Handgun testing

[JoyfulJoker]

Tested my guns by putting 5-6000 rounds through them before making any mods. I also talk to shooters whose skill and set up I admire about the advantages and disadvantages of how they set up their guns and the journey they took to get there. Any video or forum thread is taken with many grains of salt. Everyone is different. It’s like successful relationships. If you ask couples who have been together 20 years , what the secret is , you will get a different answer from each couple. Shooters are no different. Good shooters anyway. They all go through completely different conditions that lead them to focusing on a particular platform and set up.

Where we get stupid is thinking our very subjective experience is a universal truth and that us having had that somehow can be a source of pride or feeling of superiority over others that have experienced different conditions .

I love the oddball shooters who are amazing with guns that aren’t supposed to be good: the guy who has 30,000 rounds through a Glock 26 and outshoots people with Glock 17’s and 34’s. The retired Federal agent pushing 80 who worked undercover narcotics in the 70’s who can shoot a 1911 as fast and accurately with his left hand as with his right and still competes and outshoots people 50 years younger.

That’s who you ask. The people you see who shoot better than you.

[splithoof]

The retired Federal agent pushing 80 who worked undercover narcotics in the 70?s who can shoot a 1911 as fast and accurately with his left hand as with his right and still competes and outshoots people 50 years younger.

I have certainly seen this. I know a number of these folks.
I learned something from one of my mentors when I was much younger:
Do not F with old people. They will kill you.

[IVC]

To ME , a test like that does not tell me anything about the pistol.
...
A "test" like that would not give me any idea how well the gun works.

As the saying goes... "train the way you fight." The same goes for testing.

You test the configuration you intend to use. If a guy is going to use the "modified configuration," the tests that make sense to you (stock configuration) suddenly don't make any sense to him. It's relative.

[IVC]

The retired Federal agent pushing 80 who worked undercover narcotics in the 70?s who can shoot a 1911 as fast and accurately with his left hand as with his right and still competes and outshoots people 50 years younger.

"Undercover narcotics" doesn't provide shooting skills and if the agent is really good, it's from unrelated *shooting* training.

One of the top local guys in So CA is a "gangs agent," but he's blazingly fast because he trains for the competition, not because of his profession. Maybe it's my pet peeve about hearing these assumptions that people who carry guns for work are automatically good without any hard and consistent training. My experience is the opposite - quite a few of "agents" show up for matches and never come back because "a little girl beat them." The ones who are good and who stick around are just like any other competitor - all about hard work and gradual improvement.

[splithoof]

"Undercover narcotics" doesn't provide shooting skills and if the agent is really good, it's from unrelated *shooting* training.

One of the top local guys in So CA is a "gangs agent," but he's blazingly fast because he trains for the competition, not because of his profession. Maybe it's my pet peeve about hearing these assumptions that people who carry guns for work are automatically good without any hard and consistent training. My experience is the opposite - quite a few of "agents" show up for matches and never come back because "a little girl beat them." The ones who are good and who stick around are just like any other competitor - all about hard work and gradual improvement.

I recall Jeff Cooper speaking about that. It seems that the majority those who are really good at something do so because they take the initiative, and not so much because that is a tool they use during the course of employment. I also am puzzled by the folks who see the police as being experts with firearms simply because the state authorizes them to carry such as part of their employment.

[JoyfulJoker]

I am always puzzled by people who respond to a post without having read the original post or the full quote. I get the knee jerk ,internet addict ,turbo poster reacting without thinking thing, but at least try before triggering the endorphin fix.

?I love the oddball shooters who are amazing with guns that aren?t supposed to be good: the guy who has 30,000 rounds through a Glock 26 and outshoots people with Glock 17?s and 34?s. The retired Federal agent pushing 80 who worked undercover narcotics in the 70?s who can shoot a 1911 as fast and accurately with his left hand as with his right AND STILL COMPETES and outshoots people 50 years younger.?

Of course people train for their jobs , and don’t get proficient only by their job, that’s fairly obvious. It’s why we all compete and train for both defensive and competitive shooting .