indicated the original Colt shot a tighter group than the Savage; a 1.94" group as compared to a 2.84" group. I couldn’t discover how this group was obtained but I doubt it was from a rest, po- sitioned 25 yards from the tar- get, which is the modern “gun- writer” accuracy standard.
Minute Of Badguy At any rate, I loaded the
two, 7-round magazines that came with the pistol using Remington UMC 230-grain FMJ ammo and stepped in front of my steel targets 30 yards distant. I went 13 for 14 on the steel silhouettes and the gun functioned perfectly. Those 14 shots were more than enough for me to realize why the Army went to the extended grip safety on the 1911A1. But, I wanted to know just how well the gun would shoot, so set I up a target at 25 yards, rested the pistol on a sandbag and fired four, 7-shot groups using the Remington ammo. The av- erage group size was 4.01". This is not terrible handgun
accuracy, but not 1911 accu- racy either. However, it’s for sure within minute of enemy. I’m confident the large groups were not a fault of the pistol; if anyone knows how to make a 1911 it’s Colt. I also believe that, as much as I am con- vinced of the firearms genius of John Browning, he must have either felt a handgun was to be fired instinctively or had no idea the difference a good set of sights could make. As uncomfortable as the
fired his 1911A1 and threw grenades. After more than nine hours of close-in fighting, he withdrew his tank to friendly lines while continuing to inflict casualties, destroying three hostile machine gun positions and an estimated 250 enemy soldiers. Sgt. Kouma was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. A Navy SEAL Team was returning from a mission over North
Vietnam when their chopper was forced down. Both M60 ma- chine guns were damaged and the only M16 had fallen from the chopper. The only firearm left was a Colt 1911. VC were ap- proaching the downed chopper; shooting as they came. A SEAL Team member took his customized 1911 and began shooting. When the rescue chopper arrived he used the pistol to cover their safe extraction, killing more than 10 VC. Petty Officer 3rd Class, R.J. Thomas, a member of the USN Rifle and Pistol Team, was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions that day. *
WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM
pistol was to shoot with its long hammer spur and stubby grip safety, I felt it my journal- istic duty to make it go bang at least 200 times before I tried to report this gun was as reliable as it was historically correct. So, I braved the sub-freezing temperatures, put on a pair of shooting gloves (call me a wimp if you must) and pro- ceeded to pound the hell out of my steel targets until three boxes of the Remington ammo was gone. I then opened a 50-round
box of Black Hills ammuni- tion, loaded with 185-grain Barnes TAC-XP bullets and learned two things; the pistol
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