BassCliff
Ronin
Hello ladies and gents,
Wow, I just noticed that it's been since November of 2025 since I last shot these .45 pistols. I have one other .45 Derringer but I did not bring it today. I like to do a little compare and contrast when I bring out similar firearms. We begin our episode on lane #8, my favorite.
Most of the targets were distanced at 10 yards but there were a couple at 15 yards. Today was dedicated to marksmanship practice and getting re-familiarized with the Garrison, Sig 1911-X and XD45 5" Tactical, sight pictures, holds, triggers.
I started with the XD45. This trigger is very mushy, breaks like a wet noodle, and the reset is almost non-existent. I kind of like it though. The very first target really was a target.
Then I remembered the tips @KillerFord1977 gave me recently and tried to implement them on the second target. It helped.
Still, one really bad flyer. I'm striving for consistency. Let's see if I keep it up on the next target.
Yep, even better than the last one. I count seven hits inside the 10 ring. Let's see if I can up my game and use an "aim small, miss small" bullseye sticker.
OK, pretty tight group and I came within a hair's breadth of getting them all in the reactive circle. Drat. One more time? Why not?
Drat. I let three get out but managed to get enough hits touching to make a small raggedy hole. OK, that's 50 rounds through the XD45. Moving on to the Garrison, here's the first target.
Not terrible, now that I'm warmed up. The trigger on this Garrison is very crisp but a little heavier than I like. I really have to concentrate on my grip so that my pinky and ring finger don't squeeze too tightly and pull the muzzle low. (That's one of the tips @KillerFord1977 has been coaching me on.) The Garrison's second target kind of falls apart. Guh.
Even though I'm not shooting the Garrison especially well, I want to practice with it using a little more distance. I put on a reactive 8" target and put 20 rounds on it. The target came back like this.
At least the majority of the hits were on the reactive circle. I'll practice with this pistol a little more often at this distance. Let's move on to the Sig 1911-X, back at 10 yards. I have a half dozen 8 round magazines for this pistol and wanted to use them all, testing for function. Here's the first target with two mags, 16 hits on the paper.
This pistol seems a little more refined than the Garrison. I think maybe the Garrison just needs some parts (trigger bar) polished up. I'll stick on another 8" reactive circle for the next 16 rounds.
Looks like I kept all the hits on the 8" target, only a couple outside the 9 ring. I guess that's something. The next target I sent to 15 yards for the next couple of mags.
Yeeowch, a couple of bad flyers. I think I need a little more off hand support to keep the muzzle pushed toward the center as I press the trigger. For grins and giggles, I came right back with 16 rounds through the Garrison at 15 yards.
Wow, that's quite a difference. I'm going to take all these pistols out again next time to see if I can even out their performance, my performance.
This target is just me goofing off with some leftover rounds, 11, using the Sig 1911-X at 10 yards.
For the finale, I used my favorite target at 10 yards and put 10 hits on it using the Sig 1911-X and Garrison. Here's the Sig.
I immediately patched it up and did the same thing with the Garrison.
Well, that's pretty close but I'm going to give the glam shot to the Sig 1911-X.
And since the range was giving away a nice pistol and optic in the target raffle, I decided to take part.
I got that bee right between the eyes and was able to procure two raffle tickets for the price of one.
Even though I had completed the mission with four shots, I put an extra one on the middle flower anyway. I used the Sig for this target since I had been doing pretty well with it today. The Sig 1911-X is cut for an optic but I'm debating whether to use one. We'll see how bad my eyes get. But it would be like putting an optic on a Henry lever. It's an odd anachronism.
On Monday next week I've got another Advanced Defensive Pistol clinic, scootin' and shootin'. I'll be using my Mod.3 with the Holosun optic. I'm sure after this class I'll feel quite comfortable enough to start carrying it regularly. The optic is easier to see with my unaided eye, compared to the iron sights. This old dog is trying to learn new tricks.
