When I was young, I set aside a Beretta .380 with a tip-up barrel for when I got too old to run the slide on a semiautomatic pistol. Ain’t there yet, thank God, but it got me thinking.
There’s sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass that accompanies old age. There’s sciatica, that can be a problem when you carry a heavy handgun on your hip from dawn to after dusk. When I was young, I figured that by my age now I’d be carrying a lightweight Colt Commander .45 automatic. (Yes, people my age still say “automatic” instead of “semiautomatic,” dammit.) It turned out: almost. I’m in my 1911 time of the year, and on my own time often carry a Wilson Combat SFT9. It’s an aluminum frame gun the same size as a Colt Commander, but it holds 15 rounds of 9mm and a 16th in the chamber instead of the 7 or 8 plus one of a .45. Patterns of violent crime have changed since I was young: more multiple offenders, more bad guys with body armor, all of which might require more rounds on tap immediately. Today’s 9mm self-defense ammo is a lot better than yesteryear’s.
When I’m teaching, I switch to a Springfield Armory 1911, usually either a Ronin 9mm or a Range Officer .45. Why? The SFT9 sells for around three grand. When you’re teaching a shooting class you don’t want the students thinking “Yeah, he can do that with his three thousand dollar gun, but…” Using a pistol that doesn’t cost more than the tuition for the class shows what you’re trying to get across to the class: It’s not about the gun so much as it’s about the shooter, and it’s not even about the shooter as much as it’s about consistent application of the proven techniques you are trying to teach them.
By the time you see this I should be at, or coming back from, the final running of my all time favorite match, The Pin Shoot (www.pinshoot.com). Most of the shooting there is blasting heavy bowling pins off steel tables, and that’s a .45-favoring game. When I’m not at the range I’ll still be packing a .45 automatic loaded with Federal HST 230 grain +P hollow points. As the late, great instructor Pat Rogers famously said, “The mission drives the gear train.”
You are free to mutter “OK, boomer” if you wish.
But when people ask me “9mm or .45,” age notwithstanding, my answer is likely to be…”Yes.”
I switched from a Springfield Armory 1911 to the S&W .45 M&P Shield because the 1911 keeps pulling my pants down when I wear it all day.
That’s why God invented suspenders.
My ‘summer gun’ here in hot SC has been a .380, but I too switched to the .45 M&P Shield and real happy about it. My thick belt holds my pants up fine either way…
As I get older my thoughts and desired weapons are changing. I find myself making safe queens of the guns I relished when I was younger and now opting for different choices. I have arthritis in my hands and my vision is more challenged. I have been an avid “Mas” follower for decades and I am a big 45 fan and now getting back into 9mm for all the reasons you preach regularly. But I am a true 357Mag and 10mm guy at heart, I just find myself using them less often lately (although I have found new love with the Ruger LC Carbine 10mm). I even recently changed my 12ga sporting SG for a 20ga which was a great choice. I will continue shooting until I am in the dirt or an urn, frankly the changes with age are keeping it interesting. Thank you Mas for all your years and continued wisdom you have imparted to us.
Us old farts could just go to hand grenades, just pull the pin and toss it. No fuss no muss. Easy peasy. On a little more serious note, co-witnes sights give ya a great deal of material to use against pants, belts hard surfaces to rack a slide.
Mas, you leave me with a question, please.
Specifically, what all do you consider, outside of class, when deciding whether to carry the 16 round SFT9, or the ,45 automatic with half that ammo? I might be tempted to guess that when you believe you’re heading into dangerous territory in these changing times, you choose the higher round count of the 9mm…but I’ve learned from you that both you (and I) are smart enough not to wander into danger on our own time…or has time come to rethink that in these new and challenging days and nights? We’re always learning, right? Blessings and thank you for decades of learning, teacher!
Piet, we’re seeing a trend to more multiple opponents in carjackings, armed robberies and home invasions lately. More targets need more bullets…
As a 1947 model, I will hang on to my 1911 too.
A series 70 Gold Cop, that I had Irve Stone of Barstow fit a new barrel to.
I love that pistol so much it may get buried with me. I will tell them to cock it and leave it unlocked. Because that trigger is so sweet I bet my ghost will be able to pull it.
At 75 +, Yes, yes and yes.
Ahhh, the pitfall of a well lived life…
Sciatica.
And “Yes” to 9mm or .45 automatic.
