I’ve carried a Glock Model 27 in .40 S&W for a number of years before finally giving in to that inner voice whispering that I should have at least ONE 1911. After waiting for more than three months for a stainless Champion and not one in sight, I settled for a SA Compact in the black matte alloy frame. It’s a very eye-appealing package, especially with the Cocobolo grips and night sights. Still, I was a tad apprehensive about how it would point and shoot. After all, I had more than 2,500 rounds through my baby Glock and it never let me down.
I can say that after 600 rounds breaking in the little Compact, that I’ve retired my baby Glock for hot, sweltering days when the tennifer finish will be less of a hassle to care for over the alloy and matte finish of the 1911. As for running and gunning, the Springfield shoots better than I ever will. When I do my part, this handgun will keep all my shots in a 2 inch black circle at 15 yards — and that’s shooting fast and loose. I train like I fight and I fight like I train, so I’m not a fan of excruciatingly long shots from bench rests. I have little doubt that this 1911 will do well at longer ranges, if called upon to do so.
I’ve had over past years experienced an occasional jam with my Glock, but this little Compact 1911 has NEVER flinched – never! I’m aware that some folks have encountered problems, but I have not. It shoots every time, and every time I squeeze the trigger, it shoots and that does so extremely well. I carry it with me every day and everywhere I go, as I place my life on what I carry in my Milt Sparks IWB holster. This handgun will not let me down.
As a matter of experience with this new pistol, I’m so pleased with this it that I’m looking at purchasing a full size 1911 in stainless — that is, if I can find one. It seems there aren’t many Springfield Armory 1911s available because the Colorado natives buy them up as soon as they land in a display case.
If you’re in the market for a beautifully manufactured 1911 that will be a joy to carry and even more fun to shoot, you won’t be disappointed with the Compact. Place a Wilson Combat 7 round magazine in for good measure, and you’re ready for just about anything that comes down the pike. Nuzzle this beautiful work of art in a Milt Sparks Versa Max IWB holster with sharkskin trim, and you’ll be dressed for any occasion.
Happy shooting.
Rev. Bill Sladek, ELCA
Windsor, Colorado
I have good news for all those asking about the Rock Island 45’s. Here are my findings. My first firing session of 100 rounds was very frustrating. My ammo was Winchester WinClean ammo. The magazine is cheap and she needs a polish job.
After that firing session here’s what I did: One needs to do Syd’s Fluff & Buff. I polished everything that had metal to metal contact. But that’s just me. I disassembled the entire gun – hammer, sear, pins, springs – you name it – down to the bare frame. I gave everything a very through cleaning. I also added a Chip McCormick Full Length guide rod. I had to made a slight modification with Dremel to make it fit, a five minute job. I replaced the stock recoil spring with a Wolff 18.5# spring. With the FLGR in, the entire slide action is much more smooth when manual cycling the slide. I also ordered 1 standard 8-round Chip McCormick magazine and 1 8-round Power Mag, just to see if there would be any difference in feed-ability or function (both worked fine).
I also made a slight adjustment on the stock extractor. The rest of the Rock Island was left bone stock. I have always used Mobil One synthetic oil in my guns for lube. They get real dirty but they always work!
I purchased the same ammo, Winchester WinClean ammo along with CCI Blazer. I fired a total of 200 rounds and she never missed a beat – no, jams, no stove pipes. There were just three errors, of which two were me an the other was caused by a bit of debris lodged in the extractor. I cleaned the extractor with a dry brush and there were no further problems.
I found that after adding the FLGR and the 18.5# recoil spring that the recoil was a lot less and I’m not a gun guru but the shots were right on the money! It shoots to point of aim and prints a nice “tight” group as they say.
My first impression was the pistol was OK. But when I fired it, it was not smooth like my other .45 which is a Para. After the polish work, a few tweaks and some good mags, this Rock Island is a keeper. It was a joy to shoot. But remember that this is a Clone of a Colt 1911. So, some of these so called “drop-in” parts might need a tweaking to make them fit. I’m not a gunsmith but I was able to make the necessary corrections with a Dremel. No problems. A sweet gun for an exceptional value. Or it would make it a nice build up gun.
Whatever you do with it, I don’t think you can go wrong.
I was determined not to like this gun – Colt/Kimber/Springfield snobbery at work, I guess. I went at it with the intention of finding fault. At the same time, I love M1911A1’s, and precious few gun makers are building true M1911A1’s these days. They may look like them on the outside, but inside, they’re polluted with a bunch of lawyer-friendly, California suck-up perversions of the design, like Swartz safety firing pin blocks, external extractors, integrated locking systems and other “answers in search of a question” devices that degrade the trigger and add unnecessary complexity to the design. Personally, I really like the M1911A1 design, which is sometimes referred to as the “Series 70” format (even though “Series 70” and “M1911A1” are really two different pistols). People use “Series 70” to mean 1911’s that don’t have firing pin blocks (or in Kimber parlance, Series 1). (Go here to get a complete description of the Series 70 Colt.) Kimber had taken to adding these “improvements” with an external extractor and a Swartz-type firing pin block, but the Marines rang their bells when they ordered a batch of 1911’s from Kimber, but specified that they should have no firing pin blocks or full length guide rods, and they should have internal extractors – in other words, they should be real M1911’s and not the lawyer friendly crap that has developed recently. So, even though my Colt/Kimber/Springfield snobbery was blazing bright, there was some serious sympathy for an outfit that is still willing to build a true M1911A1, and RIA (actually Armscor of the Philippines through their subsidiary, Twin Pines) is doing that.
