Hugh,
In response to Choices, Choices by KC, I would like to comment: In the interest of education and operational challenges I once did a show-and-tell to my teenagers and wife of different kinds of rifles. Of the various platforms, my family chose the Ruger Mini-14 (.223) as their rifle of choice. While I personally dislike the tilt in nature of the magazine, they all felt that this was less important to them compared with other operational issues. They practiced the mag insertion and felt most comfortable with this rifle. This might be a good option to consider for non-gun or new-to-gun people. Regards – C. R.
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Hugh,
I very much enjoyed the two part article on Choices. Even though we came to different conclusions, I enjoy looking at the thought processes of others because I am always making sure I didn’t forget something. One comment I think is important concerning his comment that 1911s are not reliable. I agree with him concerning race guns and tricked-out custom pieces. The standard 1911 on the other hand is the standard for reliability. I asked around to the CCW instructors I know, trying to see if they had similar issues. None did, specific to any gun model. The issue they did bring up was breaking the gun in. Most manufacturers recommend a 300-round break-in period for any service or carry piece. Several of the used carry guns I have looked at in shops had not been shot enough to polish the rails. Any gun can be twitchy if not broken in. This has apparently been more of an issue since the ammo issue of recent past. In over four decades of carrying handguns, I have never found a more reliable design than the 1911, but it must be broken in. Also avoid cheap surplus magazines. The few failures I have witnessed were directly traced to crappy mags. Your opinions may differ, but if I ever choose another gun to carry, the deciding issue won’t be reliability. – R.H.