Let’s be perfectly frank, our government and the mainstream media (or is that the “lamestream media”?) don’t want you to know how many Americans use a firearm every year to protect themselves and their family. Some authorities suggest that about 2.5 million Americans use a gun every year to do just that. However, thanks to the NRA’s Armed Citizen column and folks like Chris Bird the word is getting out anyway.

Last weekend, at the Texas Concealed Handgun annual meeting, I had a chance to renew my friendship with Chris Bird and get the updated copy of his book, “Thank God I Had A Gun: 2^nd Edition.” Once I started reading it, I simply couldn’t put it down. Chris tells the stories of 17 gunfight survivors from all across the country who used armed resistance to defeat criminals. I give Chris an A+ as an interesting storyteller and an accomplished investigative reporter.

In “Thank God I Had A Gun: 2^nd Edition” you read the story of Vic Stacy who shot it out with a criminal in Brownwood, Texas, and probably saved a peace officer’s life. Melinda Herman, from Georgia, used her .38 revolver to protect her children when a burglar invaded their home. Vinne Pervel, caught in the midst of Katrina, turned from a gun-control supporter to a gun rights advocate who used guns to defend his New Orleans home. And Rory Vertigan used his gun to shoot a Phoenix drug trafficker who had just killed a policeman.

These tales and many more are found in “Thank God I Had A Gun: 2^nd Edition.” In addition, wherever he can, Chris tells us what kind of guns, ammo, and holsters, the citizens used during their encounters.

Chris Bird, by the way, is an Englishman who served in the Royal Military Police, was a Canadian cowboy, and has been a police reporter for newspapers in Canada and Texas. He is a firearms instructor and has written several other books on personal defense. Besides all that, Chris is just a nice guy and a joy to visit with.

You can order “Thank God I Had A Gun: 2^nd Edition” from Privateer Publications or through Amazon. Retail on the trade paper edition is $19.95. Get a copy…. you won’t regret it!

Richard Mann and I have this little running feud going. You see, he can’t stand shotguns and I wouldn’t keep house without one. Of course, I’m talking about fighting shotguns. Both of us are ex-lawmen and I guess we’ve just had different experiences. Or, it could just be that Richard has just imbibed too much of that corn recipe that West Virginia is famous for. He may not know that there is a difference between Jake and Shine, or found out too late.

In this day souped-up semi-auto rifles, the shotgun is often overlooked as a defensive tool. And that is a real mistake because it is an excellent defensive tool. One can stoke it with low-base birdshot loads for fighting inside the house, buckshot for out-of-doors, and slugs for when the ranges get a bit longer. And many of us can testify that it will hammer a bad guy the way no defensive handgun ever will.

Now, I absolutely don’t buy into the crap about the bad guys hearing you rack the slide on your pump 12 gauge and messing their pants. There are a whole lot of things wrong with that picture. But I will tell you that when a bad guy gets a close look at the business end of a sawed-off 12 gauge, he will often begin to consider Christian virtues and peaceful attitudes. And, if he doesn’t, you are holding the means to plead his case to a Higher Court.

The gun pictured here started life as a Remington 870 police model with ghost-ring sights. Since then, it’s had a shorter buttstock installed courtesy of Hogue Grips. It has also been to the Vang Comp Shotgun Clinic in Chino Valley, Arizona, for a little TLC. Hans Vang lengthened the forcing cone and back-bored the barrel to extend the range of my buckshot load to about 30 yards. Beyond that, I rely on the slug loads that are carried in the Galco cartridge boot.

A while back Bryce Towsley and I were pleased to do a little pro/con article stacking the pump shotgun against the autoloader. Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I don’t think there is really much difference at all. Take either one that suits you (Heck, get a good double barrel if you want to). A good shotgun is a mighty handy thing to have in a gunfight. In between shootouts, it will also take good care of the rattlesnakes and other critters that don’t belong in your yard and it can do a pretty darned good job of putting meat on your table.

The defensive shotgun is versatile, it’s handy, and crooks don’t like them at all…. especially when one is screwed on the end of their nose. That’s why I like shotguns.

In the market for your first defensive shotgun? Here are some shortcuts that will save you time, money, and grief.

BUY USED… It is really hard to wear out a good shotgun, therefore used guns make a lot of sense and will save you money. It also doesn’t matter that your gun does not have a cool-looking, black synthetic stock. I know this is difficult to believe, but the wooden stocks work just fine ( I guess you could paint them black if it’s really that important). I recently bought a used Remington 870 pump for $250…compare that to the price tag on other defensive firearms.

AVOID COLLAPSABLE STOCKS & PISTOL GRIP STOCKS… Collapsible stocks are uncomfortable, hard to hit with, and totally unnecessary. Pistol grip stocks look totally cool…..only trouble with them is that you can’t hit anything with them. Don’t agree with either comment? Bring your tacticool shotgun to the Gunsite shotgun class and show us how it’s done. Be ready to buy the beer when you can’t produce.