Ok boomer. My compromise is a M&P 40 2.0 midsize with a 15 rd mag. I train with it weekly using 180gr as well as an m&P metal in 9.
Shot 300 at mag 40 class of 10/28/12
A recent range trip confirmed that I’m definitely a 9mm lad, and that’s just fine with me. I’m also fine my wife carrying an air weight .38 as primary and for myself as secondary. As you say Uncle Mas, modern loads have closed the caliber gaps usually, so Gold Dot or HST are our preferences.
Mas,
I’m sorry to miss the last ever “Pin” shoot at the only venue I considered the real thing. Richard did it right!
My view on the 9mm goes back to a scribbling by a RO on a prop wall at the 1990 USPSA Nationals at Barry. “The 9mm is a 38 Super set on stun”. In those days, the 9 was pretty much looked down on.
I have had arthritis creep into my left thumb, forefinger and wrist causing immense pain even trying to screw on a nut lately. I can still rack my slide but I know the time is coming when I will not be able to. I will cross that bridge then. I have taken 2 MAG 40s with Mas in Lincoln Nebraska and he was able to out shoot the whole class with his 45 on the qualifications. Even taking a drink of water in between mag changes if I remember correctly. It was hotter than hades that week.
I’ll continue to carry a government length 1911 chambered in .45 AARP until the @ss b@ndit forces me into suspenders and a more modest accommodation.
For the truly recoil-sensitive and/or arthritic amongst our number, the S&W .380 EZ is a real possibility. First time Bonnie & I shot ours, we had to check it was .380, not .32 auto! Yes, it’s “just a .380”, but I don’t see any standing in line to get shot with “just a .380”. Those miscreants who will be deterred, will be deterred by most any caliber, and the EZ has the accuracy required to make stopping shots. Improved bullet technology has migrated across many popular calibers.
Best of luck at the Pin Shoot, and give our love to all of our friends up there! We will miss you all.
Will do. Won’t be the same without you.
Yeah. Living in a hi-cap ban state, a .45 LW Commander does it for me.
My Glocks have a ring added to back of slide. Easy for old digits to pull back.
One of the blessings of a long life is the curse of not being to live like you used to.
I carried (in order) a Smith M.66, Colt Python, Smith custom Model 24. .44 Spl., Colt 1911 Govt. Model .45, Colt Combat Commander .45, Colt LW Commander .45, Colt LW Officer’s Model .45 and Colt Mustang .380 (deep UC work) during my 36+ year LEO career. Retired now 19 years and heading our church safety team, I find myself carrying a Ruger RXM. Why? Because arthritis has robbed me of the ability of shooting the .45s enough to stay as proficient as I need to be. And (as Mas always says) the Instructor should shoot what the students shoot. The folks on our team all shoot striker-fired 9s (except for one old rodeo cowboy who carries a Smith Shield .45…tuff ‘ombre that one.)
Somehow a .45 that goes “boom” instead of a 9 that goes “bang” just seems fitting for a “boomer”.
That said, I rarely carry a .45 anymore. The 9 not only offers more rounds on tap, it’s also cheaper and easier to shoot—and such practice facilitates precise shot placement, which is one of the two most important factors once shots are fired. (Firstly, don’t get shot; secondly, hit what needs hitting.)
Good luck at the pin shoot, Mas!
I’m in San Diego helping with a newborn granddaughter since my son-in-law is deployed shipboard on the opposite side of the planet. I hate missing the final Pin Shoot, but I’ll happily take a new grandchild over a remote chance at a prize gun. I hope you, Jess and Bruce each snare a good prize or two! I’ll miss spending time with each of you.
Best regards to all the fine folks at The Shoot!
For the past few years I’ve been carrying a Springfield Armory XDS-45 with a Crimson Trace Laserguard to reduce the weight & to improve the concealabilty of my concealed carry gun. I usually carry it with a 6 round magazine in it along with 2 or 3 seven round backup magazines, all loaded with Sig Sauer Elite Defense V-Crown 185 gr. JHP ammunition. My Garmin C1 Pro chronograph measures an average muzzle velocity of 880 fps. out of the 3.3″ barrel. I usually carry it in a clip-on IWB holster which is very comfortable & nearly invisible even under a light summer shirt. I also have a high quality custom leather belt holster for it, but I prefer the clip-on IWB holster so that I can take it off or put it on quickly & easily when I’m at home. This gun is small enough & thin enough to carry in a pocket holster in the front pocket of my cargo pants, too, especially with the 5 round flush fitting magazine in it.
