Tag Archives: bobtail 1911

New Springfield Armory Optics-Ready TRP AOS 1911

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Back in the 1990s, the FBI was in the market for a pistol to equip its elite Hostage Rescue Team and regional SWAT teams, and the contract went to Springfield in 1998 for 500 M1911s crafted to very tight specs via meticulous hand fitting in the SA Custom Shop. Shortly after, the Marines ordered a batch of 150 similar pistols for its MEU(SOC) units. The HRT contract gun soon morphed into the Professional Model and eventually the TRP, which has gone on to become legendary over the past couple of decades.

SA’s Professional 1911s

Standard features on today’s top-shelf TRPs– going beyond the careful selection and fitment of components– include front strap checkering at 20 lines per inch, forward slide serrations, sighting plane serrations, the company’s Gen 2 Speed Trigger, a skeletonized hammer, premium sights, a straight mainspring housing, and G10 grips.

New for 2025 are eight optics-ready models, all equipped with an Agency Arms optics sighting system and offered in 9mm- both a first for the TRP. Priced at $1,999 across the board (we told you these were Springfield’s top shelf 1911s), there are full-sized all-steel 5-inch railed models in either black or Coyote Brown and in .45 and 9mm, as well as a lightweight Commander-length (4.25-inch) Carry Contour series in the same calibers and color options.

Springfield sent me a Coyote Commander-length Carry Contour TRP AOS in 9mm in this review; light and optic are not included.

In a nutshell, we found it to look good, feel great, and run like a gazelle. The slide-to-frame fit is legit, and the gun has no slop. The AOS system allows for lots of different optics, and it is great that SA is now making the TRP in a 9mm option, even if some consider such a thing in a 1911 platform to be an abomination.

The only rocks we can find to throw on this one are that the asking price of $1,999 is a bit steep, even in today’s inflated dollars, and that, perhaps a direct mount ACRO footprint would be a bigger hit.

The full review is over in my column at Guns.com.

Swimming with the Manta

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This understated Tisas 1911, which sports an Ed Brown Bobtail to minimize printing – and maximize comfort – when carrying concealed, has proved smooth and dependable in testing.

We’re talking about the Manta.

I’ve been kicking around one for the past couple of months, wearing it both IWB and OWB, and putting well over 500 rounds through one.

One favorite minimalist OWB carry was the always popular Galco Yaqui Slide, paired with a bamboo Boker Burnley Kwaiken. When carried with a spare mag in N8 Tactical’s new Magna-Clip carrier, you had 17 rounds of Speer Gold Dot at the ready.

A more deep carry concealment setup was a Bianchi Leather Model 100 Professional IWB holster with a high back. An extra mag in a Crossbreed Confidant, which can be carried IWB as well, makes a good companion as does a fixed blade.

Does the cut make a difference when it comes to carry? The smoothed extended beavertail grip safety, coupled with the rounded hammer, keeps from digging into the side while sitting and moving, as does the Bobtail.

As someone who has carried lots of standard Government profile 1911s over the years, I can vouch that it is more comfortable. Plus, with the trailing edge of the rear grip effectively rounded off, you print less with a cover garment.

The full review in my column at Guns.com.

Swimming with the Manta

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Many feel that hammer-fired metal-framed pistols are better in every way when stacked against polymer-framed striker-fired guns. It can be argued that they have a smoother trigger, better aesthetics, and better build quality in addition to faster lock times and less felt recoil. It is no surprise that the trend lately has been for a slew of hybrid steel-framed and tungsten-infused striker-fired guns have hit the market to mimic that old-school feel.

Speaking of which, Tisas quietly added a bobtailed update to the company’s Duty B45B series this year, which in itself is interesting.

When it comes to the signature Ed Brown Bobtail treatment, with the heel of the frame cut to minimize printing– and maximize comfort– when carrying concealed, most 1911 models on the market that utilize it are of the more compact Commander-sized length, using 4.5-inch barrels. Well, Tisas already has that in the form of the 9mm Stingray Carry and Yukon Carry in 10mm.

What the Manta Ray brings is a blend of the Bobcat frame in a full-sized Government length format.

Tisas swam one of the new Mantas my way to check out and I got to admit, it feels and looks great– especially at the price (retails for $550 ish).

Keep in mind you get a forged steel frame and slide, cold-hammer-forged stainless steel barrel, Novak sights, skeletonized hammer and trigger, an ambi safety, and G10 grips for that price.

And I like the fact that they have kept the rollmarks low-key and minimalistic.

More in my column at Guns.com.