INSTALL GHOST-RING SIGHTS… With the money you saved by buying a used shotgun and avoiding the expense of goofy stocks, you can easily afford to have some ghost-ring sights installed. There are probably several brands on the market….you’ll go a long way before you find any that are better than those made by XS Sights. With good ghost-ring sights and a bit of training, you will be able to put shotgun slugs on target out to 100 yards and a bit beyond.

AVOID EXTENDED MAGAZINES TUBES… Extended magazine tubes are just something else that can malfunction at the least opportune moment. If 4-5 rounds of buckshot won’t get the job done, you need more training. If you are one of those who is positive that you will be attacked by a crazed biker gang and your honor insists that you stand and fight… I think you’d be happier with a BAR instead of a shotgun. Finally, shotguns are heavy enough without adding extra weight in the form of extended magazines and extra ammo. When it gets heavy, you won’t have it with you. And, when the fight starts and your shotgun is way over there, you are screwed… regardless of how cool you look and try to act.

INSTALL A CARRYING SLING…You’d be surprised how handy a sling on a defensive shotgun actually is. And you don’t need one of those Advanced Tactical Wrap Around Your Body rigs, either. You know, the kind that takes a search warrant to get into. A simple nylon strap sling works great. Even better, I use a sling made from bunji chord.

You will notice that I have tried to save you money by avoiding suggesting that you have to purchase fancy tactical stocks, a lighting system, bayonet lug, or rocket launcher. You might consider taking the money that you have saved, buy some ammo, and book a defensive shotgun class at Gunsite. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could actually use the thing effectively?

Just about every performer has some stories that we call “Gigs From Hell”, events that went so wrong that you just shake your head and wonder why you didn’t take up some other sort of endeavor. I’ve been fortunate, over the years, to have had only a few such negative experiences. But here’s one that still sticks in my memory.

Donnie and I had been booked to play during rodeo week in a small Oregon town. In order to help defray our travel expenses, we did our best to book a number of house concerts, going and coming. Now, house concerts are just what they sound like. You arrange to play a concert in someone’s home and they invite all of their friends to the event. Ahead of time, you agree on how much each person will be charged at the door, with the host’s immediate family being excepted. The concert usually runs about an hour, with refreshments before or after, and time for everyone to visit. When done right, house concerts provide a very warm, personal opportunity to interact with performers and enjoy their music.

On this particular tour, our very last house concert was at a home in one of the larger western cities. Just after we pulled into the driveway, the woman’s husband came home and wanted to know who the hell we were and what were we doing on his property. In police work we call this a clue; a clue that things might not be going to turn out like we had expected them to.

Once we got the husband straightened out, the guests started arriving. I noticed that quite a number of them had brought musical instruments, but didn’t think much of it as house concerts often turn into jam sessions after the concert is over. It turned out that our host had told her friends that they could get in to the concert for free if they brought their instruments and did a little jamming later in the evening. Then, instead of taking the money at the door, our host just put out a large bowl and told everyone that they ought to kick in some money, with no mention of the actual amount that we had previously agreed upon.

Things were going downhill very fast. At least half of the audience had gotten in for free. And the other half was only dropping tip money in the bowl. We’d be lucky to afford a Big Mac with what we were fixing to make for all of our effort.

Just before we were to start playing, our host asked everyone to form a big circle and hold hands. She then proceeded to have everyone introduce themselves. In a not-so-quiet voice, I leaned over to Donnie and said, “If the bitch wants us to sing Kumbaya, I’m outa here!”

”
Jim Jones is an old road-warrior buddy of mine. I figured you folks might like to hear from more Gigs From Hell stories and Jones was willing to share. Also, be sure to check out his own blog, “A Western Take.“ 

I’ve been a professional musician all of my adult life (technically an impossibility since you can be a musician or an adult but not both!). For the most part, I’ve loved it. There are times though, when I questioned why in the world I did it. Once in the early 80s, my Irish group played for a St. Paddy’s celebration for an airline group and they kept asking us to play disco. We made up a little “Irish disco” number on the spot which satisfied them for about fifteen minutes. It was a LONG two hour gig!

Starting out as a young singer/songwriter in Austin, I was half of a duet with an “older” guy (I was 21, he was 26). We got an audition at a club that featured acoustic music in the evenings. Unfortunately, they featured topless dancers in the afternoon and our audition was scheduled right before the dancers started. It’s hard enough being an opening act, but an opening act for topless dancers?? He started our first song with a little rhythmic finger pick while I played a nice lead. When he started, it was totally out of rhythm and I couldn’t figure out when to come in. He told me afterwards he was so nervous, he developed a twitch in his thumb and couldn’t pick the beat…and HE was the “mature one.” As you can imagine, they were quite eager for us to get off the stage. We didn’t get the gig.

