Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan Shideler
item to be the leader in its fi eld. This position, however, has been achieved by the Colt/Browning 1911 pistol design.
As the 1911’s centennial approached, the venerable design gained, rather than lost, popularity. With the passing of the years, more and more companies added 1911s to their product lines. In the year 2010 alone, over half a dozen firms added their names to those offering a 1911. To celebrate the 100th anniversary, 1911 centennial commemoratives will be offered by a number of companies.
Not only has the original centerfire locked-breech 1911 design remained popular, but 22-caliber versions — blowback pistols styled after the 1911, and with many 1911 features — have been offered. Several new ones appear this year alone.
Even with the historical importance of the centennial, the news is not all 1911. The recent trend of very small 380-caliber pistols continues into this year. A number of new little .380s are added this year, offered by both major firms and smaller companies.
22-caliber pistols are always of interest, whether they look like 1911s or not. Several new .22 semiautomatic pistols appear this year. Also, more new conversion kits to allow larger-caliber pistols to handle .22 Long Rifle ammunition are being introduced. .22 pistols are regularly used for training, competition, hunting and recreational shooting.
Polymer-frame pistols remain strong sellers. Slowly gaining popularity over the years, polymers have become a mainstay in the world of autoloading pistols. A number of new polymer-frame guns, from a variety of companies, and in a variety of calibers, are being introduced.
Pistols varying greatly from traditional designs are being made, and the usefulness of carbines chambered for traditional autoloading pistol cartridges has been demonstrated. So, in this report, I’ll continue to cover unconventional pistols and pistol-caliber carbines. There are a lot of very interesting things going on in the world of semiautomatic pistols. Let’s take a look at what the companies are offering:
AKDAL
The Turkish-made Akdal pistols have found a home in America. They will be imported by American Tactical Imports. (See ATI.) Akdal pistols were introduced by ATI in January 2010. These pistols, first mentioned on these pages last year, are polymer-frame pistols in 9mm and .40 S&W, designed to compete in the Glock niche. These new pistols may be wearing new names when they reach the production stage.
AMERICAN CLASSIC
American Classic 1911 pistols are imported by Import Sports, a New Jersey company. The original 1911-A1 “Mil-Spec” version has been joined by enhanced American Classic II (full-size 5-inch) and Commander (4.25-inch) variants. Both of these pistols are available with either deep blue or new hard chrome finishes.
The new top-of-the-line Trophy Model is a full-size 5-inch gun available in hard chrome finish only. It has a number of enhancements, including adjustable Novak-type rear sight, dovetailed fi ber-optic front sight, front and rear slide serrations, full-length guide rod and eight-round magazine.
ARMSCOR
Armscor is a Philippine manufacturing company with U. S. headquarters in Nevada. The company produces pistols patterned after the 1911 and CZ-75 pistols. In the United States, 1911-type guns are sold under the Rock Island Armory (RIA) name. With the current interest in 22-caliber 1911 pistols, a new RIA 22-caliber pistol was displayed at the 2010 SHOT Show. Of “open-top” slide design, the new .22 pistol has a fixed barrel. Production models were scheduled for summer of 2010.
ATI
American Tactical Imports, a relatively new player in the semiautomatic pistol fi eld, seems to have a larger presence with the passing of time.
The line of ATI ported double-action pistols introduced last year, made by the Tisas firm in Turkey, is now in full production. These are striking-looking pistols, with true functional barrel porting, and also decorative porting on the sides of the slides.
There is also a new high-capacity 9mm with similar mechanism, but styled somewhat after the Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol. It is designated the American Tactical HP9. The HP9 has a 5-inch barrel and carries an 18-round magazine. It is available in black, chrome and two-tone finishes.
And, if we have a pistol that favors the Hi-Power, why not one that looks a bit like the Beretta 92? ATI is also marketing a new 9mm AT92. The AT92 can be had in a full-size version with 4.9-inch barrel, and a compact with 4.3-inch barrel. Capacity is 15+1.
GSG (German Sporting Guns) firearms are also imported by ATI. So new it didn’t get into the catalog is the GSG 1911 22-caliber pistol. Made as a .22 rimfire pistol, the frame and all other parts below the slide are all big-bore 1911. The .22 magazine is the same thickness as that of the original 45. ATI describes it as having “the same weight and feel of a 1911 pistol with many interchangeable parts.”
And, now, as of January 21, 2010, ATI will also offer full-caliber 1911 pistols. A few prototypes on display at the 2010 SHOT Show were marked “American Tactical M1911 A1.” A “Mil-Spec” 5-inch pistol will be one of the first variants offered. Pistols with rails, enhanced models, and short cone-barrel variants are also in the works. The popularity of the 1911 is stronger now than ever before, and now ATI will have a full line of 1911 pistols.
Here is a look at a prototype Armscor Rock Island 22-caliber 1911 pistol. It has an open-top slide to reduce weight.
The largest of ATI’s line of Turkish-designed double-action ported pistols is the .45 ACP Model C45.
American Tactical’s HP9 pistol looks a bit like one might expect a double-action Hi-Power to look. The double-column magazine holds 18 rounds.
ATI also distributes the Guncrafter Industries 50-caliber conversion kit for Glock pistols. The kit consists of a complete top end and magazine, and fits Glock Models 20 and 21. When the kit is installed, the Glock can handle the powerful .50 GI cartridge, with 275- and 300-gr. bullets at 875 and 700 fps.
BERETTA
Beretta doesn’t make a 1911, but they do have an anniversary. The Beretta 9mm pistol was adopted by the US military in 1985, so it has achieved its 25th year of service. Actually, the design dates back to 1975, when the Beretta Model 92 came into being. A variant of the 92 was adopted as the US service pistol on April 10, 1985, and became the M9. The commercial 25th Anniversary M9 pistol available to civilians is a close copy of the military M9, with military-style markings that are close to those of the actual military pistols. They have a unique M9 prefix to the serial numbers.
The Model 92 series has some new variants now. The most distinctive feature of the new 92A1 (9mm) and 96A1 (40) is the rail on the forward part of the frame. They also have higher-capacity magazines (17 rounds in 9mm, 12 in 40), and removable front sights. There are some internal modifi cations also, and — note this — the trigger guards are now rounded.
The PX4 Storm has a new variant in the series. A compact Storm is now between the full-size and sub-compact versions. The new Compact Storm has a 3.2-inch barrel, which gives it a 6.8-inch overall length and 5.2-inch height. It weighs about 27 ounces. Magazine capacity is 15 rounds in 9mm, and 12 rounds in .40 S&W.
The NEOS pistol now has a new carbine kit available. The kit has a grip frame that is moulded with a shoulder stock, and a longer barrel. These parts allow the conversion of the pistol into a handy carbine for informal shooting. Each kit comes with a warning against using the shoulder stock frame with the original pistol barrel.
BERSA
Acknowledging the presence of women in the shooting world is a good thing. A rather abstract way of doing this is to put colors generally related to the female sex on special