The CMP has been authorized to receive 8,000 model 1911 pistols from the United States Army.
The models 1911 have been received by the CMP. A complete inventory will be conducted over the course of this week. The pistols will then be securely stored until the Army-approved 1911 building and armory infrastructure is completed. That completion is anticipated to be approximately 60 days from now. Once the 1911 armory is completed, inspection, grading, repair, and ultimately test firing of the pistols will begin. (Please be aware that the CMP was led to believe that they were ready to move forward, but three weeks ago facility requirements were changed, and they are now fulfilling those requirements.)
The CMP 1911 order packet will be posted 90 days prior to the order acceptance date and opening sales date. No orders will be accepted prior to that date. CMP customer service has been inundated with calls and emails concerning the 1911s and no further information is available at this time.
As quietly as possible, we began to move toward the old bull trying desperately to skirt around the younger bulls as not to alert the old bull to our presence. Luckily, baboons frequent these gardens as well, and the noise that stalking hunters make pales in comparison to the noise a troop of hungry baboons can produce. Despite our best efforts, the immature bull spotted us and sounded the alarm. The older group of three bulls began to move away from our location and, unfortunately, we had lost sight of the oldest bull as we began the stalk. With faith as our only indication that the old bull was still in the area, we stuck to our plan and moved forward. Suddenly, Poen’s tracker, Gotchi (pronounced goat-chee and meaning piglet in Zulu) froze. Through years of hunting as a pair, Gotchi and Poen communicated with no words exchanged. Gotchi set up my shooting sticks and Poen slid to a position just to the right of them. “Can you see him?” “No. How far?” Poen’s tone was urgent. “He’s right there. No more than 70-80 yards.” The big old bull turned his head and the motion caught my eye. His old gray coat blended in perfectly with the surroundings. “Got him.” I put the Freedom Arms Model 83 chambered in .454 Casull onto the cradle in the shooting sticks and looked through the scope. I had set the scope on it’s lowest power knowing through hard experience that spot and stalk hunting with a pistol is nigh on impossible with anything but the lowest power settings. I kept both eyes open and looked past the scope at the bull, aligning the pistol with him as to have any chance of seeing him through the scope. The crosshairs settled on his left shoulder, but he was facing away and the angle was severe. This was not a good shot and certainly not one I was going to take. “Do you have a clear shot?” “Not yet.” “Okay. Don’t rush it. He’ll turn if you give him a chance.” Time ticked by as the sun marched further to the west. I kept the pistol aimed at the bull but kept both eyes open as not to get eye strain waiting on him to turn. Clearly, he was not concerned by the closeness of the elephants or the setting sun. Neither was he concerned about the long walk we would have through the forest to get to the clearing where we had left Poen’s truck an hour before. Finally, the old bull turned presenting me with an excellent slightly angled shot on his left shoulder. I cocked the single action pistol, aligned the crosshairs, settled my breath, and began to squeeze the trigger. The recoil from the .454 Casull is substantial, and one can easily jerk the trigger in anticipation of the crushing recoil that follows the shot. The only cure for this is practice, and a lot of it. The revolver roared to life and I heard the unmistakable smack of the Hornady 300 grain XTP-MAG as it connected. He trotted a few yards away, and I was able to put a second shot into his right shoulder. After receiving the second shot, he tried to escape to the relative safety of the invading forest, but fortunately, did not make it.
As we were taking the photos of this magnificent trophy, I heard a strange noise from the edge of the garden. “What was that?” Poen looked up from the camera. “That is the rumbling of an elephant’s stomach!”
He measured 74 1/8” and ranked number 6 with a handgun in the SCI Record Book. To say I had amazing success in Mozambique would be a vast understatement. In Coutada 11, I harvested seven SCI Top-10 species with handguns (Common Nyala, number 6; Lichtenstein Hartebeest, number 7; Chobe Bushbuck, number 7; Natal Red Duiker, number 6; and Blue Duiker, number 5, as well as the new potential number 18 overall Livingstone Suni, which should rank number 5 with a handgun when certified by a SCI master measurer.