There were times growing up in upstate New York where the winter months were nothing buy pure fun! I remember times where we would get 2-3 feet of snow overnight and schools would close down. There was nothing better than building snow forts for fun and shoveling driveways for money to purchase .22 Rimfire Ammunition. Somehow my shooting habits even back then could not keep up with my wallet!
The best part was making snow forts. had a 6 foot snow bank at the front of our driveway. What else is better for making a snow fortress you ask? My brother spent a full day making the nicest enclosure out of snow and ice – we used a little water to reinforce the walls. We were proud of ourselves as we stood on top of the fort as if we just landed on the moon. We jumped lightly to make sure it could take our weight and to our surprise it did. After being so tired from our days adventure and work I went below grade to lay down in the fort. My brother jumped up and down in amazement, still on top of the fort, and then it happened. Everything what was once white was now black. I felt a foot by the side of my face and it was my brother digging me out. Maybe it was me and I should not have been down there, or maybe our design was faulty or maybe it was plain old poor craftsmanship? I think this one was on my brother! He drug me from the pile of snow. As we were standing 10 feet back from the road in the driveway we saw an orange flashing light. We heard a rumble and the ground shook with snow falling off the tree next to the collapsed fortress. It was a snow plow! As it raced past our house, the extended blade was out and took out half of what remained to our fort. My brother and I looked at each other and our jaws dropped… What if we were in there?…
Somehow things work out for a reason, whether it is our fault or not.
It was not too long ago I took possession of one of the most expensive guns I own. I can’t even tell you how great of a feeling it was. Taking it to the range for the first time was a little disappointing. My win column is full of long gun accolades and a lesser amount of handguns, but still I thought I was a decent handgun shooter. After input from the manufacturer and consultation and countless trials of projectiles I was stuck in a situation. I had the gun of my dreams, but I could not get the accuracy out of it one would expect. At 20 yards, some shots were dead on and others looked amateur at best.
An inordinate amount of time went by and passively the gun sat in the safe. Every time the safe door cracked open I would at least look at it or frequently rack the slide. Then finally, I shared the story of my gun after I found out the manufacture of the gun went out of business, doing so otherwise would be unprofessional as a Brand Ambassador. One person lead to another and finally to the right person. I was contacted by a long-term company I had done business with who specializes in barrels, KKM Precision. After one short call with Luke McIntire my pistol was on its way to Nevada.
Last night, I anxiously opened the package from Fedex and pulled out my cherished 1911. The gun felt slick and tighter than the day I originally took possession. I could not help but admire the fit and finish of the barrel, there was absolutely no play in the lock up of the gun. I took it out to the range and put one shot on the 15 yard stop plate for Accelerator. I made sure there was documentation of this event. The first shot was dead center as if I was a professional bullseye shooter. The rush of emotion overcame me. 150 rounds later my wife called me back to the house for dinner. This was now the most accurate and reliable centerfire handgun I have ever laid hands on. A sincere thank you goes out to Luke and the KKM Precision team for giving me my confidence and investment back.
I share this story with you to never accept if you don’t think something is quite right, don’t let the snowplow take you down. I had doubt based on what I heard from others and lack of confidence in my pistol shooting ability. This time, it wasn’t me. There are professionals in industry who are here to help. If you are reading this and you have a similar situation, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and I can point you in the right direction for speed guns commonly used in Steel Challenge and Rimfire multi-gun events.
See you out on the range soon.
Steve
Steve Foster - Competitive Shooter 