2-Gun Action Challenge Match: US WWI Infantry (M1917 & M1911) 

Ah, the standard issue World War I sunglasses.

so this is like cosplaying but with slightly more gunpowder?

Ian sweating his balls off in a wool WWI US uniform for our entertainment, what a dedicated youtuber. respect

This looks like ridiculous amounts of fun. P.S. Bonus points for proper WWI stance at beginning of "Sgt. York." P.P.S. Special BFF points to Karl for snagging that mag.

Mad respect for Ian's left-handed bolt action technique. Dude makes it look easy.

I can't begin to imagine how someone using a semi-auto must feel placing lower in a shooting match than someone with bolt-action hardware

*Tips brodie * m'war bonds.

"that kraut contraption is insane!" damn them and their metal war beasts

Far more interesting than watching someone do this with a $3,000 Sig pistol and a $5,000 AR, bravo!

Are those sunglasses reproduction or original?

You thought right Ian.... That was a cool way to do the shoot. Well executed historical shooting. Thanks for this.

But I don't think the haircut is army regulation.

The M1917 is so underappreciated. Love that rifle :)

I always thought the "Hun" label was hilarious. Both because it sounds cool and because the Huns most probably looked like mongols, which is to say asian. So basically, the Allies were calling the Germans "weeaboo" before the internet.

when you get out of the car for these matches does everyone else just shake their head? XD

*Voice chimes in from nowhere: "Double kill! Unstoppable!"

this video literally shits on all the people who constantly ask me: “bUt aiNt iT hArD sHoOTiN a boLt gUn leFt-haNDeD??”

I wonder if after each section he went back and picked up all those stripper clips...

Had to smile about the sun glasses and the long hair, that slightly "out of period". Quite impressed with your ability as a marksman.

The Band of Brothers reference almost brought a nostalgic tear to my eye... Well done

cracked up at "OVER THE TOP!"

I am guessing you have been playing Verdun and wanted to try the American load out IRL?

I think you won just on principle of showing up in costume.

As someone whose worn wool uniforms in the heat I thank you for sweating it out to make this, God that must have been hot in the damn desert no less. You rock Ian

I'd never noticed that Ian was a lefty before. He does a great job of cycling that bolt. Nice to see some left handed people shooting. This coming from being a left handed person myself of course : ) Great video by the way.

Uh-oh... Trump will see this video and now you will get a tweet at 3 a.m: "Nothing wrong with my hands. Nothing wrong with that gun. Sad little channel gets basic facts about WW1 - WRONG! Sad."

I love the fact that Ian and Carl compete to have fun.I think some competitive shooters have forgotten that.

actually really interesting to watch. they should totally have competitions for old rifles and pistols like these

Uniforms were so nice back then. You also *feel* completely different wearing something like that.

So scored 50 out of 60... Were the people behind you all DQed or were they just that bad? lol

that was damned impressive Ian!

I hope you get to be a character in bf1

I didn't see captain Sobel anywhere.

That was awesome! Now do a match with a WW2 kit. M1, and 1911. Maybe throw a Winchester shotgun in there and run a 3 gun match...

how are you gonna slay the huns with dust on your jump wings?!

Donald Trump hands, owwww snap!

must be hard using a righty with the left still you are fast at charging the bolt

"Slay the Hun" My fucking sides, your so in character its scary!

Seems that helmet was getting in the way a lot more than what one would expect. Was it because you had strapped it too loose, or is something that the helmet design tends to do on it's own?. I totally lost it when you described the "hand size" problem, btw. And is not the first time I get a good laugh when watching your videos... so just keep it up :). Love the channel.

This is so fucking awesome. lol'd at the recoil tipping the helmet into his eyes

Damn this guy can shoot

Wow, as there are rarely any good color photos of wwi, nice to know what the uniform looked like in full rgb!

I just bought my first 1917 Eddystone. I cannot wait to go shoot it.

Anyone else notice the Donald Trump joke?

I just rewatched this and it still makes me smile. Ian, you are an Operator with that M1917. It's a really slick action.

haha I was kinda expecting that hammer bite :D

"How do you plan to slay the Huns with dust on your vest pocket buttons?!?" Was that a Band of Brothers reference?

If it wasn't for your pony tail and sun glasses I would think you actually came from WWI, your facial hair style looks like it came from that era and I mean that in a good way. :-) The only thing that would have made this video better is if you had a M1917 revolver. Just like the Enfield was a substitute for the Springfield rifle, so was the M1917 for the 1911. Maybe next time you can do a WWI shoot like this but with the 1897 trench shotgun famous with American forces of the era.

Wow. I had so much fun watching this, and it looks like you had tons of fun, too. It really makes me want to find a match near me. I love the channel, and I'm working my way through the Battlefield 1 playlist now. Thanks and keep up the great work!

Hi, for anyone who wants to learn some of the WWI slang I suggest getting a copy of the reprinted "Lingo of No Man's Land" Written by Lorenzo N. Smith, an American who served with the Canadian army. Available on amazon.com or amazon.ca. It's an interesting read and gives some insight to what you would have heard in the trenches.

Great work Ian. Very impressive! You should do this or more "themed" two-gun challenges more often.

Can we have more fun like this again on the channel?!

“I think it’s really cool” I think it’s wool and you’re in a dessert. Just saying.

I subscribe to a lot of gun channels but yours and Hickok's always make me happy there's such a thing as RU-vid

I get more and more impressed every time I watch y'all's shooting videos. Your technique is excellent- especially for a lefty- I never would've thought to work the bolt like that. Y'all are great guys- keep it up and thanks for the inspiration!

9:37 Your foot's across the line! Mark it zero! Great video, Ian. The tailor did a good job on your uniform.

