Practice

I'll be reloading for it if I get it. And casting.
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Regardless, Reloading doesn't = free. larger bullet = more lead, larger case = more powder etc. 9mm is ideal for those learning to shoot. Get a 9mm 1911 even better.
 
I'm 67, (almost 68) and my first handgun was a Ruger Super Single Six convertable.
Dad bought it for me with money I saved doing farm work for neighbors.
I have no idea how many thousands of rounds I shot thru that fine revolver but I got quite good with it. I'd say what I could do with it way back then but many wouldn't believe me.
By the way. The R.I.A. is a fine 1911. I bought my first one 5 yrs ago for $300 bucks & the former owner must not have believed in cleaning a gun.
I shot it the way I got it and it ran just fine. ( I cleaned it later & it ws filthy.)
I liked it so much I bought one in 9mm for my youngest boy when he was 11.
Both run great & are good pistols.
About airsoft & CO2 for practice. You go ahead and shoot them all you want as it will improve your abilities a great deal. Sight picture & trigger control are the same no matter what you shoot. My oungeset son shoot CO2 guns a lot, handguns & air rifle. I practice with CO2 in my basement when the outside weather is too awful to go out & shoot.
You want some .45 a.cp. brass?????? How many?
I'm guessing it's legal for me to give you brass isn't it? if not someone please speak up.
How 'bout 4/500 pcs of clean shiney .45?
PM your addy & I'll get 'em shipped via bulk rate mail.
PM how old you are also please & be sure it's o.k with your parents?
 
Good grief

Mosin has made his decision, let him be. A 1911 is learnable for anyone. It is shootable by anyone. If he reloads, it is affordable.

DO NOT let them dissuade you from your choice. Do as we all do. Buy it. If you don't like it, sell it and get something else. ABOVE ALL don't fret or worry about it.

Pico
 
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If one has proper grip, a nice Pachmyer rubber grips, and decent hand/arm strength, .45acp in a 1911 is no problem.

If one is a wimp, one will have trouble with it.


Here's the most important thing one needs...
Eagle Claw Exerciser
th


Second, hand weights.
I suggest adjustable, like the Weider's...
60bb96d5f5db540e1af2f0a932e671ed.jpg


Serious pistoleer's know that hand strength is key. Just ask Jerry Miculek.


Even if not optimal, its a start. Everyone should have at least one .45acp, one .22lr, and one 9mm in their arsenal.
RIA makes 'em inexpensively enough that he can afford BOTH in time...

Reloading one's own ammo is more important with .45 due to cost...
the recent ammo unpleasantness boosted prices quite a bit, so now reloading
your own is no longer just a nice thing to do, its a serious money saver.
Take some time to study up on it. Its a great thing to do :)
 
venom said:
I wouldnt say that getting a 1911 as a first semi auto handgun would be a bad start. You just need to learn how it works and that's it same as any gun. Nothing huge.

I wouldn't recommend the caliber to start out with either. larger bullets cost more. If I was learning to shoot today I could barely afford .22 ammo I doubt i could shell out 50 bucks for a mere 100 45acp rounds.
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This ^. Learning to shoot on a 1911 my be more maintenance intensive but it requires you to learn the weapon your operating and that is a good thing.

I agree cost effective wise 45acp is pretty rough. I don't think it kicks that bad though honestly. I'm a moderate handgun shooter. The first handgun I ever fired was a glock 21. Loved it. Granted it didn't fit me so I can't control it that well, I enjoy my M&P40 even more. That gun is like an extension of the hand for me. 9mm wouldn't hurt to start on but I don't think 45 is going to substantially hurt the OP. It's just not like rifles IMO but it certainly varies from person to person. Out of the handguns I've shot I shoot my M&P40 and the 1911 I fired the best. 10X better than I can shoot my 9mm S&W 6906. He will just have to see for himself. Let him fire a 45 1911 and if it's too much look at the 9mm Springfield range officer
 
If I shoot steel cased (don't have a problem with steel cased) Ammo is $15/50 at walmart. I don't plan on doing 600 round sessions like a competition shooter.
 
I need to move to north crackalacky, at our walmart tula 9mm isn't even 15 dollars. the best deal I've found on 45ACP was actually at PSA during their daily deal yesterday, american eagle, 18 bucks a box.
 
Mosin-Marauder said:
Hello All, as some of you (most of you) already know, I'm going to be getting a new Pistol in the near future, a RIA 1911 in .45 (I'd prefer if we could not discuss my choice, thank you). Since it will be several months before I get the actual gun, I figured this would be a good way to practice in absence of an actual firearm. I have this all-metal 1911 Co2 Airsoft gun with (pretty much) all the function of the RIA 1911, Grip Safety, Ambi-Safety, Slide-Stop, and it is blowback, so the slide actually serves a purpose. I got it when I was younger, and I was wondering if this would be good practice before I got the actual gun. I'd like your opinions on this, thank you.
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First, allow me to suggest that you register for the forum at www.m1911.org. That's where the 1911 experts hang out.

Back to your question: Would an airsoft be good practice before you get the actual pistol?