The RIA guns are being sold at extremely attractive prices. The “M1911A1” is selling for about $350-$370 and that price point is generating a lot of interest, especially when guns like the Springfield Mil-Spec are commanding $560 and most Kimber and Colt models are going for $800+.
There are some ways that the RIA M1911A1 is not a true M1911A1. The most obvious is that it has a flat mainspring housing. The G.I. M1911A1 has a curved mainspring housing. Contemporary 1911 shooters seem to prefer the flat mainspring housing which was characteristic of the older M1911 over the curved housing of the WW II era guns. The RIA pistol, like most modern production 1911’s, has a lowered ejection port with the scallop relief to the rear which is a good idea for reliability, but is not characteristic of the G.I. gun. It has a beveled magazine well and a somewhat enlarged thumb safety flange – again, modern modifications that make sense, but which were not found on the G.I. gun. It also has smooth wood grips rather than checkered bakelite. The RIA is like the M1911A1 in that it is parkerized, has the short trigger of the M1911A1, has authentic sights, short guide rod and spring plug, no firing pin block, and a mil-spec trigger of about 5.5-6 lbs.
First Test
Rock Island Armory M1911A1
It shot really well close. At seven yards I got a ragged hole. At 25 yards I got a pattern the size of a cantaloupe 8″ low at 8 o’clock. (By way of comparison, I shoot a baseball-sized pattern at point of aim at 25 yards with the SA XD 9mm at this same range under similar lighting conditions). It could have been my eyes and those tiny sights in the indoor range. I’m not ready to blame that totally on the gun yet. Probably a bit more testing is in order. I did the “magazine from hell” test (running every weird old magazine in my collection through it for reliability testing) and it only had one problem – a no-name Chinese knock-off magazine failed to lock back on the last round. There were no failures to feed (FTF). I did nothing to prep this gun for the test. I just took it out of the box, wiped the packing oil off of the outside and fired it – no lube, cleaning or “fluff & buff.” The only real problem was that I got some bitchin’ hammer bite. I don’t usually get hammer bite with M1911A1’s but this one sure did. When I got home, there was blood on the hammer flange and beavertail. All in all, it was a pretty decent performance for a $350 pistol. It was better than I expected it to be.
Second Test
Without cleaning it, I took it to a training session. For this session the RIA performed in the second gun role, with the trusty Combat Commander as the primary. I shot about half of the session with it, around 50 rounds or so. Again, the RIA performed flawlessly; again there was bitchin’ hammer bite.
Rock Island Armory M1911A1 Hammer Bite
Third Test
I remembered to grind off the sharp end of the hammer this time, but aside from a bit of wipe off when I took the hammer out of the gun, I still had not cleaned or lubed it. This session was at an indoor range and I ran 100 rounds of Winchester White Box through the gun. Again, it performed without a single bobble or hiccough. That made approximately 250 rounds of hardball through a new gun, without any cleaning or maintenance. All ammo was Winchester “White Box.” I have to admit that I’m warming up to the gun at this point.
Critique
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and you would expect that certain corners might be cut in order to keep the pistol in the $350 range when most other M1911’s are bringing $800 and up. If you want to find nits to pick, you can. The sights are very authentic narrow blade sights like those used on the G.I. guns. In the dim light of the indoor range, they were hard to pick up. The smooth wood grips strike me as a little chintzy. Like many guns these days, the RIA has a number of MIM (metal injection molding) parts. If you look at the MIM parts with a 10x loupe, you will notice tiny surface imperfections like pits that appear to be the result of not quite enough polishing after the part came out of the mold. Also, a gun billed as an “M1911A1” should have an arched mainspring housing rather than a flat one. There seems to be a collective decision in the 1911 universe that we all prefer flat mainspring housings over arched ones. It really depends on an individual’s hand shape and geometry. Flat MSH’s aren’t perfect for everyone. The slide and frame are castings rather than bar-stock milling. I know for a lot of folks this is a negative, but you have to keep reminding yourself, “$350.” Last, if you look at a real government issue M1911A1, you will notice that the finish is dark gray with green and brownish tints. Like most “mil-spec” 1911 clones, the parkerization on the Rock Island Armory gun is black. Personally I like the black, but it’s not completely authentic.
What’s to Like?
Well, there’s price, price and did I mention price? For the money, I think this gun is an excellent value. The Rock Island Armory M1911A1 would be an excellent “first gun” for someone who wants to try out the M1911 platform without over-committing resources. Based on my testing so far, it has the reliability and accuracy to serve in the personal defense role. It might be able to go places with you where you wouldn’t want to take the “safe queens.” And, by the way, I still haven’t cleaned and lubed it, and it’s still running fine.
This is a non-shooting (“collector”) review of Colt’s new reproduction of the WWII-era M1911A1. It is a long post, so please forgive and/or bear with me, but I think it worth reading and considering. It is presented largely for the interested and/or prospective buyer of this limited edition (“collector item”) firearm.