A gig we did get was at a pizza place in Austin with a six week, Friday-Saturday night run. Initially, things went well, then attendance and interest dropped off. The final nail in the coffin was our last night’s performance. This place had the forerunner of video… some sort of videocassette deal that projected cartoons on the wall. When we took our last break, there was a small group who were watching a Flintstones cartoon. When our last set started, they shut off the video machine. The people got up and left. They stayed for the Flintstones, then left for us. That stung!

Talent only gets you so far. Perseverance and a thick skin get you a lot further; being in the right place at the right time helps, too, although you can’t always control that. The main thing I’ve learned from these experiences, along with hundreds of others, is that so far, I’ve survived. No blood was ever shed, although a few times we came close. What doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger. You’ve got to believe in what you do even if no one else seems to. I’m still out there touring as a professional musician. As that great philosopher (Ricky Nelson) once said, “You can’t please everyone so you’ve got to please yourself.”

Jim Jones writes a blog, “A Western Take” which can be found at http://jimjonesmusic.tumblr.com/

Top-quality holster manufacturer, CrossBreed® Holsters, LLC confirms fit for the recent release of the new M&P Bodyguard .380 by Smith & Wesson.

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Keeping up with the industry innovation, providing unmatched customer service, and exceeding the customers’ needs are just a few of the reasons CrossBreed® Holsters has become a leader in the concealed carry market today.

The handcrafting of a CrossBreed® holster cannot be imitated. With the “soft” side of the leather facing your body, you will find immediate comfort and stability right out of the package. Over time the holster forms to fit to the individual body for a secure fit and unmatched comfort, truly becoming a custom holster for each individual.

Crossbreed® Holsters, LLC was started in 2005 by Mark Craighead to bring all of the best holster features together in one product without any of the non-functional design elements found in many holsters on the market. Mark’s new breed of holsters has grown into a company strong with integrity, craftsmanship and customer service, producing a quality line of all-American made holsters. Follow this link learn more about Crossbreed® Holsters or contact Trent Cooper at trent@crossbreedholsters.com.

Now, I know that most of my posts are about guns, but I hope you gun guys will stay with me for just a few minutes. Because we kick ourselves just as much over guitars that we’ve let get away as we do for guns that we never should have turned loose of.

Gibson Guitars has been building the J-45 Dreadnought guitar since the 1930s. It got the “45” designation because it sold for $45 back then (they cost somewhat more today). It is designated a slope-shouldered dreadnought that was built with a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. Over all these years the J-45 has been Gibson’s bread & butter guitar and they’ve sold a bunch of them.

But, back about 2000, Gibson decided to offer the guitar with solid rosewood back and sides along with a factory installed pickup. One of my readers was kind enough to use his influence with Gibson to have this guitar, one of the first ones built, sent to me. It’s what we call a cannon, with a tone and sound to die for.

A few years back (2008, as best I can remember) I got to longing for a Martin D35 dreadnought guitar. It’s a great guitar and is the one pictured on the cover of my West Of Somewhere album. The stupid thing was that I traded this Gibson J-45 in on it. Does that sound familiar to you gun traders?

The good news is that the J-45 was immediately purchased by our county constable, and my good friend, Henry Ogletree. Henry takes better care of guitars than most people would a trophy wife. And, just a few weeks ago, he was kind enough to sell it back to me. And, just to show that I am not entirely stupid, I’ve still got the Martin D35.

I am so pleased for this Gibson J-45 to have come back home that I think it will be my primary guitar on my little mini-tour through New Mexico and Arizona in June. You can get the dates and locations for my shows off of my Performance page on this web site. If you’re in the area, I hope you will stop by and say hello. Me and Mr. Gibson will do our best to entertain you.

Over the years, I have enjoyed consulting with firearms companies and helping them to design new guns, or variations of existing guns. Without going into details, a few of these have been quite successful ventures. However, there have been other times when I really should have just kept my mouth shut.

Some years ago, at a gunwriters gathering, I found myself sitting through a presentation that about bored me to tears. The company reps were touting their new defensive handgun as being the best thing since zippers for pants were invented. In truth, the pistol was clubby feeling, too big for caliber, and had poorly located controls. Oh, the company reps were nice enough guys, they just had a clunker that they were trying to impress us with. At the end of their presentation, someone asked me what I thought about the pistol. I replied (in a voice that should not have been quite so loud), “All the damn thing needs is a bayonet!”

The next year, the same guys were there to represent the same company. Their leader proudly informed us, “Just to let you know that we listen to you guys in the media….” And he held up the pistol with a bayonet attached!

