Shed Building Plans

In 1911 the U.S. Government adopted John M. Brownings .45 caliber automatic pistol as the issued sidearm for the U.S. military.  After 70 years of faithful military service and a hundred and thirteen years after its inception the design is still wildly popular.  Probably the most recognizable handgun in the world it has been produced by many manufactures from all over the globe.  Currently the 1911 and its variants are available from a greater selection of manufactures and price ranges than ever before. 

   

In the year 2011 Ruger introduced their very own version of the classic centerfire pistol.   Back then I knew it would be nearly impossible to get my hands on one so I just bode my time and recently my friend at the local gun shop tracked one down for me.  For a while demand outstripped supply and pistols were selling for a couple hundred over the suggested retail price.  

The pistol is constructed from stainless steel with the slide and barrel machined from forged steel while the frame is investment cast stainless in Rugers foundry.  The design closely follows the original colt "Series 70" guns in that it does not have any firing pin safety disconnect like later "Series 80" and most contemporary pistols and revolvers.  The reason for a firing pin disconnect is to prevent the pistol from firing in the event it is dropped and impacts a hard surface.  The SR 1911 uses a lightweight titanium firing pin with a heavier spring to guard against accidental discharge from impact.  

I like that Ruger chose to build their pistol remaining true to the original configuration of Brownings design.  

  

Modern features like a lightweight aluminum trigger, skeletonized hammer and Novak 3-dot sights bring the platform up to current specs demanded by todays 1911 shooter.  Ive been shooting guns since I was a boy and as an adult Ive mostly been a revolver enthusiast but I have to admit there is just something very satisfying about operating a semi-automatic.

For the initial test firing I brought a box of Aguila 230 grain full metal jacket cartridges. This is the standard ammunition consisting of a copper jacketed round nose bullet seated over the powder in a brass case as used by the armed forces for the seven decade tenure of the pistols service.  I thought that would be as good a place to start as any.

I shot a combination of standing two handed fire and shooting from sandbags.  Right away I noticed that the SR 1911 with its 5" barrel and longer recoil spring shot much smoother than my 3 1/2" Rock Island Arsenal 1911A1.    The RIA was my first 1911 and it is a handful when it goes off.  I was very curious to try out the Ruger in its full size configuration.  The recoil is bit softer and the gun just feels better in my mind than the shorter version.

     

I shot on the pistol range at a distance of 15 yards.  The black bulls eye (7, 8, 9, and 10 rings on the target) measures 4 inches in diameter.  At this distance that black dot would be completely obscured by the front sight blade and after the first few shots I noticed that I was hitting high.  Adjusting my point of aim to make the top of the sight blade even with the row of numbers brought my shots down just about right.  The following targets show my hits impacting a little to the right so on my next trip out Ill remember a hex wrench so I can adjust the rear sight a bit to bring me dead on target.

Judging by the targets I look to be shooting as well off hand as I did from the steady rest of the sandbags.  Im very happy with my results and I cant wait to get back out and fine tune sights and try out some different loads.  

After a range session cleaning and proper lubrication of firearms is a must for continued safety and long service life of a weapon.  What I really like about the 1911 is how quick and easy it can be field stripped for cleaning.  

Stainless steel makes cleanup so much easier than blued or blackened guns.  Without a doubt all the grime can be removed from the nooks and crannies and you can tell by sight things are ship shape.  

Check out this interesting article on the history of the 1911 on the Browning website.

My son has been wanting to shoot the Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle in .223 caliber for a while and he has been asking lately with increasing frequency.  After lunch today I quietly gathered up our shooting gear and told him to get his shoes on and get in the car.  I thought I would surprise him with a trip to the range and besides its been many years since Ive put any lead down the barrel of this handy little carbine.    Ive been a Ruger fan ever since my dad took me shooting when I was young lad so it was natural that I would end up with the Mini-14 when it came time for me to own a center fire carbine.  In the gun world the AR-15 platform is all the rage and has been for a while now.  While it is a very good system the AR rifles just dont dont appeal to my eye and sense of style.  As a history buff and a gun guy I can appreciate the design of the Mini-14 directly taken from the military M1 Garand rotating bolt gas operated action.  Like the later M14 military rifle the Mini-14 feeds from a magazine loaded from the bottom instead of the top loaded stripper clip system of the earlier M1.  In fact that is how the little carbine got its name; It is really a scaled down M14.



