12 minute read
RELOADED: VFC 1911
VFC 1911 SWAT OR NOT?
BACK IN ISSUE 120 BILL TOOK A CLOSE LOOK AT THE THEN-NEW VFC 1911 TACTICAL CUSTOM AND ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT FOR MANY, MANY REASONS! HOWEVER NOW THAT THE PISTOL IS JUST ON A YEAR OLD, AND HAS HAD SOME HARD RANGE AND IN-GAME HIS INITIAL ASSESSMENT HAS PROVED COMPLETELY CORRECT… IT’S ONE HECK OF A PISTOL!
As I said right from the get-go, for any selfrespecting gun bunny the name of Kimber is one that they’ll know intimately; it’s acknowleged that Kimber Manufacturing creates some of the very best 1911 pistols out there, and virtually every critical component is manufactured inside the Kimber factory. LAPD SWAT chose Kimber, along with the United States Marines assigned to Special Operations Command (the MARSOC pistol, known as the Kimber ICQB (Interim Close Quarter Battle) MEU SOC), The U.S.A. Shooting Rapid Fire Pistol Team, and most recently, LAPD Special Investigation Section (SIS), and they all chose Kimber for the same reasons apparently, those of quality, dependability and accuracy.
Kimber have pretty much been a success story right from the introduction of the first models back in 1995. In the trials for LAPD SWAT the Kimber Custom II single-stack .45 1911 (5” Government Model) defeated all comers, and became the standard issue sidearm for LAPD SWAT operators; each LAPD SWAT Kimber Custom II came with a reliability upgrade, match-grade barrel and trigger group, fulllength guide rod, Meprolight tritium night sights, a checkered front strap, front and rear slide serrations (I remember reading at the time this was so the pistol could be cocked against the body or police car door if the officer was injured in one arm), and a matt-black oxide finish. Each pistol also displayed “LAPD SWAT” markings on the right side of the slide, and special serial numbers exclusive to the team.
With the release from VegaForceCompany (VFC) in the form of their “1911 Tactical Custom” though I believe we’ll be seeing some happy replica collectors, especially given the popularity of the movie “SWAT” and the more recent TV show of the same name, and the replica is a lovely handgun in its own right, both to own and shoot with!
Again, as I said when I first got the pistol in my hands the VFC 1911 Tactical Custom is a striking looking pistol! It aimed to break a few moulds in both looks and performance, and it has proved to do both very well indeed. The pistol is beautifully finished in every respect, living up to the “Kimber” feel. I haven’t gone to the extent of having trades put onto this replica, and in fairness I probably won’t given my personal feelings on hokey markings, but that’s not to say that the pistol is missing anything in overall finish
because of this.
VFC have done a top job in replicating the mattblack oxide finish (Kimber use their own finishing known as KimPro on many of their specialist pistols) of the real thing, and all the components like the trigger, hammer, and outer barrel are finished silver. The pistol features both the checkered front strap, along with those all-important front and rear slide serrations, and clearly white-spot-marked front and rear sights that are easy to use. To date this finish
has stood up to the rigors of multiple draws and reholsters, and even with a Kydex, there is little to no evidence of wear anywhere!
As per my initial “as new” review, in use this 1911 is all about smooth cycling, and all the positive ergonomics you would come to associate with the 1911 platform. With the new hop up design that allows you use the guide rod for adjustments, the GuideHop, you can incrementally and exactly adjust the hop on the go if necessary, allowing a full range of adjustment without removing the complete slide; all you need to do is hold the slide to the rear and turn the guide rod itself to increase or decrease the hop with series of “clicks” that you can both feel and hear, then release the slide forward to keep shooting! The 20BB magazine is extremely gas efficient, and I’ve found that many single-stack 1911 magazines in my collection work in the pistol (almost!) as well as the VFC original.
The power output on green gas as quoted by VFC is iro 0.83 Joule/300fps for the 1911, and they’ve got this pretty right; I tested and re-tested (as well as giving the 1911 regular run-outs on the range) using NP 2.0 gas and .20g RZRs and have continued to get between 299 and 302fps which is pretty tight! Accuracy on the 10m Short Range has improved as the 1911 has bedded in, and I’m now hitting that “headspace” more times than not, so regular centremass shot-placement really shouldn’t be an issue at normal pistol ranges!
The “1911 Tactical Custom” has proved to be a quality gas-driven handgun that cycles hard and fast, and is able to put BBs on target time and again, and in a super-cost-effective way; it looks great, and it shoots even better! Whether you buy this pistol because you just want a cool 1911 replica for your collection, or you buy it to have a reliable, accurate secondary you’ll
find it to be a trusted partner you can rely on when you really need it, just like those SWAT guys!
My sincere thanks go to my good friend Ray at www. vegaforce.com for sending me this lovely pistol, and to Danny at uk.redwolfairsoft. com for facilitating delivery; check out either link for more information on the 1911 Tactical Custom, along with many other great models from VFC. AA
THE LYNX EFFECT
WITH STEWBACCA PASSING THE YEAR AND A HALF MARK IN COMPETITION SHOOTING AS PART OF THE SETUP PROJECT PRACTICAL TEAM (SPPT) IN HIS CONTINUING ADVENTURES IN IPSC ACTION AIR, HE’S ALREADY BEEN THROUGH A MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT PISTOLS OPTIONS (SEE HIS ‘SO YOU WANNA SHOOT ACTION AIR’ ARTICLE IN JULY 2021’S AIRSOFT ACTION ISSUE NO. 127 FOR A DETAILED BREAKDOWN OF THAT EPIC AND EXPENSIVE JOURNEY!) AND HAVING SETTLED AS A RESULT ON USING THE KJ WORKS CZ SHADOW 2 GBB PISTOL FOR THE LONGER TERM, HE FIGURED IT WAS TIME TO INVEST IN IMPROVED AND SPECIALISED SUPPORT GEAR TO TRY AND IMPROVE HIS USER EXPERIENCE OF THE GUN AND HIS PRACTICE DRILLS AND LIVE STAGES DURING TRAINING AND COMPETITIONS.
