March 30, 2026
By Keith Wood
I’m not sure whether it was inspired by “Thomas Magnum’s” Colt Mark IV/Series 70 seen in “Magnum P.I.” on the Magnavox in our living room, or the surplus Remington Rand in Dad’s closet, but I can’t remember not loving the Model 1911. I’ve been shooting, tinkering with and collecting 1911 handguns for 40 years, so when I had the chance to attend Rob Leatham’s and Jason Burton’s 1911 Mastery Course, I booked a flight for Arizona.
Leatham and Burton are giants in the Model 1911 community. Leatham has been called “the greatest handgun shooter of all time” . Burton, owner of Heirloom Precision , has quickly risen to the top of the custom handgun trade by turning 1911s into functional works of art. Their 1911 Mastery Course is a melding of talents, a three-day experience dedicated to shooting and understanding what Burton refers to as “God’s gun.”
The course was conducted at Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club in Mesa . It’s an impressive facility just outside of Leatham’s hometown. I showed up with a pair of Springfield Armory Garrison models chambered in 9mm, 2,000 rounds of 147-grain Fiocchi Range Dynamics ammunition, as many magazines as I could scrounge up, and an open mind.
Equipment Other students carried a healthy mix of single-stack 1911-style handguns chambered in either .45 ACP or 9mm. There was a Nighthawk, a couple of Dan Wessons, and a vintage Colt built by Steve Nastoff. The plurality of the guns, though, came from Springfield Armory; the 1911 TRP was the most common.
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Professional Shooter Rob Leatham has an infectious enthusiasm for shooting. His sense of humor kept the class fun and engaging. A number of shooters used red-dot optics, which I saw as both a sign of the times and a reminder that most of us were well north of 40 years old.
I wanted to shoot the course with similar yet contrasting pistols. My first blued Garrison was completely stock except for a pair of Hogue 1911 Gov’t Model checkered walnut grip panels . I lubed the handgun, test-fired it briefly, and packed it in a travel case.
The second was one that I was in the middle of personalizing when the time came to train. I’d replaced the thumb and beavertail grip safeties with machined parts from Stan Chen of Chen Custom . I also added one of his shooter-installed checkered mainspring housings with an extended magazine well. Chen also provided the rear sight for my build. The fire control components were from Harrison Design , as was the fiber-optic front sight. The factory grips were replaced with G10 panels from VZ Grips .
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Travis McCamish, an MMA fighter-turned-competitive shooter was an assistant instructor. The second Garrison’s frontstrap was checkered 25 lines per inch (lpi). I didn’t have a chance to finish the pistol before running it through the course; most of the blue wore off. To secure whichever Garrison I was carrying at the time, I selected a Safariland ALS Mid-Ride Level I retention holster on the company’s low-profile Battle Belt, along with four Blade-Tech Signature single-mag pouches .
Both handguns performed well throughout the course. Other than some feeding problems that were caused by a magazine I managed to single out, there were no mechanical issues. A few of the students’ guns produced minor hiccups during the class, but were all quickly diagnosed and corrected by Burton.
Jason Burton is a pistolsmith. When students’ guns produced a failure, his experience helped training resume quickly. The Range The first morning was spent on the range with Burton and USPSA Grand Master Travis McCamish, who assisting Leatham. It didn’t take long to realize that Leatham is no ordinary instructor — and this was no ordinary shooting course. Dogma was shattered, and egos were bruised. Leatham isn’t there to make people feel great about themselves, he’s there to make better shooters.
Focus on the front sight. Squeeze the trigger. Feel for the reset. Don’t grip the gun too hard.
“Forget all of that crap,” Leatham told us. Immediately, he discarded many of the typical handgun shooting “truths” before the first bullet went downrange. It would be easy to dismiss his opinion and cling to what has been preached for a century, except for the fact that Leatham has won eight IPSC World Championships, 11 Bianchi Cups and 34 USPSA National Championships.
The saying “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” was one of Leatham’s favorite targets. “Slow is slow,” he said. “You have to jerk the trigger to shoot fast,” he told us. “Learn to jerk the trigger without moving the gun.”
Leatham never missed a teachable moment. His technique often involved working with one student for the benefit of the class. Instead of focusing on the front sight, emphasis was placed on properly aligning the handgun. Both sights matter, as does the target. Flinching was also addressed in depth. Avoiding any flinch is impossible, but timing the flinch can mean the difference between a hit and a miss. Flinching after the round leaves the muzzle is not only harmless, but it can also be helpful in resetting the gun correctly for the next shot.
Leatham ran us through a series of drills that allowed us to demonstrate each of these principles — and to unlearn bad habits. He singled out students when necessary to prove a point. The goal was a healthy balance of speed and precision, pushing ourselves to learn when it was time to slow down and when to speed up.
I have never seen an individual more at home on the range. Leatham was passionate about shooting, and he was full of enthusiasm. He wasn’t merely going through the motions but was fully immersed in our class. He can almost smell someone miss. He has an amazing sense of humor, too, keeping the mood light but serious. It was the most fun I’ve ever had during a class, even when it was my turn to be singled out.