As soon as the new M1911A1 was announced (“over there”) by Mark655, et al, I pretty much decided I had to have at least one of them. I followed the postings (here and “there”) on the subject and recently caught word these M1911A1 reproductions were finally on the market.
I immediately notified my local dealer, who found two (2) of them at a large distributor in Reno, NV. I ordered, and committed myself, to purchasing both.
The pair was received by my dealer on 07/16. First thing I noticed upon inspection was that the guns were untouched (original packaging was fully intact) and the pistols were all but swimming in oil. Second thing I noticed was they were shipped with one (1) magazine each in contradiction to the two (2) magazines promised on Colt’s website.
No matter, as I was “hooked” long before I ever saw these two guns. Besides, the guns APPEARED to be otherwise as advertised (parked finish, wide hammer, steel trigger, serrated/arched m/s housing with lanyard loop, Kraft boxes, etc.). So, I purchased both of them (at $949 each, plus tax).
Once at home, I looked both over more carefully and determined one had slightly lesser-quality roll marks than the other, so I decided to strip it down and remove the oil in preparation for burning powder. (I was thinking of saving the other one for posterity, or, possibly, as a base gun for a future full-house custom.)
Detail-stripping and degreasing the “lesser” of this pair of Colt CUSTOM SHOP guns revealed the following:
(1) virtually all small parts (slide stop, thumb and grip safety, magazine catch, disconnector, etc.) are CAST
(2) finish on cast parts does NOT match others (cast parts BLACK, others, such as slide, GREY)
(3) all small parts show numerous surface scratches
(4) both the thumb and grip safeties exhibit visible casting flaws (i.e., cut-thru “bubbles”) on exterior surfaces
(5) the mainspring housing retainer pin (i.e., the part @ bottom of mainspring) is PLASTIC
(6) numerous surface scratches were also evident on major parts (i.e., slide and frame)
(7) the pistol is mounted with 1911-type (not 1911A1-type) sights
(8) the gun was replete with nearly razor-sharp edges (e.g., the rear edges of the slide) — this is not how “originals” were made
IMO, this pistol is hardly worth $500, much less $949 (plus tax).
So, yesterday (07/17), I returned both pistols to my dealer and requested reimbursement. I realize this is just about unheard of, but I am a loyal customer, so I thought it worth a shot.
Luckily, there were (are, at least) two other SUCKERS standing in line for these M1911A1 reproductions, so I got off the hook (minus $25 for the time/paperwork my dealer invested in the transactions).
Bottom Line: If the NEW pistol I detail-stripped and degreased is any indication, these M1911A1 reproductions are not worth serious consideration. I have seen “original” M1911A1 PARTS GUNS that looked better.
As for base guns, I now believe that new Colts are not worthy candidates — not even those that begin life as Colt CUSTOM SHOP pistols.
Finally, let me state that, although I got off easy in this case, I remain sorely disappointed in Colt. I had very high hopes for the M1911A1 reproductions (and even bigger plans), but reality butted in on them.
I also learned an important (if rather late) lesson here. From now on, I will never again buy a gun smothered in oil (whether new or not). Compared even to bead-blasting, copious amounts of oil must surely be the ultimate means of hiding flaws and poor workmanship.
I think I have an interesting story for this site. About a year ago I purchased a 1911A1 COLT-made pistol. Condition is, believe it or not , brand new.
Before shooting the piece, I gave it a thoroughly cleaning job to remove the old grease and oil from the mechanical parts and even the outside. This gun looked like it had left the COLT factory yesterday…only the piece was manufactured in 1943!
The finish is a dull gray-green , the slide has the usual Colt markings and rampant Colt , on the frame (right side) it says “UNITED STATES PROPERTY” – “M1911A1” – “U.S.ARMY” and the serial # 942XXX. On that same side behind the grip panel, there are two crossed cannons in a circle ( Board of Ordnance ). On the left side of the frame in the trigger guard, there are the initials GHD (Lt.Col. Guy H.Drewry – inspector marks). Two “P” proof marks are stamped on the frame and one in a triangle.
This gun is a fine shooter and I left it as it came (no modifications ). My gun dealer informed me the gun was imported from the well-known German importer FRANKONIA ARMS and that several hundreds of 1911A1 where brought in from…Russia ! It seems that in WWII the US supplied Russia with more than 12.000 units of 1911A1’s under the Lend-Lease program. I don’t know if guns like these where also brought back to the US. Anyway, I think my gun was a real bargain.(I paid $500 for the piece.)
I have about 100 rounds through my Charles Daly now and can give some first impressions. While 100 rounds is by no means conclusive, one can sometimes spot a lemon that quickly.
Functioning was superb. I had two malfunctions. One was caused by a reload that was not properly crimped. It had a ring of lead around the rim of the case. It fed, but failed to go into battery.
The other malfunction was caused by an after-market magazine. The magazine had no markings, but looked like a Mec-Gar. This magazine failed to feed at all. It would not feed ball. It would not even manually feed the first round. Neither malfunction can be attributed to the gun. I then tried a Wilson Combat magazine. It worked flawlessly. I will buy more and chunk the after-market magazines. I shot 230 grain ball, 230 grain LRN, 185 grain LSWC and Winchester Silvertip. Every one fed reliably, including the Winchester hollow points. The 230 grain ball shot to point of aim. The 185 grain Silvertips shot low, but centered.
