Addition to the armory

I went shooting last week with one of the trainers from HGR Firearms. He was interested in testing out the 1911 style of pistols. He's a Glock shooter, and a damn good one at that. I took out my Kimber Ultra Raptor and my Kimber Pro CDP shown here with her new Kimber magwell for faster reloads


The Ultra series from Kimber is their ultra short 3 inch series, the Pro series are the 4 inch or Commander style of 1911. I tried the Ultra series for concealed carry, but I like using a 230 grain load. A nice big heavy show bullet. That round coming out of a 3 inch 1911 is...snappy is the only word I can use to describe it. By the end of the session, both of us agreed that a 3 inch 1911 isn't for us, so it went into the "trade in" file. We went back to the retail area and I started looking. I was interested in a railed 1911 for home defense. If you've got a pistol setup with a light, that's one less thing you've go to grab if something goes bump in the night. I looked at a HK USP Tactical model with ambidextrous controls, a Sig Sauer Elite P220 and a Springfield Operator. Al in .45 all railed pistols. Now, I've owned HK,s Sigs and Springfields before so they're all good pieces. I couldn't make up mind to save my life...so I left empty handed. I thought about it all night, but couldn't make a decision.

I went back out Friday and ran a few service calls...then back to the shop to make up my mind. Guns and Leather in Greenbriar TN is also a authorized dealer for Nighthawk Customs; a manufacturer of HIGH END custom 1911s. I walked in the door and what do I see but a used Nighthawk Customs Talon II 1911. Someone had ordered it with a bobtail, custom diamond black finish, and a ambidextrous safety. The previous owner took it home, put her in the safe and never touched her again until he traded it in for a Browning over and under shotgun. she had never been fired;so to me it was new as new can be. They have had it for a while, but I never thought about buying it..until Friday. the only thing it was missing was the rail...butr my HK is railed..so that requirement was already filled. i quickly filled out the forms, paid for her and waited for the TBI to do their magic..and waited...and waited. Tennessee has what they call the Instant Check system. It works very well...when the servers aren't overheating. We got all that figured out and down to the range again.


For those who don't shoot; it's a great stress release. No matter what kind of day I've had, a good session of punching holes in paper makes it better. Doing that with a custom 1911 makes it that much more relaxing. 100 rounds out of a new pistol is usually OK, nothing to brag about. I expected it to be a bit worse than usual actually seeing as the new piece was a bobtail. I've never shot a bobtailed pistol before. It feels completely different in hand. I expected this to be a hindrance; it wasn't. The bobtail makes a 1911 point even more naturally for me. Right out of the holster, right on target without trying. I am not a bullseye shooter. I don't try to put all my rounds in a single hole. If the groups are too tight, then you're shooting too slow. I go for COM (center of mass) shots. If they're all COM on the target I'm happy. with the Nighthawk COM double taps are almost too easy. The trigger reset is quick and easy to feel; the steel frame is a bit beefier than the CDP but not too bad. I've been carrying her all day today around the house with no real problems. I didn't pay sticker for her, but I could have bought two Kimbers for what I paid for her. But...she's as close to affordable 1911 perfection that I've found so far.