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\u2019t there yet, thank God, but it got me thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass that accompanies old age. There\u2019s 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\u2019d be carrying a lightweight Colt Commander .45 automatic. (Yes, people my age still say \u201cautomatic\u201d instead of \u201csemiautomatic,\u201d dammit.) It turned out: almost. <\/em>I\u2019m in my 1911 time of the year, and on my own time often carry a Wilson Combat SFT9. It\u2019s an aluminum frame gun the same size as a Colt Commander, but it holds 15 rounds of 9mm and a 16th<\/sup> 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\u2019s 9mm self-defense ammo is a lot better than yesteryear\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I\u2019m 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\u2019re teaching a shooting class you don\u2019t want the students thinking \u201cYeah, he can do that with his three thousand dollar gun, but\u2026\u201d Using a pistol that doesn\u2019t cost more than the tuition for the class shows what you\u2019re trying to get across to the class: It\u2019s not about the gun so much as it\u2019s about the shooter, and it\u2019s not even about the shooter as much as it\u2019s about consistent application of the proven techniques you are trying to teach them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n