There was one quirk. It was necessary to manually feed the first Silvertip into the chamber without first loading it in the magazine. I do not consider this to be a problem, since that is how I always load Silvertips to prevent nose deformation caused by repeated loading and unloading of the same round.
I bought some Wilson-Rogers magazines. With those magazines, the CD feeds very reliably. For some reason, it does not like Winchester Silvertips. It feeds Aguila ball and my own 200 grain SWC reloads without a hitch. I have limited tests with Federal 165 grain Personal Defense. That load had zero malfunctions.
I noticed an anomaly with 230 grain LRN reloads. I had about 1200 rounds of this ammo I loaded for my Colt 1991-A1 Compact. It feeds flawlessly in the Colt. It fails to go into battery in the CD. The CD seems to have a tighter chamber than the Colt. I will try seating the bullet deeper to correct the problem.
I have not done a rigorous accuracy test. Shooting offhand at ten yards, I have shot some groups that were a ragged hole. That is not a definitive test, but it does indicate that the pistol has potential.
My hand did not fit the beavertail grip safety very well and was a bit sore after shooting. I have a Wilson Combat grip safety on my Colt that fits my hand better. This does not mean that the CD grip safety will not fit your hand. It only means that it did not fit my hand. I will probably wear shooting gloves if I plan an extended shooting session.
I did not perform a rigorous accuracy test. I did all of my shooting offhand at ten yards. My first two shots were touching. My first offhand group was about three inches, nothing to brag about, but good enough to hit a BG in the center of the chest.
As mentioned in my first post, fit and finish are very good. Upon disassembly, I found a tool mark on the barrel link. The trigger has a lot of slack, but breaks very cleanly once the slack is taken up. A 1911 style pistol in need of a trigger job is not that unusual.
As many are aware of, early CD’s were of poor quality. After purchasing this pistol, I discovered that it is possible to find the date of manufacture. In the box my pistol came in, under the foam lining, there was a green inspection card. It listed the date of inspection and the name of the person who sighted the gun at the factory. Mine was dated July, 1999. It may be possible to verify the date of manufacture by looking for this tag.
Conclusions: The Charles Daly is not a Kimber, Les Baer or Springfield. It is a very good shooter. It could be made an exceptional shooter for the price of some Wilson Combat magazines and a trigger job. Would I recommend one? Absolutely! It is an excellent value. It is a decent shooter out of the box at a very moderate price. I paid $330 for mine, but I noticed at the last gun show, the price is going up. Most of the CD’s were just under $400.
Until I purchased my Auto Ordnance 1911PKZ last September I had never owned a center fire pistol. I selected this manufacturer primarily on the combination of price and the positive reviews the pistol received from the American Rifleman and another pistol magazine. I selected the model because I am very interested in military history in general and the inventions of John Moses Browning in particular.
This model has a parkerized finish that is a slate gray/black tone in keeping with the military model. There are no rough spots and the finish is very attractive if you appreciate military metal finishes. The plastic grips are nothing to get excited about but then, the military grips I have seen are not better. Overall, the fit of the parts is very good. Of course, the slide will “rattle’ when you shake the pistol vigorously but not more than a Remington WWII model I was able to inspect alongside mine Auto Ordnance. I need a barrel bushing wrench to disassemble and assemble the pistol.
Now I understand that there are many variations in the military versions of this pistol, a factor I didn’t really appreciate until I began to shoot it. It has a mix of the features you would expect to find on either the 1911 or the 1911A1 version, that is, scalloped frame near the trigger (1911A1), a “long” trigger (1911), and an arched mainspring housing (1911A1). The thumb safety flange is the larger, post-WWII Colt design which is bigger than the stubby safety of the GI pistols. The grip safety spur is of a sufficient length to protect the webbing of my shooting hand, like the M1911A1 version. The A-O hammer is very similar to the short, wide Colt hammer adopted in 1939.
There are at least four differences between this pistol and the original GI version. First, the serrations on the slide are canted forward at the top such that they line up with the angle of the handle. Second, the magazine well is beveled. Third, the ejection port is larger in that the bottom edge is lower than the GI version. Finally, the barrel is throated. The sights are of the tiny GI type and the thumb safety looks like the GI version.
As I mentioned before, I had the opportunity to inspect the pistol along side a WWII Remington model and noticed two differences in feel. First, the Auto Ordnance’s trigger has some “crunch” in both the action of the trigger and the thumb safety while the WWII model was smoother in both operations. When you squeeze the trigger on my pistol, you can feel rough spots and I hope these will smooth out as I shoot more. I’m not a competitive shooter so I can make the trigger work, though, so that isn’t an issue with me. I can see how the thumb safety interacts with the little spring-loaded bar and the fit of the thumb safety to the bar could be better. I find that my pistol fits my large hand well with its arch-mainspring housing and long trigger.
There is nothing fancy about this pistol, other than it sports a lanyard loop on the arched mainspring housing.
I have shot approximately 800 rounds through it, all of which was surplus metal-cased WWII-vintage ball or commercial 230 grain FMJ. I do not have any shooting results like you find described in the shooting magazines but I am very satisfied with the accuracy. Out to the twenty yard range, the holes in the target appear on the left side of the bullseye, so the rear sight needs the attention of a drift punch. I have experienced a number of jams, most of which were brought about, I believe, by an improperly seated magazine. Take those operator-error events away and I would guess that the pistol has choked on about four or five rounds, which occur usually on the second round and most of these events occurred in the early portion of the 800 round journey. I attribute these jams to the pistol working itself in.
