Did You Qualify With A .45 Pistol??

Sgt Tom Cunnally — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 20:47:19 -0400

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Jun 22 at 2016 8:52 PM

SGM Erik Marquez — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 20:52:45 -0400

Absolutely, 1985-1986 Germany, 8th IN Div (M)

Response by Capt Tom Brown made Jun 22 at 2016 9:00 PM

Capt Tom Brown — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:00:52 -0400

Sgt Tom Cunnally Now that you mention it I did qualify with the .45 and seemed prone to buck too many into the 7 o'clock zone. Also qualified with the venerable M1, M14 and M16 back when they had hard sites and not this fancy red-dot point and shoot system. Qualification first took one week on the snapping-in range where the Gunny spoke at length on sight alignment, aiming points, sight adjustment, breathing, trigger squeeze, proper positions, sling adjustment, zeroing ,battle sights, and lots of dry-firing. Nowadays I couldn't get into a proper sitting or kneeling position, and if I did certainly couldn't get up on my own without help. You may recall some of this yourself. Now police up all your brass and move back to the 300 yd line.

Response by SFC Everett Oliver made Jun 22 at 2016 9:01 PM

SFC Everett Oliver — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:01:50 -0400

SO many years ago I can barely remember. But I do remember the joke the Range safety Officer told....

We'll be putting you inside a 10 X 10 building and closing the door, you'll have 8 rounds, if you hit a wall you qualify....

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 22 at 2016 9:04 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:04:29 -0400

Yes, once. Also with a .38.

Response by Capt Gregory Prickett made Jun 22 at 2016 9:08 PM

Capt Gregory Prickett — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:08:46 -0400

Yes, every year until the M1911 was replaced by the M9. I also used a rack 1911 in the Texas NG state matches - and was 1 thrown shot from earning my EIC badge at my last match. :(

Response by PO2 Robert Aitchison made Jun 22 at 2016 9:14 PM

PO2 Robert Aitchison — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:14:04 -0400

Define "qualify"? My entire 6 years in the Navy the only time I ever touched a firearm was in boot camp.

We had to fire 15 rounds out of a .45 (chambered in .22 of course) at a man sized target 10 yards away. We had to get 8 of the 15 rounds (anywhere) on the target to "pass".

Response by SGT Lou Meza made Jun 22 at 2016 9:20 PM

SGT Lou Meza — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:20:12 -0400

Yes ,I still do with a .45 and a .40 cal. I used to qualify with a .38 five years ago before I retired .

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Jun 22 at 2016 9:37 PM

CSM Charles Hayden — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:37:11 -0400

Nope, M-1Garand. We did rifle grenades w/ the M-1 and night range w/ Carbines w/ 'green'night vision scopes.

As the junior mbr of the NCO tent in my plt at Camp Casey in 1954/55, I was ? presented w/ a 'combat loss' 1911 45., It did not make it back to CONUS, but I did!

Response by ENS Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 22 at 2016 9:44 PM

ENS Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:44:03 -0400

I qualified on a 9mm

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Jun 22 at 2016 9:55 PM

Sgt Tom Cunnally — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 21:55:12 -0400

This old pistol was around for a lot of years Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. It was retired from Military service in 1986.... I remember the WWI Veterans loved it because of it's what they called "It's stopping power" & the few old Marine Raiders from WWII told me they used shotguns & a .45 Pistol on Guadalcanal because the fighting was so up close and personal.

I really liked the .45 because it was so easy to take apart and keep clean.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jun 22 at 2016 10:00 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:00:13 -0400

I qualified with the Beretta M9. 9mm pistol. Wish I got to qualify with a .45

Response by PO1 Brian Austin made Jun 22 at 2016 10:16 PM

PO1 Brian Austin — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:16:01 -0400

Yes, along with M-14 for Auxiliary Security Force training in Subic Bay, RP. I think the USMC instructors were in shock..lol. Also trained on M-16, grenade launcher (M203?), and threw a couple live hand grenades.
Then after sitting in the rain for 3 days, got "killed" by the OpFor...lol

Fun times!

