Sixteen and One

On May 18, 2011July 26, 2012 By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized

Photo by Julie Golob, courtesy of USPSA

As long as they had been having them, Rob Leatham had won the US Single Stack Nationals. Founded in 1994 as a way to keep the spirit of the classic, single stack 1911 pistol alive in competition, Leatham won the first 16 matches they held.

Then came last Saturday, as Dave Sevigny bested Rob and over 350 other top shooters, in Barry, Iliinois. You can read a complete report of the match here.

One of the nice things about pistol competition is that the sport is very accessible. I have had a chance to meet and talk with a lot of the major champions in the sport, including Dave. He is a regular at GSSF’s Annual Shoot at the South River Gun Club in Conyers, Georgia, every September, and I’ve spoken with him quite a few times, and shot quite a lot of video of him, Randi Rogers, and former team member Jessie Abbate, as they demonstrated their skills. (Should I scan and post my autographed photos?)

When I first read about it on Twitter, my first thought was “Wow, Dave won.” Then “A Glock won.” Then “Wait. Glock doesn’t make a 1911 . . .”

In fact, Sevigny has won almost all of his national championships using a Glock. But this time his gun was different. As he says on his Facebook page,

The pistol is a custom Springfield 1911-A1, .45 ACP. Square trigger guard w light-rail dustcover, short/flat trigger, ambi-safety, Schuemann barrel, TGO Tech Well, Mil-Tac G10 diamond grips, Warren Tactical Series-Sevigny Competition sight, over size mag release and Ion Bond DLC finish.

Nice rig.

I haven’t gotten to meet Rob Leatham, but I want to. After all, he may have lost this one, but he’s far from done. If anything, this just proves he’s human.

What’s the Best Gun for Self-Defense? Part 2

On May 17, 2011 By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized

Today I was talking with a colleague at work, and he mentioned he was planning to buy his wife a gun for self defense. I waited for him to ask my opinion, but he didn’t, so I asked what kind of gun he was planning to buy.

“Oh, a .22, of course.” He then went on the explain that it was perfect for his wife – lightweight, low recoil, inexpensive to buy and to practice, and deadly.

“After all, there was that woman in Duluth last week who used one to kill that home invader.”

He was referring to this story, which I wrote about last week. It’s probably been the most talked about shooting topic for me with non-shooters, in the past week.

What I wanted to say was, “Okay, that worked for her, because it was the one she had at the time, but it’s not the one I would pick, if I could pick ahead of time, which is what we’re doing.” But I didn’t.

Instead, we talked about the best way to make a .22 a viable self defense weapon. Whoever uses it has to be able to deliver a lot of shots to vulnerable areas of the attacker’s body. We’re probably talking about 8 or 10 shots to center of mass. Or being willing to make head shots.

I left him with the task of finding out if his wife was willing to do what it took to make a .22 work. Could she make head shots, or would she be able to hold her ground and make multiple shots to other areas, like the pelvic area?

Thanks to a woman who did what she had to do, I’ve changed the way I see self defense handguns. Would I pick a .22 for myself as a self defense gun? Probably not. But, if I’m ever in a situation where my Buck Mark is the only gun I have to use, at least I know what to do. And, more importantly, I know it can be done.