Courtesy of Tactical Life

It’s been six years since the 1911 pistol had its 100th birthday party. Recently, I spent part of a Sunday afternoon tuning into some sports and outdoor TV shows, noting that several firearms programs featured 1911s. One show had a famous sponsored shooter introduce the features of the pistol’s design to viewers, almost as if thumb safeties, beavertail grip safeties and short, crisp triggers were the “latest thing.” I chuckled as I realized that an entire generation of new shooters doesn’t yet know about John Moses Browning’s gun.

If you’re one of those shooters getting to know the 1911 for the first time, you are in for a treat. The sidearm formerly known as “Old Slabsides” is now available with all of the refinements afforded by modern technology, plus a long list of customization options. You can have a reliable, accurate 1911, and you can have it your way—without mortgaging your house to pay the gunsmith.

To The Nines

Top shooters have been using custom grips, better sights, ambidextrous or extended safety levers, aftermarket triggers and magazine releases for decades. Yet none of these are as exciting to 1911 fans as the addition of new chambering options, especially 1911s in 9mm.

“Having a full-sized, all-steel 1911 in 9mm is so good it feels like cheating,” said one legendary IPSC/USPSA shooter now sponsored by a large manufacturer of 1911s. It almost goes without saying that the characteristics of the 9mm cartridge, paired with an ergonomic, 5-inch-barreled, 38-ounce gun, should make for some gleeful smiles (plastered on otherwise serious faces) at the range.

After running 1911s in .45 ACP for years, I decided it was high time to get in on the action with a new 9mm variant. I ended up choosing Sig Sauer’s Match Elite Stainless in 9mm—one I’m very pleased with.

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Photos courtesy of Tactical Life