Later qualified on 9mm in San Diego.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 22 at 2016 10:18 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:18:33 -0400

Yes, multiple times before they switched to the Beretta on the assumption that more bullets and less recoil amounted to better accuracy when it really just meant more misses on the target. A lack of quality instruction and a lot of weak wristed individuals doomed the U.S Government to a substandard sidearm.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Jun 22 at 2016 10:44 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:44:01 -0400

Yes.

Response by Sgt Joseph Baker made Jun 22 at 2016 10:53 PM

Sgt Joseph Baker — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 22:53:55 -0400

Yes, when I served in the Corps in the late 80's, we still had the Colt 45. The Beretta 9mm was being introduced at the time, but was delayed due to high incidence of slide cracking after 2,000 rounds or so. The Marines were taking the Beretta's out of service at I think about 1,500 rounds to replace the slides. Reportedly Beretta re-engineer their slide for greater durability. So I never qualified with anything but the trusty 1911. I confess that since I am a stocky Marine, the 1911 made quite a handful of grip, which made controlling the recoil a bit more challenging probably than it was for Marines with longer fingers, but I still loved the pugnacious bark of the 45, kinda like a stocky Marine.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Jun 22 at 2016 11:01 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 23:01:07 -0400

No, damn it. The first time I ever fired a 1911 was on the day I was supposed to qualify with it and when I shook the weapon, I could hear the barrel rolling around loosely in the slide. I think it was captured by the VC and thrown back as unfit for use. I was given another just like it in Vietnam. I loaded it with .45 caliber tracer ammunition that I scrounged up and used it as a pointer to direct fire. The damn thing followed me to Hawaii where I was told that I had to "requalify" (as if I ever did.) They wouldn't let me use my personal Browning 9mm Hi Power. Failed again. However, I had a good laugh that day. The colonel standing on the firing line didn't fare any better. We were given three clips of seven rounds each and he missed his target entirely twenty-five times. Twenty-one times with bullets he fired as well as four more times when he threw the clips and gun at it.

Response by LTJG Robert M. made Jun 22 at 2016 11:14 PM

LTJG Robert M. — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 23:14:58 -0400

Nope, Day I went to the range in bootcamp, the .45 I was assigned to fell apart the first round I put downrange. I have been shooting since I was 10 and knew this was wrong, walked off the range and received a DNQ, later qualified marksman on the 9mm

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jun 22 at 2016 11:45 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 23:45:11 -0400

Many times, Sgt Tom Cunnally, many times!

Response by MAJ Matthew Arnold made Jun 23 at 2016 12:23 AM

MAJ Matthew Arnold — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 00:23:57 -0400

A long long time ago, in another life.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 23 at 2016 12:25 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 00:25:36 -0400

I missed out. I joined in 1994.

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Jun 23 at 2016 12:38 AM

Capt Walter Miller — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 00:38:10 -0400

We did a couple of times on Sea Duty. At the range at Rota. Is this still the same?

MM 190

SS 290

Ex 330.

Out of 400.

Of course every time I take out a klatch of zombies, I feel like that is a kind of qualification.

Walt

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 23 at 2016 12:53 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 00:53:27 -0400

I shot expert with the M1911 and M14. Guess that's why I still love both weapons. BTW have my NM M1A (TAC modified now) and SM 1911 still. People keep wanting to "borrow forever" my 1911. It's a Caspian and, like the M1A, got the TLC treatment from the armorers at NWC Crane.

BTW, when the M9 came out, "The Shooters" hated it. My last 1911 carry was over in East Timor way back when.

Response by SFC Jerry Humphries made Jun 23 at 2016 1:37 AM

SFC Jerry Humphries — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 01:37:53 -0400

Yes I did, and believe it or not I also had an M3 Submachinegun (greasegun).

