Taffin’s latest 1911, a Springfield Armory 9mm, rests on a well worn copy of Col. Cooper’s Fighting Handguns.
and its trajectory leaves a lot to be desired out at rifle-type ranges. But as something handy to wear in situa- tions where some uncouth characters may try to brain you without notice it’s tough to beat.” That was 1958 and these 50 plus years later, I will stick my neck out and say nothing has changed
USFA offers both 1910 and 1911 ver- sions of the .45 Government Model.
— the 1911 is still number one. For nearly 20 years the only cham-
bering for the 1911 would be the .45 ACP. However, by the late 1920s it was obvious law enforcement need- ed better tools than the standard .38s they were carrying at the time. Colt, using the 1911, came up with
the .38 Super. This cartridge used a 130-grain bullet at about 1,300 fps, giving law enforcement something which would do what was necessary, and that is penetrate car bodies and windshields. The introduction of the .38 Super 1911 in 1929 was the first major change offered by Colt. In 1923 the original 1911 became the 1911A1 with three changes: the grip tang was made longer to help prevent hammer bite; for those who complained the 1911 had a tendency to shoot low, the flat magazine housing was given an arched profile to naturally raise the pistol in the hand; in combination with this, the trigger was shortened to be more easily reached. In 1933 Colt introduced the National Match version in both .45 ACP and .38 Su- per. The 1950s saw the introduction of the first lightweight Colt, the Com- mander, with a shorter 4-1/4" barrel compared to the standard 5" length found on the 1911. The original Com- mander used an alloy frame and was chambered in .45, .38 Super and 9mm and was soon joined by a steel-frame version known as the Combat Com- mander. In 1957, the Gold Cup Na- tional Match target version of the 1911 arrived chambered in .45 and .38 Special. In 1970, with the intro- duction of the Series ’70 pistols, Colt went to a collett barrel bushing de- signed to provide a tighter lock up re- sulting in better accuracy. However, the fingers of the collett didn’t hold up very well to repeated pounding and was soon dropped. In 1983, the Series ’80 version of the 1911 arrived with an internal firing-pin safety. Two years later Colt began producing 1911s in stainless steel. Cooper speaking again: “A great
Milt Sparks leather shown with a pair of .38 Supers.
many servicemen were not introduced to the big .45 under the best condi- tions. They had too little time to get acquainted with it properly, and they were asked to use it on a small bull’s- eye at fairly long-range before they had it tamed. Such citizens may tell you they’d rather throw it than shoot it, but they give themselves away. Like many skills, mastery of the big pistol doesn’t just drop in your lap. It takes a good deal of effort. In the hands of a man who knows how to use it the .45 Auto is a terrible weap- on — very quick, very powerful, very accurate and completely reliable. To get its full potential it must be han- dloaded with Keith-type, semi-wad- cutter bullets. But even with service loads its no slouch.”
Better Ammo Much has changed since
12 those words were written more than 50 years AMERICAN HANDGUNNER • 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
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