Combat Auto

You need to make sure you keep the barrel level at the minuite the gun goes off. It is an animal, and you have to work at it to keep the muzzle flip under control. I've had the same issue, untill I concentrate on the above.

FWIW, after your first 6 rounds, you might be starting to "flinch". This is where your subconcious starts anticipating the recoil and your arms tighten up which moves the pistol at instant of fire...Every shooter does it to some degree - more experince shooters after several hundred rounds as the body mind gets fatigued...As a new shooter you are doing great, look into the flinch concept, be aware of it, manage it - and keep up the great work...I am not saying absolutly that this is what is happening in your case, but there is a very good chance it is...There is plenty of discussion about it on the internet so google it - also excercises and techniques to tame it....Also check if your grip is moving after the first 6 rounds.

Mikey, Louu, Thanks for the info. Check out this Blaster - a WW1 1911 Replica from Turnbull Manufacturing...Beautifull Blueing (not the best camera though). Note, how small the sights are, and no back or front checkering on the grip. Note the small beavertail in the back. Trigger is super crisp nice but a little heavy...A challange to shoot with the sights and minimal grip but I was able to shoot a 4" group with off the shelf ball at 25 yards first time out (standing two hand hold) so I was very happy with it (as a comparison, my best group is 2.5" at 25 yards with my Wilson and Duty ammo). The gun is so much fun to shoot and really makes you concentrate on fundimentals. Can't wait to get her in front of some steel when it gets warmer. That is my authentic navy uniform, from way, way, back in the day :-).

Nice start! Pistol Marksmenship is a Journy of discovery :-)...Nice blaster you have there. I am a 1911 guy. I have one of the best most "advanced" 1911s out there (a wilson tactical elite - see my original post on this thread), a 1911 WW1 replica from Turnbull (which has very minimal sights, no checkering on the front/back of the grip, etc. - which makes it a challange to shoot) and a couple in between. 1911's are fantastic and up there on the top of the food chain on accuracy (all other things equal). What model is that 1911? I see you have checkering on the back of the grip but not the front. Is that a choice or how it comes?

This entire BS-Movement about politicians, and Police-Execs calling out the dangers of toy guns/airsoft is just a pre-configured excuse for shoddy police work. ---In general, if a police person, or any Carry-gun-civilian shoots a child (or adult for that matter) with a toy, they messed-up big, made inacurate assumtions, and need to be held accountable. (Certainly, there are exceptions to this, for example if someone uses a toy to commit a crime, or is somehow threatening someone with a toy.)

Again, honestly, you are all over the place not following your train of thought at all...Good luck to you and your egg nog.

Always count on you for good logic: I would always make that trade-off: if I shot a 9mm and a .50AE equally well, to pick the 9mm in a PD siuation. ;-)

Yea, but you are comparing a rifle with pistols (we have been taking about pistols all along). There is a big difference. And do we know what kind of .22 round it was? That makes a difference also. Obviously, Granny was a great shot under stress planting 7 rounds in the Grizzly's head. Kudos, to Granny, no matter what she shot, but we want to stack the deck in our favor for PD. For some that is smaller but more rounds; for others it is fewer fatter rounds. Different strokes - this could go on forever. Thanks for the goodwishes :-).

Rut, Merry Christmass...But I honestly havn't been able to follow a cohesive argument in your posts on this thread. Like I said, shoot whatever you want. If you want to use a .22 for PD or Grizzlies ;-) for that matter, who am I to judge :-).

Toadett, Another thing you can try is the Grizzly-Bear test...I was amazed over the article posted above of a person taking out a G-bear with 45 acp. Now, I knew it is a great PD round, but didn't think it could take out a G-bear - so I am very impressed...So take those 9mm 135 grain HP up to Alaska and see what they can do. If you come back (at all ;-)), I would be very impressed with the 9mm 135g HP :santablack: . I make lite of this because as I stated in my original post, nobody wins a caliber discussion, too many variables, ingrained beliefs, biases, and individual tastes. But in a rare civilian PD encounter I go with this one precept more than others: Use the biggest caliber you shoot well. -If it is 9mm for you Toadett, have at it.

If one feels the need to have extra rounds to hit your target, have at it and shoot your 135 grain HP. So far the Progressives haven't outlawed it - so in that sense it is a free country. For some, who train well, and have the confidence that they can hit their target with 12 (yes, you may purchase several different 45s that hold 12 rounds) or even 8 they might shoot 230 grain HP. Granted 135 can get the job done if you aim well, (hum, but then why does one need 19 rounds if they can aim well ); but anyone that wants to assert that a 9mm 135 grain HP will do the same damage as a 45 cal 230 grain HP is living at least temporarily with Dorothy in the land of OZ .

There are studies, there is common sense, and there is a 100 year track record in war. I have never seen any such result in a war study where 9mm is effective as 45acp (especially FMJ). Your welcome to your 9mm if that is what you shoot well, for PD/HD I'll take the 45 - it is what I shoot well...The vast majority of PD encounters will end in less then the number of rounds in any 45. One study indicates the average number of rounds fired in civilian defense situations is 2.2. Same study indicates that ~50% of the encounters were at home. Shooting19 rounds of 9mm around the house or in public for that matter not a good idea (a person would probably cause much collateral damage). The idea is to end the fight and end it fast. 9mm magazine capacity is highly overated for real-life civilian encouters (it is good for shooting paper targets at USPSA though). I'll take the fatter bullets.