After I clean the pistol, I wipe all surfaces with CLP and then wipe them all dry. Then I apply Tetra Grease to the frame rails and the grooves in the slide (that is, any surface on the frame or the slide that contacts the other). Then I wipe those surfaces dry or as much as I can with Q-tips in the grooves.
As to reliability, I did experience an event at my last trip to the range that was disconcerting. On the second shot of a full magazine, the floor plate flew off, followed by the magazine spring, follower and the rest of the ball ammunition. I never did find the errant floor plate. This magazine was the one provided with the pistol and the floor plate was fixed, that is, it wasn’t removable. I called Kahr Arms (the parent of Auto Ordnance) for an RMA according to the warranty instructions to return the defective magazine and was forced to leave a message as they indicated they were in the process of moving their offices. After no one returned my call, I got on their website and left a similar request for an RMA. After two weeks in total wait, I grew impatient and called again. I was rewarded with a human voice and he agreed to send me a replacement magazine and told me to keep the parts of the defective one for parts and to not bother with sending the defective article in. Once I was able to speak to someone, I was impressed with the way they handled my problem. Yesterday I received a package containing two replacement magazines, so they over-delivered on their warranty obligation. Although I the defective floor plate does give me cause for concern, I am treating that as an isolated event and am utterly convinced that the pistol is reliable.
For the price, I am very satisfied with the quality of this pistol.
I shoot it better than any other pistol I have tried.
It looks good.
I can put any kind of grips on it that I want.
It is accurate, powerful and fast (DVC).
I understand and can maintain any part on it.
It has the best trigger of any handgun ever built.
It is durable.
I like it.
A visitor to The Sight M1911 once asked me to “sell” him on the M1911. I said, “Well, shucks, I thought your were going to ask me something hard.”
People often quiz me about why I’m so stuck on the M1911 pistol. After all, it’s an old design, in service since 1911 – the source of its name – and there are newer, excellent designs of auto pistols. The SIGs, Glocks, CZ, and H&K pistols are all excellent designs which perform admirably. None of them are perfect, but many are mighty doggone good. The modern pistolero really suffers from an abundance of riches.
The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) selected as its motto, “Diligentia – Vis – Celeritas” – “Accuracy – Power – Speed”. This comes directly from the teachings and philosophy of its first president, Col. Jeff Cooper. It’s no coincidence that Col. Cooper’s handgun of choice was the M1911 .45 automatic pistol. In my own thrashing about to find the right personal sidearm, I found that I agreed with Cooper. I got more accuracy, power and speed with the M1911 than I did with other types of pistols. It’s really as simple as that. It’s the gun I shoot the best.
Other things I like about the M1911 include its distinguished service history and the fact that it readily lends itself to customization. More Congressional Medals of Honor have been won with M1911 pistols than any other side arm. There are lots of aftermarket modifications you can do to personalize your gun. If you’re inclined to tinkering, the M1911 is your gun. One of the interesting ironies about the M1911 is that, while it’s one of the oldest autoloader designs, it’s still the fastest (for my money). An expert Glock shooter who knows how to do the short trigger reset can keep up with an M1911, but a normal shooter can get off rounds faster with Old Loudmouth than any of the other autos.
Reliability: I have one autoloader which has never jammed, and that’s a S&W 6906 9mm. Every other autoloader I know about has jammed sometime. For all of their hype, I have seen Glocks (and most other brands) act up at matches and training sessions. Compared to a good wheel gun, all autoloaders are fussy. There are several variables that affect this, including ammo, magazines, and grip. An auto which is not supported properly can jam. My Kimber is rock solid, but I have had times in which I was shooting from weird positions and around barricades on my weak side and have experienced feed failures. My son shoots a Beretta M9, a pistol renowned for its reliability, and when he was first learning to use the pistol he was plagued with feed failures because his grip simply wasn’t firm enough. A damaged magazine, weak springs, and out of spec ammo can all trigger malfunctions in autoloaders. Part of learning to effectively use an autoloader is mastering a solid grip and learning to clear malfunctions. An M1911 which is properly set up and using appropriate ammunition is a highly reliable gun. An M1911 which is tightened and “accurized” to shoot 1” patterns at 50 yards should not be expected to enjoy a high level of combat reliability. Appropriate ammunition for the M1911 is 230 grain FMJ or hollowpoints which have the same bullet shape of the FMJ round.
Colt Combat Commander 1911
Testimonials:
Jeff Cooper
“The 1911 pistol remains the service pistol of choice in the eyes of those who understand the problem. Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair.”
— Guns & Ammo, January 2002
Clint Smith On The 1911
“The 1911 remains popular because it’s an efficient tool. In more than 30 years of experience, I’ve met more competent, serious gunmen who carry 1911’s than those who pack any other handgun. They are professionals – policemen, government agents and others who carry handguns daily because the know their live may depend on it…Me? I’ve carried a 1911 every single day for the past 20 years. It’s a very comforting gun to have at your hip. It offers a good, consistent single-action trigger pull and is wonderfully dependable. Because the 1911 is basically a defensive handgun, I’m not concerned about tight groups. I don’t bother with expanding hollowpoints that could cause feeding problems. For absolute reliability, I shoot only high-quality ball ammunition. That big .45 slug doesn’t have to expand to be effective.”