I’d invested in the more conventional original Double Alpha Academy two- piece competition belt back when I first dabbled in Action Air before moving to Taipei; when I acquired my TTI Glock 34 Combat Master along with specialised 9mm plastic magazine carriers, and the specific authentic Safariland 6379 ALS retention holster, I used this setup from the beginning of my time with SPPT in Taipei.
This consists of the now fairly typical semi-rigid thin inner hook and loop belt which is used to thread through the belt loops of your shorts or trousers and support the much heavier and thicker rigid outer belt that carries your holster and magazine pouches;this has the corresponding hook and loop on its inner face which allows it to be rapidly and positively affixed to the inner belt, providing a very convenient and stable solution which for the vast majority of serious competitors is their first and last stop.
This has served me, and other competitors in my team and others in the area, very well thus far and allows you to quickly and conveniently get your rig set up in the appropriate way when you first use it, as well as put it on and take it off without having to alter it at all between sessions or to disassemble or reassemble anything between each shoot. You can easily remove your pistol and magazines, collapse or remove your holster, detach the outer belt, roll it up inside itself to some extent, and then throw it in your locker or bag with much less fuss than the likes of my skirmish setup where I usually have to individually mount and arrange pistol or rifle magazines and holsters to suit each setup. I haven’t resorted to preassembled PLB/Battle belt setups as yet in Taiwan due to my shifting needs for each skirmish.
However, Double Alpha Academy are not ones for resting on their laurels, and are once again pushing their product innovation and the industry in general forwards; enter their new ‘Lynx’ Belt!The name is undoubtedly a play on the fact it is assembled from individual links with pins that only allow it to flex in one axis, and thus remain more rigid in the other axes. This new design of outer belt attaches in the
same manner as their more conventional offerings to the same type of semi-rigid inner hook and loop belt threaded through your garments.
A CHANGE OF ETHOS
The shift in design ethos allows for a much more rigid platform to mount your competition holster and magazine carriers on to, as well as preventing to a large extent the discomfort many (myself certainly included) that can result from a long day of wearing the older setups during a major competition. The older belts tend to rub on the hips a little due to their construction, and there is also the tendency for competitors to pull them in tight to ensure their stability during running and other movements required to get your sights on targets in different presentations.
This tendency to perhaps overtighten the outer or even inner belts is eliminated with the DAA Lynx belt, due to the number of unitised plastic links and thus it’s fit and sizing is fixed; once assembled and determined using DAA’s handy website calculator and belt builder allows you to insert your waist measurements and choose from an array of colours of links to enable a truly customised solution to the shooter and their aesthetic, whether they wish to match their team uniform or colours, or their national flag or team aesthetic. Being a Brit living in Taiwan, luckily both important national flags to me overlap in their red/white/blue colouration, so I split my selection somewhat equally to allow me to represent the 12
white sunrays of Taiwan’s national flag on the blue and red backgrounds, while also paying homage to my original homeland as well.
With the correct number of links in your preferred colours added to your shopping cart, the standard bag of sixty attachment pins (more than the majority of shooters will ever need, with some spare) and an appropriate punch tool also included, the standard inner velcro belt of the suitable size range is also added to your purchase, all making the shopping experience easy.
While I was at it I also invested in the latest DAA Alpha-X competition holster with the appropriate specialised CZ Shadow 2 insert block included, to try and improve my draw speed and holstering/ unholstering in comparison to my use of other older adjustable options which can never compete with a specialised individually fitted solution specific to each pistol model.
All of this arrived a few weeks later along with the large order that others in my team helped arrange; there are at least three of us in SPPT who have purchased the DAA Lynx belt, and I’ve also seen a number of other local competitors in the likes of team Spring Rain and TFAS make the switch to the shiny new setup, all with their own added personal flair of colours and arrangements matching their team setups and custom gun aesthetics, so even just locally they’re clearly catching on. A number of real steel shooters I follow on Instagram are also moving over to these; evidently DAA’s product design and marketing videos are winning over real steel and Action Air competitors in equal measure!
FORGET THE HYPE TRAIN!
It’s not just hype though, the product genuinely delivers on its promises and my teammates and I are fast falling in love with ours after the initial investment in both time and money ordering, assembling and arranging the attachments on our setups. The assembly procedure itself is relatively simple and painless, albeit a bit monotonous, especially if like me, you have a lot of links to assemble! Patty on team Spring Rain clearly had to order a lot fewer links for her much more slender waist, although she did have to squeeze into hers too, judging from her video. Similarly Rex on my team had to wait for additional links to be sent through from DAA in Denmark as they forgot to add the appropriate amount; he has had similar issues with them in the past but once again their customer service team really went above and beyond to correct the problem with courier shipped components at their cost.
This does also have a direct financial implication in terms of...portlier, or ‘wider hipped’… shooters such as myself having to purchase a larger number of the individual inch or so wide links! At least it’s a case of buy once, cry once with the purchase and assembly, perhaps if I manage to sweat off some of my ‘winter weight’ (there is no winter in Taiwan, there is just too much delicious food and beer!) I can remove a few links in future.
The buckle system itself is the final component to install on either end of your Lynx assembly, with a male and female unit that latch onto each other to ensure the main outer belt stays in place well, although it’s quite rigid even without this final
