This past wednesday I attended my second handgun training seminar. It was held at Gat Guns in Dundee. I have never considered myself a gun person in any way, but last year I decided to take a handgun introductory course on a whim. It was one of my personal goals over the past couple of years to try things that are new and foreign to me. To my surprise I really enjoyed going to the shooting range and better yet, I am pretty good at it. This second course I went to was a much more technical course and was put on by two competitive shooters. They really focused heavily on my stance and my grip on the gun. There is something about the mechanical and technical aspect of the shooting that I find fascinating.
During the first training that I attended, we handled a smaller number of firearms, but it covered a range of calibers from .22 up to .40. This second course was all 9mm handguns since that is what is predominately shot in competitive shooting. The great part about this exercise is that I had the opportunity to handle about twenty handguns. The course also covered topics such as buying your first gun, basic cleaning procedures, etc. I del like I may be getting to the point now where I am seriously considering getting a handgun and looking into the competitive shooting. At both of the courses I have taken so far the instructors stated that I had an inherent talent and that I should continue on into competitive shooting. I am not going to lie, it felt pretty good to hear that on two separate occasions.
So out of all of those handguns which ones did I like? I found three that I liked overall and one gun that sort of clicked immediately with me.
The first one was the Glock 34. I had handled the Gock 17 before, but the 34 seem to have a slightly longer barrel. It had a pretty smooth trigger pull on it too. The second gun I liked was the Springfield Armory XDM. This is another "modern" gun like the block and had a smooth trigger to it.
So the gun that I liked the most????????? Can you guess? It was the Springfield Armory 1911. The big, heavy 100 year old design. I shot very well with it and the weight made the gun feel really solid. The 1911 has a single action trigger to so the travel is really short and feels really smooth. Of course it is also the most expensive of the bunch.
I have to give a big shout out to the training group that I went to this past week, Excel Training. They were fantastic, super professional and very technical. I would highly recommend them. I also have to say that I was super impressed with Gat Guns in Dundee as well. All of their staff were very friendly and approachable and they have really excellent and modern facilities there.