At another gunwriters gathering I was pleased to get to visit with my good friend Bob Morrison, who was then the head man at Taurus. At one point Bob asked me to come take a look at a prototype handgun that Taurus was considering putting on the market. It was a rather large revolver that was chambered for .45 Colt and would also shoot a 2 3/4” .410 shell. They were going to call it The Judge.

I told Bob that the gun was too big and unwieldy to ever make it as a defensive handgun. I also told him that, as anyone could plainly see, it would never catch on with the shooting public. In short, the damn thing just wasn’t going to sell and I was certain sure of that.

Not to belabor the obvious, but the Judge is one of the top sellers, if not the top seller, in the Taurus line. It has morphed into several model variations and Smith & Wesson even got on board with a copy (which is sort of a reversal of order where Taurus and Smith & Wesson are concerned). I’m glad I didn’t offer to eat my hat!

In summation, I suppose it is a very good thing that I don’t try to make a living as a firearms consultant.

To my knowledge, I have never met Nick Leghorn. He writes a blog that I am not going to refer you to because it doesn’t deserve you wasting your time. Most recently, he wrote about the Remington R51 pistol or, rather, he wrote about Richard Mann’s recent article in Shooting Illustrated magazine. In short, he doesn’t like the Remington R51, therefore Richard Mann must be a liar and Remington must be bribing Shooting Illustrated to get the coverage. For the record, I have not shot the R51….haven’t even held one in my hands.

While I don’t know much about the R51, I do know a good deal about Richard Mann. He is my friend. We have hunted together from Africa to Newfoundland. He knows guns; he knows terminal ballistics; he knows hunting; and he has a fine family who are also my friends. More importantly, Richard is an honest and honorable man. If he says the R51 shot well for him and he likes it, then I believe him. But… wait…. there’s more.

According to Mr. Leghorn it would seem he thinks that all of us in the firearms print industry are on the take. But he went on to let something slip… what we in law enforcement used to call a clue. You see, Mr. Leghorn just recently applied for a job as an editor at NRA Publications and Shooting Illustrated and was turned down. My question to Mr. Leghorn would be, “If we are all lying bastards, why are you trying to go to work with us? Do you want to be a lying bastard, too?”

It would seem that Mr. Leghorn needs to put his Big Boy pants on. If he truly wants a career in this industry he needs to work on his own skills and not be bad-mouthing his betters. And Mr. Leghorn might get away with questioning Richard Mann’s honesty at long range, but I would surely suggest that he not try to do it to Mann’s face. Bad things could happen when you call a hillbilly a liar.

So, Nick Leghorn, whoever the hell you are…I’m sorry you didn’t get the job you wanted. And I’m sorry you aren’t man enough to stand on your own two feet. Come out and see me some time and we’ll have a warm, personal visit.

This will give you a heads up on a project that I’ll be working on in the coming weeks. The pistol is a 1911 from Turnbull, in .45 ACP. This is a very nice reproduction of the original 1911 Commercial Model pistol. I have examined the gun, but not shot it yet. But I am impressed with the fit and finish of this pistol and expect it to do well during testing. The traditionally small sights, common to that era of 1911, will be a challenge for these tired old eyes, but we’ll give it our best.

The holster is the Countess from Barranti Leather. Mike Barranti has been making his version of the Yaqui Slide for some time and calls it The Colonel. As most of you know, Col. Jeff Cooper championed the Yaqui Slide and thus it has “The Colonel” designation.

However, Mike Barranti has also been consulting with Gunsite Range Master Il Ling New to design a similar holster that would be better suited for women. This is the result. The slight drop in the holster makes it work quite a bit better for the ladies. Col. Cooper’s nickname for his wife, Janelle, was The Countess, so that’s where the name comes from.

However, I’ll let you guys in on a little secret. As we guys get older, our shoulder joints don’t work as well as they used to. And snagging a pistol from a high-ride holster can become a little difficult. If that is happening to you, you might give The Countess a try. It can be much easier to make a quick draw from it than the higher-riding holster. And, guys, if anyone tries to give you some grief about wearing a holster called The Countess, just hang some mistletoe on the back of your pants and go on about your business.

I’ll be reviewing Turnbull 1911 for a Dope Bag feature in an upcoming issue of the American Rifleman. And, I have to tell you that it is a great week when a good gun AND a good holster both arrive at the same time. This is one project that I’m sure looking forward to working on.

In 1968, I went to work for a 50-man police department up in North Texas. We had to buy our own leather and guns. And the guns had to be either Colts or Smith & Wesson revolvers. We could carry magnum guns, but they had to be loaded with department-issue .38 Special +P ammo.

When I first signed on, the department issued Super Vel ammo with the 110 gr hollowpoint bullet. And I can tell you that these light bullets did not perform well on 180 pound (and up) critters. Finally, we went to some Smith & Wesson brand ammunition that used a 125 gr bullet. It was an improvement, but it sure wasn’t a magnum!