Answer: Yes ... and no.

I'm a "1911 guy." I was introduced to it in the Army during the Vietnam unpleasantness, and to me it's the quintessential semi-automatic handgun. I won't argue with your choice, since it's a great choice for a first 1911. I hope, however, that you're getting the Tactical model, not the GI model. The sights on the Tactical are infinitely better.

A few years ago, a shooter from either Japan or China came to the U.S. for one of the national shooting competitions, either IPSC or IDPA (sorry, don't remember), and he placed very well. The interesting thing is that he wasn't allowed to shoot real guns in his country, so his practice was entirely with airsofts. Trigger time is trigger time, and some is almost always better than none. (The exception is when you manage to practice bad habits, and more practice makes it more difficult to unlearn the bad habits).

Sight picture, breathing, and trigger discipline are always the same. A lot of shooters don't even use airsofts -- they dry fire hundreds or even thousands of rounds for every one round of live fire.

The flip side is that an airsoft has NO recoil. From that perspective, it doesn't fully prepare you for the "real thing." The .45 ACP is not a wimpy cartridge. It's not a wrist-breaker like the .500 S&W, but it's a far cry from aan airsoft. I own several airsoft 1911s, as well as a couple of all-metal 1911 BB guns, and a couple of .22 caliber 1911s. Even the .22s, for all that they're fun to shoot, aren't the same as shooting a full-power .45 ACP.

Don't get me wrong -- the .45 doesn't punish you, but there's a lot more recoil and muzzle rise, and you initially won't be able to stay on target or get right back on target with the real gun like you can with an airsoft or a .22.

In your thread discussing stock refinishing, you wrote that you're impatient. Do NOT be impatient when you transition to the .45. Don't rush your shots, and don't think you have to be able to do accurate double and triple taps immediately. You have to learn to walk before you can run. Focus on single shots, making each shot as good as possible. Grip, trigger, breathing, sight picture. Once you have mastered shooting one shot at a time, you can move up to double taps. Don't even think about it for at least a year -- you'll just pick up bad habits and start jerking the trigger.

Get yourself a Gripmaster. It can be used to strengthen your hand's grip strength, which is important. More important, the Gripmaster allows you to flex each finger independently, so you can practice gripping with three fingers while moving the trigger finger independently from the other three. You can buy them on-line or in good music stores that sell guitars.

gripmaster-light.png


http://www.gripmaster.com.au/index1.htm

Mosin-Marauder said:
If I shoot steel cased (don't have a problem with steel cased) Ammo is $15/50 at walmart. I don't plan on doing 600 round sessions like a competition shooter.
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Steel cased ammo is not reloadable, and most 1911 guys won't let it touch their guns. I once had a whole case of it, and I gave it to a cousin rather than take a chance on injuring one of my babies. Yeah, I know there are people who think it's fine, but the 1911 was designed to shoot brass-cased ammo. And there's no getting around the fact that steel cased ammo cannot be reloaded.
 
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Come on down tahunua! :D

And Aguila, thank you for posting. I appreciate your response, as for the steel cased ammo, I have Brass coming tomorrow for reloading. Steel Cased will just be for when I want to plink/practice, brass cased for training.
 
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I don't think the .45 ACP is too much gun for a beginner, but given a choice I would suggest working up a bit more, going to .38 Special or 9mm first. Still, it is not as bad as the blankety blank people who give a 12 year old a .44 Magnum and then laugh as the kid's desire to shoot is completely destroyed by the blast and recoil.

The trouble with auto pistols is that there is a fairly narrow range of functionality; with a revolver you can go from "barely out of the barrel" to maximum; with an autoloader, there is not that range.

FWIW, I don't necessarily consider a CO2 or air gun a trainer, though one can be used for that; it is more a sport tool in itself, for those days when the range is closed or too far to drive.

Jim
 
You are going to run into some age associated problems, and those are not your fault. You got into an Appleseed which taught you the fundamentals of rifle shooting, but when it comes to a handgun there really isn't an equivalent for someone your age, and small inconsistencies or errors in everything from your grip to your stance are going to be magnified incredibly when it comes to a handgun over a rifle. Dry fire is going to be one of your best friends, however ONLY PERFECT PRACTICE makes perfect, you have to be practicing everything right, and only some real instruction will get you there. Since the majority of those classes have an age restriction, start watching IPSC and IDPA videos online and watch every aspect of the shooter, from their grip to their stance, how their heads line up with their hands, their foot position, etc, and try to emulate it. Do that with your CO2 pistol and do it as often as possible, and focus on every single aspect of your body before you squeeze the trigger.
 
Some 3 gun and IDPA competitors use them for training. The draw, reload, arm extension, and general point shooting is pretty much the same. You have to be realistic about what they can and can't teach you.

As far as gun choice: try to shoot some guns before buying one. .45 is not unmanageable but certainly has a pop and can lead to some bad habits like flinching if you're not careful. It can be hard to learn on if you don't have quality guidance -- although that's true of any round.

Have you considered a 1911 in 9mm?
 
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