Breaking in 1911, broke my wrist. Preventing injuries

I remember my younger years in which I could shoot all day long and would frequently burn thru 500 rounds in a single range session, sometimes even a full 1k. (Blazer ammo was really cheap back then)

Life got in the way of my regular shooting, and I find myself flinching. I know I need to get back into it, go every other week, and NOT over do it. Limit myself to a box or two of ammo, not a full can. I also make sure I switch between the 1911 and the Sig 228.

And if I shoot anything else (rifles, center and rimfire) its typically less than 200 rounds each. I have come to enjoy a half day at the range where I can shoot at my leisure and not rush my trigger time.

TxFlyFish, ice your wrist down, take ibuprofen or aleve or whatever, assuming you are exaggerating that your wrist is 'broken'. :D
 
Hahaha thanks guys, my wrist is eh not sure prob sprained but my ego is broken. Humbling experience owned by a what I considered watered down mix of federal champion, umc, wwb 45acp. I mean 45 should be nothing right? I was loading 3 mags at a time and taking little breaks to allow the gun to cool off. I didn’t want to pay for extra range fees and wanted to be done in 2 hours.

Ill take the advice And take a break to rest my hand and arm...experience from other activities have shown me to rest at the earliest sign of injury and rest more than expected. I just didn’t expect it from shooting, especially from puff 45 loads. If anything I’ll have more respect for the 45 acp

And oh yea on the subject of the 1911, it’s fit very tight and was recommended I run 500rds without field strip or run it til it bogs down. I know, I know a loose Colt would not have needed break in

I’ll try loosening thumb pressure on the safety. I usually have pretty firm grip and with more thumb pressure it felt like jamming my hand against the beaver tail
 
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Sounds like fatigue... maybe get one of those balls you squeeze to strengthen your hand and wrist.
Your might be using muscles in your hand and wrist that you dont normally use
 
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That’s what I am suspecting as well or maybe at least part of the reason. Even though this is my 3rd 1911, I don’t shoot them very often. Placing my thumb over the thumb safety locks my wrist over the pivot point of the gun. Basically all the upwards recoil is directly transferred over the wrist whether my wrist likes it or not...the thumb is locked on the safety. Great for the first 50 rounds keeping the gun locked on the target...not so great when your wrist gives out
 
Once introduced to the 45ACP around 1980 my round count skyrocketed. IMO offers the right balance of challenging to shoot well, ease of reloading, lead bullet friendly in terms of few issues and cost.

Most of all it's just fun to shoot. Moderate girp hold with arm(s) extended but still bent, letting the pistol recoil. Fatique in the form of shaking happens after 100 rounds or so making it more challenging for a session of usually 200 rounds or a max of 400. I'd imagine my round count would be much less if some form of bracing were used.

I sprung my wrist many years ago by holding the pistol tilted 90degrees to the right using the right hand. At times felt pain in the wrist when the wrist was in a certain position and over the years has deminished greatly. Now about as good as new/normal.

New issue, have really bad cataract in right eye. Said to be of trama.
 
I find this hard to comprehend. My daughter shot 400 rounds out of my M1911 when she was 12 years old...

After that I had to be sure I cranked out plenty of reloads before we went to the range so I could shoot too...

Tony
 
How old are you? What kind of shape are you in? Not trying to be funny. As one ages, the body's repair ability declines a lot. 3 days is a long time to be sore from a couple hundred rounds of 45 and it does sound like a nerve issue. I know when I shoot full power 357 loads from a snub, I start getting shaky after a few boxes.

I would recommend a visit to the doc to rule out nerve issues. Second, think about shooting with fingerless gloves.
 
I find this hard to comprehend. My daughter shot 400 rounds out of my M1911 when she was 12 years old...
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Ever kept up with a 12 year old for a day at a water park or amusement park? The next morning they are just all set to go and you can barely get out of bed.

Or watched them fall of a bike, skateboard, motorcycle, horse, etc.? Notice they (most of the time) bounce right up and try it again. I would be laying on the ground contemplating my sins and wondering if I should call an ambulance or not.

12 year olds are different than most of us.
 
Lohman446 said:
Ever kept up with a 12 year old for a day at a water park or amusement park? The next morning they are just all set to go and you can barely get out of bed.

Or watched them fall of a bike, skateboard, motorcycle, horse, etc.? Notice they (most of the time) bounce right up and try it again. I would be laying on the ground contemplating my sins and wondering if I should call an ambulance or not.

12 year olds are different than most of us.
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She's 36 now and can still shoot that many rounds. She's also very good with a M1911. Her ex was a Marine and I loaned her my M1911 to go shooting with him and his buddies. She out shot all of them and embarrassed them all so bad they wouldn't go shooting with her again. She wasn't the one that told me, this it was her ex...

Tony
 
If your wrist is injured, shooting that many rounds can injure it further. I was very concerned about that myself when I broke my arm 9 months ago. I touched wheels when I was riding with my buddy and went down hard on my arm. I hyper-extended 3 fingers, my wrist, and my elbow. It caused chip fractures in my fingers and my elbow. It was only given a partial cast due to concerns about swelling, but was only in a cast for about 6 weeks. I took about 2 months off from the range before seeing how my arm would handle it. I stuck with 9mm first, but have since fired .45 acp, .357 mag, and .44 mag.