Let's be careful out there.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
Wow, I just noticed that it's been since November of 2025 since I last shot these .45 pistols. I have one other .45 Derringer but I did not bring it today. I like to do a little compare and contrast when I bring out similar firearms. We begin our episode on lane #8, my favorite.
Most of the targets were distanced at 10 yards but there were a couple at 15 yards. Today was dedicated to marksmanship practice and getting re-familiarized with the Garrison, Sig 1911-X and XD45 5" Tactical, sight pictures, holds, triggers.
I started with the XD45. This trigger is very mushy, breaks like a wet noodle, and the reset is almost non-existent. I kind of like it though. The very first target really was a target.
Then I remembered the tips @KillerFord1977 gave me recently and tried to implement them on the second target. It helped.
Still, one really bad flyer. I'm striving for consistency. Let's see if I keep it up on the next target.
Yep, even better than the last one. I count seven hits inside the 10 ring. Let's see if I can up my game and use an "aim small, miss small" bullseye sticker.
OK, pretty tight group and I came within a hair's breadth of getting them all in the reactive circle. Drat. One more time? Why not?
Drat. I let three get out but managed to get enough hits touching to make a small raggedy hole. OK, that's 50 rounds through the XD45. Moving on to the Garrison, here's the first target.
Not terrible, now that I'm warmed up. The trigger on this Garrison is very crisp but a little heavier than I like. I really have to concentrate on my grip so that my pinky and ring finger don't squeeze too tightly and pull the muzzle low. (That's one of the tips @KillerFord1977 has been coaching me on.) The Garrison's second target kind of falls apart. Guh.
Even though I'm not shooting the Garrison especially well, I want to practice with it using a little more distance. I put on a reactive 8" target and put 20 rounds on it. The target came back like this.
At least the majority of the hits were on the reactive circle. I'll practice with this pistol a little more often at this distance. Let's move on to the Sig 1911-X, back at 10 yards. I have a half dozen 8 round magazines for this pistol and wanted to use them all, testing for function. Here's the first target with two mags, 16 hits on the paper.
This pistol seems a little more refined than the Garrison. I think maybe the Garrison just needs some parts (trigger bar) polished up. I'll stick on another 8" reactive circle for the next 16 rounds.
Looks like I kept all the hits on the 8" target, only a couple outside the 9 ring. I guess that's something. The next target I sent to 15 yards for the next couple of mags.
Yeeowch, a couple of bad flyers. I think I need a little more off hand support to keep the muzzle pushed toward the center as I press the trigger. For grins and giggles, I came right back with 16 rounds through the Garrison at 15 yards.
Wow, that's quite a difference. I'm going to take all these pistols out again next time to see if I can even out their performance, my performance.
This target is just me goofing off with some leftover rounds, 11, using the Sig 1911-X at 10 yards.
For the finale, I used my favorite target at 10 yards and put 10 hits on it using the Sig 1911-X and Garrison. Here's the Sig.
I immediately patched it up and did the same thing with the Garrison.
Well, that's pretty close but I'm going to give the glam shot to the Sig 1911-X.
And since the range was giving away a nice pistol and optic in the target raffle, I decided to take part.
I got that bee right between the eyes and was able to procure two raffle tickets for the price of one.
Even though I had completed the mission with four shots, I put an extra one on the middle flower anyway. I used the Sig for this target since I had been doing pretty well with it today. The Sig 1911-X is cut for an optic but I'm debating whether to use one. We'll see how bad my eyes get. But it would be like putting an optic on a Henry lever. It's an odd anachronism.
On Monday next week I've got another Advanced Defensive Pistol clinic, scootin' and shootin'. I'll be using my Mod.3 with the Holosun optic. I'm sure after this class I'll feel quite comfortable enough to start carrying it regularly. The optic is easier to see with my unaided eye, compared to the iron sights. This old dog is trying to learn new tricks.
Let's be careful out there. Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
