This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1911 being adopted for use by the United States Army. Today the pistol is just as popular as it has ever been with many manufacturers releasing anniversary editions. The 1911 is known for its accuracy, reliability, and simple operation. The history of the 1911 is very impressive.
In 1906 the Army had begun seeking a replacement for the .38 caliber revolvers currently being issued to its troops. They sought a reliable automatic pistol with more stopping power than the .38. It was decided by the Army that the .45 caliber round would suit its needs. At the time John Browning had been designing an automatic pistol in .38 Super for Colt. He modified the design for the .45 cartridge. The design was submitted with others from companies such as Smith and Wesson and Savage for testing.
Out of about a half a dozen different designs the Colt, designed by John Browning, and a pistol manufactured by Savage were selected for a final test. Thousands of rounds were fired through the pistols after being put through tests such as being buried in sand or dunked in acid. The Colt proved to be the most reliable and was adopted by the Army in March of 1911.
Over the years the 1911 has been carried by many Armies around the world. Colt and other manufacturers have released many modifications for the gun, but the basic parts and operation have remained the same. Today dozens of manufacturers construct 1911 pistols for sale to the public. Unfortunately (at least in the author's opinion) the 1911 was replaced by the Beretta M9 for use by the United States Military. The pistol has however made a come back and is currently in use by some special operations units.
Let's celebrate this famous pistol this year by taking your favorite 1911 to the range and firing a few hundred rounds.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
The best advertising in the world
The best advertisement is the one your customer does for you. This gentleman is a member of our range and was actually doing a critique on a range he visited while in Atlanta.
"I will try to sum up my impression of sharpshooters in roswell, based on my experiences today. but be forewarned, im going to be 100% honest in my assessment of this range.
i will start by saying that i do all my indoor shooting at Patrick's uniforms, in Garden City. Any of you who have been to Patrick's know that it is a VERY high class indoor range. so here we go....
initial impression of the store.... pulling into the parking lot, first thought is that its a very outstanding looking building, kinda like a mix of a walgreens and a bass pro shop. walking in the front door, i was impressed with the spacious layout, and how un-cluttered the floor space is. the counters are all very nice, and looks like there is gonna be one hell of a pile of guns in there once all the shelves are stocked, and the gun racks are filled.
after being there a while, it was time to shoot. my thoughts.... i understand the emphasis on safety, and i can appreciate it, i really do. i understand that there are plenty of idiots in the world, and i also realize that there is a particularly high concentration of them around the atlanta area. however, i think all around safety is taken a bit too far.
1- they require a photo copy of your drivers license
2- copy of drivers license is printed onto a waiver that you have to sign
3- you are required to wear a cap with a forward facing brim
4- you are required to watch a safety video
5- you have a lanyard with your lane # on it
6- there is a full time range officer in the range.
7- you are required to wash your hands, face, and forearms before leaving the range
annoyances - ok, this may be a bit long.
1- the foul line laser is a bit high, and the targets hang a bit low. it is very annoying having the buzzer go off every few minutes, then you have to put your gun down and back away from the firing line every time someone with a silhouette target bring their target back to home and it breaks the foul line laser. this happend 3 times in 20 minutes while i was shooting. (on other lanes)
2- the range just feels......... unfinished. you kind of feel like you are shooting in an underground bunker. (patricks is very well finished, and has a much more alive feel to it)
3- you have to activate a button to go through the door. this is difficult to do with a range bag in one hand, and targets in the other.
4- the target holders operate in yards, so you can only shoot in 3 foot increments.
5- the target holders dont have any sort of rotation feature, and only go to shooting distance, then back. (the target holders at patricks have rotation, and can be programmed to go to a set distance, stop, move, rotate, and do "shoot / dont shoot" type scenarios)
6- the targets. they only have one target with any sort of bullseye, and the lines on it are so faint you cant hardly see them past 2 yards. (due to this, i shot the worst ive shot in a year)
7- you are required to have all of your gear (range bag, ammo, everything) inside of your shooting stall.
