10-8 Performance

#fortyfivefriday 2024 @springfieldarmoryinc TRP with all the 10-8 upgrades. Please note that 10 round magazines in a .45 1911 are not guaranteed to work in all guns with all ammo. The column of rounds is tall and heavy relative to the design's capability, and increasing the stack of rounds past 7 causes the top round to nose down significantly during feeding. The bullet shape and feed ramp geometry of the particular gun must be compatible for proper feeding. My blanket advice is generally to avoid using 10rd mags in a .45 1911.

@bmitori It's been argued for far longer than that. It was debated in the 80's when I started...

@108Performance I still see "competition will get you kilt in da streetz" sentiments today from some tactical firearms instructors. They tend to be GenX or older. Is it just cope on their part, or was this some common sentiment maybe 20 years ago or something?

A topic that refuses to die is “competition will get you kilt in the streets!” Developing and testing skills via competition is an excellent way to pressure test your abilities. It is neither training in nor application of tactics, not even if your sport thinks it is. Tactical training, whether it is CQB, vehicle stops, tubular target assaults, etc. is primarily focused on problem solving skills. It is not designed to focus on your raw mechanical skills, which are most efficiently built via a separate training block (CQB runs in the house vs flat range movement and shooting drills). I shot USPSA long before I ever started my old job, and continued to compete during my career as time allowed. At no point did a behavior only suitable in a match ever bleed into my work, but instead the experience gave me an edge at work in having a very high level of mechanical skill. Further, I guarantee that no armed professional has ever stood on the line at range day and thought "I hope I don't build too much mechanical skill."

In every class or match that I have ever attended, I typically see a certain amount of correlation between overall shooter skill and the level of function in their gear. Novice level shooters often struggle with gear, and it can be a case of faulty gear holding back their efficiency in performance or their desire to practice. If your pistol malfunctions every other string (because you changed out all the parts and springs or are using weird ammo), you can’t concentrate on performance. In the current market, there are many quality choices of gear to be had. Choose something simple and reliable, then focus on the training before trying to find that perfect spring setup that will surely unlock the next level….or constantly malfunction. Hard to go wrong starting out with a Glock 17 or 19. @trijicon RMR HD

I plan to run my @kimberamerica 2K11 5" at this weekend's @theuspsa match at @sapsa_fl after rediscovering it during testing of the new 2K11 Pro Comp. I wanted a mag well, so I ended up pairing it with this 2019 STI era mag well and grip module that I textured. @supervel 124gr @trijicon SRO 2.5 MOA

Been having fun shooting my @kimberamerica 2K11 5" and 4.25" ported Pro Comp. One of these will be in my holster at this weekend's @theuspsa match at @sapsa_fl. Can you guess which one? @supervel 124gr and @trijicon SRO complete the setups.

Some old school #fortyfivefriday vibes with this pic from 2001, the original @springfieldarmoryinc TRP Operator. This was an early preproduction model that my long time industry friend Dave Williams sent me on loan, and represented the first production model 1911 with an integrated light rail. The market for pistol mounted lights was just beginning to blow up, so the choice was made to add all the rail to allow mounting anything that might come along. The attached light is a @surefire_llc Military Light, and below it is the P111 Nitrolon. At bottom is an Insight Technologies M3. All three lights produced about 60 lumens at a 1hr run time on two 123 batteries.

#tbt Shooting one of the @springfieldarmoryinc 10-8 Master Class pistols with my pals at @lipseysguns earlier this year in preparation for the SHOT Show launch. Who has one?

Bill Drill, 7yds, 6A - 2025 @kimberamerica 2K11 tracks really nice with some @supervel 124gr and @trijicon SRO.

