipped on 2/12…headed to my FFL dealer now…may be a while though, since there’s severe weather in the mid-West right now.
Today, I was handling my three 1911s and noticed that two of them had safeties that were rather loose. What do I mean by loose? Well, a good 1911 will have a safety that will have a positive click when being manipulated. It will also take a conscious effort to actuate. It should not actuate (on or off) by being bumped or pushed by an object that is not a finger. The last time I took my Metro Arms American Classic Commander (that’s a mouthful) to the range, both my wife and I noticed that after loading a mag into the firearm and trying to shoot, the safety was unintentionally enabled.
Since it was Friday evening, I got a few old rags and broke them both down on my sofa while listening to the news. I fixed both safeties. Once I field stripped the 1911s, I removed the safeties. The Metro Arms had a single-handled safety lever while the Rock Island Armory had an ambi safety. Once those were removed, I remove the plunger springs from each and stretched them out a bit, which I thought would add more tension to the safety lever on each firearm. I put together both and then tested the safeties. The RIA 1911 safety stiffened up drastically. The Metro Arms 1911 had to be taken down again and stretched out a bit more, but in the end, I got the safety on that firearm pretty stiff.
I’m happy that I was able to sort this out on my own.
For each handguns, I measured trigger pull by averaging out 5 pull results. I also posted low measurements for the majority of them.
Here are the results:
Bersa Thunder 380 Plus –DA – 7lb even, with a low of 6lb 4oz SA – 3lb 10oz, with a low of 3lb 9oz
Beretta PX4 Storm Compact –DA – 9lb 4oz, with a low of 8lb 15oz SA – 3lb 12oz, with a low of 3lb 3oz
Springfield Armory XD9 Mod.2 Subcompact – 4lb 9oz average, with a low of 4lb 6oz
Ruger SR9C –5lb 7oz, with a low of 5lb 1oz
Glock 19 –5lb 5oz average with a low of 5lb even
SIG Sauer P320 Compact –5lb 7oz average with a low of 5lb 3oz
Metro Arms American Classic Commander (1911) – 2lb 15oz average with a low of 2lb 8oz (!!)
I had no idea that 1911 would measure that low. It’s one of three 1911s that I own, but it’s also one of the best that I own. I knew it was good but didn’t know the trigger would generate such a low measurement. I’ll update this page later tonight with the results of the triggers of the other two 1911s, just to compare all three of them.
UPDATE:
I measured my 1911s:
Rock Island Armory MS 1911 (22tcm) – 2lb 12oz average with a low of 2lb 10oz
Rock Island Armory MS 1911 (9mm) – 3lb 13oz average with a low of 3lb 8 oz
UPDATE 2:
I measured my Glock 22 Gen 3 police trade-in (has a 5 lb trigger):
Glock 22 Gen 3 (40 S&W) – 4lb 10.8oz average of 5 with a low of 4lb 4.9oz
Springfield Armory XD45 Mod.2 Subcompact – 5lb 0.1oz average with a low of 4lb 10oz
I went to the range for a quick visit today. I brought two 1911s this time: my RIA midsized 1911 in 9mm and the Metro Arms AC Commander 45.
The first thing I did was fire 50 rounds from the 1911 that was a solid shooter (the 9mm)…it ate all the ammo without issue, but at first I was shooting very low left with it as well. See the picture’s captioning.
I started at the left corner, then went to the right corner, then stopped because I wasn’t hitting point of aim (the red). When I did very slow trigger pulls when aiming at the center target, I hit point of aim. I’m having issues with the 1911 trigger…it wasn’t the Metro Arms that was the issue. That was at 7 yards.
I then began to focus on my trigger pull. I still had trouble trying to figure out which part of the finger to use, but I found that if I shot slowly, I was dead-on. I went through most of a box of ammo pretty much hitting point of aim. It’s an issue of me not being used to the trigger mechanics of a 1911.
I also had two light strikes, which was weird…I’ve not had such issues before. They both fired when I reloaded them into the mags.
Ammo was Remington UMC 115-grain FMJ.
I then went to my trouble-maker 1911. I had no issues aiming after my 50-round session with the 9mm 1911, although my hands were sweaty and I ended up using gloves.
This is MUCH better than my last range visit, when I was hitting very low left and not being even close to center target.
