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Readers! A November fund-raising drive!

 

It is unfortunately time for another November fund-raising campaign to support my work here at Behind the Black. I really dislike doing these, but 2025 is so far turning out to be a very poor year for donations and subscriptions, the worst since 2020. I very much need your support for this webpage to survive.

 

And I think I provide real value. Fifteen years ago I said SLS was garbage and should be cancelled. Almost a decade ago I said Orion was a lie and a bad idea. As early as 1998, long before almost anyone else, I predicted in my first book, Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8, that private enterprise and freedom would conquer the solar system, not government. Very early in the COVID panic and continuing throughout I noted that every policy put forth by the government (masks, social distancing, lockdowns, jab mandates) was wrong, misguided, and did more harm than good. In planetary science, while everyone else in the media still thinks Mars has no water, I have been reporting the real results from the orbiters now for more than five years, that Mars is in fact a planet largely covered with ice.

 

I could continue with numerous other examples. If you want to know what others will discover a decade hence, read what I write here at Behind the Black. And if you read my most recent book, Conscious Choice, you will find out what is going to happen in space in the next century.

 

 

This last claim might sound like hubris on my part, but I base it on my overall track record.

 

So please consider donating or subscribing to Behind the Black, either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. I could really use the support at this time. There are five ways of doing so:

 

1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.

 

2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. Takes about a 10% cut.
 

3. A Paypal Donation or subscription, which takes about a 15% cut:

 

4. Donate by check. I get whatever you donate. Make the check payable to Robert Zimmerman and mail it to
 
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652

 

You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.


.45 acp Guns and The People Who Carry Them

An evening pause: A lot of the jokes only gun owners will understand, but nonetheless, this is funny.

Genesis cover

On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.

 

The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.


The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
 

"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News

5 comments

  • That is funny. When I asked my father what his sidearm of choice was in Vietnam, he said a .45, because if he had to use it, he wanted the target to stay down.

    The video does make a good point. No gun is any good if you can’t hit what you aim at. This is why I use a S&W .40. It fits my hand well, and I can control it. I find the .45 to be too heavy and unbalanced to use effectively, and the hammer tends to catch the web of my thumb. I’d rather fire two rounds that I’m reasonably certain will find their target, than one round that may not.

  • I have done a considerable amount of competitive bullseye shooting using a 45 1911, shooting one-handed at targets 50 yards away, and have found that you can become very very accurate with it. The weight, recoil, and balance of the gun becomes natural with lots of practice. It is just a matter of putting ammo down range.

    I also had the same problem as you with the web of my thumb and one of our 1911s. I found the problem was both me and the specific gun. With repeated practice my grip improved and the hammer and grip safety caught my skin less often. Still, part of the problem was that specific gun, which is why it will never be my 1911 of choice. I’ve shot extensively with about a half dozen other 45s, including Springfield’s new very small XD-S 45, and have not had this problem.

  • BSJ

    HA! I’ve got a 1911 in 9mm. So at least I’m not bi… ;-)

  • Thanks for the information. I may revisit the .45, but I’m very happy with my .40. My brother-in-law has a sweet Glock 9mm with modified trigger (takes 1/3 the normal effort) that is a joy to shoot. Putting rounds accurately on target feels almost effortless, and the sight picture is easy to maintain.

    I don’t get to practice enough to be really proficient, so I’ll stick with the gun with which I feel most comfortable. If I have to use it, I don’t want to have to think about the mechanics.

  • Pzatchok

    I like CZ-75 variants and clones.

    Currently have a EAA Witness in .45acp/40/9mm and .22lr. Conversion kits rock.
    A CZ-83 in .380acp for CCW.

    Plus other none CZ’s for fun. Just no 1911’s. The 1911’s I tried felt fine and worked just fine I just thought the CZ’s fit my hand better and pointed more naturally.
    Though a quality 1911 would be my second choice.

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