Living with the 1911

Living with the 1911
A Fresh Look at the Fighting Gun

by Robert H. Boatman

Copyright 2005
Softcover
131 pages
102 B/W photos
Personally Signed to YOU by the Author

$22.50 (+ $5.00 shipping)

Living with the 1911 is like no other book you’ve read on the Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol. Written by best-selling gun writer Robert Boatman, a man who has relied on the 1911 professionally and personally for almost 50 years, it is a fresh new view of the greatest fighting handgun of all time.

Get the Background, the Lowdown, and the Big Picture from a 1911 Pro

Of the many highly evolved tenets of The Modern Technique, four are immutable. They have been so thoroughly proven in real life that only a fool would disregard them, which is not to say that they are never disregarded. Two of these are covered in Chapter 2: Condition One and Only, about cocked-and-locked carry, and Chapter 3: The Big Fix Nobody Has the Guts to Make, which addresses the importance of riding the thumb safety high. The remaining two, which are discussed here, have to do with the Weaver stance and the business of sighting. Each of these keystones of The Modern Technique rests on a broad mental foundation that is covered in Chapter 5: Mindset.

Robert H. Boatman
Chapter 4, Living with the 1911

With his trademark wit and hard-hitting honesty, Boatman covers the history, hardware, personalities, and politics surrounding the 1911 as no one else can. You will get the lowdown on the “Big Three” makers of factory-model 1911s and the three leading custom builders working today; exclusive insights from such 1911 masters as Jeff Cooper, Louis Awerbuck and Max Joseph; and a healthy dose of informed opinion on the proper way to carry a 1911, and the future of the fighting gun. In the process, you will get answers to every question you’ve ever had about the 1911, plus some you’ve probably never even thought to ask: What’s wrong with all of today’s 1911s, and why won’t anybody fix it? What accessory should you never put on your 1911? What 1911 feature did it take the US Government 50 years to learn how to operate? What is the problem with trying to achieve “anal accuracy” with match-grade 1911s?

Whether Mr. Dickhead’s Holiday in Lala Land and the Shootout at The Best Friends’ Hotel were connected in any way, by anything other than a simple coincidence of time, nobody will ever know. The deadly recklessness that may lie just beneath the surface of an apparently rational person is not something anybody can see.

Two things are certain: One, the firearms teaching environment is highly sensitive, extremely intense, and, for lack of a stronger way to put it, not to be fucked with by self-absorbed nitwits. Two, the very last thing in the world you ever want to do is shoot somebody out of negligence.

Robert H. Boatman
Chapter 9, Living with the 1911

Here’s the Table of Contents from Living with the 1911:

Preface: Thanks, Dick: Everyone had his first 45
Introduction: Once Upon a Time in the West: Boatman covers the inception, key turning-points and future trends of the 1911

1    Not All 1911s are .45s: The author fills us in on variations of the 1911
2    Condition One and Only: A dull blade is dangerous, keep your 1911 sharp
3    The Big Fix Nobody Has the Guts to Make: Adding parts to a near-perfect design is rarely a good idea
4    The Doctrine: The revolution in technique that can save your life
5    Mindset: Killer instinct is not instinct at all
6    How Important is Training? And What Does Competition Have to Do with It?: The good and bad of playing and living with your gun
7    Gunning through Gunsite: Live fire tour through the renowned academy
8    Ravings of a Madman: Luis Awerbuck: Face-to-face with one of the greatest firearms instructors on earth
9    Safety and Survival: Rule Number One: Your 1911 is always loaded, and so is your best friend’s
10    Muzzle Flashes of Insight: Max’s Springfield muzzle-down, Armand’s .45 caliber speed boats, Charley’s distinction and Robbie’s good turn
11    Tuning, Personalizing, Customizing and Gunsmithing: A survey of possibilities
12    The Big Three 1911 Factories: Colt, Springfield and Kimber, and a few others
13    The Big Three Custom Builders: Wilson, Baer and Brown, and more
14    The Unexpected: Old dogs and new tricks
15    The Future of the Fighting Gun: The spirit of the old 45 lives on
16    The 1911 as Art: Pictures tell the story
Addendum: Judging the Judges - A Dissenting Opinion: The Honorable Alex Kozinski tells it like it is

Eminently entertaining and provocative, Living with the 1911 is destined to become a classic addition to the canon of books on the most exalted combat handgun in history.

It is rather universally agreed that the only thing you really need to do to most 1911s is a little tuning for reliability with different bullet shapes: deburr and polish the slide, frame, barrel and magazine surfaces that some in contact with the cartridge; polish the breechface; polish and bevel the extractor; chamfer or bevel the perimeter of the feed ramp and chamber mouth; and lower the ejection port. The reliability points are the magazine, the breechface, the feed ramp, the chamber throat, and the extractor, all of which need to be checked for smoothness, proper angles and fit. These days, many of the factories do some if not all of these things for you, so you may only need to make sure they did them right.

But you’re not going to stop there , are you?

Robert H. Boatman
Chapter 11, Living with the 1911