I also shot 49 rounds of Geco 230-grain FMJ without ANY feed/extract issues. There was 50 in the box…yeah, I had one issue where the round didn’t extract (this is a first…this gun has an exclusive history of not feeding properly). But one in 50 is NOT bad, especially when I was having feed issues several times (ie, 2-3) with each magazine. I think the extractor needs to be replaced, but the tuning I did on it helped a LOT!
So, I’m glad I sorted these issues out. I think I’ll put the 1911s away for a while, because they don’t shoot like my other guns and I don’t want my muscle memory getting mucked up.
Oh yeah, I decided to shoot some extra ammo I had sitting around (Remington HTP 147-grain JHP subsonic). I shot 50 rounds of it through my Grand Power P11. The P11 did NOT like that ammo at all. There were lots of failures to return to battery, so much that I was hitting the back of the slide almost as much as I was pulling the trigger. I thought that HTP wouldn’t be as bad as UMC…I was wrong. I need to remind myself to not shoot Remington out of the Grand Power. EVERY time I do, I’m disappointed.
All of those are listed on Gun Broker. There were at least 7-10 of them listed, but most were over-priced. I only listed those that were under MSRP, but I did list the Combat Plus because many people are asking where to find those models and supply is scarce.
Also, a few weeks ago, I ended up taking my Metro Arms 1911 (the American Classic Commander, specifically) and my Sig SP2022 9mm to the local range.
I also ended up putting 50 rounds of American Eagle 124-grain through my current carry gun, the Grand Power P11, just to test to see if it was still having issues returning to battery (it ate all 50 rounds without issue). I’m currently at 582 total rounds through that gun.
7 yards out, American Eagle 124-grain, Grand Power P11
The SP2022 ate 60 rounds without issue. That handgun is fantastic and is extremely easy to shoot accurately. I’m at 279 rounds through the barrel with NO issue whatsoever.
7 yards, Remington UMC 147-grain flat-nosed FMJ, Sig SP2022 9mm
The Metro Arms has been problematic. I shot 48 rounds through this gun this session and had many failures to feed. In fact, when I go through my range log, This gun has a history of failing. It isn’t the mags that are causing the issue (it happens with all three mags and two of them are new and from Wilson Combat). I actually searched and found that this is more than likely an extractor issue. I checked and found it was too loose. I tightened it up and now need to revisit the range to test to see if that helps. If it doesn’t, I’m going to buy a new recoil spring and extractor. That should fix the issue. Another thing of note is that the feed ramp has some major abrasions from the last range visit when I shot Tula through it…it did NOT like Tula and I’d made a note of it (and the feed ramp) in my range log. I shouldn’t need to polish the ramp with so little ammo through the gun, especially since the ramp had a mirror finish when I received the gun. The gun only has 188 rounds through the gun.
7 yards, Winchester White Box 230-gr FMJ, Metro Arms ACC45, one FTE (24 rounds total)
As well, the point of impact is not hitting where I’m aiming (I’m aiming for the red with the front sight covering the X. One thing I neglected to check was my trigger finger placement and how I was actuating the trigger.
I may visit the range tonight just to test the 1911.
I still haven’t shot my AR-15 yet, either. I’m saving that for Father’s Day. 🙂
Man, I had issues getting the grip screws out of the bushings. The bushings kept coming out with the screws. They’re supposed to stay in place. I tried various methods of getting them out but I eventually ended up really tightening the screws and then suddenly loosening them, breaking the tight seal in the process.
Also, the new grips (VZ Walkure olive green) were not plug-n-play. They required some slight grinding on the left side, on top. That was due to the extended slide lock and extended safety. You can’t tell that I grinded them. Note that I also had to the the same to the OEM grips…I had to grind the left top side to accommodate the extended safety, as well.
These grips are not as aggressive as my VZ G10s that are on my Rock Island Armory 1911s, but I do notice a definite improvement in grip. A range session is in order! 🙂
Last night I visited Elite Shooting Sports to shoot my .22TCM MS 1911 and Metro Arms ACC .45ACP 1911.