Our chief was a gun-savvy guy, but he just didn’t think that municipal police ought to be shooting magnum ammo. I know, because I wore myself out trying to con him into the change. Besides that, we wore open cartridge loops, so you couldn’t very well sneak the magnum ammo on duty. For some reason, the sergeant was also regularly checking my Model 19 to make sure that some of that nasty old magnum stuff hadn’t accidentally gotten loaded in the cylinder by mistake. Seems like things just ganged up on a young cop.

Then I remembered one of Skeeter Skelton’s articles on handgun reloading. He would stuff a .38 Special cartridge with enough 2400 powder to get something like 1250fps! Now that was the ticket.

I had a bunch of one-fired S&W nickel brass and, studying the issue-load bullet, I was sure it was a Sierra bullet. Wasn’t long before I had me some 150 Sierra hollow-cavity bullets, the nickel .38 cases, and a suitably large amount of 2400 powder. My carefully constructed handloads looked exactly like our puny issue stuff. I was ready Rock & Roll!

Then came the evening that I got the Mad Dog Call. The complainant said that a huge, mean dog was loose in the neighborhood and terrorizing everyone, especially the children. It wouldn’t be long before someone got hurt. It was my district and I checked enroute.

As I walked up to the complainant’s house, this huge 80+pound, mixed breed dog came flying around the corner and zeroed in on me. He wasn’t foaming at the mouth, but he was sure slobbering. His ears were penned back and he was showing me all his teeth, an indication that this was not a false charge. I drew and fired, and the dog was DRT… about six feet from me.

As I radioed my sergeant to report shots fired—well, “shot” fired—the neighbors all showed up. It was quickly clear that I was the new hero of the neighborhood. The sergeant arrived, heard my story, talked to the witnesses, and was satisfied. That’s when the Chief drove up.

The Chief also heard my story and then examined the dead dog. “Young man,” he said. “Come over here and look at what your .38 Special did to this dog! How in the world could you possibly need any more performance from a handgun cartridge? I don’t want to hear any more out of you about magnum ammunition.”

Thanks to Skeeter, we never did get to carry magnum ammunition. And I got really tired, when someone would bring the issue up, of hearing the Chief say, “Hell, you ought to see what Wilson did to that dog with a .38 Special!” I chose (wisely, I suspect) to keep the truth to myself.

Yesterday I took delivery of the cape buffalo that I collected in Mozambique, the summer of 2012. Richard Mann, Il Ling New, and I were hunting with Zambeze Delta Safaris.

That morning, our PH, Julian Moller, led Richard and I across the open delta country, using tall stands of saw grass and the various water courses for cover. We stalked within 40 yards of a herd of some 250 head of cape buffalo. I popped this bull on the point of the right shoulder and watched him stagger like a drunk and then disappear into the tall saw grass. When we got to him, he was still moving just a bit but could not get up. Another shot from my rifle, the insurance shot, fixed that and my trophy was in the bag.

For this hunt I used a favorite personal rifle, a Ruger #1 in .375 H&H. My ammunition was Barnes Vor-TX ammo with a 300 gr TSX bullet (my all-time favorite bullet for big game). The Ruger was topped with a Leupold 1.5×5 scope with duplex crosshairs. This is the same outfit that I used for two trips after Australian buffalo and it is definitely a winning combination.

As I write this, at my desk in Texas, Richard Mann is back in Africa. And, the red gods willing, I’ll be going back, too, one of these days. The long flights and government red tape… believe me, it is worth it.

Besides being one of the greatest outdoor writers of our time, John Wootters was also one of the best joke and storytellers. We all loved going on the gunwriter hunts when we knew that John would be there. It was a solid guarantee of some good tales and a lot of laughing. Here are a couple of stories that John told me…

Quite a few years ago, a group was gotten together to go around the country and put on deer-hunting seminars. I think the NRA might have been the sponsor and I also believe that Larry Weishuhn was another one of the presenters. At any rate, the group wound its way back east, one of the northeastern states, to be exact, and was ready to put on quite an evening for the local hunters.

Wootters said the place was packed and everyone was really enjoying this evening of sharing hunting lore and skills. When it came John’s turn, he waxed eloquently about every rifle, cartridge, and bullet, that was suitable for deer hunting. I mean, he hit ‘em all! The .25 Remington, .351 Winchester, .32 Winchester Special…. old or new, it didn’t matter, nothing was left out when it came to deer rifles and ammo.

When he was done, and the applause had died away, Wootters asked for questions from the audience. One old fellow got up and said, “Uh, Mr. Wootters, that was very informative… but they only let us hunt with shotguns in this state…”

Another time, John Wootters was invited to speak at a safari banquet in England. I think it might have been the London Safari Club. Regardless, it was a Big Dog deal in every way. We’re talking black tie, cloth napkins, and real silver silverware. Only the Big Boys At The Bicycle Rack were invited. So they picked John up at the airport and were driving him to his hotel. John asked his new friends,

“Say, who do you boys make fun of?”

