This week Top Shot brought one of my favorite competitions of the season: trick shooting. It’s a true test of the shooter’s skills, and usually brings out some of the most accurate firearms of the season. Let’s take a peek at what they were using last night…
Remington 1911 R1
The 1911 R1 is Remington’s latest take on this 100 year old classic, and while it is new to Remington they didn’t really do anything new with it. The version in the show has some interesting slide serrations on it and a fiber optic front sight (which increases visibility of the front sight), but aside from that it’s the same old 1911 that we’ve seen for years. The 1911 game has been playing for well over 100 years with multiple versions and refinements every few years, and while I’m sure Remington’s version is adequate and accurate I haven’t seen anything to separate it from the rest of the pack yet.
Nevertheless, I like 1911s. They are a mechanical work of art, and even an old rusty 1911 tends to shoot straighter than some of the newer pistols. It didn’t used to be that way, but the design has definitely grown on me. And competition in the marketplace can only be good for the consumers, so good on Remington.
Volquartsen 10/22 VCSLR-H
We met up with these guys at SHOT and I had a chance to look over some of their guns, and I must say I was impressed. The specific model used in this week’s episode is the Superlite Semi-Auto Rimfire edition of their 10/22 modification, sporting an aluminum receiver and THM Tension barrel in a Hogue stock. The show also added a Trijicon Accupoint riflescope which really just makes it like cheating.
I was particularly surprised at how much trouble people were having with shooting the rifle offhand. I’m used to my National Match AR-15, shooting at silver dollars from 200 yards away standing and unsupported so something like this would be child’s play in comparison. Some of these guys had the right idea and took up a standard “target” stance with the rifle, but in general they tried to manhandle the thing into place and that rarely works for accurate shots.
SIG SAUER P229
Colby claims the 229 was developed to replace the 1911 for the US military, and that’s partially true. The P226 was the handgun entered into that competition and almost won, and the P229 was a later revision of that handgun specifically designed for concealed carry applications. It features a smaller barrel and a lighter construction than its big brother P226 but fires the same calibers, namely .22lr, 9mm, .40 and .357 SIG.
The model in the show featured an accessory rail underneath the barrel designed to accept things like flashlights and lasers, which is handy for home defense and self defense guns, and as the pistol was designed based on the P226, it functions basically the same way. If I wasn’t carrying a 1911 this would be my second choice.
Browning Buckmark
Our man Dan Zimmerman has a review of this gun which does far more justice to the firearm than any small blurb I could write, but suffice it to say this is one sweet handgun. Chambered in .22lr it fires an extremely cheap round and does it very accurately, all while providing some of the best ergonomics a shooter could ask for. The version in the show has had a barrel change and sports a Tactical Solutions replacement barrel for increased accuracy, but other than that it appears to be a stock Browning Buckmark.
In general, I was very pleased with this episode. The guns were interesting (or at least pretty), the challenges were actually, well, challenging, and I was able to fast forward through the drama. I just hope next week doesn’t turn to crap…
As a proud owner of a Browning Buckmark I personally do not see how anyone is capable of shooting more accurately than the factory barrel. Mine is from the early 1980’s, with the square barrel profile, it will shoot better than anyone I have ever seen with a pistol in hand. I have always referred to it as the measure of marksmanship pistol, if you miss with it it is your fault, no one else.
Interesting that they had problems with the modified 10-22. Forgot the basics?
It was a real windy day with gusts and the targets were small. Definitely a challenge, especially for the pistol guys that don’t shoot rifles that much. It was a pretty good show, lots of good shooting, not as much drama as prior episodes, although not drama free. I picked Gabby as the overall winner before episode #1 aired and it looks like I just might have a shot at being correct. She is little, but she sure can shoot!
I think Gabby is the worse shooter there. She doesnt belong..She looks goofey holding a firearm. Maybe shes the second worse to the knife man that got X’d. I though his game was off the whole season and he didnt seem to into winning? That was interesting to me since it is a competition. The Remi 1911 is cheap priced. American Hanngunner had a nice review on it too. Id buy one, but its remington and they’ve managed to go to complete JUNK in the last 15 years, taking Marlin down with them. I know this for a fact since I’ve had to have all of my recent remi and marlin purchases fixed, and re fixed over and over.
I love my R1. It’s definitely not in the cheapst 1911 category, but it’s a solid gun for the price. No frills. I’d recommend it to anyone. Shoots great for the price.
As for Gabby, I don’t care if she looks goofy holding a gun or not. She’s been doing pretty well so far. Not the best, but decent.
I love my P229R.
The Army did eventually end up with the P228 as the M11, and even the Nasty Guard has them now, so they must be fairly widely distributed.
Remi went down hill in the past 15 years. Not many can argue with it. The Top Shot show probably got a bill to use the gun for publicity and a little help.
Sigs are great guns, been carrying them for years, trust my life on one, I dont understand why people bad mouth guns, every make can put out a bad product, cars, motorcycles, gun, whatever, that doesnt make them junk….
The P220 SAO Compact nicely splits the difference between a P229 and a 1911. Best of both worlds.
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