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SIG SAUER ® ACADEMY
IS “MATCH GRADE” REALLY
NECESSARY FOR A
COMBAT HANDGUN?
[ B Y G E O R G E H A R R I S ]
In reference to firearms,
the term match grade has
a certain mystique as being
better or having an advantage
over the standard model of a
particular product.
For our purposes here we are going
to limit our ideas and comments
to handguns even though long
guns can also be classified as match
grade.
In most cases a match grade handgun
started life as a standard model with
service grade parts and a performance
standard that is generally somewhat
less than that of the match grade product.
Converting a service grade gun to
one of match quality encompasses a
broad spectrum of ideas and processes.
The objective of match quality is most
often thought of as modifying the gun
to make it more accurate intrinsically
and practically. This can be done by
tightening the tolerances of the moving
parts, replacing the barrel with one of
higher quality, installing high visibility
sights, applying a custom finish, adding
competition grips, and refining the trigger
pull, among other things.
From a concealed carry perspective,
some of the attributes of a match
grade handgun are valuable and others
are detrimental. At the top of the list of
desirables for a fighting handgun is reliability.
It won’t matter how accurate the
gun is if we can’t get a bullet out of the
barrel when we need to. We have had
students bring guns to our Concealed
Carry classes at the Sig Sauer Academy
that were so tightly fit that they would
only shoot ball ammo, and required a
regular reapplication of lubricant during
the day’s live fire drills just to keep
them running. The intrinsic (mechanical)
accuracy is usually outstanding in
these pistols and is virtually always superior
to the shooter’s ability to use it.
The fact that it is unreliable determines
that it is not a candidate for concealed
carry or self defense.
When it comes to reliability, those
who replace their factory barrels with
custom barrels that have match chambers
are really walking a fine line. A
match chamber is usually toleranced
at a minimum dimension to achieve
the highest possible level of accuracy.
This allows no error for the cartridge
that is on the large size of the ammunition
specification to tolerate any firing
residue left by previously fired rounds
or any minor amount of dirt picked up
from the magazine or carry medium.
The mouth of the chamber at the transition
point from the feed ramp, and the
feed ramp itself, are critical areas in getting
a single round from the magazine
into the chamber. From a practical perspective,
in order to insure reliability we
must allow for the mechanical variables
as well as the unknowns that seem to
crop up unannounced.
To be considered acceptable for self
defense purposes, the gun should shoot
any factory ammunition of the correct
caliber with total reliability.
The term match trigger has many
definitions. Usually it alludes to the
properties perceived as necessary for
the shooter to deliver accurate fire on
a specific target. These properties include
trigger weight, smoothness, stroke
length, and reset distance; all of which
have diminishing value as the stress
level increases. In fact, the higher values
of trigger stroke length and weight,
in moderation, serve to decrease unintentional
discharges while having little
effect on hit probability in street con-
About the Author:
George Harris has spent over 30 years
in the field of adult education with
more than 17 years
at the SIG SAUER ®
12
Academy. He has
focused his efforts
in the arenas of
small arms, small
arms training and
combat skill development.
George
has evolved from an infantry soldier,
small arms repair technician, and
drill instructor to become the coach
and firing member of the internationally
recognized United States Army
Reserve Combat Marksmanship Team.
As a competitive shooter, George
has the coveted distinction of being
Distinguished with both the service
pistol and the service rifle. As director
of the SIG SAUER ® Academy, George is
committed to the safe and successful
use of firearms by armed professionals
and responsible citizens alike through
using the SIG Principle of Training:
Simple Is Good!
Sponsored By:
sigsauer.com 603-679-2003
USCONCEALEDCARRY.COM n CONCEALED CARRY MAGAZINE n JULY 2008