EXTENDED MAGAZINES

A friend asks: "What's your view on restoring the ban on extended magazines? Sounds reasonable doesn't it?"

My answer? - Ask this question to the people living on the border at high-level crossing points in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

A ban on extended magazines is not at all reasonable at all, for several reasons:

1) The right to self-defense is a fundamental human right, and as such is codified under our Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment specifies a tactical capability - i.e. the citizenry is armed for military purposes. The way it reads, we should actually be armed & trained just like the citizenry in Switzerland, and Israel.

The female of the species is more deadly than the male.

2) High-capacity magazines do not determine a firearm's lethality - marksmanship does. Ask anybody who has served in Africa; the safest place to be when they're shooting at you is right in the middle of the street. African soldiers are notorious for closing their eyes when they pull the trigger and they simply do not aim their shots - and AK-47s have 30-round magazines! Lincoln, on the other hand, was killed with a single-shot derringer. Oswald shot Kennedy with an Italian M91 Carcano rifle, which has a six-round magazine. Sirhan Sirhan killed Bobby Kennedy with a .22 caliber Iver-Johnson Cadet eight-round revolver.

Carcano 91-24 Carbine

3) Weapons bans achieve nothing. The UK has total gun control, and yet for three decades a full-scale guerrilla conflict raged within the borders of the British Isles - combat which featured military assault rifles, belt-fed automatic weapons, even mortars and rockets.

Northern Ireland, UK, circa 1969-1997

Another island nation, Japan, has full arms control - it's illegal to possess even swords; unless you're a member of the Yakuza, that is. During my time in Okinawa a gang war raged, which was okay as long as it was merely 'kuzas killing 'kuzas. Then one day a little girl got caught in the cross-fire and the local government stepped in to put a damper on things.

4) Partial weapons bans symbolically target 'cosmetic' portions of weaponry - magazine capacities, bayonet lugs, pistol grips - yet they actually serve a more sinister purpose; as stepping stones toward total gun control, as exists in places like Illinois, New York, Washington DC and Massachusetts. Gun control laws in these places constrain law-abiding citizens while the criminals continue to arm themselves with anything and everything available.

5) When and if the day ever comes where you have to defend yourself and your family - Heaven forbid - you will want the highest capacity magazines available. It is not High Noon; in a situation, the trained marksman seeks cover and puts as many rounds downrange as possible.

My personal weapon of choice in a fight to the death? I'd start with a late 60s-era muscle car - the automobile has killed more people than any single weapon known to man AND it serves a dual purpose as a convenient form of transportation to distance yourself from the threat. Short of that option, I personally prefer the Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun. Absolutely devastating at the close ranges of your typical home defense situations; the five-round tube magazine is enough to provide a merciless hail of ball and/or slug (I modified my 870 to carry seven rounds because I belong to the more-is-better school of thought).

Remington 870 12-gauge pump shotgun

Of course it's not practical to tote a shotgun around town - although it IS legal to keep one in the car, in every state in the Union. My regular carry piece is the venerable M1911 - with the standard 7-round magazine - I make up for lack of magazine capacity by toting extra mags. I know, I know - this contradicts item 5) above; I carry the .45 for two reasons: A) I'm a member of a Cult, and B) because they don't make a 46.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.


SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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PROJECT STORMBRINGER

In 1926, original design was improved, following the recommendations of the US Army Ordnanve Dept. These changes incorporate the following items (see picture above):
1. Wider front sight
2. Longer hammer spur
3. Shorter trigger
4. Curved spring housing
5. Simplified grip panels checkering
6. Index finger reliefs behind the trigger
7. Longer grip-safety spur


Yesterday's post on the 1911 proved to be one of the most popular of all time - if not in actual number of hits, certainly by number of replies. This response seems to reinforce the sentiment that to this day the M1911 remains of the most popular handgun designs of all time . . .


M1911 vs. M1911A1



The amount of knowledge and breadth of experience displayed by readership in comments did not surprise me - I figured there are some knowledgeable individuals out there; it's a pleasure to know you read Blog STORMBRINGER. Very well, yesterday's post started as answered a few questions, today I might have a few questions for YOU . . .


I've been looking for a challenge for some time now; the 1911 posts grew out of a conversation I'd been having with my brother, who is in the market for a new gun. After going around about price versus quality, I suggested it would be fun for us to BUILD our own 1911's . . . of course right after that crossed my mind, it occurred to me there's a gigantic resource of knowledge & wisdom out there for us to tap into . . .

I'm talking about YOU of course, the readers (and occasional contributors to) Blog STORMBRINGER.



Colt Government model Series 80 .45ACP



OK now time is getting late and I've got to hit the road. I'm looking for suggestions on where to start - frame & slide. The Sean Linnane 1911 will be utilitarian in nature, as true to the original M1911 / M1911A1 as possible.



Customized Colt Government model Series 80 .45ACP


We can build this thing together, and track the progress right here on the blog! I want to start with a single-stack frame (because if you need more than a couple of seven-round magazines you're in the wrong movie, Cowboy) - I'm going out here for suggestions or advice on which frame reader's prefer, mainspring, etc. The trigger group & barrel are the heart & soul of the gun of course; I'd like to know your advice on sights and grips as well.



Custom M1911 clone, made on STI frame and Colt slide .45ACP



I look forward to hearing what you've all got to say . . .

- Sean Linnane


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AUTOMATIC PISTOL, CALIBER .45, M1911

Yesterday's post on the venerable M1911 generated a couple of replies that merit answering:

RTLM said:It's billed as an "entry level" 1911. What would be an example of a non-entry level 1911?


