The sky's the limit for some shooters when they're in the market for a 1911-style pistol. There is no feature too insignificant or any price tag too high for compromise. Not everyone is so fortunate that cost is not a factor, and for budget-conscious shooters, it's important to do their homework before putting hard-earned dollars down for a mid-priced 1911. Impulse buying in the mid-priced category can result in the purchase of a piece of junk while carefully researched buying can end with you being a very satisfied customer.

One of the current mid-priced 1911s is imported by Charles Daly, Dept. ST, P.O. Box 6625, Harrisburg, PA 17112; 866-325-9486; www.charlesdaly.com.

Shotguns imported by Daly are fairly well known, and a decent little history of the company can be found by going to www.shootingtimes.com and clicking on the KBI Inc. link. The bulk of current Daly over-under and side-by-side shotguns are from Italy, and the more recent semiautomatics and pump shotguns are from Turkey. The Italian-made guns have proven their worth over time; the Turkish guns are still earning their reputation, but so far I'm impressed.

Charles Daly's Polymer-Frame 1911
The majority of Daly 1911-style pistols are made in the Philippines, with one exception being the M-5 Government made by BUL Transmark Ltd. in Tel Aviv, Israel. Some readers may recall BUL as the source Kimber turned to for frames when first offering polymer-framed pistols. That relationship has since changed, and Kimber is now using U.S.-made 1911 polymer frames. BUL pistols were also imported recently by International Security Academy (ISA) in Los Angeles, California, and before that by All America Sales Inc. in Memphis, Tennessee. Clearly, polymer-framed 1911s are not foreign to American shooters. Others include Wilson's KZ-45, which started as a South African product but is now imported in raw state and finished enough over here to be considered U.S. made. There is also the hybrid from STI to take into consideration when recalling polymer-frame 1911s.

SPECS Charles Daly M-5 Government 1911 .45 ACP SA Semiautomatic Pistol
IMPORTER:	KBI INC. P.O. Box 6625 Harrisburg, PA 17112
MODEL:	M-5 Government 1911
OPERATION:	Recoil-operated SA autoloader
CALIBER:	.45 ACP
BARREL LENGTH:	5.0 inches
OVERALL LENGTH:	8.5 inches
WEIGHT, EMPTY:	33.5 ounces
HEIGHT:	5.5 inches
SAFETY:	Extended manual thumb safety, beavertail grip safety
SIGHTS:	Drift adjustable
STOCKS:	Integral polymer grip frame
MAGAZINE CAPACITY:	10 rounds
FINISH:	Blued steel, black polymer
PRICE:	$699

Daly's entry into the polymer category combines a steel frame insert with the polymer grip frame. This is not in hybrid fashion like the STI, but rather the two are molded together with the frame rails machined into the insert. Together, the arrangement offers the strength and durability of a steel frame with the weight of an alloy. At two pounds, four ounces unloaded, the polymer-frame Daly M-5 Government is four ounces lighter than my stainless-steel 1911 but offers two additional rounds of capacity. Ironically, those two rounds weigh about four ounces, so there really is no weight savings with a fully loaded polymer Daly over a fully loaded steel 1911. Those two extra shots, though, might be justification enough to go poly. There is also the added corrosion resistance of polymer over steel--whether stainless or chrome-moly--which might be a consideration if you're located near the shore or want a boat gun.

Something Daly has done with its M-5 that I like is to spec a round trigger guard so the M-5 fits standard 1911 gear. Helping in that respect is that the pistol grip is only 1.26 inches wide even though the Daly has a staggered 10-round magazine. That's a smidgen smaller than my single-stack 1911, which is 1.30 inches wide. What that means to a shooter is that you don't have to find special holsters for the Daly, and it feels like a 1911 in your hand in both weight and proportion.

Features specific to the Daly M-5 frame that bear mentioning include a proprietary beavertail safety. It's cut deep at the top, so the gun sits low in the hand and has a hump to ensure that it's depressed. A lot of other 1911s have that hump, too, but Daly goes a little further and cuts grooves across it for better purchase even with a compromised grip. A generous "tail" ensures shooters are safe from "hammerbite," even shooters with large hands. With the slide off, it's apparent that there's no Series 80 firing pin safety.

(Left) Charles Daly's entry into the polymer 1911 category combines a steel frame insert with a polymer grip frame. The two pieces are molded together with the frame rails machined into the insert. (Right) Features specific to the Daly M-5 1911 include a proprietary beavertail grip safety that is cut so the gun sits deeper in your hand and that has a grooved hump for positive activation even with a compromised grip.

The magazine release and its hole are manufactured to be a right-hand-only proposition; the thumb safety is extended, as is currently the fashion; and the trigger stirrup is proportionally enlarged to go around both sides of the 0.94-inch-wide steel magazine. For comparison, standard 1911 magazines I measured averaged .054 inch wide. The magazine well is widened to the point of being a gaping maw that when combined with the tapered profile of the staggered magazine makes it seem impossible for someone with any degree of dexterity to perform anything short of a near perfect magazine change.