8- the tables in the shooting stalls are slick laminated tops, but only about 8 inches wide. i see many, MANY, dropped guns in the future. (the tables need to be covered with some sort of rubbery cover, so stuff wont slide around).
9- the range officer. forum user "samman23" was one of the range officers we met, and he was great, but the guy in there before him was kind of annoying.
things that i was impressed with about this range-
1- the shooting stalls are wide. 4 feet actually, however this is kind of negated by being required to have all your stuff inside the stall with you.
2- they have plenty of lanes, i believe it was 24 lanes.
summary -
dont take this the wrong way. i am in no way saying this range is a subpar range. this is a VERY high end range. of all the places ive seen, this is the second best indoor range ive ever seen. fortunately, the BEST ive ever seen is the one that is close enough to be my main range. I have confidence that Patrick's may very well be the nicest indoor range in the country, but sharpshooters has to be the closest thing you will ever find to it.
there are a lot employees there, and they are all ready to help you. they have an awesome range, and a great storefront. they have a great selection, and decent prices. if you any of you guys are looking for a nice range to shoot at, then you should definately check out sharpshooters, its one heck of a range!"
That is one heck of a compliment to our facility and staff. It would seem we are the benchmark that other ranges are compared to. We strive every day to exceed customer expectations and it is very flattering to see in writing how our hard work has left a lasting impression on at least one gentleman.
"I will try to sum up my impression of sharpshooters in roswell, based on my experiences today. but be forewarned, im going to be 100% honest in my assessment of this range.
i will start by saying that i do all my indoor shooting at Patrick's uniforms, in Garden City. Any of you who have been to Patrick's know that it is a VERY high class indoor range. so here we go....
initial impression of the store.... pulling into the parking lot, first thought is that its a very outstanding looking building, kinda like a mix of a walgreens and a bass pro shop. walking in the front door, i was impressed with the spacious layout, and how un-cluttered the floor space is. the counters are all very nice, and looks like there is gonna be one hell of a pile of guns in there once all the shelves are stocked, and the gun racks are filled.
after being there a while, it was time to shoot. my thoughts.... i understand the emphasis on safety, and i can appreciate it, i really do. i understand that there are plenty of idiots in the world, and i also realize that there is a particularly high concentration of them around the atlanta area. however, i think all around safety is taken a bit too far.
1- they require a photo copy of your drivers license
2- copy of drivers license is printed onto a waiver that you have to sign
3- you are required to wear a cap with a forward facing brim
4- you are required to watch a safety video
5- you have a lanyard with your lane # on it
6- there is a full time range officer in the range.
7- you are required to wash your hands, face, and forearms before leaving the range
annoyances - ok, this may be a bit long.
1- the foul line laser is a bit high, and the targets hang a bit low. it is very annoying having the buzzer go off every few minutes, then you have to put your gun down and back away from the firing line every time someone with a silhouette target bring their target back to home and it breaks the foul line laser. this happend 3 times in 20 minutes while i was shooting. (on other lanes)
2- the range just feels......... unfinished. you kind of feel like you are shooting in an underground bunker. (patricks is very well finished, and has a much more alive feel to it)
3- you have to activate a button to go through the door. this is difficult to do with a range bag in one hand, and targets in the other.
4- the target holders operate in yards, so you can only shoot in 3 foot increments.
5- the target holders dont have any sort of rotation feature, and only go to shooting distance, then back. (the target holders at patricks have rotation, and can be programmed to go to a set distance, stop, move, rotate, and do "shoot / dont shoot" type scenarios)
6- the targets. they only have one target with any sort of bullseye, and the lines on it are so faint you cant hardly see them past 2 yards. (due to this, i shot the worst ive shot in a year)
7- you are required to have all of your gear (range bag, ammo, everything) inside of your shooting stall.
