Book Review by David R. Chicoine 2/6/03
The Gun Digist Book of the 1911 by Patrick Sweeney, 336 pages, softcover, 700 b&w photos. $27.95 plus $4. P&H. Order this book online from: Krause Publications, Dept. BNP, P.O. Box 5009, Iola, WI 54945-5009 (800) 258-0929
Like many of you, the Colt M1911 .45 auto is what started me off in the world of semi-automatic pistols. Over the last 40 years or so, since I fired my first 1911, I have handled, repaired, customized and fired just about every semi-automatic pistol imaginable. Out of all these widely varied semi-automatic pistols, from the Borchardt to the Ortgies, to the Desert Eagle, somehow, I always end up back at the venerable, John M. browning designed, M1911 Colt. Why? Because this is a gun that I have come to know I can always count on, one that always looks good, is easy to carry, hits hard, and does it all with its own unique brand of class.
Pat Sweeney's work on the great old pistol is a savory treat, a walk through 90 years of of the 1911's hard won reputation for reliability and toughness. Sweeney explores the origins of the semi-auto pistol and traces the 1911 down through the years to todays "race gun" variants. But, this is far more than a history book.
As the title implies, this book is all about the 1911. Within it's pages the reader will find a horde of helpful information on gunsmithing, customizing, reloading, shooting and handling the 1911 as well as a good directory of sources. The many variants, sizes and calibers used in 1911 based pistols are covered in some detail, and over two dozen makes and models of semi-custom 1911 based pistols were tested for this book, expending over 20,000 rounds of ammo. The chapter on how it works provides a concise, accurate, easy to fathom description of how the 1911 operates. The author also gets into some of what you can use a 1911 for, in addition to its obvious role as a self-defense tool; what sorts of competitions there are, how to tune your 1911 to suit them, what you need to bring, and what you can expect at such competitions.
From a biased point of view, I enjoyed the book because its all about one of my favorite guns of all time. From the practical side, however, I especially liked this book because all aspects of the 1911 have been very well covered. From the standpoint of someone who is interested in learning as much as possible about the 1911, this title is really a one-source information center. Nice presentation, nice coverage, nice job!
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