ago. Today we have a nearly endless list of highly effective “one-shot stop” hollowpoint .45 ACP loads available, so the semi-wadcutter may seem out of date. However, when I reload for the .45 ACP it’s still my number one choice, be it a commercial cast bullet or one dropped from either Hensley & Gibbs or RCBS mold blocks. The H&G #68 was THE bullet of choice for both combat use and target shoot- ing for decades and is now basically duplicated by the RCBS #45-201KT. My first 1911 was a military sur-
plus, government-issued Remington- Rand .45 that came complete with a military flap holster. At this late date I recall I paid either $7.50 or $15 for it. It would serve me very well for several decades. In 1966, Diamond Dot and I packed up our three young preschool age kids, hooked a U-Haul to the 1965 Ford Station Wagon and moved to Idaho. That old Reming- ton, housed in its military holster, rode under the seat providing pro- tection for my young family as we traveled cross-country. Three years later found me traveling regularly up through Idaho and across the Lewis and Clark Highway into Missoula to attend the University of Montana Graduate School; the Remington .45 rode in the middle of my back as I made many trips home during those three summers. By then I should have been smart enough to hold onto a good .45 but I let it get away much to my eternal sorrow. It would be in the late 1960s before
I purchased a real, commercially-pro- duced Colt which happened to be a lightweight .45 Commander; actually there were three Commanders. The GCA ’68 was about to become real- ity and no one was sure what effect it would have on private ownership of firearms. All of our local grocery and department stores had gun depart- ments and there in front of me were three Commanders: Lightweights in .45 and .38 Super, and a Combat Commander 9mm; I bought them all. These were the first of many I have enjoyed over the past 40 plus years. One of the major proofs of the supe- riority of the Colt 1911 is the almost endless list of manufacturers who now offer, or who have offered, the basic 1911 design. We could argue for days on end about who is putting out the best 1911 today; however, Colt has been making them for a century now, with today’s Government Models be- ing some of the finest ever offered. In the past year I have tested five
current production 1911s: a high-pol- ish stainless steel custom .38 Super, 10mm Delta Elite, .45 Combat Elite
WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM 13
There are dozens of ways to hol- ster a 1911; here are just a few.
Wilson Combat .38 Super and El Paso Saddlery leather; it just doesn’t get any better!
and two stainless steel 1911s, one of which has an under accessory rail. Five Colts, all excellent shooters and remember, I don’t believe in coinci- dence, so it was meant to be to buy all
five for my son, my three grandsons and myself. Some have asked why I need so many guns. Well they are basically working tools, but I don’t really “need” that many. If I was on
Shooting the Series ’70 1911.
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