Since I last posted an update, I did manage to fire an additional few hundred rounds through the Kimber Pro Carry II in 9mm.
I didn’t get video of these range trips because I’ve been on a bit of a time crunch lately; however the gun now sits at 1,800 rounds fired. There were no additional failures of any type during the last three range sessions, putting the gun at 5 failures for the duration of the test.
I did manage to get some trigger time in, just on platforms a little bit bigger than my usual 1911s. I also missed a perfect score on the USAF handgun qualification by three shots, which was a little frustrating. But somehow, I’ll survive. Re-qualified on my very favorite gun in the world, the M240, and of course spent some trigger time with an M4 carbine.
All in all it was a pretty fun little hiatus.
This wasn’t the post I wanted to write when I came back from hiatus. Yet here I am, staring into my monitor as we’re faced with another mass murder perpetrated by a radical Islamist in a western, civilized nation. But this time it’s our own country, and that means in the days since the attack, all of the old talking points about gun control, Islam, violence against gays, and every other agenda someone wants to push are right back at the forefront again. I’m sick of it.
The Kimber is now at 1247 rounds fired. Since completing the 500 round break in period that Kimber recommends, it has shot 747 rounds and experienced one failure to extract. Compare this to the first 500 rounds where it experienced 4 different malfunctions. At least in regards to this gun, perhaps the “break in period” isn’t a myth after all.
If you read my previous post discussing the first 50 rounds fired through my Dan Wesson ECO you will know that it malfunctioned 12 times within the first 30 rounds. This only proves that you should qualify any gun you hope to conceal carry or use in defensive of a life.
I hope this does not apply to the readers of Gun Nuts, but some people actually buy a firearm for self-defense, throw it into a cheap nylon holster (separate issue), load it up with some ammo and proceed to carry it, secure in the belief it will act as a talisman and keep them safe.
The simple fact is you must vet any weapon slated for defensive purposes. I actually know of a person that bought a Colt Defender in 45 ACP and shot one mag out of it before carrying it. I was there and his target, which was shot at three yards, looked like he had thrown 45 caliber buckshot at it! Fast forward 18 months and we did our CCW renewal together. Out came the Colt Defender and a malfunction fest and an example of poor marksmanship followed. It was all the ammo’s fault of course. There was no way it was related to a lack of never applying lube to the weapon, not breaking it in or a total lack of fundamentals.
This brings up another point – sight regulation versus your carry load. If you don’t test fire the gun with your chosen carry load, how do you know the sights are even remotely close to point of impact?
Look, as gun nuts (as in people who love guns, not this site) we often lose sight of the fact that many people who buy a weapon do so for protection and are not seeking a new hobby. It is very easy in our rabid enjoyment of the hobby to scare them away as we suggest they should shoot weekly, or lead them to believe they must become some Rambo type person. People seeking only protection do not need to become enveloped in the gun hobby any more than I need to get enveloped in golf. We must temper ourselves with reality and try using some understanding (dare I say empathy) when trying to help them. We need to ask ourselves, “Where they are coming from?”
Then and only then can we begin to offer meaningful suggestions; such as the need to break-in and prove the reliability of their chosen self-defense firearm. The requirements of that break-in and reliability testing are not the scope of this article. That is wholly dependent on the gun type, the gun and ammo manufacturer, and the testing results, as trends develop.
The facts are simple – any gun can malfunction at any time, but it is better to have some confidence of past performance then be completely ignorant to the guns capabilities.
If you know of someone who falls into the “from the box to the concealed holster” camp, you might try to bring them around. Just don’t expect them to become a gun nut.
For the first 50 rounds I decided to use Browning’s Practice/Target ammo in 230 grain. I know that Bill Wilson is on record stating the smaller 1911’s run better with lighter bullets, preferably 185 grain. I plan on trying some of them but these were what I had available.
So how did it do? Not good. Not good at all. Literally every three rounds, for the first 36 rounds, the slide locked back. In the photos to the left you can see where the slide stop just barely caught the slide. I tried using a different grip, even trying strong hand only once. It didn’t make a difference. This thing would simply discharge three rounds then lock the slide back. The problem could be the slide stop, or it could be mag related. I haven’t investigated it, nor do I plan too; at least until I have put a total of 400 rounds through the gun.
In fairness, following the 36 round malfunction fest, the remaining 14 rounds cycled and shot fine. I ran two seven round mag dumps trying to get it to malfunction again. This is obviously not a long-term test scenario, and I would have loved to continue, but there was a serious lightning storm moving in. Here at Gun Nuts we go too great pains to avoid death by lightning strike.
An annoyance that was discovered revolved around the safety. It clicks off and on as a nice 1911 should, but it overhangs the frame ever so slightly. I never noticed it prior to shooting the gun, but once I had some rounds down range the web of my hand started to blister. I have seen this on many other 1911’s and it isn’t the end of the world; but at the same time, this is not a $500 RIA! I expect better when dropping north of $1000 on a pistol! If I keep the gun after the testing than I’ll correct the issue using my best home gunsmith skills. Until then I’ll deal with it with either gloves or raw ignorance.
The final unexpected issue centered on the sights. (see what I did there) I shot at 7, 10 and 15 yards and no matter the distance the sights hit low – really low. It grouped nicely though but at least 3 inches below my point-of-aim. Given my statement above concerning 185 grain ammo being recommended for small 1911’s I find myself hoping DW installed sights regulated to lighter ammo. I am looking for some 185 grain I can test this theory.
As expected the recoil was snappy, but not the end of the world. You definitely want to have a good grip on the gun though.
With a little luck I can run some more ammo through it soon. Will it continue to malfunction? Will it eat my hand? Will it hit POI/POA with 185 grain ammo?
Stay tuned as we find out.
I have a real love/hate relationship with one of the standard tests I do as part of our 1911 tests, and that’s the 100 round challenge. Shooting 100 rounds rapid fire in ~60 seconds isn’t actually that pleasant, but I keep doing it because it keeps revealing interesting data about the guns we test.
This came as quite a shock to me yesterday. Harris Publications, the publisher of gun magazines like Combat Handguns, Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement, Guns of the Old West, and a considerable volume of annual publications. In the interest of full disclosure, I have written for Harris a considerable amount in the past, and count many of their staff on the firearms publication among my friends.
Earlier this week I started a long-term review of a Dan Wesson ECO, which is a 3.5 inch Officer’s sized 1911. Lest anyone think its reliability will be a gimme, I offer the following video from Rob Pincus. I don’t know Rob, and I don’t agree with everything he writes, but based off my personal experience he is correct.
Yes, the gun in the video is a Kimber, but that is irrelevant. Small 1911’s are generally finicky. In fact, I fully expect the ECO will fail at some point. And if it does, I have a couple of things in my bag of tricks that might help reliability.
Did you see the challenge at the end of the video? I don’t know if Rob is still offering this, but if the ECO kicks ass, maybe I could take him up on the offer – not likely.
In the end, I hope the ECO stuns me with utter reliability, but if it fails, I will not be shocked in any way. It is the nature of the beast.
So… do you have a small 1911 that has been flawless? Let us know. Please include the total cumulative round count, as well as the maximum round count you shot in one session.
And for those that care, I finally got around to buying some ammo so testing will start tomorrow!
Is this video pretty pointless? It sure is. But it’s also fun, and it was actually pretty awesome to get out to the range with my oldest, best friend and do some shooting. I’ve had that rifle for 20 years now, and it is literally the only gun I’d never, ever sell. Your first gun, a gift from your father? It should be special.