26 May 04

From a friend and instructor in SA:

"A student was using a shotgun last weekend with a rear sight that had been epoxyed in place. During a high-volume drill, it flew off and gave him a nasty cut on the forehead. He learned his lesson, the hard way!"

Lesson: Don't glue things on serious guns. No glue I know of is adequate to the task. Even pinning or screwing sights on is usually inadequate. Sights need to anchored in a crosscut, dovetail slot or welded in place."

/John

26 May 04

The 1911 system gets a bad rap:

Last weekend, we had a student show up with a Colt Gold Cup, 1911. It lasted for one hundred rounds, then stopped feeding, because the recoil spring was so weak. The rear sight also came loose. We pulled it off the line and replaced it with a S&W 1911, which worked just fine for the rest of the weekend.

I warn students to stay away from any gun that says "target" or "match," or, for that matter, any gun that the maker boasts is capable of anal accuracy. I believe anal accuracy and reliability are inherently incompatible, and I therefore have no interest in "accurate" guns. I like utility, working guns that are designed and built for serious, not trivial, purposes.

The 1911 system gets screwed with so much by gunsmiths and manufacturers alike in an effort to make it hyper-accurate, it is getting an unhappy reputation. Real 1911s are plenty accurate enough for any serious purpose.

/John