Response by SSG Roderick Smith made Jun 23 at 2016 2:21 AM

SSG Roderick Smith — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 02:21:40 -0400

Yes. When I worked as a police officer in Oklahoma a few years ago, I carried a Rock Island 1911. I love that gun, it's a tack driver. The only downside was weight, which suck when you have to carry that thing everywhere, and magazine capacity. I carried no less than 9 8-round mags on shift, plus a box of loose rounds in the car.

Response by Sgt Tom Cunnally made Jun 23 at 2016 6:24 AM

Sgt Tom Cunnally — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 06:24:01 -0400

I still recall how to field strip a 1911 Colt .45 pistol and here's is how it is done by the book And when you were at Inspection you held the clip on your left hand palm and held your .45 in your right hand holding it facing upwards and often you were asked the serial number for your pistol ..I think once I was so nervous I gave the Inspector General my M-1 serial number by mistake. And our 1st Sergeant pulled my liberty card for a week or two & was given extra duty.
http://how-i-did-it.org/detail-1911/field_strip.html

1911 Disassembly: Field Strip

Start by ejecting the magazine (not shown) and locking the slideback. Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction with your finger offthe trigger during this entire operation.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jun 23 at 2016 6:45 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 06:45:55 -0400

Yes, I liked it over the M-9. Got sharpshooter first time out.

Response by SGT John " Mac " McConnell made Jun 23 at 2016 7:29 AM

SGT John " Mac " McConnell — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 07:29:40 -0400

Yes I did.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Jun 23 at 2016 7:55 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 07:55:24 -0400

Sgt Tom Cunnally Absolutely... Many times, until it was replaced by the 9mm. It was a great pistol.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 23 at 2016 8:25 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 08:25:44 -0400

Sgt Tom Cunnally I carried and qualified with the 1911 for many years. Owned a couple for awhile. It was a good service pistol IMO.

Response by SSG Robert Webster made Jun 23 at 2016 8:26 AM

SSG Robert Webster — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 08:26:05 -0400

Qualified several times with both the M1911A1 and the M9. Qualified Expert with both weapons. First time with the M1911 was in 1976. I did have an advantage over some of my contemporaries - one of my uncles made sure that I could hit what I was aiming with. He taught me on the M1911A1, M1903, M-1 Carbine, and the M-1 Rifle (Garand). My uncle had previously served as a Marine.

Response by PO3 Donald Murphy made Jun 23 at 2016 8:42 AM

PO3 Donald Murphy — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 08:42:01 -0400

Yes. I qualified in boot camp with it and got a "Sharpshooter" level. Then when I got to the fleet, the Submarine Force had not (and would not) transitioned to the Beretta so we still had tons of M-1911's. I qualified yearly getting an "Expert" rating. Also qualified on the Remington 970/870 shotgun and my favorite...the M-14.

Response by CSM Michael Poll made Jun 23 at 2016 9:03 AM

CSM Michael Poll — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 09:03:42 -0400

yes

Response by Capt Michael Greene made Jun 23 at 2016 9:51 AM

Capt Michael Greene — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 09:51:15 -0400

I have only one good eye. In boot we just got a few minutes to shoot. They insisted we could only fire right-handed, so I didn't hit a thing with the rifle, but scored expert with the 1911. Over the years, I was always expert with whatever pistol or revolver they gave me.

But that doesn't count, and I'll tell you why. At Spangdahlem, we had an Effective Shooting Course. I ran from hide to hide, shooting at pop ups on either side of me nearby. I shot fairly well, and kept progressing downrange. I used 16 rounds, changed mags, then used 15 more rounds. The final pop up appeared in front of me and my pistol went "click." I had no more bullets.

Response by MSG Stan Hutchison made Jun 23 at 2016 10:40 AM

MSG Stan Hutchison — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 10:40:30 -0400

MP School, 1964 Sharpshooter.
I was a Sentry Dog Handler 1964-1966 at a Nike-Hercules base. Our battery commander insisted all security personal fire "familiarization" every 3 months and qualify once a year. Just before I PCSd, I qualified Expert.
I carry a Colt Commander .45 ACP (vintage 1952) as my concealed carry weapon. It has had a few "tweaks." I fire it at least once a year.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 23 at 2016 10:46 AM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 10:46:19 -0400

Some of us on here are so old we qualified with muskets!!!!!!!!