Take it slowly and stop when your body tells you to. While some people have the mentality to always push through pain, pain is there to let us know that doing damage to our bodies. When necessary, I understand that we need to push through pain. I used to inline skate a lot with my dog. She loved to run and that was the only way to keep up. My knee was bothering me, but I decided to go anyway. I ended up getting severe tendinitis and my knee swelled up to the size of a large grapefruit. I feel I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this pain was pretty freaking bad.

Listen to your body unless you HAVE TO push through. Shoot a box or two and call it a day. Going 250 rounds in one go on an injured wrist is a good way to injure your wrist further and possibly cause some permanent damage. Now if someone is shooting at you and you need to shoot back, to hell with your wrist. Your life is more important.
 
A good friend of mine was a competitive bullseye and bowling pin comp shooter who developed micro fractures in his shooting hand. It’s not quite as painful to shoot now as it once was but these days he has to shoot bunny fart reloads in revolvers most of the time.
 
Break-in Proceedure

Not to change the subject (okay, maybe a little), but I don't think shooting 500 straight rounds is a good way to break in a 1911.

I always did it (I have three 1911's) in 150-175 round increments. 150, clean; 150, clean; 150, clean.

About shooting 250 and getting the shakes: It can happen. That's about my max with a 1911 and hardball ammo. I can go 300 with target 200 LSWC's. A 1911 is not a magnum revolver; but it still has a fairly stout recoil.

Stretching and a little strength training is always helpful. You know, the stuff you don't think about when you're younger.
 
I find this hard to comprehend.
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Me too! In 1978 my wife (who was 30 years old at the time) went to Gunsite for the 250 Basic course. She took her Gold Cup 45 ACP. When she came home with an "E" ticket (graduated as an Expert with the 45 ACP) she was pumped...but uninjured.

Dave
 
I find this hard to comprehend
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Not sure why multiple people have difficulty believing a person could suffer fatigue from shooting. Every individual person has a limit on what they can do. Just because one person can do more doesn't mean that every other person should be able to match that ability.
 
Not sure why multiple people have difficulty believing a person could suffer fatigue from shooting. Every individual person has a limit on what they can do. Just because one person can do more doesn't mean that every other person should be able to match that ability.
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Gun culture. If you can't shoot caliber X (in this case 45) without noticing it then its a great reason to question your ability and, in the case of old gun culture, masculinity. The thing is this line keeps getting moved upward. At one point the .45 was considered a fairly "hard" recoiling round.
 
Is there anything different with this particular 1911? I found that slight changes can really effect how you react to recoil.

My case was with my SP101. I really never had a problem with shooting .357 out of it (just at the range for some fun, train and carry .38 +p). Then I read about the hogue grip for the SP101 that everyone raved about how it reduced the felt recoil of the gun. I bought it and went shooting. Put some .357 through it at the range and after a while my thumb area of my right hand started hurting. Turns out I actually injured my hand pretty good and the doctor thought it was probably the different grip geometry that I wasn't used to. Ended up having to wear a brace for a while and couldn't shoot anything in that time.

Now I pay close attention to my hands when at the range.. any perceived pain and I stop immediately, even if I have time left. Also, That Hogue grip came right off that SP101 and its in the bottom of some drawer somewhere, lol.
 
I’m young and in good shape, but age is catching up and am getting more health conscious. While not experienced in 1911, I have shot plenty of 45 and higher recoil calibers.

Regular extended ambi 1911
 
I generally go to the range to enjoy myself..... My rule is to stop shooting if and when it’s not fun anymore. Normally I shoot two different handguns of different caliber just to keep it interesting. When my groups open up, I know fatigue is setting in.

My advice...... Pace yourself.
 
Age is part of it, and physical conditioning is part of it. TxFlyFish hasn't said how old he is -- arthritis could be starting to rear its ugly head. He also hasn't said how he earns a living -- if he works at a desk job and his wrist(s) don't get much exercise, shooting 250 rounds of .45 ACP in the span of an hour could easily have overstressed muscles that aren't accustomed to that type and level of stress.

Have you ever looked at the people who shoot a LOT? I've met Rob Leatham at the SHOT Show. The man is a giant -- I had seen innumerable photos of him but somehow none next to other people, so nothing to put him in perspective. Rob is BIG.

Todd Jarrett? The man's forearms are bigger than most people's legs.

Travis Thomasie? Same as Todd Jarrett. I've spoken with Travis a number of times, and corresponded with him via e-mail. He trains regularly, with a focus on arm and wrist strength. Unless you are accustomed to shooting that much on a regular basis, I can see how 250 rounds of full-power .45 ACP would bring on some tendonitis in the wrist(s).
 
If I am “old” y’all be ancient ;)

I’m swapping out the grips to Magpul to see if it makes a difference. They’re cheap but feel better than the two pairs of vz (scooped too)
 
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