After a quick stop at the local gun shop for some ammo we headed to the sportsmans club and set up on the  40 meter range.  This trip was Wyatts first time shooting a full power center fire weapon and he was loving it.  The bang from the Ruger is quite loud but the recoil from the .223 cartridge is very manageable and he shot well.


As well as trying out some new ammunition this was also an opportunity to test out a couple 10 round magazines that I picked up a while back.  The Mini-14 comes with a 5 round mag that fits flush with the bottom of the stock and is ideal for hunting situations but when out punching paper I like to shoot 10 shot strings.  In all we shot about 70 rounds and feed and function was flawless with two brands of ammo.  I had some older Remmington soft point 55 grain loads that Wyatt burned up first.  The new stuff pictured above was American Eagle brand 50 grain with a poly tip designed for varmint hunting.
  


The Mini-14 is not a tack driver; It wasnt designed to be, but instead a handy and lightweight carbine and I am happy with its performance as such.  Its a fun little shooter and very satisfying to stand to the side and watch the open bolt work back and forth as it cycled the rounds.  40 meters steps out to about 133 feet and sighting with a ghost ring and front blade iron sights Im pleased to keep ten rounds inside the 8-ring.

This Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Magnum was first firearm I ever bought for myself.  Ive always been a fan of handguns and when this one came up for sale at a great price I jumped.  The Super Redhawk was introduced in late 1987 and is still in production.  Mine is certainly of early production as I became the second owner of this one in 1990.  

Although this hefty shootin iron has since been chambered in even more powerful cartridges such as 

.454 Casull and .480 Ruger Im quite content to play around with the .44 magnum even though its not the king of the handgun hill these days.

This is also the cartridge I first learned how to hand load. In the picture above are a few 240 grain flat nose lead bullets seated over 6 grains of Bullseye powder from a batch I cooked up in 1996.  I had 40 rounds left in an ammo box and figured they have been sitting around long enough.  

Its been a few years since I had the Ruger out on the range so I was curious to how I would shoot.  I had the scope stored separately from the gun but the Ruger integral rings were still firmly attached to the scope tube so it would also be an interesting test to see how close the optical sight stayed zeroed.

It took five minutes to lock down the rings to the frame of the revolver before leaving for the range. 

Shooting handguns accurately is a real challenge.  I like a steady rest to help support the firearm.  My very first shot into the target below was low in the six oclock position.  The following five shots I was happy to see punch big clean holes in the black. 

The Super Redhawk is a double action revolver.  This means the weapon can be fired in one of two ways.  The trigger can be pulled through its full range of movement to rotate the cylinder cock the hammer and release the sear dropping the hammer which fires the round.  The second method used for hunting and target shooting where shot placement is critical is accomplished by manually cocking the hammer and slowly and smoothly squeezing the trigger.  In this mode the rearward travel of the trigger to release the sear is much less and the gun can more easily be held steady on target.  

When shooting six-guns I always use the single action mode for the best accuracy.  After a few shots to get warmed up I managed this decent group from a distance of 75 feet.

Long eye relief pistol scopes are unique and really improve accuracy at greater distances with a handgun.  Because the eyepiece is at arms length it allows the shooter to keep both eyes open.  At least it works for me and thats how I do it.

My scope is a Nichols 2X. Objects viewed through the tube appear twice their actual size.  Although considered low-end optics this scope has sat atop my revolver for a thousand shots or more over the years and Ive never had a single fault with it.

Next to test my marksmanship even more I moved over to the 50 yard range.