Remington's 1911 R1 Carry Part 2

Shooting a traditional 1911 in 45 ACP is fun. Ask anyone who has had substantial experience with this firearm and they will tell you that the quality guns of this type are very accurate and relatively easy to master. So why so some people persist in saying the 1911 has outrageous recoil and is impossible to control? Chances are they have not logged much experience with the pistol or they are parroting a line borrowed from other inexperienced people posting on message boards.

The thing about 1911 type pistols, particularly all steel guns, is that they feel like a gun. They have a bit of heft, the long span across the top of the slide makes for rapid target acquisition and steady aim, the gun’s balance makes for a steady muzzle and keeps the barrel down for rapid follow on shots. The flat mainspring housing guns, particularly with a beavertail safety, are some of the most comfortable to grip and they have a very intuitive point. Between the traditional form of the Remington 1911 R1 Carry and its sights, it is a pleasure to shoot and worth the relatively precious ammo consumed during this project.

Wow! The 45 ACP is a big cartridge…

The Remington 1911 R1 Carry was shot with both 7 and 8 round magazines with each of the ammo types pictured below and, additionally, with magazines filled with mixed ammo types. There were no failures to feed or eject or to lock open on empty.

Home defensive cartridge selection isn’t always the same as ideal concealed carry ammunition. The anticipated settings tend to dictate ammunition type. Nothing noted above, in left to right order, would qualify as a barn burner, however, with the exception of the last, they all have specialized bullet types designed for personal defense. Two notables –

My favorite round is the Remington Ultra Home Defense because of the type of structure my wife and I live in, the setting in regard to nearest neighbors and because of the flow and count of occupants. Golden Saber bullets expand reliably and extensively while retaining weight. Velocity assures good penetration, yet they are a controllable round in terms of recoil and accuracy.

Federal’s Guard Dog should be a good round for close quarter defense where excessive penetration would be a problem and/or where reliable feed of hollow points would be concerns. The bullet type is expanding, a full metal jacket covers a lead and poly core. Expansion is mechanical, rather than hydraulic which should make for more reliable expansion and reduced bullet weight reduces bullet inertia to control penetration within a structure.

It’s nice to be able to see the holes…

I am a creature of habit with a supply of hundreds of thousands of plain paper targets, or something on that order. However, after being called out as a dinosaur, stegosaurus I believe, I tried Shoot-N-C targets. They kind of take the joy out of walking back and forth and back and forth to check targets or squinting through a spotting scope between shots. OK… they are actually kind of fun and they do tend to speed up the accuracy checking, sight adjusting process.

Three shot groups, 21 feet, two hand hold, bullets measured on centers – Bottom Left, Hornady TAP 0.7″, Bottom Right, Speer Gold Dot 0.5″, Top Right, Federal Guard Dog, 0.4″, Center, Remington Home Defense, 0.2″. Point of impact as compared to diamond point of aim. Federal Personal Defense and Remington UMC were not shot for accuracy. The Remington 1911 R1 was a pleasure to shoot. Nice tight gun, easy to control and very accurate for a carry pistol… for most any pistol.

A little perspective

On a shooting bench, in a holster or in hand, the Remington Model 1911 R1 Carry is an attractive, well made and good shooting firearm. I urge anyone who hasn’t had the experience, try one as the experience of shooting one can do the gun a lot more justice than my pile of adjectives. If the Carry version isn’t the perfect selection for you, Remington has 6 other models to select from, ranging from the basic R1 to the Enhanced Threaded Barrel version in both carbon and stainless steel. For further details on all, stop by the Remington R1 site.