The 1911, it’s an iconic pistol that’s sure to evoke an emotional reaction. Some people wax nostalgic about them as the pinnacle of American pistol design. Others see them as unreliable anachronistic designs that don’t hold up against modern offerings. Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle. A 1911 in .45 ACP was my very first handgun purchase and was my only pistol for a time. When the Beretta 92A1 became my primary gun almost 15 years ago, the 1911 went to the back of the safe and barely saw the light of day until recently.
In the last several months, I’ve developed a renewed interest in the 1911. Call it an appreciation for all-steel guns that require a bit of craftsmanship to assemble and tune, much like a nice automatic watch. Yes, there’s a lot to be said for modern polymer and CNC machined weapons held engineered so that you can swap parts between different examples without issue. That’s exactly the kind of gun I think everyone needs to have at the ready.
Yet, I cannot get over the idea of something unique and special to me.
The Call to Adventure
The impetus for this post was a series of events and conversations. Late in 2024, I was thinking about the fact that I’ve developed a personal preference for all-metal handguns. Despite the practicality and reliability of my polymer-framed pistols, I just flat out prefer the look and feel of metal. At the same time, I’ve developed a habit of having my pistols worked on by professionals.
It started by sending my CZ P07 off to Cajun Gun Works for their excellent work. Then I purchased my CZ 75D PCR directly from CZ Custom already worked over. Both have been great, but I’ll admit that I prefer carrying the PCR most days due to the metal frame. Over the summer, I became enamored with the myriad of options that Beretta released in the 92X series, and it made me think about the fact that I’ve wanted my own 92A1 to get work done for a long time.
Since it was a pretty good year for the site and my print work, I had the funds to send my Beretta off to Allegheny Arms outside Pittsburgh, PA. They’re one of the original shops to do high quality work on Berettas, even if they don’t have the name recognition of Wilson Combat or Ernest Langdon. As I write this, they’re doing a complete overhaul of my 92A1, and when it’s done I imagine that it will be something entirely unique in lots of subtle ways.
I can’t help but feel a sense of…well…I’m not sure what it is. But sending off a nice pistol to have a craftsman work their magic on it and make it unique and special in some way just has a lot of appeal. Perhaps I’ve reached a point where it doesn’t make much sense to add new things to the safe, but rather make the existing guns something to be proud of.
Back to the 1911
My initial gunsmith projects weren’t special, to be honest. They were really just gunsmith improvements to factory pistols without much else to go on. The Beretta will be different and the process of working with a good gunsmith on my it got me thinking about what else I could do. My mind drifted back to the 1911. It’s hard to deny that the pistol is simply…iconic. It’s the kind of thing that I would be proud to pass on to my son some day.
I scoured enthusiast forums for ideas and input. 1911-focused content dominates my YouTube video feed. I learned about all of the famous variations of the design, the subtle nuances done by different ‘smiths of the era, and more.
Diverging Paths
Here at the start of 2025, I’ve found myself staring down two paths diverging in the woods. Unlike Robert Frost, I intend to travel both of them.
The first path involves my Springfield Armory Loaded Black Stainless Target 1911 that I purchased back in 2006. It’s from the era when Springfield used Brazillian Imbel forgings for the frames and slides. Lest anyone think that Brazillian means poor quality, that’s not the case. Imbel is a respected manufacturer, and many pistolsmiths built amazing guns off of their work. Like I said before, this was the first handgun I ever purchased. It’s always had a few reliability issues with feeding that I’m still figuring out, but that’s for another day.
The Marksman Combat Special
Inspired by the Pachmayr Combat Special, I’m going to take this pistol down one path with the heavy hand of a professional pistolsmith. I intend to learn how to swap some things out and make modifications on my own, as well, but much of what I have in mind simply requires access to machines and know-how that I do not possess.
My goal for the end result is a classic two-tone appearance with custom touches, well-suited to USPSA single stack competition.
I’ll spare you the details of what I’ve got in mind for now. Seriously, I had them all written out and it was an additional 800 words to this article. That’s probably not worth it.
To be honest, this pistol is likely to give off old man fudd vibes. But I’m fine with that. Much like a classy suit, some things never go out of style.
