Mike,your story about the M-1 at the range reminds me of one.

I was at a local range firing my Navy Arms 1851 .36 cap and ball on the 25-yard range when a shooter from the other end of the line came down and asked what the hell was I shootng. Seems he had heard the boom and the huge clouds of smoke and when he looked through his spotting scope and saw I was putting everything in the black, he had to know what it was.

He then asked if I knew anything about .45 autos. Since the 1911 is my absolute favorite handgun, I told him yes and went to his firing position. He had a Colt Gold Cup that he could barely put on the paper,so he asked me to fire it and see what was wrong with it. I inserted a full magazine and used the slide release to chamber a round. He stated that one should never chamber a round that way and I could only say "That's what it's made for". I then proceeded to put 7 rounds in the black one-handed,gave him back the gun,and told him there was nothing wrong with it.

rr