From Guns and Ammo, September, 2001.
Kimber Classic II
Tom Givens, Author and Trainer
As a “fighting” handgun, a properly set up and tuned 1911 has no equal. It has superb ergonomics, redundant safeties, excellent reliability and longevity, and the best trigger action available on any common service pistol. The trigger alone makes it the easiest service pistol to shoot well at speed. My primary handgun every single day, 365 days a year, is a lightly customized 1911.
That said, the 1911 is NOT a gun for the casual user, or what we call NDP’s (non-dedicated personnel). The gun was designed when technology was expensive, but skilled labor was not. The exact opposite is true today. A carry 1911 should be gone over by an experienced specialist (Heinie, Burns, Yam, Yost, Garthwaite, etc) and then properly maintained by the end user. The average cop or typical CCW holder would be better served with a Glock or SIG in most cases. If you’re willing to spend the money to get a properly set up 1911 and TRAIN with it, then you’re not “average”.
Last year I took three classes as a student (Taylor, Gonzales, Suarez) and the year before one from Clint Smith. In each of those classes I fired about 800 rounds through my carry 1911 without cleaning it and with zero malfunctions. At the NTI last year, I dropped an impact target with about an eight inch square vital zone at approximately 80 yards, from an awkward position, with one shot from my carry 1911, while being filmed by a TV crew. The superb trigger on my gun made that a lot easier. Since I have a choice in my personal weapons, I choose to carry the system that stacks the odds in my favor. My life is worth the extra expense/effort. YMMV.
Chief Michael King on the M1911
“I’ve shot EVERYTHING in twenty-five plus years of law enforcement and never found anything I like better.”
Chuck Taylor
“If you’ve heard that Old Ugly is on the way out, you’d better look again, for such is simply untrue; quite the opposite. Everything it has had the capacity to do for the last eight and a half decades remains valid. It thus remains King Of The Hill and will likely continue to do so well into the next millennium. To produce a handgun with better or more practical capabilities will be difficult and perhaps impossible. And I, for one, feel that we can look forward to watching the M1911 continue to dominate the handgun world well into the foreseeable future.”
“So, is there really a “best” pistol? Technically, if we eliminate shooter skill from the equation, yes. When interviewed after the tests, all participants agreed that the big Colt Government .45 (SA) had the best all-around combination of power, “user-friendliness,” accuracy and functional reliability, while the Glock M-22 .40 S&W (“semi”- DA) and LW Commander .45 (SA) tied for second. The Browning P-35 9mm (SA) was rated fourth and the Smith & Wesson M-39 9mm (DA) last.”
Kimber Pro Carry 1911 Pistol
Officer Lawrence Birch
“Being a police officer, I have always carried a sidearm. For the past 9 years it has been a 9mm S&W. I never liked it and always wanted my 1911 as a sidearm. In 2001, I, along with two other officers took on a tremendous task of selecting a new sidearm for my police department. All of us are partial to the 1911. It was very difficult to be fair and objective in this test. In an age of polymer guns and the 9mm and .40 rage, it was a task to find a suitable sidearm for some 50+ officers. The round was nothing but the .45, and why not? Isn’t that what everything is compared to these days? We shot and tested our guns in a brutally harsh manner, water, sand, mud and pond water rinses, thousands of rounds and a few sessions of “toss the gun at the wall”. The four competitors were Glock, Smith, SIG and Para-Ordnance. Only two passed our tests, SIG and Para. In the end, 19 our of 20 police officers picked the Para, the chief went with the choice of the men and now our department carries the Para-Ordnance 14.45 LDA. Our officers qualification scores have risen dramatically and in a since we still carry a piece of history with us wherever we go. If John Browning only knew what a creation he had made.”
Daniel N. Powell, USMC
When I qualified with the 1911 in the Marines, my pistol rattled when I shook it, but it would still put a full magazine into the center of a combat target. Later, when we were issued the M9, none of us could shoot them accurately. Not long after they were issued, the Corps recalled the M9 and re-issued the 1911 for that reason. It wasn’t until the Pentagon ordered the Marines to carry the M9 that they were re-issued. However, almost every Marine I encountered carrying a sidearm carried a 1911 in defiance of the order right up until I was discharged in 1991.
Hal Lowder, US Army Military Police Corps
I was very fortunate that when I was deployed to the Persian Gulf that my unit was low on the list to get Beretta’s. so I HAD to carry my 1911. It was nice having a functioning sidearm that I didn’t have to carry in a plastic sandwich bag like most of the other guys did. And I might add, with no malfunctions. My Remington Rand issue fired every time !!
2LT Robert Wancha, 1776th Military Police Co., Michigan Army National Guard
About 15 years ago my National Guard unit went to qualify with weapons (individual and crew-served). I stepped up to the firing line for qualification and I was handed a very, very old Colt 1911A1. The thing was beat to death, sloppy in fit from years of service, and badly pitted from just as many years of neglect. With a tight annual budget and little money for ammo, we didn’t even have the chance to fire a few rounds for familiarization. So at this point having never handled a 1911A1, I started the qualification. I couldn’t see where the rounds were striking the target, but I had faith and kept shooting center mass. When the firing stopped, we were told to walk downrange and check our targets. I put them all in a very tight circle in the black. I qualified expert. I could not believe a rattlebox in that state of shape could deliver such performance.