The Dark Horse
While the path for my original 1911 is classy, there is yet another path I’m also staring down. In between starting this draft and actually publishing it, I picked up a second 1911. And, dare I say, it’s an unconventional one.
I recently purchased a Springfield Armory Operator AOS. This particular model, announced last year, is American-made, sports a 1913 rail under the dust cover, and comes optics-ready. What’s even more unconventional is that I picked it up in 9mm.
Yes, I know. Up until six months ago, I would agree that it was blasphemous to the book of JMB to chamber a 1911 in anything other than 45 ACP. The 9mm single stack variants top out at 10+1 rounds without bulky magazine extensions. For an all-steel pistol the size of a 1911, 10+1 rounds just doesn’t seem to make sense in a world where my Beretta 92A1 holds 18+1 while also being smaller and lighter.
But I couldn’t ignore the number of respected voices out there like Bill Wilson (of Wilson Combat), Ken Hackathorn, and others pointing out that 9mm out of a full size steel 1911 is one of the most pleasurable shooting experiences you can have.
If nothing else, this pistol has vibes. I fully plan on using it just for fun, and probably some competitive shooting games with low round counts per stage like Steel Challenge.
I don’t have a fully-formed plan for this one, yet. It’s unlikely to be as extensive as the other project, but I have my inspirations to pursue.
Learning to Pistolsmith
In both cases, I’m taking the opportunity to learn a bit more about working on and modifying my 1911 pistols. Neither of these are “serious use” guns for carry and defense, so I don’t mind experimenting on them. I will keep you updated as the projects proceed, and share what I learn along the way.
Wrapping Up
To sum up this bit of a rant, what I really want to convey is that I’ve really come to appreciate the “slow way” at times. Maybe it’s age creeping up on me, or shifting interests overall. In any case, I think the shooting world often gets too tied up in “go fast, go tactical” while forgetting that a lot of what we do has a bit of an art to it.
Old school metal guns like the 1911 have a bit of a mechanical mystique to them that I never experience with my modern polymer guns. In contrast, the new generation of polymer wunder-guns feel…well…disposable. Much like muscle cars of bygone days, where men were proud to prop open the hood and wrench all day, I have a feeling that metal guns trigger that same spark in our souls.
I have similar feelings about revolvers. While I compete with polymer, striker-fired pistols, I have a bunch of pre-lock Smiths that I like to shoot and tinker with. There is something appealing about going to the range with a revolver that dates back to just after the Second World War but still shoots as well as any other handgun I own. Like 1911s there are capacity issues but I find I do much
more focused practice when I am limited to six rounds before i have to stop and see how i did.
Revolver and pistol shooting are definitely two different birds. IMHO it’s easier for beginners to develop a handgun shooting foundation with an easy shooting revolver and as you mention it’s limited six rounds then venture on to the more sophisticated art of shooting slide recoiling semi-autos – if that’s the end goal. I too really enjoy shooting ‘classic’ firearms of all types. I get a kick out of the ‘wandering eyes’ at the range when I unsheathe the M1 Garand, Yugo SKS, 1911s and long barreled revolvers! I do own a striker fired polymer framed pistol – one of the few that feels pretty good in my hand, extremely reliable, compact for carry, 12 rnd capacity and packs a punch.
Couldn’t agree more with with your position on developing a shooting foundation. When I used to instruct pistol, the development of proper shooting techniques always began with a revolver and then progressed to a slide. Very often when the classes were wrapping up, a great deal discussion centered on the type of pistol to purchase (self defense) – as related to new shooters. Most often my recommendation for inexperienced shooters, that were not going to have the opportunity for a great deal of range time, would be a revolver and often the hammer-less S&W. Very often for the ladies it would be the “Lady S&W”in .38cal. Recently, I had the opportunity to fire the hammer-less S&W in the titanium variant. Very impressed and a great trigger pull.
My go to for a pistol is an old original 1911 Colt Gold Cup. For me, the 1911 in .45cal is the only pistol to have for self defense. In my experience, fitting up a grip that comfortably conforms to your hand is a must.
