Before you watch this video, I want to confess something. I am a hypocrite. Not now. Now tomorrow. Not yesterday. But forever and apparently always. Lost? Let me explain. You can have zero doubt that many moons ago, a young Marky when handed a PD issued DAO Beretta, would have turned his nose up and said something disparaging about …
Rolex Bezel Replacement
After 24 years of daily use, I have finally acquiesced and replaced the bezel on my GMT Master II Rolex. 1997 production (when I bought it). My watch guy isn’t the biggest fan of me shooting while wearing the watch, but when I explain this watch has been a part of everything I have done for over 20 years: Shooting, …
SWAT Team Review – Steyr GB Pistol
Interesting video for us to make. When we first popped up with the Steyr GB for The Armory reference collection, there were a number of viewers who seemed to believe this gun was somehow special. Or better. Or perhaps made during a magical time when quality and old school craftsmanship reigned supreme. “They don’t make them like that anymore”, one …
SRO – 4000 Rounds
So….we are not gear reviewers. But…we do get questions about how well the SRO is holding up? In a word: great! With these pics it has seen over 4000 rounds fired and has been daily carried for about a year. Plus or minus a month. The wear seen on the objective housing? I am still not 100% sure that is …
POTD – Glock 22P (Red Glock)
After I did a video showing some training guns in the armory, some expressed an interest in seeing up close photos of the Glock 22P “pistol”. P stands for practice. Legally this is a firearm and is transferred as such. But as it’s configured here, it CANNOT be made to fire. Looking closely at the pics will explain why. …
Australian Chassis Hack
So Bob from Australia reached out a while back and wanted to tell me about his custom “Blaser Tactical 2 Like” chassis. It seems he like the LRS/TAC2 ergonomics so much, he went out and simply made his own. I don’t know what I was expecting to see when I opened the images, but I can say with zero hesitation …
Detail Strip EDC X9 & X9L
First of all, let me just say the quality of this video is not up to our normal standards. I was working late and decided at the last minute to pull out the camera phone and show the detail strip procedure for the EDC X9L pistol. I would imagine this also applies to the EDC X9, The EDC X9S, and …
SHOK-Buff Change – 4000 Rds
Taking care of some old business. I changed the SHOK-Buff in the EDC X9L at 4000 rounds. Here are some up-close pics of the buff should you be interested. Sincerely, Marky www.John1911.com “Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Vibration Kills
It’s not just the recoil. It’s the carrying. It’s the dry-firing. It’s the daily 20 mile trip in the trunk. It’s the expansion – contraction of hot-cold weather. Use firearms even moderately seriously and you’ll be checking torque and screws on the regular. Why? Because the one time you don’t check? Damn thing will have walked! Some dude named Murphy …
Full Report — M17-M18 Safety Failures
There is a bulletin floating around various US Military commands about problems being seen with the new service pistol. In particular, they are seeing failures of the thumb safety mechanism. If I read the report correctly, it appears the external thumb safety still functions, but an internal firing pin block is being sheared off somewhere around 5000 to 6000 rounds. …
My Favorite 1911 Look
It’s probably a reflection of my age and generation, but I find the dark slide and stainless frame, 2-tone look to be about the classiest thing going in guns. Especially 1911s. Too bad this Ed Brown 1911 doesn’t actually run that well. I mean it “runs”, but you can tell it’s on the edge of not doing so. Which is …
Glock Red Trainers
A few weeks ago we discussed a FBI marked Glock red trainer that sold on the civilian market for $4000. Needless to say that got my attention! While Glock red trainers do cost more than functional Glocks, it’s only by about 20% or so. Well…that story brought up a lot of questions about the Glock red guns in general, and …
19 Pieces of Steel
New for 2021, is our upgraded rifle range. 19 pieces of permanently installed steel. Where? More challenging targets (read smaller) in the open, and some partially obscured targets in tree lines and brush piles. These will get more difficult to see once spring fully sets in. Why? Last year it became obvious we didn’t have enough challenging steel for the …
Beretta 92X Performance Overview
So yes we finally scored one. The new cocked-n-locked Beretta 92 that was all the rage at SHOT a while back. Lots of really neat touches on this example. The maturity of the 92 design shows through here. If you are a Beretta guy, I suspect you will love it. If you are a 1911 guy, I suspect you will …
FBI Glock 17PM
So…have you ever seen a factory original Glock pistol that is worth $4000? How about one that is not even a functioning firearm? Well that is what we have here. For those who are not aware, Glock offers a series of training Glocks to LE agencies. These are not prohibited from being owned by the public, it’s just they are …