Tag Archives: Forged 1911

Budget Commander Line Grows Further

Posted on by One comment

I’ve talked about the Commander-sized Tisas Tanker a few different times here previously and found it held up well in testing. Using a 4.25-inch hammer-forged chrome-lined barrel on a full-size frame that is crafted of forged steel, the 8+1 shot Tanker is an excellent value in the $400 range but comes with some basic sights and plastic grip panels.

The Tanker…not a bad little Commander-sized 45 at all

The new Tank Commander gives it a step up.

Standard features of the Tisas Tank Commander include a rowel style (circular) hammer spur rather than the standard spur, checkered Walnut “double diamond” style grips, wears improved serrated front and rear sights, has a rounded mainspring housing, and uses flush-fitting 7-shot magazines, shipping with two of the latter.

While the Tisas Tanker comes in plain black, the Tank Commander is offered in either a Cerakote matte gray that mimics old-school military parkerizing or what Tisas calls a “Marine” nickel finish.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Not a bad deal for $800…

Posted on by Leave a comment

A pair of 9mm thoroughbreds are the newest horses in Springfield Armory’s stable of Garrison series M1911 single-action pistols.

Designed as an “heirloom-quality” old-school M1911A1-format pistol available in either a classic hot salt blued carbon steel or rust-resistant stainless-steel format, the Garrison series run match-grade 5-inch barrels and the standard layout of Mr. John Browning’s classic. Switching it up from the familiar .45 ACP caliber, the new Garrisons come in a single-stack 9mm, shipping standard with a stainless steel 9-round magazine.

The cost is around $800. 

And they are pretty easy on the eye as well.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Turkish Tisas Tanker Tally

Posted on by Leave a comment

So I’ve been testing the new Commander-length Tisas Tanker from SDS Imports for the past few months. After 500 rounds, including hollow points, the subtotal number of jams/failures I came away with was four.

I say subtotal because two of the four were likely due to a weak magazine spring on an old GI mag failing to chamber the bottom round– they worked fine when loaded in another mag– while the third was a failure to eject on a dirty chamber with PMC. The fourth failure was a misfire likely due to a hard/bad primer as the round in question failed to go off when struck a second time. That leaves the final tally at one out of 500, fresh out of the box.

Not too bad, especially when you consider you can get one of these 70 series Commanders with a forged frame and slide for $400 smackers.

The Tanker…

More on the Tanker in my column at Guns.com.

Emissary, now in Commander and 9mm versions

Posted on by One comment

Following up on the popularity of the Government-sized Emissary .45ACP M1911, Springfield Armory on Thursday announced a Commander-length model as well as one in 9mm.

As with the earlier model, the Emissary line sports a two-tone finish, with a blued carbon-steel slide and a stainless-steel frame with a squared trigger guard. Carrying a “Tri-Top” cut to the slide, the single-action pistols run a bushingless heavy stainless-steel bull barrel with a one-piece full-length guide rod. For those who want texture in their grip, the series has a grenade-pattern texture on the front and back of the grip as well as the slimline G10 VZ panels.

And they are as easy on the eye and they are capable on the range.

More in my column at Guns.com.

The 1911 is a Perma Staple of the Gun Community

Posted on by Leave a comment

With a narrow profile and an excellent reputation for “stopping power” (in certain calibers) coupled with a host of on-board safety features, John Browning’s big M1911 format single-action pistols can be exceptionally accurate, and, if given a few tweaks and made correctly, can last a lifetime so long as the small internals and barrel are swapped out when overworn. Plus, there is probably no other platform other than the Glock that is backed up by so wide a spread of aftermarket parts and skilled smiths who know how to wring every ounce of performance out of them. Little wonder that gun companies seem to always be introducing new takes on the same gun.

Speaking of which, Springfield Armory this week came out with a new version of Mr. Browning’s single-action single-stack.

Using a forged steel barrel, slide, and frame, Springfield’s new Emissary sports a two-tone finish, with a blued carbon steel slide and a stainless-steel frame with a squared trigger guard. Carrying a “Tri-Top” cut to the slide, the single-action pistol runs a bushing-less heavy stainless steel bull barrel with a one-piece full-length guide rod. For those who want texture in their grip, the Emissary is fully wrapped in a grenade pattern texture from its slimline G10 VZ grips to the matching machining on the mainspring housing and front strap.

The Emissary is billed as blending defensive and custom pistols to create a striking .45 ACP railgun that looks great while still being very capable.

More in my column at Guns.com.

$400 Forged Turkish Commander

Posted on by Leave a comment

SDS specializes in importing quality pistols, shotguns, and accessories and, in the past few years, they have partnered with Tisas in Turkey to supply well-made M1911 style handguns to the U.S. market that have built a following through a combination of good reviews and affordable pricing. The Tanker, quietly debuted last October, is set to continue that trend.

While the “Tanker” moniker is typically applied to shortened T26 M1 Garands and similar chopped-down rifles in the same vein, the SDS version an upgraded M1911A1 Government with a full-sized frame and Commander-length– or 4.25-inch rather than the traditional 5-inch– barrel, and corresponding slide. It has lots of good features to include a forged slide and frame, Series 70 internals, a chrome-plated and lined barrel, as well as a mirror-polished feed ramp.

Plus, it runs $400 smackers, new.

I’ve been kicking the Tanker around for a couple weeks, and it is hard not to like it, especially for the price.

Check it out in my column at Guns.com.