For me, rifle shooting and in particularly High Power competition is where I spend my time. It’s always fun shooting the M1Garand when there’s a bunch young shooters at the range. Many of them have a strong interest in the older rifles and pistols. Which is very good in my opinion. Anybody interested in purchasing an M1 Garand or a 1911, government issued, can purchase them through the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).
While my experience is limited, I very much respect revolvers for the same reason. It sounds like you have a nice collection!
I went through this same process as Matt back in 2019. I attended a 1911build class by Jim Garthwaite. Jim was concerned that 1911 building was a dying art and wished to pass his skills to the next generation. We learned to fit a match Kart barrel, fit a beavertail, trigger etc.. to the Springfield military model 1911. Part of the fee for this class was the purchase price of the pistol and high quality parts.
The first day he handed us the pistol with our names on the box and a bag of parts. We started by taking the 1911 completely apart and putting the stock parts in a plastic bin which Jim threw all the stock internal parts in the trash. We use EGW ignition parts and Wilson BulletProof parts for the build. It was a great class and I learned some valuable skills.
Thanks Jim RIP
Robert, you got me looking into what kinds of build classes are available. Sadly, it looks like they’re getting rarer and rarer. I would love to do one of these.
Matt
consult 10-8 Performance, Hilton has a series of videos where he built a Springfield 1911. They are now available online and he used to have a 3 dvd series of this build, it is no longer available but I am willing to lend it to you for these builds. It is 3 dvd’s with 7+ hours of step by step building and performance modifications to maintain 100% reliability.
Hilton is retired FBI Gunsmith/armorer and really knows 1911s 👍🥰
Good Luck
Thanks, Robert! I’m aware of 10-8 and regularly watch videos he puts up. I’ll look into his community and video library, for sure.
Great I look forward to your 1911 builds 👍
Hey Matt! As a 49-year 1911 guy who is unfortunately stuck with a Glock 22 for work, I had to smile at your article. I can’t help but believe that all the guys who are enamored of crunchy-trigger, plastic-frame, whippy recoil pistols and who turn their noses up at “antiques”, have never spent “quality time” (1000 rounds) with a 4-lb. crisp-trigger steel Government 1911. I agree with your opinion as to the feel of polymer guns, they just don’t feel right. Like comparing a steak knife to a Ka-Bar. As far as steel 9mm guns go, you might want to consider the next-gen 1911, the 1935 (P35) Browning Hi-Power. It shoots like a .22, and is much trimmer than a Beretta 92. If you need more than 13 shots plus a reload, you don’t need more rounds, you need more FRIENDS (well-armed and capable). Although, I can’t resist leaving you with a quote from the late great Pueblo CO PD Captain, Soldier of Fortune 3-gun match champion, USPA Grandmaster, and outstanding guy Eddie Rhodes: “9mm makes you weak.”
Well said Pete and love the quote at the end! In the early 90s I once pulled the trigger (dry fired) on a gun shop salesman’s personal Gen 1 Glock as he was so adamant about the new polymer striker fired pistol (spewing about the flawless high round count test it passed trying to earn a US military contract) as I was browsing the assortment of 1911s under the glass in the store. Needless to say I handed it back to him and said ‘If I want a toy dart gun I’ll shop at Toys-R-Us!’
Pete! It’s good to hear from you, my friend. You know, I keep getting tempted to at least try out a hi power, maybe the new Springfield SA-35. When I did the pistolseed event last year, the gentleman in the lane next to me was shooting an original one (out of the six he apparently owned). He said he was issued them when he worked for the CIA long ago, and it just stuck.