Leatham was nearly across the range and with his back turned when I “double-tapped” a target; I’m not sure how he heard that above the cacophony of gunshots, but he did. He stopped the class and had everyone gather around my position at the extreme left side of the firing line. Leatham used this as a teaching opportunity to stress the principle that every shot should be a deliberate act. He had me present the Garrison and load the trigger until it met the wall just before the break. On his command, I was to fire a single shot. He repeated the command with escalating speed. Regardless of the cadence, my shots went into the same hole. It wasn’t shaming; it was merely a teaching opportunity for everyone. Lesson learned.
As the course progressed, the firing line continued to move backwards. It’s easy to look great while blasting away at short-range targets, but hitting with speed and precision at extended ranges exposes the pretenders.
Students used a variety of single-stack 1911s, even some with red-dot optics. Notably, the Springfield Armory TRP was a popular choice. The Classroom As much as I love to shoot 1911s, I’m equally fascinated by the design and construction. For the second half of the first two days, the students moved into a classroom to learn the functional nuances of the pistol. Burton led this portion of the class while Leatham chimed in with self-deprecating humor regarding his own gunsmithing prowess.
It was quickly obvious that Burton has a deep appreciation for the platform, too. Much of the instruction circled back to John Moses Browning’s genius. The goal of the classroom portion of training seemed to be to give students an understanding of how the Model 1911 actually works — not only as an appreciation of the design but as a practical means of keeping the gun running in real-world conditions.
The firing cycle of the 1911 was discussed step-by-step. Special attention was paid to the extractor, which Burton calls the “brain” of the 1911. Each student’s extractor was closely inspected by Burton, with adjustments made as needed. The intricate and crucial relationship between the barrel and its various locking surfaces was also covered in detail. That discussion helped students appreciate just how much work goes into building a pistol to the standards of a 1911 pistolsmith.
Instructors explained and demonstrated each drill before asking students to complete tasks. Burton led students through a detailed strip of the 1911, and each of us disassembled our own pistols. Using a slideshow that combined original design prints and photographs from his own collection, Burton discussed each component in detail. Common failure points, including cracks that can form on the ejector and firing pin stop, were identified so that we would know to inspect those areas on a regular basis.
Burton also talked about custom touches that can improve the performance of a 1911. He discussed the pros and cons of several aftermarket parts, and which brands he prefers for specific applications.
The Gun Lab The final day of the course was spent at the range. After a final morning of instruction, students returned to the range to experience what Leatham calls “Gun Lab.” We formed different groups and lined up at four unique stations spread across two range bays. Each station was set up with a different course of fire and featured a specific array of steel targets.
Leatham is a fierce competitor, and Gun Lab drove that point home. We shot the stages against the clock and scores were recorded. Once every student had the chance to shoot each stage at least twice, scores were tallied and a final competition bracket was created.
Burton led the classroom portion of the course. Students learned how to detailed strip, inspect, and reassemble their own 1911s. Pairs of shooters shot the stage head-to-head; the winner advanced. Competitors engaged two reduced-size silhouette targets with two rounds each before performing a reload and hitting a small round target at a greater distance. Whoever made all their hits and successfully engaged the center target first won. (Everyone but Leatham participated in this.)
There were some talented shooters in my class, and the competition was fierce. Burton was the 2022 Arizona State IDPA Champion, and McCamish is a Grand Master across three USPSA divisions.
When it was my turn to shoot, I experienced my only non-magazine malfunction after three days of shooting. As it turned out, it was self-induced. The retention system on the ALS holster requires a sweep of the thumb to disengage. As the result of an awkward grip on the pistol during my draw, I failed to disengage the grip safety. Recognizing the issue, I shot fast and hit well but I couldn’t make up enough time to win.
I quit shooting handgun matches when my kids were born and have yet to return. After Gun Lab, I realized that I need to get back into the competition circuit and sharpen my skills.
The 1911 Mastery Course reinforces an understanding of the innerworkings of the Model 1911, including small parts identification. Takeaways One of Leatham’s fundamental truths is that shooting is simple but not easy. This is not a course for beginners. It’s one for serious 1911 aficionados to hone their shoot skills and better understand the inner workings of the legendary handgun. The teaching was fast-paced and intense, but lighthearted.
If you are an individual who appreciates the single-stack 1911 as we do, I cannot recommend this course enough. For me, it was the best of all worlds: A high-level shooting course, a practical guide to maintaining and customizing one of my favorite handguns and even a history lesson of sorts.
“This class is meant to be a higher education of the 1911 platform,” Burton told me. “We want to convey not only the best techniques for performance-based shooting but also establish a solid understanding of how the 1911 platform works and why it is designed the way it is. The end goal is for each student to walk away a more confident and a better enduser of the 1911 pistol.”
“No model of handgun offers a better blend of historical relevance with pure performance,” Leatham added. “This platform has great importance to me. I have used the 1911 for decades, and I have built a shooting career on its performance. For those who don’t require magazine capacity to get the job done, nothing beats the 1911. Working with my friend Jason, who is both a master of the technical aspects of the gun — and is also a great shot — is a pleasure for me.”
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