According to Shooting Times Handgun Editor Sheriff Jim Wilson, defensive shooters have been wanting big-bore handguns that are easy to conceal for more than 150 years. Since about the last half of the 19th century and well into the 21st century these "shootists" have wanted small, concealable handguns chambered for powerful cartridges.

Often referred to as pocket pistols, belly guns, and even bulldog pistols, these handguns make as much sense today as they did in the 1850s because of the number of states that have passed concealed-carry laws. Springfield Inc. (Dept. ST, 420 W. Main St., Geneseo, IL 61254; 800-680-6866; www.springfieldarmory.com) is taking big-bore pocket pistols in a new direction with its new mini .45.

The Defender comes with fixed Novak rear and dovetailed front three-dot tritium night sights.

Springfield's new mini .45, called the Defender, is a recoil-operated 1911-type single-action semiautomatic pistol chambered for the compact but powerful .45 GAP cartridge. As such, the new pistol has been scaled down in size. What's really innovative about its design is that it is not just shorter in overall length or merely a tad slimmer in profile. Its internal firing mechanism has been shortened, and consequently its grip frame has been shortened front to back. Rob Leatham, world-class shooter and Springfield spokesman, says the changes amount to about a 1/8- inch shortening (front to back) of the grip frame and the slide.

That decrease in size required resizing the magazine, the firing pin, the ejector, the extractor, the plunger tube, the plunger spring, the trigger bow, and, of course, the frame. The cumulative effect of the grip frame changes is almost a 1/4-inch reduction in grip circumference. These changes not only make the Defender's grip smaller, but according to Leatham, it actually makes the mechanism more efficient.

SPECS Springfield Defender .45 GAP Semiautomatic Pistol
Manufacturer:	Springfield Inc.
Model:	Defender
Operation:	Recoil-operated single-action autoloader
Caliber:	.45 GAP
Barrel Length:	3.0 inches
Overall Length:	6.6 inches
Weight, empty	23 ounces
Height:	4.9 inches
Safety:	Manual slide lock thumb safety, grip safety, internal firing pin block, Springfield I.L.S. (internal locking system)
Sights:	Fixed Novak rear; three-dot night sights
Stocks:	Cocobolo
Magazine Capacity:	6 rounds
Finish:	Blued
Price:	$1184

Some of the Defender's other features include Novak low-profile combat-style rear sight and dovetailed front sight (the three-dot tritium night sight system), six-round magazine, 3.0-inch barrel (fitted directly to the slide), flat mainspring housing, lowered and flared ejection port, adjustable aluminum speed-style trigger, blued Commander-style hammer, ambidextrous thumb safety, beavertail grip safety, loaded chamber indicator, checkered cocobolo grip panels, and Torx head grip screws.

The sample pistol we received weighed in at 29 ounces without a magazine and was finished in a deep, glossy blue. Combine that with the rich woodgrain of the grip panels and you have a very good-looking pistol. As for the weight, Springfield's specs list the gun as weighing 23 ounces, but according to the company's literature, that's for an alloy-framed model. The review sample we got our hands on weighed more because it was a steel-framed preproduction gun.

When conducting the usual 1911 "wiggle test" (pushing on the hood of the barrel and wiggling the slide from side to side), I found the barrel to lock up nice and tight, and the slide-to-frame fit had just a small amount of wiggle. That doesn't concern me at all because this type of pistol is clearly intended for personal protection with complete reliability being more important than match-grade accuracy. Still, the slide was not as loose as a lot of old Government Models I have inspected that functioned reliably and shot accurately.

As it came from the factory, the trigger had a slight amount of takeup, but it broke crisply and consistently at 4.5 pounds of pull. I measured it with my Lyman Trigger Pull Gauge three times, and all three times it was exactly 4.5 pounds.