Today, Limited Division is dominated by high-capacity 1911 pistols chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge and featuring every "bell and whistle" that the shooter's bank account, and the USPSA rulebook, will permit.

The Clark Custom 2011 Combat pistol uses a Schuemann Non-Ported Hybrid barrel, which provides recoil-dampening weight up front and allows a Dawson Precision fiber-optic front sight to be mounted in a dovetail cut on the barrel itself. The ramped barrel is tapered and does away with the necessity for a barrel bushing while ensuring consistent barrel-slide alignment.

I just got my hands on what just might be the ultimate example of the modern Limited Division pistol.

The Clark 2011 Custom Combat Pistol
Founded in 1950 by James E. Clark Sr., Clark Custom Guns quickly became known as one of the nation's premier custom gun builders. Today, under the leadership of Jim Clark Jr., the company continues to provide competitive shooters, police, and military personnel with some of the finest 1911-type pistols, AR-type rifles, and other custom guns to come down the pike.

As the "Custom" in the company's name indicates, Clark Custom Guns will build a pistol using whatever parts the customer specifies. The 2011 Custom Combat pistol I obtained for this report combines an STI 2011 5.0 frame/slide kit and components manufactured by Clark Custom Guns, STI, and other aftermarket sources to produce a pistol intended to run with the big guns in USPSA's Limited Division.

The full-length dustcover of the upper frame assembly provides additional recoil-dampening weight. The rear of the slide is machined to accept a Bo-Mar rear sight. Pistol features include an STI palmswell beavertail grip safety, ambidextrous thumb safety levers, and a lightweight Clark Combat hammer.

STI's modular frame consists of upper and lower assemblies. The 5.0 upper is made from 4140 Maxxell Alloy stainless steel and has the rails and a full-length dustcover. It is precut for a high-ride beavertail grip safety. The lower grip

assembly is made from black, glass-filled nylon polymer with metal panels molded into it so as to allow metal-to-metal contact with the upper frame. The use of a polymer grip frame produces narrow dimensions that allow the use of double-column magazines while keeping the width of the grip narrow enough so that even persons with smaller hands have no trouble using it.

The slide is 4140 carbon steel and features front and rear grasping grooves that are very practical when a shooter must clear jams or charge his pistol under the pressures of competition--and they're also very attractive. The ejection port has been lowered and flared to ensure reliable ejection of spent cases. Before the kit leaves STI, the frame and slide are hand-fitted to ensure a tight yet smooth fit, which is one of the basics in achieving the optimum in accuracy.

Once Jim Clark's gunsmiths get their hands on the STI kit, things really get radical. The most unique modification is the machining of the slide to accept a Schuemann Non-Ported Hybrid barrel. This style of barrel provides additional recoil-dampening weight up front, and it allows the Dawson Precision fiber-optic front sight to be mounted in a dovetail cut on the barrel itself.

This means that the front sight does not move with the slide and thus is not subjected to the strain of recoil forces that could move it out of zero or cause damage to the fiber-optic rod. In addition, the ramped Schuemann barrel is of a tapered design, which does away with the necessity for a barrel bushing while ensuring consistent barrel-slide alignment, which further increases the gun's accuracy potential.