Other nice touches on the Elite Commando are its 3.5-pound trigger pull, checkered frontstrap, flat mainspring housing, and rosewood stocks.

To be frank, though, this is really to be expected of a high-end 1911. So I scrutinized the Elite Commando a little closer. The machine cut checkering was attractive, perfectly executed, and provided a secure grip without being so sharp as to tear flesh. The beavertail was nicely fitted, and the rear of the slide matched the rear of the frame perfectly. The barrel bushing was too tight to remove by hand, so I popped it out with a wrench. Examining the slide and barrel, I checked how the lugs were cut and the lockup. Everything looked nicely done. All in all, the Rock River Arms Elite Commando was impressive to the eye and pleasing in the hand.

When it comes to personal protection, I am somewhat leery of a run-of-the-mill 1911. Before you drop this to fire off hate mail to Shooting Times Editor Joel Hutchcroft, let me qualify my statement. I feel the Model 1911 has proven to be such a fine design that its success and continued popularity have actually hurt the breed to a degree. Down through the decades 1911-type pistols have been made across the United States and around the world. Due to the sheer number of manufacturers, quality on these pistols has ranged from superb (early Colt) to awful (many Filipino models).

Complicating this is the wide number of aftermarket parts available, which also vary in quality, and the amount of gun plumbers of varying skill eager to work on 1911s. These factors have all contributed so that it's now relatively common to come across a problematic 1911 on the firing line (or for sale in a gunshop). In fact, at our weeklong editorial roundtables held twice a year, I'd venture to say that during the manufacturers' demos new-production 1911s have more reliability issues than all other designs combined.

This isn't to imply that I don't like the 1911, or that I think it's a poor design. Rather, I am just adamant that any firearm chosen for personal protection must be monotonously reliable. If you are going to choose this classic big-bore fighting pistol to protect your life and the lives of your loved ones, you want a well-made example of the breed. Then you'll want to feed it quality ammunition from high-quality magazines. Plus, any work performed on it should be done only by a truly qualified gunsmith. These are my personal feelings, and you are welcome to disagree.

So, being admittedly more than a little jaded, I was interested to see how the RRA Elite Commando would perform. To do this I selected a wide variety of .45 ACP loads ranging in weight from 96 to 230 grains. I then checked practical accuracy by firing four five-shot groups off sandbags at 50 yards with each load. Velocity readings were taken 12 feet from the muzzle with an Oehler Model 35P chronograph at an ambient temperature of 10 degrees F. Next, I shot the pistol casually at 50 and 100 yards on steel LaRue silhouettes. I followed this up by running various drills at distances from two to 30 yards.

SHOOTING ROCK RIVER'S .45 ACP ELITE COMMANDO
Factory Load	Muzzle Velocity (fps)	50-yard Accuracy (inches)
MagSafe 96-gr. +P Defender	1811	6.00
Magtech 165-gr. +P SCHP	1180	4.50
Magtech 185-gr. +P JHP	1081	4.00
Black Hills 200-gr. Lead SWC	882	2.50
CorBon 200-gr. +P JHP	1082	2.37
Hornady 230-gr. FMJ	841	3.00
Wolf 230-gr. FMJ	840	2.75
NOTES: Accuracy is the average of four five-shot groups fired from a sandbag benchrest at 50 yards. Velocity is the average of 20 rounds measured 12 feet from the gun's muzzle.

Seven loads from six different manufacturers were used during testing. They consisted of MagSafe's 96-grain +P Defender, Magtech's 165-grain +P SCHP and 185-grain Guardian +P JHP, Black Hills's 200-grain lead SWC, CorBon's 200-grain +P JHP, Hornady's 230-grain FMJ, and Wolf Performance's 230-grain FMJ. From the bench I expected the Elite Commando to shoot well for one simple reason: It had come packaged with a very impressive test target. From a Ransom Rest it had put seven rounds of 185-grain Federal Gold Medal Match into a 0.73-inch (center to center) cluster at 50 yards. Egad!