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.”