First, I started out with the .22TCM 1911. I was immediately accurate with it (well, accurate enough considering I’d not shot it since April 2015, I was shooting it pretty well):
From 7 yards
I then moved the target out and focused on the head:
From 10 yards
I then moved to the .45ACP and didn’t fare as well. The last time I fired this handgun was Feb 2015:
7 yards out
The recoil took me aback. Now, when I first shot this gun, it felt great in my hands. For some reason, it didn’t feel great this time around, but this could be because I’d just shot the .22TCM 1911, which has VZ grips. It could also be because I’m more used to 9mm now (this gun has substantial push/recoil, even with it being a beaver-tailed). Here’s more:
I stayed 7 yards out, since I was having issues putting lead onto the bulls-eye
I can’t understand what I was doing wrong. Yes, I’m aware of target analysis and what it means when I’m grouping to the lower left of the target. I actually took my time with several magazines to ensure I was properly actuating the trigger, but I was still hitting lower left. Although I was able to touch the bulls-eye, I wasn’t able to do it consistently. I couldn’t hit the head of the target, either.
I was using TulAmmo and Winchester white box JHP. The TulAmmo was inconsistent, power-wise, as I noticed that the slide moved slowly many times, so I switched to the Winchester and noticed less of that, but only shot maybe 25 rounds of it. I still wasn’t hitting where I wanted, but at least the slide was acting normally when the gun went BANG. Another thing — this gun does NOT like TulAmmo. The ammo kept hanging on the feed ramp. I didn’t notice this when I first shot it back in February.
Here are my range notes from February:
Half of the ammo was Remington UMC (green/white box). 47 of it was Perfecta FMJ. I had 3 x FTEs with the black (original) mag.
This gun is FUN to fire! The recoil is much less than the P220. It is also very controllable, aim-wise — I nailed the bulls-eye several times and the majority of my hits were toward the middle when compared to the groupings of the other guns I’ve fired.
Back to this range visit. The Winchester JHP did fine, but TulAmmo is dirty as hell…the feed ramp was heavily covered in carbon. I can polish the feed ramp but I won’t. I just won’t shoot TulAmmo as defensive ammo…that’s the best solution. It’s the ammo, not the gun, and since this is practice ammo, it’s all good.
Very odd failure to extract situation here…I had to drop the mag to clear it (it wouldn’t rack back).
I had several FTEs in Feb that I attributed to a possible mag issue. I think that was a wrong assessment, since the mag would have nothing to do with any problems after the round has been fired. I also had several FTEs with this range visit (2-3). All of it was with the TulAmmo. None of the Winchester FTE’d. A friend suggested I was limp-wristing. I don’t think I’ve ever limp-wristed a big caliber handgun before…I don’t think it’s happening now, either, but I’m not sure how to test for that, but like I said, none of the other ammo failed to extract. I’m going to attribute this to the the TulAmmo.
Lesson learned – don’t shoot TulAmmo from this gun!
Notice in my notes that I had no issues controlling the gun, I was able to nail the bulls-eye several times, and most of the rounds were hitting toward the middle. What has changed? The ammo? My perceptions on this gun’s recoil? I’ll admit, when I first pulled the trigger, the recoil caught me off-guard (I’m used to firing 9mm). It could’ve ruined the rest of my session with this gun. Should I keep practicing with it? I’m not planning to carry any of my .45ACP handguns, so it’s not essential that I train with this particular gun. It’s a range gun, for now, but it does bug me that I can’t put lead on target with this gun like I can with my other handguns. I just might change the grips, though (to a set of VZ grips).
And then, when I went back to my .22TCM, I found that I couldn’t hit anywhere near where I was aiming, when I had such a good session with it at the beginning of the range session. I fired 25 rounds before deciding to quit for the night…I left the range in a bit of a fog. I’m not sure why my aim was so jacked up after switching up guns…maybe I was slapping the trigger or maybe I the gun wasn’t properly centered in my hands…I don’t know.
If you hate using a paper clip to break down your bull-barreled Rock Island Armory 1911, then this video might be of assistance to you.
My 9mm Tactical II (non-railed 9mm 1911) is bull-barreled and requires a paper clip when field stripping the gun (per the operator manual). My 22TCM Ultra does not, and it comes with a 9mm barrel (not a bull barrel, though).
I’ve not tried the method in the video yet, but using the paper clip isn’t a huge deal for me.
