My First Pony Ride

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I remember when I first fired a Colt 1911. It was a summer day in the late 90’s. And it was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. A buddy and I were at a backyard range and he offered me a ride with his Satin Stainless Commander, rubber Hogue grips with finger grooves, minuscule beaver tail, a nub of a thumb safety. I liked how the grips worked with the beavertail to lock that 1911 into my sweaty shooting hand. After firing eight rounds, however, I wouldn’t say that I hated it, but I sure didn’t like it. I didn’t fall off the horse, so to speak, but I got kicked around by the wallop of that .45.

Thankfully, my first pony ride wouldn’t be my last. A few years later I’d have the opportunity again, this time with a Defender. Same style Hogue grips, same short beavertail. At the time, I was writing up a 200-round, out-of-the-box, no clean, no lube reliability test. The Defender passed, experiencing only a handful of failures to feed or fire. During that session, it cut a softball-sized hole in a paper silhouette target 21 feet away. Two holes, actually, as I had to switch to aiming for the head after 75 rounds or so. The other thing cut was my trigger finger which took a beating from squeezing the Defender’s ribbed, plastic trigger. Firing 200 rounds in one sitting was tiring, I have to admit, mainly from enduring the shockwave from each round fired.

But it was after that pony ride that something changed. I’m not sure what but the Defender, despite it’s snorty personality and sharp edges, won a place in my heart and in my carry rotation. And now it’s Summer again. Time to ride the pony and have it ride along with me.

For the record I’m carrying it a Comfort Holsters Bentley. Like the car it’s named for, it is a luxurious ride. The Bentley is made for a Commander sized 1911 but the Defender works just fine in there. Accompanying the Defender-in-Bentley is a Nightstick Tac 300B K01.

Things I love about the Colt Defender: light weight, dead nuts reliable, all-business look and feel. I don’t baby this 1911. I carry it and I shoot it. Thanks to Tooltech Gunsight, I have a Trijicon night sight installed on the front post only. The grips and the beavertail still work in perfect harmony. And I’ve long since gotten used to the nubby thumb safety and rather enjoy its minimalist size and shape.

As for carry ammo, one mag has seven rounds of Black Hills; the other, Winchester PDX1. Both run excellently through the Defender. A handful of other ammo types have cycled through the Defender, hundreds of times.