The 1911 Handgun – 100 Years in Review

[Mike45]

I received the below email from TopGun Supply this afternoon, a nice summary of the state of the 1911 industry:


“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Many of us remember the opening line from Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”. Those words were written in reference to the French Revolution in 1789, but they might as well have been written yesterday. Given our current economic and political climates, you could make a credible argument that these are the worst of times. And they are not likely to get better any time soon. However, if you are a firearms owner, these truly are the best of times, especially if you are a fan of the 1911.

You might ask “why a 1911”. Why even bother? The design is over 100 years old, they’re not plastic, they’re not double stack, and they are chambered for an obsolete cartridge, the .45 ACP. Admittedly, the .45 has a lot in common with a freight train being big, heavy and slow moving, but it also hits like a freight train. And thanks to the FBI’s objective test criteria, the latest bullets designs perform as well as anyone could want.

The 1911’s design may be over 100 years old, but it has stood the test of time, something that its peers cannot say. When was the last time that you saw new P-08s or P-38s? Whenever special operations units, be they local, state or federal, require a special purpose-built handgun, often they choose a 1911. And today you can get your 1911 outfitted any way you could want.

In the “good old days“, if you wanted something shorter than Colt’s Commander, it was a custom-only proposition from one of only a small handful of specialists. The same applies to extended thumb safeties for right-handers, ambidextrous thumb safeties for the left-handers, beavertail grip safeties to prevent hammer bite, adjustable sights, and even match grade accuracy. Today, you can get all of that and more right out of the box.

There are more vendors offering 1911s at all price points than ever before, as well. At the low end there are entry level guns from China and the ippines in the $400 bracket. At the high end, there are the semi-custom manufacturers that offer premier 1911s that run as much as your budget will bear. In the past, if you thought 1911 or even .45 ACP, you thought Colt. And for a long time Colt dominated the market. That is no longer the case, although, Colt is making a long awaited and warmly received return to the marketplace. Today, however, if you want a 1911, regardless of chambering, you can look to Colt’s old rival Smith & Wesson. And even Ruger now offers a stainless 1911. If you are looking for something different, you can find innovative configurations from non-traditional 1911 manufacturers like Sig Sauer. These are perhaps some of the most underappreciated of the 1911 variants offering unique combinations of features and excellent accuracy. If you are looking for the very best and your pockets are deep enough, the guns from Ed Brown, Wilson Combat, Les Baer, and numerous others can meet your needs.

The old masters of the bullseye game may be gone but the techniques they pioneered are still with us. Clark, Eliason, Giles and Shockey are no longer around, but sub-2 inch 50 yard guns that they pioneered can be had easily. When Jim Clark was building guns and needed a “match“ barrel, he would have to take a factory Colt barrel, weld up the lugs and then re-cut them to obtain the fit he required. Today, you can get oversized barrels in any flavor you desire, from cut to EDMed to gain twist rifling. You can choose from chrome-moly or stainless steel, and you can get the traditional Browning design or a ramped fully-supported design. The same is true for every component used in the 1911, from slides and frames to the lock work to sights and the magazines and even to the finishes applied to the metal surfaces.

It would take a week of writing to list the various combinations of components available to today’s 1911 buyer, but the bottom line is if you cannot find what you want available right over the counter, there are numerous semi-custom and custom gunsmiths that specialize in building 1911s to your specifications. Thanks to the ubiquitous CNC machining centers that make it possible to hold incredible tolerances and the innovative thinkers that use them, we are seeing the best of times that will only get better. If you ever wanted a 1911, now is the time to get in the game.

- Geoff Kotzar

Author Byline:

Of course Mr Kotzar really did not have a train in his email.

[Riverpigusmc]

Yep..when someone matters enough to shoot them with the very best..bring a 1911 in .45 ACP

[NAMVET72]

Originally Posted by Riverpigusmc

Yep..when someone matters enough to shoot them with the very best..bring a 1911 in .45 ACP

+10 to what Riverusmc Posted.