Quote Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter View Post
So what if IPSC or IDPA don't replicate the true experience of combat? They are still more realistic than standing in a booth and firing at a static circle. Running solo doesn't give you the true experience of a track meet either but it doesn't keep people from going out and practicing on their own. Scrimmages aren't the same as playing against the New York Giants or New England Patriots in divisional playoffs but it doesn't keep teams from running them.

I think the author's original point -- which wasn't framed well -- is that some people take their fancy toys too seriously and don't think about how they would function in the Real World. Unfortunately, he went past that point and spawned Glock vs. 1911 debates that really miss the point as well.
I agree. 1911's, and you could probably throw some glocks in this too as well, are prone to getting pimped out and overbuilt. If alterations are kept strictly in check with out going overboard, ie. beavertail safety, better mags vs match barrel, comp trigger job, and porting the barrel, the guns work as designed. Its the guys who go overboard, and as we say in the auto repair business: someone stuck a crap magnet on it and ran it thru Pep Boys, who have the reliability issues, parts breaking, etc. Just right now, we see this behavior more so with 1911s, but Glocks are creeping up. Race guns are just that, for competitions and showing off. Carry/Duty/Defense/Combat guns are all about reliability foremost, and anything you do should be to enhance that. In the case of 1911s, ditch the MIM junk, and leave the Les Baers, and other guns fashioned excessively tight at home. I don't want a tight match grade chamber, or a slide that barely fits on the frame. Those are the things that create issues in real world use. I also think that the author, while a noteably qualified source, is not the best writer, and lost what he was really writing about. I think if pressed about what he wrote, its all about pimped out race guns or safe queens being used for the wrong purposes.