“Oh, nobody, Mr. Wootters,” came the reply.

“Bull corn!” says Wootters. “Everyone makes fun of somebody.”

“Well, sir, as a matter of fact, we do enjoy a good Irish joke now and then.”

That evening, in his hotel room, Wootters sat down and converted his favorite Texas Aggie jokes into Irish jokes. Wasn’t too hard… Billy Bob and Bubba just became Paddy and O’Reilly. Later that evening, John Wootters just killed them with his speech. Those Englishmen were down on the floor, whipping themselves, they were laughing so hard. How in the hell could a Texan (of all people!!!) know so many good Irish jokes?

John Wootters was a good ‘un! I miss him.

I have only owned the pistol that you are looking at for a little over 10 days and it has already become a favorite in my stable of 1911′s. It’s a .38 Super Commander, built to my specifications by Nighthawk Custom. Richard Mann and I spent several days at Gunsite with Mark Stone and Shawn Armstrong, both of Nighthawk, and I tried every way that I could to make this gun malfunction. It didn’t happen. And the accuracy was top shelf.

Nighthawk Custom is located in Berryville, Arkansas, and is owned by Mark Stone. In the beginning, Mark had three partners who had previously worked for Wilson Combat. However, those three partners are no longer partners and no longer with the company. Without going into detail, Nighthawk Custom has gone through some trying times in recent years. However, those days are now past and you can expect to see NHC, under Stone’s leadership, going great guns… and, by the way, building great guns.

Too many people do not understand what constitutes a custom 1911. Too many think that it has to do with how many gadgets and gizmos are hung on the gun. One-piece guide rods, accessory rails, and fancy grips & finish, do not make a truly custom 1911. What makes a custom 1911 is the quality of the parts that are used and the fit & finish of the gun. That is the heart of a 1911 pistol and other stuff may be added as needed. Fortunately, the guys at Nighthawk Custom understand this and are continually striving to build a better pistol and serve their customers efficiently.

The .38 Super is a defensive cartridge that is usually overlooked these days. It shoots the same size bullets as the 9mm and drives them to greater velocities. For years, the .38 Super got a bad rap regarding accuracy because the barrels were improperly headspaced. Irv Stone fixed that when he introduced his Bar-Sto barrels some years ago. When headspaced on the case mouth, as all other auto cartridges are, it will hold its own with anyone.

We are welcoming Nighthawk Custom as a sponsor of my web site. And I invite you to visit their web site, check out their guns, and take a look at them at your local gun store. I’m telling ya….these Arkansas hillbillies know how to build good guns!

It has come to my attention that a lot of you folks still don’t know how to properly screw up a 1911. Therefore, as a service to my many friends in the shooting sports, I am offering this quick study that will allow you to get up to speed and properly cause impressive malfunctions and glorious jamming in John Browning’s old, out-of-date handgun.

BUY THE CHEAPEST 1911 YOU CAN FIND. Everyone knows that all 1911 pistols are just alike, so why give the Fat Cats all your money for one of their so-called quality pistols? Junk shops and yard sales are a good place to start looking. If you can find one made entirely from aluminum and discarded parts (I think it was manufactured in Lower Slobovia) jump on it!

BUY THE CHEAPEST MAGAZINES YOU CAN FIND. Just like the pistols, magazines are magazines. One of the best places to look for really cheap magazines is the trash bin at your local gun range. Some of them will be marked with an “X”; that is a clue!

BUY THE CHEAPEST AMMUNITION YOU CAN FIND. Are you seeing a trend here? Handloaded ammo from an unknown source is a good place to start. Get the stuff at your local gun show, or look for ads that read, “Bubba’s Amo Relowding Cumpany.” Hey, if a .45 hit to the little finger will knock a guy flat of his back, there’s no need to waste money on the expensive stuff.

DON’T CLEAN YOUR PISTOL. Hey, the gun made it all the way through World War II. And you can’t tell me that when those guys got some R&R behind the lines, they spent it cleaning guns. Besides, powder solvent stinks and gun oil is messy. It gets all over your keyboard when you are writing cool stuff on the gun forum.

LIMP-WRISTING IS THE “IN” TREND. Forget Point Shooting. Forget the Modern Technique of the Pistol. Limp-wristing is the truly modern way to go in this era of the Great American Sissy. Besides, a tight, firm grip makes the recoil smack our wittle hand and it hurts so bad!!!

