# I Can Still Shoot a .45!



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

My joint pain seems at last to be well under control (thanks to Prednisone), the weather has been sunny and neither too hot nor too cold, and a nearby neighbor is letting me use his uphill-facing property.
So today, finally, I took up my old Officers'-Model-size .45 carry gun, went just a little way up the hill from our house, and fired off a few rounds.

All of my .45-shooting callouses are gone. Worse, my right thumb has lost some mobility and has trouble reaching, and resting on, the safety lever.
Nevertheless, I was able to pretty comfortably fire off six 185-grain bullets and six more of the 230-grain ones. All but two went where they were supposed to, at about 12 yards. The two bad shots were flinched, and were my final two, because the process had become a little painful.

I need practice. More than that, I need to dry-fire in order to re-train my right thumb and re-establish those callouses. Jean, my dancer-wife, has suggested a few gentle thumb-stretching exercises.
Perhaps in about a month or two, I will be able to mothball my .380 Pocket Hammerless, and start carrying my .45 again. Maybe.

Since I haven't been shooting much, Jean has not practiced at all, and, at that same 12 yards, was having trouble keeping her shots on a standard IPSC silhouette.
We can't shoot too often at our neighbor's, because half of the neighborhood will complain. But going to the mainland to shoot becomes a two-day trip. It's difficult.

We're working on it.


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## bluewave (Mar 29, 2016)

Good luck, and keep working on it!

I too have an old 1911, mfg. in 1918, that I need to fire since it hasn't been fired in years. At 81 stuff happens and those aches and pains become more of a problem. I am still able to get to the range every couple of weeks though. And I'm still working on it too!


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

Me as well. I try to shoot one of my 1911a handguns at least 3-4 times per month. When I got out of the nursing home rehab early this last August, after over four months hospital and nursing home, I could barely hold my new Remington R1 Enhanced with one hand or even both hands, much less shoot the darn thing. Now, after working out with dumbbells and Therabands everyday and 3 days per week out patient, it's a whole lot easier. It just takes time and effort. I'm not there yet, but I signed up for a new 45 Gallery league starting this new year. Should be fun. It now takes about 1 1/2 hours at the range (mixed guns) when I become too tire and hurting to shoot anymore, but that's better than not being able to even point the heavy thing. 

One problem is that when I'm going to be driving and/or shooting, I don't take the heavy duty pain meds I'm supposed to take. Not being controlled, the pain can amplify pretty badly, but it's worth it overall. Gotta be ready for the Zombie Apocalypse coming. ;-)


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> My joint pain seems at last to be well under control (thanks to Prednisone), the weather has been sunny and neither too hot nor too cold, and a nearby neighbor is letting me use his uphill-facing property.
> So today, finally, I took up my old Officers'-Model-size .45 carry gun, went just a little way up the hill from our house, and fired off a few rounds.
> 
> All of my .45-shooting callouses are gone. Worse, my right thumb has lost some mobility and has trouble reaching, and resting on, the safety lever.
> ...


I suggest a new threaded barrel, a tax stamp, and a decent quality suppressor to keep the gun and the neighbors quiet. You can probably cover it with the price of two or three trips to the mainland for practice. Heck, the suppressor may even lessen the felt recoil.

GW


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## Philco (Apr 17, 2012)

Steve I'm happy to read this report. I know it did your spirit good to shoot a .45 again. Having read so many of your posts I'm convinced you're a .45 man at heart. Good for you sir.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

Dang, and here I thought you meant you could still shoot a SCORE of .45 :anim_lol:


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...That, too.


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## Blackhawkman (Apr 9, 2014)

I just take Aleve and load up magazines. I now shoot 44 specials not 44 mag's. I practice with my glock 21 & my Remington Rand too. I just shoot enough to keep crisp. I shot 5 shots touching and a flyer about 1/2 inch with my model 58 S&W shooting at 7 and 10 yards! My 41 mag loads are 8.3 grs Unique w/215 gr LSWC's.


