The author says this .40-caliber semiautomatic just might be the ultimate example of the modern USPSA Limited Division pistol.
By Paul Scarlata
As I walked toward the target I had just fired I began mumbling to myself, "There is no way I could have missed it." As I got closer, there was no doubt about it. Despite having fired five rounds, there were only three holes in the target and none anywhere else, not even on the cardboard backing. When I knelt down and peered at the target it became obvious that one hole was larger and more ragged than the others, and then it dawned on me--I had put three bullets into the same hole!
To enlarge this photo of the Clark 2011 Combat Pistol, please click HERE
I have been an enthusiastic (note that I said "enthusiastic" not "skillful") action pistol shooter for almost three decades. In fact, when I first became involved in the sport it had the politically incorrect name of "combat shooting," a moniker that is frowned upon today outside of military and police training. In those simpler days, you showed up at the club with a pistol, four or five spare magazines, and a holster that you hoped the Range Officer would declare "safe."
Except for a few Hi-Power shooters, the majority of us used a stock 1911 pistol with seven-round magazines, fixed sights, and wooden grips, and we fired hardball ammo or lead SWC handloads. At the time, the most radical modifications likely to be encountered were trigger jobs, although a few pistols sported adjustable sights. Stages of fire tended to have low round counts and were tactically simpler than today's,although I believe they did require more athletic ability.
SPECIFICATIONS Clark 2011 Combat Pistol Semiautomatic Pistol
STI ambidextrous thumb safeties; STI palmswell beavertail grip safety
Sights:
Bo_mar fully adjustable rear; Sawson Precision fiber-optic front
Stocks:
Integral polymer frame
Magazine Capacity:
17 rounds
Finish:
Blued steel, painted grip frame
Price:
$3115
Those halcyon days were soon disrupted by the so-called "technology race" when it seemed that someone was always showing up with a new modification or gadget attached to their pistol that would make it shoot faster and more accurately while producing less recoil. Custom gunsmiths were "improving" the 1911 so fast that you expected to show up for a match and find yourself shooting an "obsolete" pistol! Adjustable sights, ergonomic grips, frame checkering, beavertail grip and extended thumb safeties were soon followed by extended magazine releases, compensators, ported barrels, special springs, and weighted recoil spring guide rods.
One of the biggest changes was when the .38 Super cartridge displaced the .45 ACP, and before you knew it everyone who was anyone had some type of optical sight on their pistol. Finally, we had the emergence of the "fat gun" 1911s with wide grip frames holding double-stack magazines containing in excess of 20 rounds of ammunition. What would be next? Captain Kirk and his phaser?
In an attempt to get things in some type of order, the governing organization of action pistol shooting, the United States Practical Pistol Association (USPSA), established separate divisions for different types of pistols. Those shooting tricked-out, compensated, optical-sighted "race guns" competed in Open Division while those of us who preferred pistols with iron sights and plain barrels shot in Limited Division. Of course, this in no way slowed down the technology race as Limited shooters and gunsmiths now pushed the limits trying to gain a competitive advantage.
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