Nervous new 1911A1 owner

B

Brenda

New member
:D I went and did it.I just hope I made a good choice.Springfield Armory Ultra Compact.
I have no experience with the M1911A1.I was nervous about getting a compact.I keep wondering if I made a mistake.When I picked it up it felt great in my hands and I couldnt believe how easy I lined up the sights.
I have read about the Kimbers,Wilson Combat and Colts but they are out of my price range.
I was wondering if I was going to find one I like and could pay for with the funds I had in my billfold.
What will the recoil be like? I have be shooting a Ruger P89 for a while.Have shot a Rossi 357 mag with a short barrel and a Vaquero 45 Colt.How will it compare with these?
If the weather permits I will find out tomorrow.
One more question.I bought CCI Blazer non-relaodable ammo. Is this a good or bad choice.
 
Congrats on your purchase, the Springfield is a good choice.
The recoil will be a little sharper than the Ruger, but better than a .357 snub. It shouldn't be a problem.
The Blazer is fine practice ammo, but if you will be using it for self defense, I would go with a premium hollowpoint, like the Hydra-Shok, or something similar.
 
When I picked it up it felt great in my hands and I couldnt believe how easy I lined up the sights

And if it shoots as well what else matters?

Congratulations.

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brenda:
:D I went and did it.I just hope I made a good choice.Springfield Armory Ultra Compact.
I have no experience with the M1911A1.I was nervous about getting a compact.I keep wondering if I made a mistake.When I picked it up it felt great in my hands and I couldnt believe how easy I lined up the sights.
I have read about the Kimbers,Wilson Combat and Colts but they are out of my price range.
I was wondering if I was going to find one I like and could pay for with the funds I had in my billfold.
What will the recoil be like? I have be shooting a Ruger P89 for a while.Have shot a Rossi 357 mag with a short barrel and a Vaquero 45 Colt.How will it compare with these?
If the weather permits I will find out tomorrow.
One more question.I bought CCI Blazer non-relaodable ammo. Is this a good or bad choice.[/quote]

I like Triton +P Frangible for defense ammo, although some will disagree with the frangible aspect (not penetrating heavy clothes, etc.). However, in a self defense mode, I expect to be within 5-6 feet of a perp. And the frangible should be relatively safe if you miss your target (read years ago about a shop owner in Baltimore who used a .357 Magnum...he missed the perp and killed or wounded some in the next shop...thru the wall).
As far as the pistol...buddy of mine has one...NICE SHOOTER!! Tad heavy, and I prefer DA for a carry pistol, but the Springfield should do you well for years!
 
Brenda,

Like Lowrider said you should find the recoil to be manageable. Now, if you do run your new pet through the paces tommorow don't just run one or two mags through it. Try to do at least 200 rounds.

This may sound like alot, but I believe this is a must if you really want to get a good idea of how you like your SA and to check out the weapon itself. Happy shooting.
 
Brenda - below are a couple of posts I did earlier that may help you. Felt recoil depends a lot on how you hold the gun and your shooting stance.

Thumb on top of safety - definitely. It helps to control recoil by putting the hand more in line with the bore. The off-hand thumb should be just below and pointing toward the target. Squeeze the palms together like a clam shell
with no gap remaining between the palms or thumbs. Check out this months "American Handgunner" gunzine. There are a several good pictures on pages 39,40,46 and 77.

I have seen lots of instances in competition where the thumb safety was knocked up during recoil by the competitor. It usually happens to new shooters who don't know how to grip 1911 pattern pistols correctly.

The most stable, and perhaps natural, for most people is a boxing stance with your strong side foot a few inches behind your weak side foot. Your feet should be about shoulder width apart. Knees slightly bent. Have your weight a little forward on the balls of your feet. Next, establish your natural point of aim using a modified
isosceles stance for the upper body. This is both arms out straight gripping the gun with a slight flex in the elbows. To determine your natural point of aim, start from the ready position, keep your head up, close your
eyes, and bring the gun up to the shooting position I described above. Open your eyes and look where the front sight is. Move only your rearward (strong side) foot back or forward a few inches pivoting on the other foot to line up the sight with your eyes. Don't move anything else. This is your natural point of aim. When you shoot, align your feet in this position.

