1911 A1

The Colt 1911 may well be the most 'timeless' handgun design in history. While it could be argued that the Colt Single Action Army (a fine handgun in its own right) deserves that title, the fact remains that the 1911 is still much in demand for its original purpose- while the SAA is not. The fact that both these superb handguns were the product of American genius and ingenuity is something which we, as Americans, can be uniquely proud of.

The 1911 still performs its intended duties as well or better than anything offered since- a full hundred years after the machine chips from the early prototypes hit the toolroom floor. There are very few inventions of any kind that can make that claim- but John Browning's masterpiece of handgun design can. Not only is it a superb fighting handgun, but with a little work it can compete, and win, on any field of conventional handgun competition. It makes no difference whether the objective is punching two-inch X-rings at 50 yards, or slapping down steel
targets so fast that the first hasn't settled before the third one is hit. The old 1911 can do it all.

This is the same handgun that pursued Villa into Mexico, fought across the trenches and diverse battlefields of two World Wars, in the frozen wastelands of Korea and in the jungles of Vietnam. Subtle changes came early in these conflicts and the "1911 A1" soon became the envy of armies worldwide. In a fit of globalistic insanity the US military abandoned it; but the crucible of battle called this 'old soldier' out of retirement. It fights on once again in the Mideastern sands, and it excels wherever good men need a powerful, accurate and reliable sidearm to keep them alive.

Anything this good is going to be copied, but some of the best 1911's ever produced were military contract efforts. They were made with the understanding that they had to follow the blueprint and material specifications, and that the Ordnance Department was going to inspect them. It was also understood that if shipments of pistols failed those inspections, payments would be witheld and contracts would be lost.When these conditions ceased to exist and the only restraint on manufacturers was "How many can we sell to the public?" the 1911's reputation for reliability began to suffer. This is ridiculous, because it is easy to build 1911's that work reliably; they are less complex internally than the engine on a push mower. With today's manufacturing advances, it is equally easy to make them produce consistent groups under 5" at 50 yards. Contrary to the doublespeak of glitzy gunrag ads, this can be done without sacrificing reliability. NO purchaser of a quality 1911 should endure 500 rounds "break-in malfunctions". When properly assembled using quality parts, these guns will shoot to the standards described above, and run for thousands of rounds without a malfunction.

Some have said this is impossible, but I have proved for myself that it can be done. The Colt 1991 A1 series stands as proof that they can still be mass-produced, sold at a reasonable price while maintaining high standards of accuracy and reliability.

Interested? Read on. We will rediscover some absolutes that have been all but ignored by many manufacturers of this excellent design. Thank you for your interest, and I hope you enjoy what you find here.