SEAN LINNANE: When you buy your basic M1911 brand new what you get right out of the box is essentially a platform to "build up" on. Over the last half of the twentieth century professional soldiers, lawmen, gunsmiths, metallurgists, competition shooters and others combined their shared experience and energies to make the M1911 lighter, more accurate with better sights and match grade trigger, ambidextrous thumb safeties, beavertail grip safety and beveled magazine well; they sought to make it able to handle modern hollowpoint ammunition reliably via polished feed ramp and flared ejection port.

In the Pro CDP II, Kimber brought back the longer trigger and flat mainspring housing of the M1911.

The Para GI Expert I featured yesterday has a suggested retail price of $599 - if you shop around you can get your hands on an M1911 for less than $500. A tricked out 1911 with all the bells and whistles can take you into the $1500 real fast; so for many the plan is to get yourself into the game with a starter kit and work up from there.


Toaster 802 said: I had a Colt once. I had always wanted a 1911, but when my uncle saw it he laughed at me. He said don't bother reloading, just throw it at enemy. "Your last round might just hit something."

Then when I shot it I knew why he was busting my stones. It was all over the place. Box after box. after a while I switched to a 220. Better fit for me and mine.


SEAN LINNANE: The first 1911 I carried in the Army was made by the Singer Sewing Machine Company; it was World War II-era issue and it rattled like a tool box full of wrenches. I could barely hit the broadside of a barn with it - from the inside - but my platoon sergeant was okay with that because he told me I was only expected to engage targets within 1 meter with it - anything beyond that distance I was supposed to engage with the M60.

Since that time long ago, I learned a thing or two about the mechanical side of firearms; how to slap in new parts and tighten up an old gun, and how to "stroke" a new gun to make it operate smooth and feed reliably.


M1911A1 .45 cal. automatic pistol, cut away to show internal parts.


Bear in mind that the US Army's premier combat unit - 1st SFOD-D - a.k.a. "Delta Force" - carries M1911s.

Many military and law enforcement organizations in the United States continue to use (often modified) M1911A1 pistols because they favor the stopping power of the .45 cartridge and the superior handling of the weapon in close fighting. Marine Force Recon, Los Angeles Police Department Special Weapons and Tactics, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team are among them.


A III Marine Expeditionary Force, Dynamic Assault Course student reassembles his upgraded M1911A1 .45 cal. pistol, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, 9 July 2008.

The Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) pistol is an enhanced combat .45 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, built on the M1911A1 frame but incorporating special features and components selected to meet MEU requirements.

Marine Expeditionary Units formerly issued M1911s to Force Recon units. Hand-selected Colt M1911A1 frames were gutted, deburred, and prepared for additional use by the USMC Precision Weapon Section (PWS) at Marine Corps Base Quantico. They were then assembled with after-market grip safeties, ambidextrous thumb safeties, triggers, improved high-visibility sights, accurized barrels, grips, and improved Wilson magazines. These hand-made pistols were tuned to specifications and preferences of end users.

In the late 1980s, the Marines laid out a series of specifications and improvements to make Browning's design ready for 21st century combat, many of which have been included in MEU(SOC) pistol designs, but design and supply time was limited.

In response to this demand, Kimber shortly began producing a limited number of what evolved into the Interim Close Quarters Battle pistol (ICQB). Maintaining the simple recoil assembly, 5-inch barrel (though using a stainless steel match grade barrel), and internal extractor, the ICQB is not much different from Browning's original design.

The final units as issued to MCSOCOM Det-1 are the Kimber ICQBs with Surefire IMPL (Integrated Military Pistol Light), Dawson Precision Rails, Tritium Novak LoMount sights, Gemtech TRL Tactical Retention Lanyards, modified Safariland 6004 holsters, and Wilson Combat '47D' 8 round magazines. They have reportedly been used with over 15,000 rounds apiece.






I can assure you that a trained pistol marksman is capable of putting all rounds into a four-inch circle at ten-to-fifteen meters with a .45 - and I'll shoot for beer with anybody; my .45 against whatever you got.

It's amazing what can be done to what is basically a machine; I've even seen a fully automatic version of the M1911 in the Philippines. The thing fed off modified M3 "Grease Gun" magazines - talk about spray and pray!





This is the second in my series of posts commemorating the upcoming Centennial the M1911 - the definitive sidearm of the American Fighting Man . . . Sean Linnane

SHOOT LIKE AN EXPERT

The following is the start of a series of posts to commemorate the upcoming Centennial of the Grandaddy of the modern semi-automatic pistol - the Venerable M1911 - I carry one and so should every law-abiding citizen - it is THE definitive sidearm of the American Fighting Man . . . Sean Linnane

GI Expert: Shoot Like an Expert





The latest incarnation of John Moses Browning's gift to Western Civilization is from Para USA, based out of Pineville NC, near Charlotte and about an hour away from my house - S.L.





GI Expert Specifications:

Model Name: GI Expert™
Caliber: .45 ACP
Barrel: 5 inches, stainless steel
Twist: 1 in 16 inches, left-hand
Action: Single-action, Semi-automatic
Sights: Dovetail Fixed, 3-White Dot
Receiver: Carbon Steel
Trigger: Medium length
Hammer: Skeletonized Spur
Magazine: 8-round with removable base pad
Overall Length: 8.5 inches
Height: 5.75 inches
Weight: 39 ounces
Finish: Covert Black Para Kote™
Stocks: Checkered Polymer
Safeties: Slide Lock, Internal Firing Block, Grip
Additional Features: Lowered and flared ejection port, beveled magazine well, flat mainspring housing, grip safety contoured for spur hammer
Product Code: GI45





Read this excellent review by Harwood Loomis, editor of M1911.org . . .


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