JOIN THE STICK-ON CRAZE. You will have so much fun with this! You just get one of those big gun catalogs and buy anything that looks even remotely like it will attach to a 1911 pistol. Since all 1911′s are just alike, don’t buy into the BS that you need to have it fitted to your particular pistol. That’s just an ugly rumor that has been started by the greedy gun companies and gunsmiths. Okay, sometimes stuff just won’t quite go on the gun. That is so that you can get a hammer and a bastard file and enjoy the pleasure of doing real gunsmithing work.

There you have it! This is a guaranteed method to make sure that your 1911 malfunctions. And, when it does, think of the joy you will have in taking it to the local gun show and palming it off on some poor unsuspecting sap. Think of all he will learn from the experience. Sadly, he may never know who to thank for this education (I wouldn’t give him your real name, if I were you).

Good shooting (uh, I mean “Good Jamming”) to all!!!

Congratulations! The firearms, ammunition, and related industries, have been experiencing unbelievable sales for the past several years. And Colt Firearms is on the brink of bankruptcy. You should be ashamed that you are responsible for letting this American icon go down the toilet. Your recent history seems to be a magnificent example of mismanagement.

Consider this: numerous companies build better AR’s than you do. Numerous companies build better 1911‘s than you do. And, not to sound like a broken record, but numerous companies build better single actions than you do. You claim that Colt is a leader and icon in our industry, yet, for the most part, you build inferior products and can’t even get those out to the retail outlets in any quantity.

When something is this broken, one need only look to the top for an explanation. I don’t know your CEO so this is not intended to be a personal attack. But, put very simply, your CEO needs to take a hike… retire… go fishing… but never darken the door of Colt again.

Instead, Colt badly needs a CEO who has a fire in his belly. One who knows how to lead people. One who knows how—and wants to—build quality guns. One who is committed to promoting the brand. In short, you need to find yourselves another Mike Fifer.

Since I am sure that most of you don’t have a clue who Mike Fifer is, your homework for tonight is to find out who Mike Fifer is and what he has done for the company that he represents.

There is still time… get serious!

Sincerely,
Jim Wilson,
A life-long Colt fan

Nearly all of us realize that we don’t practice anywhere near enough. We’ve got good intentions, but a lot of the stuff of our daily lives just gets in the way. So, when we do have time for practice, it is important that we practice on things that are actually critical to saving our lives.

I don’t know of any citizen who has had to do a bunch of tactical and speed loads during an actual gunfight. That may happen to cops, but actual reports don’t show it happening to citizens. For citizens, the fight is over with whatever ammunition happens to be in the gun and, usually, there is some of that left over. Certainly, you should know how to do a tac load and a speed load…and you should know how to do them properly. Beyond that, I would not spend a bunch of time messing with it, even though it looks cool.

The bad encounters are those that go off right in your face. Yes, I know, we are all in Condition Yellow. Some of you guys even sleep in Condition Yellow. So, maybe the bad guys have some sort of nuclear device that turns Condition Yellow into Condition White, because they sure do sneak up on a lot of folks. The close-range encounters are where a lot of things can happen… and most of them are bad.

For that reason, the most important thing that we can practice, and the skill we should practice most often, is the draw stroke and delivering a controlled pair to the vital zone of the target. Now, I can tell you that you should start slow and work for smoothness. Some of you will listen and some won’t. The ones who won’t are going to learn all about negligent discharges. So put a band aid on it, quit whining, or learn to do it right.

If your shooting range won’t let you work from the leather, you can start at the point that your gun is level and your hands have come together, the “Smack” position for your Gunsite grads. Dry practice is valuable for this project, too. You work for a smooth, quick draw and you learn to break your shot the moment you focus on the front sight and see that it is on target. Once you have got the basics down and are making a smooth presentation, it is time to start stepping behind cover as you do the drill. Oh, and don’t forget to wear your usual covering garment while practicing.

Work on this presentation drill at various close ranges. Work to deliver your shots as soon as the front sight hits the vital zone. Work to stay on the threat until you are sure that he is no longer a threat. These relatively simple skills will help you take care of the vast, vast majority of criminal attacks.

And the final question for today’s lesson: If you have fired a controlled pair, how many times should you have seen the front sight? 1 time? 2 times? 3 times? 4 times?

While I believe that the 1911 pistol, in .45 ACP, is the finest fighting pistol that we have to date, it is not the most common pistol to be used in shooting scrapes throughout history and around the world. That title would have to go to the Browning Hi Power. Since its inception, the Hi Power has been used by the armies of Belgium, England, Canada, Germany, China, Israel, and Australia….and I’m sure that I’m leaving a few countries out.