Also, CCI Blazer is "hot" ammo. It's loaded to a higher velocity than most other commercial ammo. You can expect more recoil with this ammo. Try several others for a cheaper source of practice ammo like American Eagle, Winchester white box, etc. Use the premium hollowpoint ammo for defensive use. Be sure to shoot several boxes of a particular type to make sure it functions reliably in your gun.
 
Brenda,

The Springfield Ultra-Compact is a really nice gun and you will probably like it a lot. In fact it will more than likely lead to a 1911 addiction and you'll find yourself with several of them in a few years.

I imagine part of the reason it felt so good is the nice set of Hogue rubber grips that come on it. That and the tapered cone (bushingless) barrel makes recoil rather tame since the little gun weighs almost as much as a full size.

A few words of caution...It doesn't field strip like a regular 1911. It's really quite a little bear because of the hefty recoil spring (a requirement on the short 1911's). Also, the recoil spring will need changing about every six months or so - another common requirement for the short guns. If you want to carry it concealed or for personal protection you will probably want to have a smith "de-horn" it. I've got knives that aren't as sharp as some of the edges on a Springfield!

If you have a smith de-horn it, you can ask them to install a full length guide rod with a captured recoil spring system. This makes take down a BREEZE!

Try to find someone who really knows 1911's to take you through your first field strip of the gun. I'm very familiar with 1911's and it was quite a job for me the first time. In fact, it was enough of a job that I had the mods I told you about done to mine...and then more mods...and more...'till now you can hardly recognize it (there's a pic of it in the thread about pics of your carry gun)! But it's still a great gun!

Mikey

[This message has been edited by Mikey (edited January 19, 2000).]
 
Congratulations! Test it out thoroughly! The short 1911's are a bit more finicky that the full size ones, and you don't want it to fail at an embarrassing time. Put at least the 200 rounds noted in the post above through it just to break it in, get used to shooting it, and ascertain reliability. Don't be surprised at a hangup or two in the first 50 rounds or so, but it should smooth out. Reliability above all!

Again congrats and I hope you like it!
 
Brenda, the FIRST thing you should do is FIELD STRIP the gun & clean it off thorougly including the mags !
Y'never know how much preserving grease could be in either the gun or the mags.
Find a 1911@holic (shouldn't be too difficult ;)) & get shown the ropes on how to do it.
Nothing worse than a gun owner who hasn't a clue on how to maintain their pride & joy...
Then come on down to my place & tell the guys what a CRACK SHOT you are !
99% of Lady shooters are really good, 'cause they don't have all that Machismo getting in the way of learning how to shoot correctly ;)
Congrats on a fine choice of sidearm. :)

------------------
"The Gun from Down Under !"
http://www.para1911fanclub.w3.to/
E-mail hotshot_2000@hotmail.com
Alternate E-mail
HS2000@ausi.com
 
Brenda:

I own a V-10, the Springfield Ultra Compact with porting holes in the barrel and slide. I put a regular barrel in mine, but I love the gun. It has taken a little more practice to shoot accurately than larger pistols. My only other complaint is the sharp edges mentioned earlier. But you made a great choice! Enjoy!
 
Thank you all for the help and advise.
NAD Thanks for the info on grip and stance.I need to let you know that I'm a lefty.Moving the mouse on this computer is the only thing I do right handed.
Wonder if any of the folks that are in the pictures of all the different gun mags have any left handed shooters?
Mikey,thanks you letting me know about field stripping it.It doesnt have Hogue rubber grips.It has plastic grips which really doesnt bother me now. I know that in the future I would like to get wood grips for it.
Thanks again for all the help.
 
I'm left handed as well. The grip and stance for a wrong handed shooter would be the opposite from us. That's why we use the terms strong vs. weak hand, etc.
 
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