However, the answer is yes. My USN rifle and pistol medals were in the M-1 and the .45.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Jun 23 at 2016 10:49 AM

SGT Philip Roncari — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 10:49:53 -0400

All grenadiers "thumpers" and machine gunners in my unit had to qualify with the .45 spent some quality time on the range with this weapon,found it reliable but damn what a kick!

Response by Cpl Benjamin Long made Jun 23 at 2016 1:04 PM

Cpl Benjamin Long — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 13:04:44 -0400

No, We qualified with M9

Response by SPC Kenneth Koerperich made Jun 24 at 2016 7:20 AM

SPC Kenneth Koerperich — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 07:20:15 -0400

90-91 While in Korea. Sloppy old pistols, but still hit the mark if you knew how to use them.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jun 26 at 2016 7:01 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 19:01:16 -0400

M-1911 in Boot Camp and on the Security Alert Team USS California CGN-36 and USS Arkansas CGN-41. In Boot Camp also qualified with the M-14 and the Mossberg 12 Gauge on USS Arkansas CGN-41.

Response by SGM Joel Cook made Jun 28 at 2016 5:10 AM

SGM Joel Cook — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 05:10:55 -0400

Yes, several times. When I got my first, 1SG slot, in 1995 at Fort Drum, New York I was issued an M1911 pistol. I found it very easy to qualify expert every time I ever had to qualify. I remember telling one of my Commanders that they had to make it easy so officers could qualify. I was joking but he took it as an insult. My Bn XO could not qualify to save his soul. He claimed his barrel was bent and some other things were wrong with his weapon. I offered to critique and coach his shooting technique which was always encouraged for those who could not shoot well. Upon going to the firing line he was firing one handed Clint Eastwood style. I asked him if he had attended Primary Marksmanship Training prior to the range? He said of course, since the BN CDR had made it mandatory every one attend. I went to the tower and asked to borrow the Field Manual on the pistol. I then showed the XO that the pistol was required by the FM, to always be fired with two hands. I did a mini PMI for the guy and he shot expert. He was super embarrassed by his previous bent barrel comments. It turns out he had never attended any pistol PMI class on that pistol, just signed the attendance roster, then left. When the new 9MM pistol came out I fired one of those expert every time also, but once. The barrel recoil spring malfunctioned while I was firing and the pistol would not reload without manual assistance. So I took myself off the firing line. Funny thing is I still qualified marksman even though I left the firing line prior to finishing.

Response by SSG Paul Headlee made Aug 28 at 2020 12:34 PM

SSG Paul Headlee — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 12:34:15 -0400

In '95 I was working for the S-3 Section at Parks RFTA vic Dublin, CA. I was closing in on retirement and thought this would be a cool assignment. I got to be the range control NCOIC for this little, out of the way place no one I'd met had ever heard of. While it wasn't career enhancing it was fun. The rodent hunting was the best I've seen anywhere and I met some very nice and interesting people. All the federal law enforcement agencies within a couple hundred miles train and qualify there. Marines and Sailors from the USS Carl Vinson, SFPD SWAT, CA Horse Racing Board, you name it. MPs from the Presidio used to be detached to Parks RFTA but eventually they were replaced with GS L.E.O.s. I was sort of friends with some of the M.P.s and one day they invited me to qualify with them. Being a grunt, I'm like, hell yeah! They still had the option of carrying M1911A1s and thats what their NCOIC did. We shot strong and weak hand; from behind cover; prone, kneeling and also wearing an M17A2 protective mask. I had a blast and scored 49 of 50. Not sure what I did wrong with that one bad shot but oh well. So the remarkable part of this is that it occurred in 1995, like 10 years after the transition began right? The guy's name was Robert. Its too long ago for me to remember his last name but we used to trade .357 Magnum and .38 Special reloads back and forth. It was a really fun tour. Got that M16 qual range running like a top while I was there too. Just a relly gratifying experience overall.