The American Rifleman has used the phrase “Dope …

1 The American Riflemanhas used the phrase DopeBag at least since 1921, when Col. Townsend Whelenfirst titled his column with it. Even then, it had been inuse for years, referring to a sack used by target shoot-ers to hold ammunition and accessories on the firingline. Sight dope also was a traditional marksman s termfor sight adjustment information, while judging windspeed and direction was called doping the wind. CAUTION: Technical data and information con-tained herein are intended to provide information basedon the limited experience of individuals under specificconditions and circumstances. They do not detail thecomprehensive training procedures, techniques andsafety precautions absolutely necessary to properlycarry on similar activity.

2 Read the notice and disclaimeron the contents page. Always consult comprehensivereference manuals and bulletins for details of propertraining requirements, procedures, techniques andsafety precautions before attempting any similar just about everyone is mak-ing an M1911 clone these days. Oneof the oldest makers of such guns isSafari Arms, whose distinctive designs havebeen marketed since the early MS Safari Arms, the firm wasacquired in 1988 by Olympia, Washington-based Olympic Arms, whose prod-ucts include a Ruger 10/22 clonewith a stainless-steel receiver, a vari-ety of AR-15-based rifles, pistols and acces-sories and a line of custom bolt-action Arms owns its own in-housefoundry to both reduce costs and to assurecontinuity and quality of production.

3 SafariArms also produces M1911 parts, a line ofsemi-custom M1911-based pistols underthe Schuetzen Pistol Works rubric, andhas announced the introduction of itsPartner pistol, a close copy of theWhitney of the mainstays of the SafariArms line is the M1911-based .45 ACPE nforcer, first introduced by MS SafariArms in 1983. The pistol is about 1/4" short-er than a Colt Commander, having a barrellength just a hair under four inches, and itsgrip frame is some 3/8" shorter than theColt s, giving it a six-round magazinecapacity. The gun is available in stainlesssteel, blued steel or a two-tone configura-tion with a blued slide and stainless , the Enforcer is one of themore radical M1911-style production gunsmade.

4 In addition to such custom featuresas a King s-type beavertail grip safety, light-weight aluminum trigger, extended sliderelease and extended thumb safety, extend-ed ejector, fluted ejection port andCommander-style hammer, the Enforceralso offers Safari s signaturerecurved trigger guard andintegral finger-groove front-strap with a molded-in checkeredpanel. In the rear, a flat grooved mainspringhousing sits below the beavertail. The gun s sights are of the adjustablevariety, with an LPA unit dovetail-mountedat the rear of the slide and a dovetailedramped front post that is slightly angled ontop to facilitate reholstering. Both sights areplain black. Below the rear sight on the slide,the Enforcer eschews the familiar series ofnarrow V-groove serrations for five broad,angled flat-bottomed cuts.

5 125" ARMS ENFORCER .45 ACPThe Enforcer employs a triple recoil springsystem with full-length guide rod andreverse spring recoil system canbe retrofitted to earlier-vintage view showing the LPA adjustablesight, wide,angled slide serrations,beavertail grip safety, skeletonized ham-mer, lightweight aluminum trigger, andextended thumb safety and slide Enforcer is one of the more rad-ically-styled production M1911s, withan integral finger groove andrecurved trigger guard, beavertailgrip safety and spider pattern :Safari Arms, , 620 Old Pacific Highway, SE,Olympia, WA 98513 MECHANISM TYPE:single-action, shortrecoil-operated semi-automatic pistolCALIBER:.45 ACPOVERALL LENGTH:73 4"BARREL LENGTH:315 16"RIFLING:six-groove, LH twistWEIGHT:36 :11 4"HEIGHT:51 2"MAGAZINE CAPACITY:six TRIGGER:33 4lbs.

6 PullSIGHTS:ramped post front, elevation-and windage-adjustable rearSTOCKS:smooth walnutACCESSORIES:plastic casePRICE:$750 ENFORCER .45 ACP46 American Rifleman November / December 1997 CENTER-FIRE bolt-action target riflesfor NRA highpower or InternationalShooting Union (ISU) competitionare generally characterized by heavy bar-rels, light, crisp triggers, and (in some dis-ciplines) stocks offering cheekpiece andbuttplate adjustments and a fore-end acces-sory rail features also demanded by manycontemporary police specialized precision does notcome cheap, however. Even the least expen-sive of these rifles runs more than $1,000,with most costing around $2,600 to morethan $8,000 a price that can easily precludepurchase of such a rifle by either a would-be target competitor or a smaller policedepartment.

7 The Tikka 595 Sporter, intro-duced in 1997, offers many of the featuresmost desired by competitors and policemarsmen, and at a more affordable general description, the 595 Sporteris a bolt-action repeater with a medium-heavy, 233 4" barrel, a flat-bottomed receiv-er with an integral dovetail for scope basemounting, a detachable five-round maga-zine, an adjustable single-stage trigger anda target-style hardwood stock adjustable forcomb height, length of pull and buttplateposition. Currently the Sporter is currentlyavailable in the in .308 Win. only; othertarget-type chamberings may actions for serious accuracywork have a rigid receiver with thick walls,minimal cutouts for the ejection port andmagazine, and plenty of bedding area.

8 Mostcommonly employ a two-lug bolt (a designTIKKA MODEL 595 SPORTERAMERICAN Rifleman November / December 199747 Adding to the pistol s external distinc-tiveness are its smooth walnut stocks with ablack widow spider design. At the bottomof the pistol s butt, the magazine well hasalso been beveled to enable speedier maga-zine , the Enforcer is of familiarM1911 design, but with a few twists, suchas its triple-coil spring recoil system and itslarge-diameter barrel, which mates directlywith the slide, eliminating the barrel bush-ing. The new recoil system replaces thefatigue-prone single- and dual-coil systemson older Enforcers (which, according toSafari Arms, can be retrofitted with it).)

9 In addition to the new recoil system,current Enforcers are also subtly improvedin the areas of tuning, throating, polishingand similar reliability-enhancing Enforcer retains theM1911 grip and thumbsafeties, but lacks the ColtSeries 80-type passive firingpin test stainless steelEnforcer showed evidenceof good quality control,being devoid of pits or othercommon casting flaws. Fitand finish were generallygood, with about an averagedegree of slide/frame play,and a bit of a gap betweenthe beavertail and the frame. We fired the Enforcer for accuracy withthe results listed in the accompanying table,and function-fired the pistol with BlackHills, CCI, Federal, Hornady, Remingtonand Winchester ammunition.

10 Out of some120 rounds, there was a single malfunction,a smokestack jam with target Enforcer exhibited only moderaterecoil even with heavy +P .45 ACP loads,probably thanks to its stiff triple-recoilspring system. The finger groove andcheckered panel seemed to aid in recoilcontrol, though the groove did not fit allhands equally. High marks were given tothe gun s sights, 33 4-lb. trigger and extend-ed thumb safety (though some complainedof sharp edges on the beavertail and fingergroove). One shooter also reported that histhumb tended to engage the pistol s thumbsafety while shooting using a high Enforcer joins the approximatelength of a Colt Commander with the framelength of an Officer s ACP, giving a morediscreet profile when worn vertically, as ina belt or inside-the-pants holster.