As a logical follow up to yesterday's post about the one pistol for everything, here are a few candidates from my pile that are quite versatile and can stretch from performance shooting to EDC: @staccato2011 HD P4 and C3.6, Glock 19 Gen5, all with @trijicon RMR HD or SRO. Which one would you pick and why? Base pads: 10-8

One of the most common questions I get asked about pistol choices is “which (fill in general gun type) would you choose?” I always then ask “for what?” If the best answer you can muster is “for everything,” then I would suggest that you dig a bit deeper and prioritize your uses so that you can make your best gear choice. A compact pistol that is ideal for EDC might not be as high performing or fun to shoot, and a great range fun gun might not be ideal for duty or defensive use. There are guns which do strike a middle ground, but with some compromise in each use case.

Well this is pretty cool! Just in time for #fortyfivefriday, my new @springfieldarmoryinc @lipseysguns 10-8 Performance Master Class 1911 is featured in the New Handguns section of the May American Rifleman!

#tbt to 2004, testing one of the prototypes of the @surefire_llc MR07 add on light mount with the 60 lumen P111 Nitrolon light. The MR07 was an attempt to retrofit legacy 1911s with an add on light rail which was held on with a unique 2 piece slide stop where the pin and lever were separate parts held together by a C clip. The mount was then tensioned against the trigger guard with a small set screw. On a 1911, the mount was an absolute failure, as the slide stop pin would end up walking out during firing while the lever stayed in place. This would lock the gun up and sometimes require tools to restore function.

When assessing the effect of ports, comps, or barrel weights/sight blocks, get out past 3-5yds to really see what's happening. These were my last 5 rounds of an extended range session with my new @kimberamerica 2K11 Pro Comp (ported 4.25” bbl) - draw and fire 5 head box at 15 yds. The @shooters_global timer/app and @oakleystandardissue Meta glasses make for a powerful set of training tools.

Hitting the range with the @kimberamerica 2K11 Pro Comp (ported 4.25” bbl)!

One of the most common questions that I get via email is "what size sights are on my 1911?" There is no standard height for 1911s, and even the dovetails can vary in format. Further, production models may vary per gun, so merely measuring one gun does not mean all of them are the same. Measuring height and width is fairly simple, and you can be a lot more informed in selecting an aftermarket sight if you at least understand what to measure. The pics here show how to measure the net blade height of your front and rear sights. Digital calipers are as little as $20 on Amazon, and if you are serious enough about your pistol that you're willing to change parts in it, then spend the $20 and have a set of calipers so you're not measuring with your Stanley tape measure.

For #fortyfivefriday, we have the absolute pinnacle of 80's era coolness in custom 1911's, the Pachmayr Combat Special. This is probably the most complete specimen that I've seen outside of books or old magazine ads. This has everything from the classic feature set – two tone, cut Pachmayr grips, checkering, the signature beavertail, serrated round top slide, and the extended ported Bar Sto barrel. Many years ago, I had asked Paul Liebenberg about this, and he'd actually recalled working on it when he was at Pachmayr Gun Works as the gentleman's name on the slide was a friend of his.

Oh look, a legacy V2 @staccato2011 P. Whatever could I be doing with one of these?

Back in 2010 I’d built "Charlie" in my alpha series in order to perform some harsh condition testing. The bottom half was salvaged from an early SW1911 where the poorly designed and executed FP safety and external extractor made the gun an overall failure. The remaining parts were from my take off parts box, to include a Kimber fire control, Colt barrel and extractor. One of the tests was to fire the gun for 1000 rds totally dry, no lube or cleaning. It functioned 100%, illustrating that it is reasonable for a properly assembled factory fit 1911 to function without special considerations for a perfect level of cleanliness or lube.

My @staccato2011 HD P4's and C3.6 are around a combined round count of 26k rds. The bottom P4 is my original and primary training gun, close to 20k. The top P4 is my match gun, with a much lower round count. The C3.6 has been my primary EDC, and it is quite transparent to switch between it and my training/match guns. It is very efficient to have all of my training time transfer to my EDC, rather than have to train for a separate and potentially divergent platform. All are fed primarily with Glock OEM mags, outfitted with 10-8 Performance base pads, to include the all new +3 extension pad kit.