Story and Photo by Duane ThomasIn IDPA, if your goal is the ultimate in “shoota-

bility,” your best choice would be a full-sized,steel-framed Government Model-pattern 1911chambered for 9mm Parabellum. The reasons forthis are obvious. Of all the trigger actions youcould choose for IDPA, the most conducive to fast,accurate shooting is thesingle-action 1911.Among auto pistol car-tridges legal for use inIDPA, the lightest recoil-ing is the 9mmParabellum. Combine thetwo; you’ve got the bestof both worlds.

In IDPA the single-action 9mm competesin Enhanced ServicePistol division (ESP).The power floor in ESP(a number derived by multiplying the bulletweight in grains by the velocity in feet per sec-ond) is 125,000. Thus 9mm is right in there,offering you all the power you need but not somuch more you pick up a lot of excess recoil.

Maximum allowable magazine capacity in ESPis 10 rounds. Full-length single stack 1911 mags in9mm hold nine. In IDPA you have to start with the

gun loaded to full magazine capacity or divisionmaximum allowable, whichever is greater, plus onein the chamber. That means with a 9mm you’llhave a 10-shot gun when some of the oppositionmay have 11-shooters. This is not necessarily a badthing. With (a) the prevalence of two-shots-per-tar-get arrays in IDPA, and (b) the fact the fastest

allowable reload in IDPAis to shoot the gun toslidelock, (c) you canmake a serious case fora gun carrying an eveninstead of odd numberof rounds to start.

A 10-shot handgunwill predictably goempty just as you finishengaging a target, allow-ing you to transition tothe next target whilereloading. An 11-shot

gun will predictably go empty when you still needto put another round on-target, requiring you toreload and reengage before you can move on. The10-shot gun can save you transition time (the inter-val required to move the gun between targets) ver-sus the 11-shooter by ensuring you’ll probably godry at the correct points in the stage. That littlepiece of gamesmanship may be anathema to those

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36 The 9mm 1911 in IDPA

When you use a 9mm-chambered 1911 inIDPA, you’re armedwith a gun so mucheasier to fire thananyone else around

you it’s almost unfair – but it’s legal!

Aug 07 Blue Press 20-37 6/9/07 10:03 AM Page 36