Absolutely awesome video, there were parts were I actually found myself holding my breath waiting for you to hit a target. That some great shooting, especially with the pistol, some of those targets looked insane. The uniform looked really good as well. Definitely a 10/10

I don't have access to any ranges that have action matches, nor a shooting buddy with whom to do run jump stretch crawl fart matches, but on the small private 200M range where I'm able to shoot, I devise little two-or-three-gun period courses and shoot them for time against myself. So far, I've done various iterations of same-caliber 1892 & Blackhawks (I have sets in four calibers), M1 Carbine & 1911, Garand & 1911, iron-sight bolt actions and an M625-8JM with .45 ball in full moons, an M4 and an XD45, the same with an M5, an AR22 and a High Standard M100, and a "resistance fighter" version with a '60s scoped .22 semi-auto rifle and the High Standard M100. Although I dearly love the versions with the .30 Carbine and the Garand, the real hoot comes with the leverguns and revolvers, in .32-20, .357, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt. Having just obtained a Mosin M91/30, I doubt I could find an 1895. I guess I should look for an S&W Model 3.

I'd let Ian slay my Hun, if you know what I mean.

i guess in ww1 if it itched you knew you were alive

"How do you expect to slay the hun with dust on your jumpwings?"

"Unless you have Donald Trump hands"... I shit myself laughing... good job I was already on the "Thunder Mug"!!!

Now do it with a mosin nagant left handed. Fun times.

"Donald Trump hands" for the WIN! (Did not expect either)

Very nice Ian. Just a question, if you could carry any hand gun into World War One which one would it be? I'd ask rifle but you seemed on the edge of proposing marriage to that M1917 so I assume that's what it would be lol.

"Donald Trump hands" 🤣

Ian mentioned some WWI era slang coming from the French. Here's another curiosity from back then. The Russians sent men to fight at Verdun and so the Russian army marched in the victory parade down the Champs-Élysées in Paris after the war. It's from those soldiers that the French got the word for a new type of cafe. Bistro. From the Russian word bystro which means something like, "Hey! Hurry up with my order!"

Sneaky little joke, 'Donald Trump hands'. I applaud you. With my normal-sized hands.

wait, your a lefty?! cool!

Good shooting, especially on that 1911 with the standard sights. Great video, well done here.

Donald Trump hands, love it!

"Anything except Donald Trump hands" LMAO

Battlefield 1!

I'd love to shoot a match like that.

Wait how he said "a lot of the slang that came from ww1, was just a corruption of french" Is that how we got the term "pardon my french". From soldiers using such slang to or near french troops, thus following up with pardon my french.

Me: “What’s a Polish Plate?” Me, end of video: “Fuck the Polish Plate”

Really makes you appreciate how far firearms technology has come in the last 100 years.

Ian running and gunning and cycling the action at that speed is the most badass thing I've seen in a long while on RU-vid.

From concept to execution, I am always impressed by your videos. I'm also impressed that someone made a moving steel target that's even more evil than the Texas Star! You certainly have some speedy bolt manipulation, but have you tried working the bolt with your shooting hand? Maybe pivot the rifle to the left 90 degrees before/as you do it? You might even be able to do left-handed reloads faster/easier that way. Just a thought, feel free to disregard at will. =)

Bro you ain’t got any thing on my great great great great uncle Alvin Cooper York aka Seargent York

Yo, "anything except Trump hands"! LOL!

Could you imagine someone died because they fixed their helmet from their view and they got shot....

To think some people would sneer at cosplayers at ComicCon, but think this is totally cool and normal.

wait America was in WW1? let me guess that take credit for winning that as well don't they

Those were the weapons Alvin York carried the day he won the Medal of Honor

The fluidity of that shoulder cycling... _sweet_ _jesus_

You can’t shoot left handed it’s slowing you down and it’s not nice to see, guns are made for right handed

I can’t imagine how much more difficult it must be for Ian to shoot a right handed bolt action rifle left handed

ALMOST had the uniform down pat, except for the modern sunglasses, the helmet seemed to protect your eyes from the shade anyway.

You cycle that Enfield, left handed to boot, like a pro!!

Wouldn't be ww1 without those long ponytails.

I need to get another 1911, my hammer bite scar is starting to fade.

Very nice job Ian. Love the M1917. I was lucky enough to buy one from a friend a few yrs ago. VG condition, not far from pristine, Remington, low 3 digit serial number. Looks like it never went overseas. Often the first few hundred of something on contract are tested for spec and end up bring kept stateside for guardcm duty, training etc. Love the sights, since i pretty much learned on peeps anyway. The trigger is good, and i like a smooth 2 stage anyway. It is a bit heavy, but of course that helps with stability (to a point) and with recoil. I'll take an updated 1911 thanks, or at least one with a decent beavertail. Good job with that one. Great finish on the spinner, esp since u cleared it with 1 mag after losing most of the momentum. Great video as always. Thank you

Excellent video Ian! The challenge itself looks fun, but your choice to do it with historically-accurate WW1 gear was awesome.

Donald trump hands........... you sir are awesome

Never seen anything like Ian's working of the bolt.......LEFT HANDED! Very, very impressive.

The M1917 will forever be one of my favorites. No other bolt action I've tried could I shoot as fast as the M1917.

Bad case of hammer bit huh :-) I enjoyed every second of this video! Great footage. Just hope it wasn't to warm inside that uniform,wearing that helmet.Regards

You dont realize how quickly Ian operates a bolt action rifle until you try it yourself. Karl as well, especially Karls target acquisition. You guys bring me so much joy with your videos, the educational history as well as displaying proper and safe handling of firearms. I love you guys.

So weird seeing a left handed shooter fire a bolt action rifle.