CQB 1911
Bob, USN
When I was a young man (19 I believe), I had to apprehend a guy who went berserk and was holding a Navy nurse with a knife to her throat. I fired a round that hit the forearm just above the elbow. The impact spun him around completely and threw him to the ground. It was then that I knew why this piece was the standard issue sidearm. After 40 years, it’s still as vivid in my memory as if it has happened yesterday. For me it was a sad day when it was replaced by the 9mm Beretta back in ’85.
Martin, US Army
I was an Urban warfare instructor in Berlin, Germany with the Army. There I learned that it [the m1911] is the best pistol for warfare and home defense. We used both .45 cal. Colts and Beretta’s in 9mm. Nearly all instructors praised the 1911A-1. It is a great weapon for urban warfare and home defense.
Jeff Chandler, Movie Actor
A youth spent in New York City, where even admiration for a gun struck terror in the hearts of one’s elders, kept me from gun appreciation for some time. In fact, it wasn’t until I was in the service that I made close contact with firearms. And out of the welter of guns they threw at us, my fondest association was with the Colt.45 Automatic Pistol. It’s a tricky little devil, but has always paralleled, for me, the kind of punch I admire in the ring—short, well-aimed, and devastating.
Cpl. Rick Jakubowski, 31st MEU(SOC),
Experience and practice give DAP Marines the capability to fire three short, two-round bursts at each target they engage, and every member carries a .45-caliber pistol as a secondary weapon because of its high-caliber knockdown power. The handgun normally serves as a backup when there is no time to reload the MP-5. It is also used for accuracy when firing on a ‘bad guy’ using a civilian as a shield. DAP Marines train extensively with their pistols to expand their skill at accomplishing these difficult shots. Some of the DAP Marines carry 12-gauge shotguns for “minor nuisances” like locked doors.
Jans Sistem
Bill P., Law Enforcement
Early in my career, probably 27-28 years ago, I was involved in a drug bust/warrant arrest. One of my partners was armed with a Colt .45 1911. Upon entering the apartment of the bad guy and announcing our purpose, the bad guy, who happened to be standing next to an ironing board with a hot iron on it picked up the iron and was about to use it as a weapon when my partner drew the .45, pointed it at the bad guy’s chest, saying “Put it down or I’m going to put 5 big ones in the middle of your chest.” Needless to say, the bad guy succumbed to the big hole in the end of the Colt.
Rosco S. Benson on rec.guns “Is the 1911 an Outdated Design?”
Of course the 1911 is an outdated design. It came from an era when weapons were designed to win fights, not to avoid product liability lawsuits. It came from an era where it was the norm to learn how your weapon operated and to practice that operation until it became second nature, not to design the piece to the lowest common denominator. It came from an era in which our country tried to supply its fighting men with the best tools possible, unlike today, when our fighting men and women are issued hardware that was adopted because of international deal-making or the fact that the factory is in some well-connected congressman’s district. Yes, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the 1911 IS an outdated design….and that’s exactly what I love about it.
The gangster era of the 1930s and the two world wars are mythical, archetypal times, and during that time, the “Colt Automatic” was the butt-kicking pistol. There really wasn’t any competition over here in auto pistols. Of the great pistols, only the Luger co-existed with the M1911 and they weren’t very popular in the States. The Luger was feared and respected, but our lawmen, soldiers and hoods didn’t select it to create their legends. I don’t know if the Glock or the Beretta will ever get the chance to serve during an era as uniquely suited to the creation of legend and mystique in the way the M1911 did. It’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time, and getting the job done when the chips were down.
After reading that T. E. Lawrence used a Colt frontier revolver during World War One, I sought to determine what model he used and its current location. No one seemed to know the answers to these questions – not even the experts at the Imperial War Museum. Finally, on reading a letter to Lawrence from his brother Frank, I was able to deduce the model of pistol he used at the beginning of the war. However, I have not been able to determine its current location or even if it still exists.
T. E. Lawrence – “Lawrence of Arabia” – was an archaeologist, soldier, writer, and designer of high-speed boats. He was a man of keen intelligence and great energy and athletic ability. In high school he could run a mile in under five minutes and in his thirties, without training, he could broadjump twenty-two and a half feet. In Arabia he gained the respect of the tribesmen by being able to mount a running camel and outride their best riders. Winston Churchill considered him one of the greatest geniuses of the twentieth century and John Buchan, the author of “The Thirty-nine Steps” and Governor-General of Canada, said he was one of the few men that he would follow anywhere.
Lawrence was born the illegitimate son of an Anglo-Irish baronet and educated at Oxford where he (and his brothers) learned to shoot at an Oxford rifle club and in the Officers Training Corps. His intelligence and good judgment were shown in his choice of weapons and, especially, in his deployment of them in battle in World War One. Even as a university undergraduate traveling in the Middle east in 1909, he carried a modern weapon of good quality, a Mauser model 1896 semi-automatic pistol with a capacity of ten high-velocity cartridges. He mentioned this pistol in a letter to his mother written in October 1909, informing her that he “sold my Mauser pistol (at a profit) in Beyrout on my departure (5 pounds)”. When he went to war in 1914 officers could use the pistol of their choice and Lawrence, like Churchill, chose the Colt Model 1911 which is still considered one of the finest combat pistols of all time.
