John Moses Browning's Venerable M1911 Pistol

It is in service with militaries, special forces, law enforcement agencies, and special teams across the world. It continues to dominate shooting competitions today. It is steeped in over 100 years of military service. It is an icon of the American fighting man. It is John Moses Browning's venerable M1911 pistol.

It chambers the legendary .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridge, developed through testing on live cattle and human cadavers. It is a heavy pistol, made out of steel with the heft that any serious fighting gun should have. It's accuracy and combat capabilities are renowned, and the pistol has served with distinction in every war, climate, and environment since the year 1911.

I was first drawn to the M1911 through my family's deep military history. My father carried one in the jungles of Vietnam, and both my grandfathers carried M1911s in the pacific theater of WWII and Korea.

I purchased a Springfield Armory Government Issue replica M1911 shortly after returning from my first tour in Iraq.

My GI has a smooth parkerized finish which resists rust and scratches well. It rattles like a can of marbles much like John Moses Browning intended, but it shoots like a dream. Even with the low-profile military sights, it still gets adequate groupings for a fighting pistol.

After a break-in period of approximately 500 rounds, during which I encountered a few failures to feed, the pistol is reliable. This is one of my favorite pistols to take into the bush, and it often rides in a replica M7 tanker holster from Pacific Canvas & Leather.

I intend to leave the pistol completely stock. I replaced the factory "U.S." wood grips with plastic panels from Auto Ordnance, which are the more correct grips to have on a GI pistol.

I bought my second M1911 after my second tour in Iraq, a Springfield Armory Marine Corps (MC) Operator. It features a light rail, tritium night sights, and a two-tone OD green and black finish. I put a Surefire X300 weaponlight on the pistol immediately.

I wanted to turn my MC Operator into an ideal fighting M1911. I sent the pistol back to Springfield Armory to their Custom Shop. I had a lanyard loop added to the mainspring housing and had the frame finished in black to match the slide.

Once I received the pistol back from the Custom Shop, I installed Simonich Gunners Grips, made out of G10 material. G10 is very coarse and offers grip even if your hands are sweaty, bloody, oily, wet, etc. The pistol rides in a Safariland 6004 holster with a Gemtech pistol lanyard. Here is how my MC Operator looks today:

The Surefire X300 is an excellent weaponlight and I've since added one to all of my fighting rifles as well. It is compact, lightweight, uses common Surefire CR123 batteries. The MC Operator and X300 combination is a mean pairing, and performs admirably.