Type: Single Action
Chambering: ACP
Length overall: 8.59 in. – 218mm
Weight: 39.0 oz. – 1,105gm
Barrel length: 5 in. – 128mm
Magazine: 7 rounds
The Colt 1911 Government Model was the standard issue US army gun for over seven decades. It was created in 1911 by John M. Browning and has been one of the outstanding pistol designs of the 20th century.
Originally produced by Colt, the 1911 design was also produced by many other companies during World War II. Today the two major suppliers of 1911 pattern pistols are Colt and Springfield Armory.
The 1911 is a hefty, single-stack, single-action auto-loader designed around the ACP cartridge. Due to its long service life in the military, many pistolsmiths have worked on the 1911 design over the years and thus many aftermarket parts have been developed for customizing this gun. A properly tuned gun of 1911 design is capable of extreme accuracy.
There are variations and customized versions of the basic 1911 design which are available from many different companies. A noteworthy variant is the high capacity frame which is available from Para-Ordnance, STI International, and Strayer Voigt. These frames use double stack magazines to increase the capacity of the gun, while still using a standard 1911 slide assembly.