8- the tables in the shooting stalls are slick laminated tops, but only about 8 inches wide. i see many, MANY, dropped guns in the future. (the tables need to be covered with some sort of rubbery cover, so stuff wont slide around).
9- the range officer. forum user "samman23" was one of the range officers we met, and he was great, but the guy in there before him was kind of annoying.
things that i was impressed with about this range-
1- the shooting stalls are wide. 4 feet actually, however this is kind of negated by being required to have all your stuff inside the stall with you.
2- they have plenty of lanes, i believe it was 24 lanes.
summary -
dont take this the wrong way. i am in no way saying this range is a subpar range. this is a VERY high end range. of all the places ive seen, this is the second best indoor range ive ever seen. fortunately, the BEST ive ever seen is the one that is close enough to be my main range. I have confidence that Patrick's may very well be the nicest indoor range in the country, but sharpshooters has to be the closest thing you will ever find to it.
there are a lot employees there, and they are all ready to help you. they have an awesome range, and a great storefront. they have a great selection, and decent prices. if you any of you guys are looking for a nice range to shoot at, then you should definately check out sharpshooters, its one heck of a range!"
That is one heck of a compliment to our facility and staff. It would seem we are the benchmark that other ranges are compared to. We strive every day to exceed customer expectations and it is very flattering to see in writing how our hard work has left a lasting impression on at least one gentleman.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Gunfighting 101
There are 3 simple rules to a gunfight.
1) Bring a GUN!
2) Bring the biggest gun you can.
3) If your friends have guns...bring them too!
Why this post? I was reading a firearm industry magazine and noticed an article about a gentleman who thought he could gun fight. The gentleman in question started an altercation with some other fine upstanding citizens at a private party. He kept referring to the bulge at his waistline and asking if anyone "wanted some".
It seems the offended party had enough and escorted the crasher out with help of 2 friends. The crasher made a move for his belt line. At this point the 3 gentlemen (all firearm permit holders) proceeded to draw their pistols and ventilate the party crasher full of so many holes he would float. Police were called and the crasher was pronounced DRT. (Dead Right There for those of you not in the know)
Upon further inspection the crasher had a CAULK GUN tucked into his waistband. The outline looked VERY much like that of a pistol. So much so in fact that even his girlfriend thought it was a real. The shooting was later determined to be justifiable self defense.
What did we learn from this? Threatening people with the threat of a gun, a fake gun or even the outline of a gun can be hazardous to your health. In this modern age MANY law abiding citizens have taken their right to self defense seriously. More than a few take gun fighting seriously and so do their well armed friends. So if you plan on acting like a thug, or making threats at least remember the first rule of gun fighting....unless of course you plan to seal them up.
It seems the offended party had enough and escorted the crasher out with help of 2 friends. The crasher made a move for his belt line. At this point the 3 gentlemen (all firearm permit holders) proceeded to draw their pistols and ventilate the party crasher full of so many holes he would float. Police were called and the crasher was pronounced DRT. (Dead Right There for those of you not in the know)
Upon further inspection the crasher had a CAULK GUN tucked into his waistband. The outline looked VERY much like that of a pistol. So much so in fact that even his girlfriend thought it was a real. The shooting was later determined to be justifiable self defense.
What did we learn from this? Threatening people with the threat of a gun, a fake gun or even the outline of a gun can be hazardous to your health. In this modern age MANY law abiding citizens have taken their right to self defense seriously. More than a few take gun fighting seriously and so do their well armed friends. So if you plan on acting like a thug, or making threats at least remember the first rule of gun fighting....unless of course you plan to seal them up.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Welcome Aboard!!
Welcome to the new Patrick's Gun Range blog. This blog will be about a lot more than just guns or our range. We will have several permanent authors as well as guest bloggers on specific subjects. We will be running the gambit of everything from guns, to shooting, to personal safety and all points in between.
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