Which Handgun For School?

[45shooter]

My brother will be attending a well known shooting school in near future.
I was told that it will be a 4 (maybe 5?) days of training starting with the very basics and will require firing about 2,000 rounds.

My brother used to shoot a lot (10,000+ rounds per year) for about 15 years but only shot 1911A1 style pistols. He has played with practically every major pistol out on the market but never liked anything except 1911A1 design.

For past 4 years he has been living overseas so he has not fired one shot during all that time. When he returns he will be attending this shooting school so he can start off with clean slate and not develop any bad shooting habits.

He had originally planned to go to the school with couple of his 1911A1 pistols but he is having some second thoughts as he is slowy developing some physical problems on his shoulder and elbow. He thinks 45ACP caliber may become "too much" for him at school so now he is thinking about taking couple 9mm Glock pistols instead.

He figures the 9mm recoil will not bother his shoulder and elbow as much as 45APC would and since Glock has heavier and more "difficult" trigger. Also, he figues that if he could learn to manage a Glock trigger at the school the 1911A1 trigger would be piece of cake to teach himself later. This last point is important to him as he does want to go back to 1911 pistols later.

What do you think? Take the 9mm Glocks or the 1911A1 in 45ACP?
Which would you take?

 

[jocko]

glock

glock, for sure ...

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

How about a 9mm 1911? Dan wesson makes a good one, as well as Kimber. Chip McCormick and Wilson Combat have 9mm magazines for them. If that's not an option I would recommend the Glock.

You may also consider sticking with .45ACP, installing a heavier recoil spring, recoil buffer, and a barrel with compensator to reduce the recoil. Wilson Combat makes the Shok-buf buffers for 1911's and 1/2 dozen can be had from the brownell's catalog for under $10. PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[Owen]

make sure he brings some tape...he's gonna have some blisters.

 

[Quoheleth]

If he likes the 1911 frame (and apparantly he does), the XD series would be right up his alley. Lots of models to chose from: barrel lengths, configurations, etc. Same grip angle, grip safety, and now thumb safety as 1911. Glocks are different grip angle and he may not care for that.

Q

 

[DWARREN123]

The GLOCK and 1911 triggers are so different that I would think he would have more problems going between the two. If he likes 1911 types then a 1911 in 9mm would be best in my opinion. The 45 ACP is not that bad in recoil to my way of thinking.
Good luck to him in school.

 

[45shooter]

He is limited to 1911A1 and Glock pistols for three reasons.

1. He has several 1911A1 pistols in 45ACP caliber and Glock 17, 19 and 34 pistols in his safe. He has other handguns but only the 1911A1 and Glocks pistols he has more than one. He has Sig-220, Beretta 92, etc. but only one of each and he wants to take more than one pistol of same action and caliber in case one breaks.

2. He does not have any 1911A1 pistols in other calibers than 45ACP.

3. He has fired these pistols before and is comfortable with their known reliability and handling characteristics. He doesn't want to take a pistol he has no experience with.

One other issues is that he has all related equipment for these pistols like holsters, mag pouch, magazines, ammo, etc.

I think he should take the Glock as I feel the felt recoil will be mild enough not to shoot 2,000+ rounds without problem. Also, I think the transition from Glock trigger to 1911A1 trigger system would be much easier than going from 1911A1 to Glock trigger.

 

[Dave Markowitz]

He should take whatever pistol he is planning to use for self defense (I'm assuming this is a defensive handgunning course). One should train how one fights.

 

[skinewmexico]

+1 for the XD. More like a 1911 as far as grip angle. But shooting is like falling off a bicycle, you never forget how. He won't be starting with a clean slate, just because he hasn't done it for a while.

 

[slik_rik30]

Not sure that 2,000 rounds of anything is going to be a walk in the park on a bum shoulder.

I agree that he needs to take whichever he plans on carrying MOST of the time.

No sense in training with the Glock and carrying the 1911. (or vice versa)

 

[45shooter]

He is taking the class to develop safe and proper handgun handing skills and to make sure he doesn't develop any bad habits as he starts to re-learn everything. He doesn't (can't) carry where he lives and for home defense he keeps a compact 12 gauge pumpgun next to the night stand so he's not in it to develop selfdefense shooting skills.

 

[griz312000]

Dad used to say "Dance with the one that brung you". .45 in steel frame 1911 shouldn't be that bad, but then I am partial to them.

 

[possum]

i would say take the glock. tthe glock 19 inparticular

 

[Tribal]

I know Jeff Cooper recommended against DAO pistols at Gunsite as much of the work was done from the cocked position.

 

[Erik]

Suggest to him, since he seems concerned and won't want to be second guessing himself, to bring the Glock 17 and 19, shooting the 17 as primary. Afterward, the knowledge, skill, and ability developed can be applied using whatever pistol he decides to favor.

 

[Erik]

And I disagree with the notion that a shooter's knowledge, skill, and ability is somehow limited to one make and model of gun. As if an expert shooter using gun A suddenly has no idea of what to do with gun B. That's just not the case, unless you're cross section of shooters falls decidedly on the novice side of the spectrum. Even then its arguably an over-stated concern. Its the shooter folks, not the gun.

 

[berkbw]

I would suggest that he rent and try a S&W M&P45. It has a pretty soft recoil and is easy to bring back on target. The "new" trigger pull is a tad rough, but will "break in". It IS easier on the shoulder.

b-

 

[Autolycus]

I would suggest the 1911 as it is what he is familiar with.

 

[threefeathers]

I'm taking my carry HK P2K to LFI 1, That said I vote for him taking the gun he will CCW.

 

[GRIZ22]

If he already has several 1911s and 3 Glocks I'd go with one of those. The G17 and G19 would do and ammo costs wouls be less. Bring a spare in case of a serious braekdown though.

 

[Owen]

also if he has basic vs "nice" pistols, bring the standard ones.

A stock Glock or close to GI 1911 probably won't have to be cleaned all week. An Ed Brown or Nighthawk will probably have to be cleaned at lunch, and after class every day to stay reliable.

 

[SAS Mayhem]

Also as a side note, what ever gun he pick, he might want to make sure it's already broken in. Some guns need a few round thru them before they settle in. I don't think he wants to be in class with a virgin pistol. I'm partial th 1911's. Tha's what I care CCW.