If I feel the need to carry a 15 round 9mm handgun concealed, I prefer my Glock 19 or my Sig P228 loaded with COR-BON 115 gr. JHP +P ammo at 1350 fps.
XDS 3.3 in .45 is an engineering marvel.
Yes, it is. It’s surprisingly comfortable & easy to shoot for such a small, lightweight .45 ACP, as long as you use the 6 round & 7 round extended magazines which allow you to get all of your fingers on the grip. The thin grip & slide also make it very pointable. Mine is very accurate & reliable. I’ve never had a misfire or a jam of any kind with it.
Thank you Mas, for the courage to go against the commercial tsunami: “buy this ‘something’ new; it’s not only new { not worn out from practice }, it’s better”.
I own and shoot classic government 1911’s but I also have accommodated to the decay of “polite society”;
Although there’s no press about it anymore, I’ve gone ParaOrdnance.45 ACP: it fits all of my “Government” holsters; it has 14+1 capacity; during the first 5 out-the-barrel it is heavier than a standard govt 1911 and further modulates the impulse of the cartridge’s discharge recoil; the “broader” stock dimension spreads impact across a larger area on the palm; I have it in an aluminum alloy frame so my pants remain in close proximity to my waistline.
Your wisdom is priceless and your mission essential to our safety and {USA} culture; PLEASE, keep up the “good” work.
Odd, yesterday, I gave in to nostalgia and went to my range with my trusty Government Model .45. First extended session for…….quite awhile (the pony on the slide screamed at the light). I used to shoot the sliding trigger quite well. Most of the session involved me relearning a lesson from the last century that-for me-a pivoting trigger is easier to shoot well, at least without a lot of practice. By the end, I’d recovered my trigger stroke but recoil recovery wasn’t what it usta be. While cleaning the gun, I realized that old habit had me using extended arms instead of the flexed arms I’ve been using for decades. A factor?
While I shot with both hands, the gun hand got most of the work and was feeling the strain afterward, but that was after about 60 total rounds. Still, I’ve always shot the BHP better and faster than the .45. It hides better too. The M&P9 is harder to hide-longer butt-but equally easier to shoot well.
I live in a still largely rural area. LLEA response can’t quite be timed with a sundial, but it’s lacking. Just one more reason to go with more rounds of easier to shoot well ammunition. There’s really no significant difference in tissue damage between most of the defensive handgun cartridges, it’s where you cause the damage that’s important.
Here in northwestern PA we still say “automatic” but then again we we fish in “cricks.” 🙂
About 11 years ago, I went to a one-day Tom Givens’ “Intensive Pistol Skills” class.
At the time I carried a Kimber Eclipse in 45 ACP with three 8-round Chip McCormick “Power Mags”.
Everyone else carried polymer 9mms of various manufacture.
I shot the best time/accuracy score on the graduation test, although I was a bit older than most of the other students.
Afterwards Tom came up to me and said(Paraphrasing): ” You shoot well. But that forty-five is a one-bandit gun. You might consider changing to a 9mm with more capacity.”
Since pistols are notoriously poor one-shot stoppers, his theory was that it would likely take three hits to bring down an attacker.
He went on to say that, in a fight, it gets very dynamic in a hurry, and one would do well to get 30% hits.
Thirty percent of 9 (8+1) rounds to three, of course.
So now I have one bandit down, slide lock-back, and need to reload for the tail gunner. Not a good place to be.
So, I switched to an H&K VP9 with one spare magazine. Because H&K was not making a VP9 with the slide cut to accept a red dot sight at the time, I moved to a S&W M&P 1.0 Pro-Series C.O.R.E. with a Trijicon Red Dot. Later to a 5″-barrel S&W M&P 2.0 Pro-Series C.O.R.E. with a Trijicon Red Dot.
I prefer the VP9 ergonomics and trigger but can’t afford to go back to the VP9 now. Retired…
With the standard capacity mags for the H&K and the Smith, I am carrying more ammo with two mags than I was with the Kimber and three mags.
I still miss the Kimber.
Awesome trigger. 22,000+ rounds without a hiccup.
It was hard to put away the Kimber, but it could be a life-saving recommendation.
My 2¢