I could shoot a pistol fairly well when I last shot one seriously... 30 years ago.... but I'm now 65 years old, my eyes ain't much, my hands aren't steady and I ain't nearly as strong as I once was - but excuses aside, the 1911 appears to take a bit more practice than most lesser caliber and lighter weight pistols...... and judging by today's trip to the indoor range, I sure need some practice before I carry this one.

I installed a new recoil spring for insurance and shot some rounds of free 230gr target loads, courtesy of the local police department - first at 15 yards, then at 7 yards. I must have been nuts thinking I would start at 15 yards and work to 25 yards. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Here are the poor results - not of the pistol, but my jiggling, waving and jerking the pistol all over the target:

15 yards - 2 hands - target loads

15 yards - offhand - target loads


Those were so disgusting, I shot the rest at 7 yards. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

7 yards - 2 hands - target loads

7 yards - 2 hands - target loads

7 yards - offhand - target loads - one round jerked wild


After shooting up the free target rounds, I switched to Remington 230gr Golden Saber JHPs to see if the pistol would feed those rounds - it did so perfectly well. I slowed down some more and got better results:

7 yards - 2 hands - Rem. G/S


On my last target, I finally began to find the groove:

7 yards - offhand - Rem. G/S


I'm almost satisfied with the last group, but I'm really rusty and need a lot of practice. I should be able to get the results of the last target at 15 yards or I'll need to shoot a lighter weight pistol. I guess I can still scare 'em, though. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Maybe I need to start squeezing a rubber ball for exercise and do some daily dry-fire for a while..... anybody got any other suggestions for improvement?

Frank