John Browning died in 1926, while at the FN plant in Belgium where he had designed quite a number of his masterpieces. At the time of his death, he was working on a pistol at the request of the French military which wanted a high-capacity pistol with as few moving parts as possible. In about 1928, FN designer and engineer Dieudonne Saive took up Browning’s project and brought it to fruition. The result was a sturdy pistol, originally chambered for the 9mm (9x19mm) cartridge. It had no grip safety (something foisted upon Browning by the US Army), no barrel bushing, a magazine disconnect (another bad idea insisted upon by the military), and held 13 rounds in the magazine. By accident, or by design, it has a very comfortable grip contour that no other hi-cap pistol has ever been able to match. Over time, the Browning Hi Power has been chambered for the 9mm cartridge, the 7.62x21mm cartridge, and the .40 S&W.

The pistol in this photo is a recent acquisition of mine. It is a 1985 commercial model with a baked-on black finish and ambidextrous safeties. Oh, and it also has that damnable magazine disconnect. However, in the fullness of time it will go to Robbie Barkman or Wayne Novak for a good set of combat sights, a decent finish, and a good trigger job (wherein the magazine disconnect will mysteriously disappear).

I doubt that the Hi Power will replace my 1911s. I’ve simply lived with the old 1911 too long to be changing horses now. However, the Hi Power is a premier fighting pistol and a fellow just ought to have one around somewhere. In the months to come, when you read some test that I’ve done on 9mm cartridges, you can bet that they’ve been run down the tube of this fine John Browning design.

The first ornamental metallic pistol stocks that I ever saw were those that came out of Mexico. Metal overlayed with gold and silver, these Mexican stocks were usually adorned with the Aztec calendar or the Mexican eagle & snake symbol that is featured on their flag. When I was a young man they were quite popular with lawmen and pistolians on both sides of the Rio Bravo. For some reason, they just never caught on with Glock shooters, though.

Over the years, I have owned several sets of these gold & silver stocks for various 1911 pistols. However, the last few sets that I have examined showed a real lack of quality. The metal was thin and flimsy and the stocks did not fit the pistol very well. Given Mexico’s crazy attitude towards guns, the reduction in quality is not all that surprising.

Fortunately, we have a number of craftsmen in this country who are keeping the tradition alive. More importantly, they are also keeping the quality high. One of these is Kevin Johnson, of Clarendon, Texas (806-205-0435). Kevin has engraved guns and stocks for a number of discerning pistol toters, including quite a few Texas Rangers. Kevin also has a Facebook page and, from time to time, shows some of his work on that page.

The 1911 stocks that Kevin made for me are metal with silver-scroll overlay. In my advancing age, I decided to forgo the addition of gold to the mix as I was afraid it might look a bit too gaudy. In the center of each stock is a duplicate of my old cinco peso badge. Most importantly, Johnson’s metallic pistol stocks are sturdy and they fit perfectly. And they are certainly an attractive addition to my Colt Lightweight Commander.

I am reminded of something I once heard Ranger Capt. A.Y. Allee say… ”It would almost be an honor to get shot with something that pretty!!!”

These silver 1911 stocks arrived just in time to help me celebrate yet another birthday. I like the idea of celebrating the border lawmen who have gone before. I was raised in the Southwest, have lived here all my life, and will undoubtedly die here, too…………… Not anytime soon, though.

This story starts, as many do, with me walking into a gun show. This was our little Labor Day show right here at home, if it matters. The third table I came to had a pristine Colt Lightweight Commander from the late 1970s. Now, like I really need another 1911.

But, I did what you would have done. And, in short order, I was the proud owner of this lightweight .45 auto. Naturally, I figured to turn it in to an everyday carry gun and my mind immediately began to work out the details. Now that the project is complete, I can sort of pat myself on the back because everything worked out just as I had hoped it would.

My first project was to get some decent sights on the gun. With that in mind, I shipped the slide off to XS Sights for installation of their Big Dot Express sights. Since this was to be a carry gun, I wanted a big front sight that was quick to pick up. Most gunfights occur at close range and the quicker you can get on the front sight, the quicker you will get a fight-stopping hit. As usual, the folks at XS Sights were very accommodating, friendly, and efficient. In short, they know what they are doing and they do it well.

Next up I contacted my friend Colby Brandon, a first-class pistolsmith and member of the American Pistol Smiths Guild Colby did an action job on the pistol and generally tuned it up. In the course of which, he had to replace the sear in order to give me a 3 1/4-3 1/2-pound trigger pull. More importantly, the trigger breaks clean and crisp.

While all of this was going on, I discovered Kevin Johnson, in Clarendon, Texas, (806-205-0435). Kevin is a gun engraver who also creates a lot of western and lawman jewelry. He also makes the silver pistol stocks that have always been popular with Texas Rangers and border lawmen. The set that he made for me have my old cinco peso badge in the middle of each stock.

So what I have ended up with is a lightweight .45 auto that is just about perfect for personal defense. And it is topped off with a set of stocks that sort of honor this Big Bend country where I hang out. About all that’s lacking is some appropriate leather. And you are going to have to wait for the next installment of this page for the rest of the story…

Stay tuned…