BTW, Down here in these parts the Police Department runs 45 acp...The Capt. in charge of armorments was at my house last summer and he said that he specifies 45 acp but gives the potrolment some flexibility on what make/model. Most of them chooze 1911s. He was running a TRP.

I have done a decent amount of reading about the effectiveness of 45 acp in war. The track record is long and very impressive. Yes, there are always statistical tail-end events where someone knows someone who knew a cop whose partner shot a 6'6" degenerate in the head with a 45 who didn’t go down - but they are very rare. Alternatively, we all know the history of the 9mm's questionable stopping power. With the modern 9 it supposed to be better, but I'll stick with a proven track record of over 100 years of war (and that is with Ball, so HP, +P and all that stuff makes it more potent). For an enthusiast, which I suppose most of us here may qualify for, 45 is the way to go. Especially for personal/home defense. If you get in a CQB situation, you want to end it fast. For a police department, it is a whole other issue where HE’s points may be valid in many situations. But as a civilian, I am not particularly worried about long weapon life, or cheap ammo. And if you shoot your 45 out of an all steel 1911 the gun will likely outlast you with a little TLC. Shooting a 45 might take more practice, but as enthusiasts this is not an issue (if say your wife is not an enthusiast and doesn’t want to practice much a 9mm makes more sense). The higher round count for the 9mm is an advantage to a degree, but I honestly would trade off 1 45 round for at least 2 9mm because of the proven stopping power of the 45. Also, there isn’t a lot of benefit of spraying upteen 9mm rounds all over the place in a personal defense situation. You have got to hit your target. Also, there is such a thing as a reload. So for a civilian, I do not give much wait to what might seem a big benefit of the 9mm magazine. Nobody ever wins a caliber discussion because there are many variables and tastes, but the old saying: Shoot the biggest round you shoot well, applies particularly to a civilian shooter in a potential “once in a lifetime encounter”. The decision for arming an entire police department takes on some of the same, but many other issues.

Was that nice focused shooting a result of your happiness, or frustration of the wonderful event to come ;-)?

You are doing great in such a short time...The path to Enlightenment via Marksmanship is a journey, not an event. :-)

Nice...I am going to try this. I know I can do it, the question is, how often/% of hits.... It requires an amazingly steady hold, do you do anything "special" as far as your approach to the hold to make a shot like that?

Wow! That is an amazing shot! More info please: What gun? What type amo and caliber? How long have you been shooting? Are you professionally involved with Firearms?

Very nice at 45 feet - keep pushing the envolope...I am self taught also. Books, DVD, lots of joyfull practice...Oh yea, and my secreate weopon, when I was a kid all we did around the nieghborhood was play with toy guns - so lots of dry fire ingrained in from way back ;-). Of course today, they would either lock you up or shoot at you if you walk around with a toy gun.

Very nice, you are getting the job done that is what counts!

Well, We post just about everything on the NJGF - motorcycles, girls with guns, what word you use to talk about Halloween, etc...Given we are all shooters (or at least gun owners) thought it might be good to post some of our best groups... Check out this Beauty: 7 round 2.5 inch group at 25 yards (1 floater over in the "C" section). Medium rate of fire. Wilson Combat Tactical Elite - 1911 - 45acp (sorry about the wide-angle distortion in the picture - I am working on getting a better camera). Off the shelf Duty Ammo HST This is Standing - 2 hand hold. (no bench rest). After banging steel at 50 yards over the summer, coming back to 25 yards (and indoors for the winter) almost seems "easy". What do you think Guys? - Not bad for someone close to retirement age who only started shooting 18 months ago ;-). Let's see some more targets!

I should be retired by then...If not, I am blessed to be able to Virtual-Office...I get the "low-income" part of the state...Morgantown suppose to be a "jewel" of civilization in the crown of the beautifull WV landscape/geographpy...Ideally, I'd like to pick up a piece of property outside town where I might set-up a 50 yard pistol range (or maybe even 100 yard mini-rifle range if real-estate is cheep enought).

I am facing the facts that with Mr Christie down to his last 4 years (at most), we will be more screwed then ever once a Dem's becomes governor. Also, as I get older, I want the right to carry - it becomes more important with age. So, I am working on a 4 year plan to get the heck out of NJ (here's to Vlad G.'s inspiration!). I am looking at West Virginia which is a Shall Issue state. Anyone familiar with the Morgantown WV area? (It is just south of the PA border and due south of Pittsburg). Good or bad impressions?

Suppose to be Trickle charging even in off mode that is what the tech told me...Maybe NJ-Ken can confirm if he reads this (thanks Ken!).

I got mine up and running about 2 weeks ago (Generac)...I keep it off normally...On wednesday's I put it on auto for the 12 min cycling which happens in the afternoon....I don't really want it coming on at night, too noisy, so if I have an outage overnight I'll turn it on when I wake up...The battery, I am told should have no problem holding a charge overnight if the power went our around bed time. It should hold a charge for many days/weeks I am told. That is how I plan to use it...See any operational issues using it like this?