Hey Matt! Yeah – you’re headed down a great righteous path. I started with revolvers in the late 80’s and my first was an 8 inch barreled ‘Long Tom’ deep blued Dan Wesson model 15-2 in 357 mag. I honed my shooting skills with that revolver and have ran across few as accurate out of the box. My first semi-auto around the same time (and I being fairly fresh out of the USMC) was Springfield’s only offering at the time – the classic 1911A1. I have never had issue of any kind with that handgun though recently (35 years of regular range use) the trigger has gone stiff and needs work/replacement. Honestly I could have stopped there with those two classic reliable firearms – they both fit the widest range of handgun shooting needs from plinking, range time and competition (I shot a lot of old school PPC (revolver) in those days and a little ‘action pistol’ with the 1911). Since, I have accumulated a good number of Ruger revolvers both double and single actions (love those) yet only a few semi-autos; another Springfield 1911, CZ75 and my only polymer handgun a Springfield XD-40. I hate what ‘all steel’ classic handguns have become in ‘this’ modern shooting era (collector pieces for FUDDS) and refuse to exile mine to the back of the safe! Fortunately I don’t own any ‘high end’ classics and don’t mind putting their fair share of rounds through them. My revolvers see plenty of field use through… Read more »
Hey Paul! Good to see you. Honestly, I think we’re seeing a resurgence of steel semi-auto handguns, even if they use striker fire mechanisms. The whole upswing in the double stack 1911 market tells me that we’re in for an interesting next several years.
If they can keep prices down. I don’t see the much more affordable polymer strikers going away anytime soon. Cost has always been the driving factor in their success – what else, their ‘triggers’? I’ve always been a magnum and 45 ACP kinda guy and love the steel platforms and sear/hammer triggers designed for them. I guess it’s like a preference for naturally aspirated rear axle driven American muscle cars over the latest sports cars from Japan. I can and do appreciate the effort to ‘make a better apple cart’ but there’s a point where things that matter get lost. Technology will never replace the feel and fit of a custom wood grip, a good fitting handmade leather holster (for you and the gun), the buttery smooth polished trigger pull of a double action revolver or the ice cold crisp break of a tuned 1911 trigger during a double tap. Hopefully this new ‘steel resurgence’ will do for handgun appreciation and potential what Dodge recently did for the MOPAR muscle cars. Yeah – they were pricey too.
Matt, Good on ya Mate! At age 80, I still compete in the shotgun sports but love getting my hand guns out on Fridays. After having shot just about everything over the years, my handgun choices are a 4in barreled k-frame S&W revolver or my true favorite, a forty year old Hi-Power. The H-P is two toned (a chrome frame) and is fitted with Wilson trigicon sights. The thin Seagal grips really ad to the fit. I prefer the H-P to any other handgun and used to compete in PPC competition with it. My shotgun of choice is a Perazzi from the late ‘80’s. I use it for Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays.
Cortes
Hey Cortes! Thanks for commenting. You’re the third one here to suggest revolvers, and the second to bring up the Hi-Power. Certainly food for thought, lol.
When you come to the realization that it is more software than hardware, the world labels you a fudd. As you perfect the software you realize your own hardware grows out of date. There is less to lose, and you really become another flavor of capable.
I think that’s a great way to look at it. Over time I grow weary of the constant gear race and realize that it’s all different toppings on what should be a base of skill.
My sentiments exactly. If memory serves correctly is was about 1985 or 1986 when the Army started to switch out from from the 1911 to the M9. But, the old.45 remained in service for quite a few years afterward. Giving some thought to ammo, during Covid when everything was shutdown (more or less), one could still find .45, .223 and .30cal bullets and ammo. The 9mm was still around, but more difficult to find. Many of the other calibers were extremely difficult to find. One example was the .243 and/or 6mm bullet/ammo.
For me, the most significant innovation in the past 20 or 30 years is not all of the new guns or calibers, it’s the improvement in the bullet technology. For rifle bullets, it’s the high BC’s that have been accomplished with Berger, Hornady, Nosler and Sierra that have made the most impact. For pistols, Federal, Speer and Hornady have made superb improvements in self defense bullets. In my experience, the only new calibers that are significant are the 6.5 Creedmoor and 6mm PRS – both developed by Hornady. Come to think about, one can’t leave out the .17cal Hornady. Couldn’t believe the target a shooter fired at 300yds with a brand new out of the box .17 cal Ruger bolt. The other big improvement is the consistency in barrel builds and technology.Well I’ve certainly digressed too much from the original subject…..
I think there’s nothing wrong with having 1911’s in a portfolio. You seem to know its capabilities and limitations. Your thoughts are very relatable. I too get the same fever every so often. We tend to appreciate craftsmanship and soul