Range Day, Part 1: Two Old Warhorses

Today was a range day for me.  I have a lot of "happy places" here in Idaho, but the Fernan Rod & Gun Club is right up near the top (along with Triple B Guns in Coeur d'Alene).  I spent the afternoon at Fernan today, with two main objectives (besides relaxing and enjoying myself):

1) Shoot two new (new to me) handguns for the first time.
2) Zero an AR-15 on which I recently installed a replacement front handguard.

The two handguns I shot are old warhorses, both recently acquired.  The first is a 1911A1 that I recently acquired from the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

I have bought a number of M1 Garand and other surplus military rifles from the CMP, as well as participating in their rifle matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, and elsewhere.  It was only recently, however, that they finally got authorization from the government to begin selling surplus pistols again.  The DCM (Director of Civilian Marksmanship) sold surplus M1911 pistols up through the 1960's, but when the CMP took over the functions of the DCM in 1996, they were not authorized to sell pistols.  It took years of effort by many people, but they finally got about 100,000 surplus M1911A1 .45 caliber pistols from government war reserve storage, and have been in the process of processing and selling them for the last couple of years.

Unlike the rifle program, an individual citizen is limited to one pistol per lifetime from the CMP (under the current rules, anyway).  They had so many applicants that they developed a random number process to determine the order that people can get them.  When my number came up, I was unhappy with the choices offered (basically the lowest grade available), so I passed on the opportunity and decided to watch the auctions instead.

The CMP runs an auction site where the put the more desirable items that come into their possession. Desirability can be determined by scarcity, condition, unique provenance, or a combination of these.  Being that it is an auction system, it can get pricy.  But you get what you pay for.  I'd been watching the auctions for a few months and finally pulled the trigger last month.

I received an M1911A1 produced by the Ithaca Gun Company in 1945 (late war production). I selected this one for several reasons.  First, I have wanted an Ithaca for a long time because I didn't have one (I've posted earlier about my Colt and Remington Rand M1911A1's).  Second, I was issued an Ithaca for a time when I was on active duty in the Army in Germany in the early 1980s.  Third, as I checked out the listing and looked at all the component parts, I found that it was in almost completely original as-manufactured condition (according to the Harrison Guide).  Fourth, this particular pistol had been through an arsenal rebuild program in 1984 and was marked as such.  I remember having turned in my Ithaca for rebuild back at that time, when we cycled all of our weapons through arsenal rebuild programs once the Reagan defense budget dollars began to flow.   All of these factors made this the pistol for me.  So I made a bid on it, and won the auction.

My 1945-production Ithaca M1911A1.  The color is a bit off due to the lighting.  Darkened areas at the end of the slide and around the slide stop are due to heat treating to strengthen the steel.

Ithaca 1911A1, right side.  OB-84 stands for "Overhaul Barstow 1984".

The second "new" handgun I shot today is a Smith and Wesson M1917 revolver in caliber .45 ACP.  This was a substitute standard handgun manufactured for World War I when the production of the then relatively new M1911 semiautomatic could not keep up with the demand for handguns for the American Expeditionary Force.  Both Colt and Smith and Wesson manufactured handguns designated "M1917". They were chambered in .45 ACP, the same caliber as the M1911 semiautomatic.  This is a gun I have known about and wanted for a long time (I first saw one back in the 1980s), but have never made a serious effort to search out and acquire.  This one showed up at my LGS (Triple B) a couple weeks ago, and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to give it a new home.  A trip back to the store with the Harrison Guide in hand confirmed that it was in correct as-issued condition, and it went home with me.

My Smith & Wesson M1917.  This one was made in 1918.

For a gun made in 1918 for military service, it's in pretty good shape.

I loaded up the range bag and headed out shortly before lunch to see what these old guns could do.

I decided (as usual) to use B27 silhouette replacement centers as targets, placing them at ten yards from the firing line. I started off using commercial Winchester .45 ACP ammunition in the standard military 230 grain jacketed round nose ('hardball") load.

The firing line, B27 centers at 10 yards.

I fired the M1911A1 first.  The trigger is OK, not great, and it kicks more than I remember.  Took me a couple shots to get it under control. but I did OK.

My first five shots through the Ithaca M1911A1: 50-4X, not bad!

Then I fired 3 more magazines for a total of 20 rounds of 230 grain hardball on that target.  The standard M1911A1 magazine holds seven rounds, but I loaded them with only five for symmetry and easier scoring.

Roundnose ammunition is harder to score because it doesn't make clean holes in paper, but it looks like  196-7X.  98% works for me.

I switched to the M1917, using the same ammunition. Because the .45 ACP is not a rimmed cartridge, it will not work with the ejection system in a revolver.  For this reason the M1917 is used with special clips that allow for both rapid reloading and ejection.  You can still shoot the revolvers without these clips, but then each empty case must be ejected individually by pushing it out from the front, a slow process.

"Half-moon" clips holding 3 rounds of .45 ACP ammo.

I started off by firing one cylinder (six rounds) in single action mode (cocking the hammer for each shot).

I sort of walked the shots into the target, but the last three were in the X-ring.  

The single-action trigger on this 100-year old revolver is absolutely amazing!  It breaks like glass as soon as you even *think* about taking the shot.  Once I got used to that, I was able to do better.  It was tempting to think that someone had a trigger job done on this gun, but I seriously doubt it.  I think the more likely explanation is that the craftsmanship of Smith & Wesson at that time was superior, and that this is an artifact of a time when you didn't have to pay custom shop prices to get an really outstanding product.  I decided to alternate shooting single action and double action (pulling the trigger without first cocking the hammer) for the next three cylinders (18 rounds), for a total of 24 rounds (12 SA and 12 DA) on this target. The double action pull was also very smooth.

Again, roundnose is hard to score, so the X-count is anybody's guess.  But the score is clearly 238/240, for 99.2%.   

After this, I switched to handloaded ammunition using 200 grain semi-wadcutter bullets.  These are designed for target shooting, and have a sharp edge that cuts a nice clear hole in paper targets, making it much easier to score.  I started with the the M1911A1, shooting six five-round magazines for a total of 30 rounds.

The Ithaca M1911A1 and magazines loaded with SWC target ammo.

The first M1911A1 target with SWC ammo.  I wish I'd taken a photo after the first shot!

Next, I fired six shots through the M1917, single action. Now that I knew the SA trigger, I was able to keep it on target much more consistently.

"Full moon" clips loaded with SWC Target Ammo.

M1917 single action with SWC target ammo - 60-6X.  100%!

I followed up by shooting a total of 30 rounds through each gun at the same targets I had started with.  As before, I alternated between SA and DA modes on the M1917 revolver.

M1911A1 on the left with 286-18X (95.3%), M1917 on the right with 297-22X (99%).  Darn that DA shot I pulled into the 8-ring!

Overall, this was a very successful first outing with these venerable warhorses.  Although I am mostly a fan of semiautomatics, and of the M1911A1 in particular, I was really impressed with the quality and accuracy of the M1917 revolver.  I was also surprised that despite the fact they were shooting the exact same ammunition, the revolver had noticeably less felt recoil.  I think you'd be well-armed with either one, and I am happy to have them in my collection.

It's time to call it a day and go have an evening with Teresa, so I'll write about zeroing the rifle in a separate post tomorrow.

Mood:  Happy
Music: Cuckoo Clock