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## snoopy (Dec 6, 2016)

Craigh said:


> Me as well. I try to shoot one of my 1911a handguns at least 3-4 times per month. When I got out of the nursing home rehab early this last August, after over four months hospital and nursing home, I could barely hold my new Remington R1 Enhanced with one hand or even both hands, much less shoot the darn thing. Now, after working out with dumbbells and Therabands everyday and 3 days per week out patient, it's a whole lot easier. It just takes time and effort. I'm not there yet, but I signed up for a new 45 Gallery league starting this new year. Should be fun. It now takes about 1 1/2 hours at the range (mixed guns) when I become too tire and hurting to shoot anymore, but that's better than not being able to even point the heavy thing.
> 
> One problem is that when I'm going to be driving and/or shooting, I don't take the heavy duty pain meds I'm supposed to take. Not being controlled, the pain can amplify pretty badly, but it's worth it overall. Gotta be ready for the Zombie Apocalypse coming. ;-)


 Shooting with the heavy duty pain meds might not be a good idea. Forgetfulness or some awareness factor might come into play. I wiil take those pain meds from you and dispose of them properly as a favor to you. I'll even pay the postage fee..
:smt033


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## jtguns (Sep 25, 2011)

Steve, if you do come off island, let me know and I will come up I-5 and keep you company shooting. I always need the practice and it would be nice to meet you.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...Maybe next summer.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> ...Maybe next summer.


Summer? I thought yours seasons were: Spring, Rainy, fall, winter?


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## Craigh (Jul 29, 2016)

snoopy said:


> Shooting with the heavy duty pain meds might not be a good idea. Forgetfulness or some awareness factor might come into play. I wiil take those pain meds from you and dispose of them properly as a favor to you. I'll even pay the postage fee..
> :smt033


As I said, I don't use pain meds prior to driving or shooting. It's a rule I follow and always have. On the other hand, I'd love to be off pain meds entirely and have gone cold turkey successfully twice now to the anger of several of my doctors. Mine is not a simple back pain, if that's simple. It is called Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome and goes far beyond my normal Neuropathy many diabetics experience. I won't dwell on it but I had a bleed out from an aneurysm back in 2008. Because of the time sensitivity and the time of the morning, there was no anesthesiologists at the trauma unit and I was opened to the bone wide awake. The bleed out and this emergency procedure resulted in massive nerve damage on top of the neuropathy which already existed. It also resulted in a pair of heart attacks in the hospital as well as several chronic issues. You live with it.

According to the pain center at the hospital, I have the highest level of pain for an out patient currently on their treatment list. They claim if I try to do without meds, I would suffer worse damage. My Cardiologist tells me, the pain levels without control will damage my heart and could trigger other issues. In 2013 I quit all narcotic pain meds on Jan 1. In April, I suffered a fairly debilitating stroke. My doctors claim it was partially or maybe completely triggered by the pain levels being not controlled. I'm not sure I believe this. I really don't but this is what I was told as I was admonished for stopping my pain management regimen.

Imagine sitting with your right leg in a bonfire with the soft tissue bubbling to a boil and eventually the bone charring black. Think about a Weber grill worth of white hot charcoal being dumped in your lap at 3 AM in bed and then sitting on a stool in the shower for two hours with cold water being used to try and numb it a little. It's not an exaggeration. It's real and the pain meds just take a little of the edge off it. A med student at the University teaching hospital, during pain tests, said she had thought she'd seen a 10 a few times. Now she's seen what a 10 really looks like. It might sound like it, but I'm not at all proud of this and normally wouldn't discuss it. I just wanted you to be aware that pain is sometimes more acute than you might have seen and pain meds are not always abused by chronic complainers who just need to "man up."

I've been asked to participate at Columbia in a new version of their Stem Cell therapy, so am hoping for relief if it works. It's for wound based pain and my nerve damage is considered a wound. I'm hoping I will not be the placebo victim. LOL

Sorry for the whine post. Take care.

Craig


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

Test ,
working again. Locked out for a couple days. The response time when you forget password is unpredictable, my experience seemed very slow.

I erased Internet cookies, lost my auto fil password ability..and then I couldn't find my written down password.
very embarrassing , lol.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

BackyardCowboy said:


> Summer? I thought yours seasons were: Spring, Rainy, fall, winter?


You left out Mud: *Rain, Winter, Spring, Mud, Summer*.

The longest season is Rain, and the shortest is Summer (usually about 15 minutes).


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