Another fun @theuspsa match this weekend at @sapsa_fl. Great weather and even better crew of maniacs kept me laughing even when I was under performing. Shooting Carry Optics (Glock 17) from AIWB has been a bit of a learning curve and I have much work yet to do. I did manage a CO stage win, though I was unable to maintain that level of precision in vision for the rest of the match.  @forwardcontrols plate @oakleystandardissue Meta Vanguard @supervel 124gr FMJ @108performance base pads

If you're running one of my @springfieldarmoryinc @lipseysguns 10-8 Master Class pistols, @tenicorusa has you covered with a variety of holsters specifically updated for the 10-8 (pick the 5" 2011 option). If you want to rock the 10-8 old school with irons, it comes with a ledge profile U notch rear and green fiber optic front. Please keep in mind that due to mounting on the AOS plate, the rear sight is a unique dovetail. The front is the standard Springfield dovetail, .350x.078x60deg.

My new @springfieldarmoryinc Echelon runs well with slightly hotter ammo to provide more gas for the porting. The gun returns like a champ with this Winchester 115gr at 1200fps, which works out to a 138 Power Factor in USPSA math. By comparison, Blazer Brass 115gr runs at just barely 1090fps for a 125 PF...if you're having a good day. You don't have to go nuts and run +P, just a bit more gas and sight return will be crisp. For my review of this Echelon, see LINK in BIO.

I recently updated my old Gen4 Glock 19 from a Type 2 @trijicon RMR to an RMR HD with a steel @forwardcontrols plate. I am often asked why I'm using new plates. This pic shows the fit of the optic to the plate without any screws installed. The interface of the optic to the plate and the plate to the slide should be doing all of the work of accepting shearing forces from recoil. The screws are just supposed to hold the optic down onto the plate.

The new @springfieldarmoryinc Echelon Pro 4.5F Comp brings together their ported slide/barrel comp design with a laser textured grip, heavy steel guide rod, and detachable mag well. Video is at LINK in BIO, and you can see an extended cut on my Patreon!

Let's start the week with my @staccato2011 HD C3.6, sporting the new 10-8 machined aluminum base pad for the factory MecGar 15rd mag. The pad has been updated with a thicker design to allow more access when using the factory mag well.

This Gen4 G17 had languished NIB in my safe for some 12 years, and is now happily reconfigured to help me with my need for speed.  Slide: @SLRRifleworks  Optic: The People's Optic 507 Pro Max Trigger: Timney shoe, OEM internals +5 Pad: 10-8 Performance

What better way to celebrate International 10-8 Day than with my @springfieldarmoryinc/@lipseysguns 10-8 Master Class? I'm quite sure it's a real holiday. Pretty sure.

My original @staccato2011 HD P4 is looking refreshed with a tan grip module and the new 10-8 Performance machined aluminum pad for the MecGar 18rd magazine.

After a few weeks of running Glocks, I realized that my old stand by Gen4 G19 was lagging behind with its old Type2 RMR. I'd already upgraded the old plate to a @forwardcontrols when changing the battery on the RMR, so it was quick work to drop on the RMR HD. Since everyone asks: slide was done by the now defunct AMF Defense, trigger is a Timney shoe on OEM components (minus connector and Gen3 trigger bar). Pads and +5 extension are 10-8 Performance.

My old 2020 @staccato2011 P 4.45" came back home to roost after being away a few years. This was my main teaching gun back when I was doing the factory's armorer courses. This year was also the final year that the guns had a 10-8 slide stop as a factory part. I was very proud to have been able to supply those for the early boom era of this model.

This pistol, built for me in 1992-3 by my friend Bruce Gray @brucegrayggi, shows many influences that can be seen in my own 1911 builds and designs. The gun is finished in Black T and sports Ahrends grips, Vic International flat trigger, EGW weld on mag well, and flawless 30lpi hand checkering. I've liked flat triggers on 1911s for quite some time now....

Early 90's build in 9x23, with Tasco PDP3 optic in a George Huening carbon fiber mount, on a Chip McCormick modular frame kit. The 2011 that we now know was introduced in 1992 by the Chip McCormick Corp, and the grip modules had a glued in medallion which often fell out like in this sample. Chip soon left the venture, which originally included Sandy Strayer and Virgil Tripp. The frames were next distributed by Tripp and marked TRI (with a molded grip logo), and then by Strayer under STI.

One of the early contenders in the 1911 double stack race was the Caspian race ready frame, which had a proprietary magazine, integral mag well, and squared trigger guard. It didn't stay in the running for long, as the frame was heavy and large. The Caspian and Para Ordnance frame kits eventually lost out, and we'll take a peek at the winner in tomorrow's post.

This absolute gem from the Springfield Custom Shop, likely build around 1990-91, shows the very rapid change in USPSA guns during that 1-2 year period from '90-92. After Jerry Barnhart won the 1990 USPSA Nationals with a single stack .38 Super with a Tasco PDP2 optic, everything changed. Single stack guns like this one had optic mounts added on top of the irons until their owners got their double stack guns built. 📸@akscott60

This week I thought it would be fun to look back at the early 90's, an era of the 1911 that was formative and meaningful to me. This 1991 Behlert Precision catalog marked the season where seismic changes really took hold at the club and regional level of USPSA, with iron sighted single stack guns like this one giving way to double stack 1911 frame kits and optics. I shot for Behlert's during this time period, and it was a very interesting time to be involved in USPSA.

#fortyfivefriday with a 1982 Colt Combat Government, dressed with period appropriate Pachmayr grips and Devel magazine. The Devel magazine was revolutionary at the time, with a folded spring steel follower to fit 1 additional round in the tube, which made it a big deal in IPSC back then because we could then engage 4 targets with one round left over to perform a slide forward reload. This particular Devel magazine also has the relatively rare cast heavy base pad.

Our revised base pads for the @staccato2011 MecGar 18rd magazines are back, with a thicker profile for improved traction when used with a mag well. After testing them for an entire USPSA season, I am very proud to announce a +5 extension kit for the Glock OEM mag that is built to withstand the rigors of duty and competition use alike. Oh and we have more Armorer Blocks. 😎

My Gen4 G17 with @SLRRifleworks slide and The People's Optic 507 Pro Max finally got out this past weekend for a run at the club USPSA match. Even though the worked over OEM components (including Gen3 trigger bar and OEM minus connector) provide a very good Glock trigger....it's still a Glock trigger. What do you guys use for trigger components in your performance/competition Glocks?

Running this weekend's match from AIWB was a good litmus for my skill set. It is one thing to work the skills when standing still, but adding movement to either the draw or reload certainly increase the difficulty. I was satisfied with the precision and consistency of draws and reloads during the entire match, but there's always speed to be had.