I have been a wheel gun for years - shooting mostly Dan Wesson .357s. All year I have been thinking about 1911s, reading a little about them here and there, liking the history, and then the 'need' started to grow.
I did ask a fellow shooter that has owned several brands of 1911 from budget brands to expensive customs what he recommended for $2k CDN (with my preference being a Dan Wesson)? To my surprise, he suggested an R1 - saying he believed DWs were priced higher than their value.
With Prophet River's year-end sales happening, I succumbed to that craving and jumped right into the deep end and ordered my first 1911 without ever firing one; a Remington R1 Carry Commander Crimson Trace with (2) 7 round mags and (3) additional Remington 8 round mags. I should add that this is also my first semi-auto centre fire pistol, so I have much to learn (and appreciate).
I was nervous about causing an 'idiot scratch', but found tear-down and cleaning quite easy. Happy with the cleaning and oiling, I took it to the range today. Here are my initial impressions:
* I like 45 ACP. Snaps similar to my .357 hot loads but I can see those big holes easier.
* It took me a few mags to adjust to this pistol having a 6 o'clock sighting, whereas all my other revolvers and rim fire pistols have target sight (frame) holds.
* I shot 100 rounds without a hiccup of any kind, no FTF, FTL, or FTE
* The trigger has more take-up travel than I like. Is there a way to clean that up?
* All but 1 mag drops cleanly. I'm thinking it may just need to be used a little....or is there a little tune I can do to it to get it to drop?
* I quite like the Crimson Trace grips. I have quite large hands and usually have difficulty finding grips large enough without going custom. These grips were comfortable for me and the laser helped me adjust to the 6 o'clock sighting. I will need to adjust it a bit, as the laser was low at 25 metres.
Other than the trigger long travel take-up, I am smiling big time; very content with the style and brand. I can see these 1911s multiplying in short order - I still want a Dan Wesson and I think a Colt for nostalgic reasons.
Here are some pics from the range yesterday, it was a cool -10c but at least it was sunny. These targets are set at 10 metres and I was an additional 1 metre back from the firing line to stop my shells from flying into the snow (I will reload after some more reading). All shot while standing and shooting free hand.
The first target pic here shows the POI from aiming based on target (frame) sights that I'm used to, only then realizing the gun is a 6 o'clock hold. The squares on the target are 1" each.
I did ask a fellow shooter that has owned several brands of 1911 from budget brands to expensive customs what he recommended for $2k CDN (with my preference being a Dan Wesson)? To my surprise, he suggested an R1 - saying he believed DWs were priced higher than their value.
With Prophet River's year-end sales happening, I succumbed to that craving and jumped right into the deep end and ordered my first 1911 without ever firing one; a Remington R1 Carry Commander Crimson Trace with (2) 7 round mags and (3) additional Remington 8 round mags. I should add that this is also my first semi-auto centre fire pistol, so I have much to learn (and appreciate).
I was nervous about causing an 'idiot scratch', but found tear-down and cleaning quite easy. Happy with the cleaning and oiling, I took it to the range today. Here are my initial impressions:
* I like 45 ACP. Snaps similar to my .357 hot loads but I can see those big holes easier.
* It took me a few mags to adjust to this pistol having a 6 o'clock sighting, whereas all my other revolvers and rim fire pistols have target sight (frame) holds.
* I shot 100 rounds without a hiccup of any kind, no FTF, FTL, or FTE
* The trigger has more take-up travel than I like. Is there a way to clean that up?
* All but 1 mag drops cleanly. I'm thinking it may just need to be used a little....or is there a little tune I can do to it to get it to drop?
* I quite like the Crimson Trace grips. I have quite large hands and usually have difficulty finding grips large enough without going custom. These grips were comfortable for me and the laser helped me adjust to the 6 o'clock sighting. I will need to adjust it a bit, as the laser was low at 25 metres.
Other than the trigger long travel take-up, I am smiling big time; very content with the style and brand. I can see these 1911s multiplying in short order - I still want a Dan Wesson and I think a Colt for nostalgic reasons.
Here are some pics from the range yesterday, it was a cool -10c but at least it was sunny. These targets are set at 10 metres and I was an additional 1 metre back from the firing line to stop my shells from flying into the snow (I will reload after some more reading). All shot while standing and shooting free hand.
The first target pic here shows the POI from aiming based on target (frame) sights that I'm used to, only then realizing the gun is a 6 o'clock hold. The squares on the target are 1" each.
Attachments
Last edited:
