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Big Guns, Fast Rigs


shred

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The source for this month's trivia question is this article. Kind of funny to realize that the "good old days" were pretty much the same as they are now-- people looking for every edge they could get and gaming whatever they could. Speed holsters all over the place, both leather and kydex. A couple "comp guns". Even Jeff Cooper's pistol has milled-in sights and a colored front.

http://www.krtraining.com/KRTraining/Archive/IPSC-GUNS-APRIL78sm.pdf

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Wow, awesome to read about the equipment and see names we still recognize. I still carry in a milt sparks holster and I grew up with pachmyr grips on my Dad's guns. I can just imagine if you dropped a modern open shooter in that tournament or brought the top shooters from then to the 2012 nationals.

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Are Cooper's grips cracked in that photo?? It looks like he made a custom set out of pine and cracked them tightening the screws.

Awesome article. Gun magazines used to be great reading.

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... Speed holsters all over the place, both leather and kydex.

I was surprised to read that Roger's had holsters represented there. The only kydex holster that I was aware of at that time was the "Snick" holster---a company owned by Michael Horne and Michael Harries (of the "Harries flashlight" technique fame). The first Nationals that I recall Bill Rogers attending was in Virginia in 80 or 81. I was squaded with him and he had just left the FBI to start his holster company full time. It's memorable in that he used an IWB holster thru out the match IIRC, which was WAY outside the norm for those times. Typical leather was forward rake worn strong side or crossdraw:

Oldshootingpics120.jpg

These were exquisite works of craftsmanship---these set me back about 1/2 months pay in the late 70's!! The cross draw really came into play because the "Cooper Assault Course" required a weak hand draw (imagine doing that in today's competitive circle!!) and the easiest way to do it was with a crossdraw. The 78 and 79 Nationals both had stages requiring a weak hand draw and suddenly everybody (except Seyfried) was using a cd.

....A couple "comp guns"....

If by "comp guns" you meant "competition" guns----it was the rage in those days to get a Govt. Model and pretty much only keep the slide and frame---you'll notice in the group pic in the article that even Tommy Campbell of S&W "Supergun" fame is using a Colt 1911. Irv Stone had made up some 6" stainless barrels that Pachmayr had incorporated into guns for Chapman and Raul Walters and eventually alot of others (even Seyfried)--- they made them with and without the ports. The article says that Ray thought that there was less recoil however, he told me that the extra inch provided a cushion to insure that his ammo would make "major" w/o increasing the load and having extra recoil.

If by "comp guns" you meant "compensated" guns----they hadn't come along quite yet. This was still the days of the long slide (Ray had the previous year won the first "World Shoot" in Europe with a Hoag longslide). Hoag was the master of the longslide although the young upstart, Bill Wilson, started buying cut and welded GI slides from Jim Clark, Sr. and retro fitting them to Govt. frames. I had an early Wilson longslide that was a wonderfully balanced piece that I never remember malfunctioning. During the 2nd Bianchi Cup in 1980 a shooter that had done poorly in the IPSC World Shoot, shot quite well with a gun that few had seen before. It was made by Jim Clark, Sr. and called a "Pin Gun" as it had been made to shoot in Davis' Second Chance match. Here's a pic that I took of a guy that I had only briefly heard of---but was intriqued by the "thingy" hanging on the front of his gun:

Oldshootingpics079.jpg

....that's John Shaw in his "pre-fashion-maven" days when he wore military utility trousers instead of workout suits. He went on to be the top dog for awhile. Wilson made a copy of the Pin Gun but eventually hollowed out the barrel weight and made an expansion chamber prior to settling on the LE (Leatham/Enos) model that was de rigueur for a few years. The rest, as they say, is history........

Edited by Early IPSC'er
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The source for this month's trivia question is this article. Kind of funny to realize that the "good old days" were pretty much the same as they are now-- people looking for every edge they could get and gaming whatever they could. Speed holsters all over the place, both leather and kydex. A couple "comp guns". Even Jeff Cooper's pistol has milled-in sights and a colored front.

http://www.krtraining.com/KRTraining/Archive/IPSC-GUNS-APRIL78sm.pdf

Very cool, nice to know about some of the roots of the sport, wish my father or stepfather had introduced me to handgun shooting back then. Instead, I became pretty good at trap, what I would have given for a .45 and a plate rack!

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Wilson made a copy of the Pin Gun but eventually hollowed out the barrel weight and made an expansion chamber prior to settling on the LE (Leatham/Enos) model that was de rigueur for a few years. The rest, as they say, is history........

Wasn't Mike Plaxco the first guy who made an actual comp with an expansion chamber for the 1911?

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Wilson made a copy of the Pin Gun but eventually hollowed out the barrel weight and made an expansion chamber prior to settling on the LE (Leatham/Enos) model that was de rigueur for a few years. The rest, as they say, is history........

Wasn't Mike Plaxco the first guy who made an actual comp with an expansion chamber for the 1911?

I think that is correct.

be

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Wilson made a copy of the Pin Gun but eventually hollowed out the barrel weight and made an expansion chamber prior to settling on the LE (Leatham/Enos) model that was de rigueur for a few years. The rest, as they say, is history........

Wasn't Mike Plaxco the first guy who made an actual comp with an expansion chamber for the 1911?

I think that is correct.

be

yep-had one. it's the one on the top. wilson LE right below it.

post-2786-0-45320600-1332889321_thumb.jp

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