After graduating from Oxford, from 1911 to the spring of 1914, Lawrence participated in an archaeological excavation at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in Turkey. His leisure activities included marksmanship practice and occasional hunting. Firearms he mentions in his letters are a Mauser pistol and a Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine. A photograph of Dahoum, a close friend of Lawrence’s, shows him holding a pistol, presumably Lawrence’s. It appears to be a Colt automatic, possibly a model 1908.
His letters from Carchemish indicate a high level of skill with both rifle and pistol. In February of 1913, he reported hitting a six gallon petrol tin with a Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine four shots out of five. In June of that year he wrote that he hit a medjijie (a Turkish coin) five shots out of seven at 25 yards with a Colt automatic pistol rapid fire. He also stated that he has been getting sure of medjijies and eggs at 25 yards, hit an orange crate five times out of five at 500 yards with the Mannlicher carbine and finally put three shots out of ten in a meter square target at 1,200 yards. In October 1913 he wrote that when two people came, they had no meat for them so he shot two ducks with a pistol, targeting the head.
Lawrence served in the British Army from 1914 to 1918, rising in rank from second lieutenant to colonel. He served in the Geographical section of the General Staff (Intelligence) in London until December 1914, then transferred to Cairo. There he was engaged in the preparation of maps, interviewing of prisoners and writing intelligence reports. In 1916, he became a liaison officer to the Arab forces in the Hedjaz and began the campaign that resulted in his name becoming a household word for most of this century.
Lawrence used a variety of small arms during the war. On september 18, 1914, he received two Colt automatic pistols from America, sent at his request by a friend travelling there. (There was a shortage of pistols in England for several weeks after the war broke out.) Lawrence did not mention the model, but a letter from his brother Frank, who became an officer at the outbreak of the war and was killed in France in 1915, contains information that leads one to the conclusion that it could only have been a Colt Model 1911 in .45 caliber. Frank Lawrence wrote to T. E. Lawrence in September 1914:
The Colt is a lovely pistol. The more I examine it the more I like it. There is a vast gulf between it and the ordinary revolver.
If you want anything in connection with it which you don’t want to write for I could get it for you. They keep two weights of bullets, I think 200 and 230 grains. The lighter weight has considerably higher velocity and penetrating power, though I suppose less shock.
This would indicate that both Frank and T. E. had Colt automatics that used the 200 or 230 grain bullets. In 1914 this would have been the .45 caliber Model 1911. (The British also used the Colt 1911 in .455 caliber, but this chambering was not introduced until 1915.)
Like most British soldiers, if not most officers, Lawrence used a Short Model Lee-Enfield rifle. Perhaps not surprisingly, his rifle had a rather colorful history. The rifle, originally issued to the Essex regiment, had been captured by the Turks at Gallipoli. It is one of four that had been inscribed in gold with the legend “Part of our booty in the battle for the Dardanelles” and presented by Enver Pasha, the Turkish ruler, to each of the sons of the Sherif of Mecca. One of these sons, Feisal, the leader of the Arab forces fighting with Lawrence against the Turks, presented his to Lawrence. Lawrence’s initials, T.E.L., and the date 4.12.16 (for December 4, 1916) are carved in the stock just above the magazine. There are also five notches carved in the stock, each representing a Turk shot with this rifle before Lawrence stopped counting his kills. After the war, Lawrence presented the rifle to King George V. It was later place in the Imperial War Museum where it is now on exhibit. Lawrence mentions this rifle in “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, his story of the Arab revolt.
Lawrence was quick to recognize and adopt technological advances. He became an early advocate of the use of automatic weapons, replacing his rifle with a light machine gun which he carried in a scabbard on his camel. This weapon was a Lewis machinegun in the aircraft configuration without the heavy radiator, casing and shoulder stock found on the models typically used in the ground role. The Lewis used 47 or 97 round magazines and , according to Lawrence, fired “a wonderfully dispersed pattern”. After his exploits became known to the Turks and they offered a large reward for his capture dead or alive, Lawrence recruited a personal bodyguard that numbered up to ninety men. This group had extraordinary firepower for its size, for in addition to their rifles, pistols and daggers, they were equipped with one machine gun for each two men.
After the war, Lawrence wrote his memoir of the Arab revolt, served with Winston Churchill in the Colonial Office and then enlisted in the Royal Air Force where he remained until shortly before his death in a motorcycle accident. Lawrence did little recreational shooting during this period. He is reported to have kept a Webley revolver in his cottage, Clouds Hill and fired it at a tree on his property. One collector removed the bullets from that tree when it was cut down.
Today Lawrence memorabilia, from his letters and Arab robes to his daggers, is in great demand by collectors. The locations of many Lawrence-associated items are known. One dagger with a gold hilt and sheath, which he had made in Mecca, is in the vault of All Souls College in Oxford, England. Another of his daggers is in a private collection in San Marino, California. His letters and robes have sold for thousands of dollars at auctions. Unfortunately, except for the gold-engraved SMLE in the Imperial War Museum, the locations of Lawrence’s firearms seem to have vanished from record.
Visit George Amin Hoffman’s web site at: http://www.wenet.net/users/titangh/
