Okay; “Better”

I finally shot the Smith & Wesson Performance Center 1911 today.

I bought this gun because I wanted to quit playing around and see how well I shot when the gun itself no longer held me back. I wanted a great trigger and a properly mounted barrel with a good muzzle. I think I got what I asked for.

Here are today’s 7-yard targets. I only shot 24 rounds.

I used cheap Aguila FMJ. Most product defects become obvious right away, and if this gun had had a problem, I didn’t want Smith & Wesson to be able to blame it on homemade ammo. I plan to start shooting handloads as soon as the remaining 26 rounds of Aguila are gone.

Funny thing…I found a .45 round lying on the ground behind the target. It didn’t burrow into the berm. How can that happen if a cartridge is made correctly? My experience has been that handloads are better, not worse.

Are these targets better than targets I’ve shot in the past? Yes and no. Yes, because I shot some tiny clusters that appear to be an indication of what I can actually do with this ammo and this gun. No, because overall, the targets aren’t significantly better than past efforts. Things seemed to open up after the first bullseye.

I believe practice is the issue. I need to remember to exercise my hands, too. If your hands aren’t in shape from regular hand-specific exercise, they will probably shake slightly after a certain number of shots. No one else seems to know this or discuss it, but I have found it to be true. I guess I discovered the problem, just as I discovered the problems wobbly shoes can cause.

People made fun of me because I said the wrong shoes could change a gun’s point of impact. You know what? I shoot better than they do, so who cares what they say?

This gun is much, much nicer to shoot than my big new Glock, which placed some shots three inches apart with Sellier & Bellot FMJ while also landing two inches high. I hope the ammo is the problem.

I found a video on smoothing out Glock triggers. It’s just a matter of polishing. I plan to try it. I may also buy a few aftermarket parts. The way the Glock shoots now is unacceptable. It’s my 5th Glock, and the others all did as they were told.

I really like the shoulder holster I got for the 1911. No more tossing it on the utility cart seat while changing targets, and I always know where the magazines are.

I highly recommend the PC1911. Lots of fun. Very satisfying. Very cooperative. You could even use it for self-defense if you were willing to sacrifice magazine capacity. Sounds like a bad idea, but at least you would hit what you were aiming at, and you’d have lots of stopping power. Also, you can pistol-whip a burglar with a 1911. Try that with a plastic gun.