Home Varmint Defense

[Rick in Oregon]

As many here know I'm a lifelong .45acp user; here's a shot of my Kimber TLE/RL (Tactical Law Enforcement/Rail) with the new SureFire X400 Weapon Light w/Laser mounted. In use, it throws a 110 lumen white light beam with the laser dot in the middle....oh, and with a 230gr .45 HP right behind it......

Just finished loading up 1,000 rounds of .45 230gr FMJ for banging steel practice, and the Kimber just looked neat sitting on top of the pile of loaded ammo. A buddy said the pic would make a good calendar for gunny guys.......



Not for daily carry (have that covered), but this is my take on the perfect home defense handgun for those "night varmints" that lurk out there among us.....

Sidebar: The SureFire X400 can be used with light only, laser only, or both by choice via rocker switch.....very cool item. I had to wait until SureFire had all the SpecOps/Military orders shipped before I could take delivery on this puppy. It would be great for hound-hunting cougars too......

[Ray P]

Rick.......Great pic!!! All I'll say is you'll never run out of ammo!!
Enjoy the up coming holiday.
Thanks again for sharing.
Later
Ray P.
P.S. What powder are you using when your bulk load with 230HB heads??

[Rick in Oregon]

Ray: The load is the old standard "hardball" load of 5.8grs of W231 under the 230gr FMJ. It about duplicates the military load, works flawlessy in all my .45's, and really smacks the steel plates with authority.

Practicing with full power loads on the dueling tree really sharpens a guy up too. If you're out of practice, it's a humbling experience as your opponent basically "shoots you".....dueling tree style. It's a real hoot. When the target on "your side" is hit, it flips over to your opponents side. When he hits it, it flips back over to you. It makes for fast action shooting.



I've also got a set of 1/2 scale combat silhouettes on steel stands for "falling plate" fun. Another way of "gunfighting" with your carry piece against a buddy. You can see them in the photo below.:



Either way, alot of ammo on hand is a good thing. After all, practice keeps us alive, right?

[acloco]

RIO - THANKS for reminding me that I have a 1000 165 gr 40 cal for my XD Service that needs loaded.

Nice weapon and the light.

[Captqc]

Oh Rick!
There you go again with Gun Porn! Had to make a trip out to the safe to cuddle my 45 after seeing your Kimber on the pile of ammo.
Man I love this stuff!
Gary

[futuretrades]

great looking rig, Rick,
just sorry we didn't get a chance to dual against each other with my six gun on my side. i even had some 357 magnum loads with me, just to ad a little more punch.
and keep the gun porn coming. been a hot summer with no shooting!

[Guy M]

Good looking Kimber, very businesslike.

[BillC]

Beautiful pistol Rick!
I don't know what it is about 1911s, but they are certainly additcting.

Bill.

[Rick in Oregon]

Thanks for the positive comments gents; most appreciated.

I got a chance to use it for what it's intended for the other night. At 02:25 a loud 'crash' awoke wifey and me out of a sound sleep. She whipsered "did you hear that?". I responded by getting out of bed grabbing the TLE/Surefire .45, and sweeping the house for gremlins using the 110 lumens of blinding white light (while wifey stayed behind with her PPK/Surefire/cellphone), all the while the comforting red dot of the X400's laser showing up in the middle of the beam. IF a bad guy had been in the house, he'd have been found and either dispatched or detained rather easily (assuming no ambush).

The culprit was my shaving mirror in our master bath.....it had lost suction and fallen into the tub, resulting in the sound we heard. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

The combination of full size 1911 .45 (8+1), the light and laser sure do make for an efficient defensive package.

[sniper model 12]

Even though I am a Springfield slinger, I'd like to make your Kimber pic my new desktop photo! It sure is purdy!

Eric

[Rick in Oregon]

sniper: Permission granted! Have at 'er!

[OldTurtle]

Rick, That is a really nice set up.... I've drooled over those lights in the past...Just too many bucks right now..

I know what you mean about middle of the night culprits.... I have a suction cup soap tray that gave up holding on to the shower wall one night....It can make you think all kinds of scenarios before you find out what it was...

I may have to try one of those pictures with my Kimber 10mm....Neat idea...I just hate the idea of putting all those rounds back in their boxes afterwards...

[Rick in Oregon]

OldTurtle: Yep, that "bump in the night" can really wake a guy up in a hurry. Always better safe than sorry. The new Kimber is the best tool I've found yet for such encounters. The red dot in the center of the bright white beam would really make a cretin think twice about what he's gotten into.

On that photo; I'd never want to put that many rounds back in boxes either! That pic was shot at the end of a 1,100 round reloading session before all the ammo got dumped into two .30 cal cans. A .50 cal can full of 230gr hardball is something I really don't want to pick up or carry!

My old PW Metal-Matic 200 is not even close to a nice Dillon 550, but still cranks out the rounds every year (eventually a 550 will grace my bench.....Wifey, are you listening?)

[sniper model 12]

RIO: What kind of holster are you using for that Kimber? I've been looking around for a good holster for my XD when I decide on a light. But I've been holding off on the light until I find the right gun carrying device.

Any advice?

Thank you

[Rick in Oregon]

sniperM12: That particular .45 never sees a holster, as it's my primary home defense weapon, and as such, is always close by in the house, never carried. I've got other, more suitable 1911's for carry, none with rails, most with alloy frames for the light weight they offer.

If you really want to carry a pistol with a light and/or laser attached, check Galco Gun Leather, as they offer "duty" holsters for large frame duty autos with lights mounted. They offer one specifcally for the XD w/weapon light.

http://www.usgalco.com/HolsterPG3.asp?P ... &GunID=494

In the area of weapon lights, think "Surefire", as they're the absolute best of the lot. Streamlight is a fair compromise, just not as robust or as high as lumen/brightness as the SF series. All Surefire weapon lights meet Mil-Spec, and are currently in use in both theaters of conflict at the present time. They cost more of course, but how much do you value the lives of you and your family?

Clint Smith, the operator of Thunder Ranch here in Oregon advises a .45 with a rail for daily carry, then just install the light for night time duty, but don't carry the weapon during the daytime with the light installed. It just adds more bulk and weight to a defensive pistol that in the daytime is useless unless you're the entry guy on the assault team....(doubtful, right? ) Hope this helps a tad.