Inland MFG. 1911A1 Government

Inland MFG. 1911A1 Government

When it comes to 1911s, consumers have a huge number of choices, but right now there isn’t any good taxonomic classification of these pistols. (Taxonomy, if you didn’t know, is the scientific classification of organisms by family, genus, species, etc.)

When it comes to 1911s, your two basic classes are “modern” and “original/retro.” The “modern” field is crowded, the “retro” group not so much. However, even many 1911s advertised as being “a page out of history” aren’t historically accurate. The new 1911A1 Government model .45 ACP from Inland Manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio, is about as close to John Browning’s 1911A1 as I’ve seen in a long time.

Whether you compete in Wild Bunch stages at SASS events or just like historically accurate firearms, the 1911A1 is about as iconic an American firearm as you’ll find. The new Inland Manufacturing jumped into the gunmaking business with an authentic 1945-era M1 Carbine, and it brings the same attention to detail to its 1911A1.

Original G.I. pistols were marked with the patent date, and true to its origins, the Inland gun features the same stamping.

Original G.I. pistols were marked with the patent date, and true to its origins, the Inland gun features the same stamping.

It is, of course, a full-size, all-steel 1911 with a five-inch barrel, chambered in the original .45 ACP. Unloaded, it weighs 39 ounces. The finish is a utilitarian flat Parkerizing. You’ll see a stamped list of patent dates on the left side of the slide, just like on the original G.I. guns.

The slide serrations are vertical, and compared to “modern” 1911s, the ejection port is somewhat small. The authentic “hump and a bump” sights are minimal, but to our military’s way of thinking, if you needed or were down to just your pistol, the enemy was so close you probably didn’t need sights at all.

Ironically,

Read more