Here Comes The (New) THUG

The performance of a 1911 combined with the personality of a Glock

There was a period in life when I spent a lot of time and energy shooting, competing, and on formal training for those activities. I had good mentors and very good instructors. I did plenty of thinking, and over-thinking (even given the Einstein Award at a Gunsite course for precisely that). I tested and re/loaded my own ammunition for a variety of calibers, took a ten-day pistolsmith course during which I 'improved' a Colt 1911, and later I customized a STI .40 to shoot USPSA Limited class. I eventually settled on a Les Baer semi-custom 1911 in .45 ACP for competition so I could shoot what I carry. That gun probably has 25-30k rounds through it at this point but it sits mostly idle as it was far from perfect.

During a training course with a military unit that was issued the MEUSOC 1911, I somehow bent the firing pin on the Les Baer only to learn it was 38 Super sized and couldn't be replaced by the unit armorer. Pat Rogers, the instructor, allowed me to continue the course with my back-up Glock 19 but made me shoot every target twice (even the steel) because, in his experienced opinion, that's how many anemic 9mm projectiles it would take to do the same damage as a single 230g .45 ACP bullet.