Craig Boddington's Favorite 1911 Pistols

My little farm in southeast Kansas is not my home turf; I was raised 150 miles north, in different country. I hadn’t had the place long when I noticed something was digging up the lawn, strange little excavations I’d never seen before. Lots of them. One balmy night I happened to wake up and turned on the yard light. Several football-shaped objects were happily digging up my grass. Good Lord, armadillos! What the heck are they doing here? When I was a kid I doubt there was an armadillo in the state of Kansas. Those darned Texans sent them north, up through Oklahoma and into my yard. I stuck my feet into sneakers, grabbed my 1911 off the nightstand—never mind the underwear—and ran outside to do battle. I ran through the magazine, changed, went through most of the next one. Great mental picture, right? Although kind of one-sided, that’s the closest I ever came to a gunfight with a 1911.

The King

When I was very young, Col. Charles Askins answered a reader’s letter in one of the several gun magazines that I devoured each month. The correspondent, a civilian, was being posted to some out-of-the-way place and wanted to know what handgun he should take for personal defense. I don’t recall where he was going, maybe Malaysia, but I remember Askins’s answer with perfect clarity: “The king, a Colt 1911.” Askins went on to tell him he needed at least five magazines, three always loaded, two at rest and rotated. He also needed a bag of spare parts, which Askins listed in detail. Though controversial for his irascibility—and penchant for killing people—Askins (1907–1999) lived long enough to be the last of the great, old-time, colorful gun scribes. He also was the real deal, multiple times National Pistol Champion, early service in the Border Patrol, and long career in the U.S. Army, where his designation was Ordnance Officer. I’m sure he could replace each 1911 part on that list in his sleep.

Ham-handed and mechanically inept, I could not. I can field-strip a 1911 blindfolded and put it back together and clear the rare but occasional stoppage. However, if a genuine mechanical problem occurred during my Marine Corps career, I’d probably take the fallback position and holler a plaintive “Armorer up.” Still, Askins’s advice resonated. I got my first 1911 50-some years ago and haven’t been without one ever since. I bought my first at a Kansas City gun show when I was still a teenager, unthinkable today. It was a World War II-vintage 1911A1 made by Ithaca, modified only with decent target sights. To say I shot it well would be an exaggeration, but I shot it a lot. The first formal pistol training I ever got was in college. We had an indoor smallbore range in the basement of the old NROTC building at KU. The Marine staff sergeants assigned to the unit served as coaches for the rifle and pistol teams: first, SSgt. John McDonald (Sergeant Mac), then SSgt. Doug Johnson. Both were former drill instructors and certified Primary Marksmanship Instructors (PMIs). Both were well-decorated from multiple tours in Vietnam, and both were excellent. On the pistol team, we shot super-accurate High Standard target .22s, similar grip angle to the 1911 but absent the recoil.

In smallbore competition I was better with rifle than pistol, but I improved with good instruction, and they managed to cure most of my self-taught bad habits, enough so that when I went into the Marines, the 1911 was no stranger. I broke no range records, but I qualified High Expert throughout my career, was occasionally high shooter on a given qualification day, and competed in division matches. In my day in the Marines, it was theoretically possible to have a personal 1911 certified by the armorers and use it to qualify. I never knew anyone who went through the hoops. I was always satisfied with my issue pistol. I don’t remember all of them, but my 1911A1 at Second Battalion, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division (“2/1”) also had an Ithaca slide. As a gun guy, I naturally prowled the armory when I was Officer of the Day (OOD). Most of the battalion’s 1911A1s were World War II vintage. Who knows how many times barrels, bushings, and various parts had been replaced. Some were loosey-goosey, mine was tight and shot well. That was pretty much the same story in the armory at 2/23, the Reserve infantry battalion I served in for years—World War II-vintage slides and frames, rebuilt who knows how many times but still serviceable. As the mantra went, “There are many pistols like it, but this one is mine.” They all worked and shot well enough to earn the Expert badge for Marines who could shoot them, but not well enough for those who couldn’t.

Personally, I was sad when in 1985 we abandoned the 1911A1 .45 in favor of the Beretta M92 9mm. I hated to see the reduction in stopping power in favor of firepower and failed to see the difference any pistol was likely to make on a modern battlefield. That said, there were reasons. Legacy World War II pistols were aging out. With all due respect to Jeff Cooper, “cocked and locked” carry was never exactly trooper-proof, requiring more pistol training than any U.S. service was likely to give the average airman, sailor, soldier, or Marine. I don’t remember when the M92 finally got to my battalion, most likely 1987. I was a major by then, probably serving as S-3 (ops officer). Although the qualification course was the same, I must admit scores went up significantly. Aside from reduced recoil, the brand-new, tight Berettas were probably more accurate than the creaky old 1911A1s we’d been shooting. My own scores didn’t go up measurably. I always shot the 1911A1 okay. However, I accepted the M92 with grace and learned to shoot it. As I had with the .45, I used whichever pistol was assigned by the armory, and I carried one for the rest of my career. In the late 1980s, the changeover was rapid and near complete. As a plain old infantry guy, I didn’t see another 1911 in service for 15 years. In 2002, when I had a task force in the Persian Gulf, I was delighted to see that my personal security detail (PSD) all carried armory-rebuilt 1911s. They were great pistols, and these guys knew how to use them. I’m happy they never needed to on my behalf.

My Favorite 1911s

Sometimes I’m amused by the questions I’m asked. One colleague once asked, “How many double rifles do you own?” I just laughed. I’d had a couple, sold them, and didn’t have a single one at that moment. Sorry to disappoint. He might as well have asked me how many Ferraris I owned. This publication’s Joel Hutchcroft, one of my better editors, asked me to write about “my favorite 1911s.” The implication might be that I have a whole bunch. This is not true—and never has been true, so I almost turned him down. Even so, the 1911 is still king, still a favorite pistol. I’ve had one or another since I was a kid, sometimes several, at least a couple—doesn’t mean I don’t like them. Rather, my needs and uses for my 1911s are simple. I don’t shoot competitively, so I use them for casual target practice and plinking. In Kansas, around the farm, a 1911 is a favorite carry pistol, usually either on me or on the nightstand. I’m used to it, shoot it well, and its .45 ACP cartridge is hell on armadillos (regardless of my state of undress). It’s not bad for pests like possums and raccoons, which are hard on my turkeys and quail during nesting season. Coyotes are the only other critter around the farm with a constant open season, and I don’t get many good opportunities at Wile E. Coyote with any open-sighted handgun. As a writer, I have no idea how many 1911 and its variant test guns have come through my hands. I love all 1911s and am always tempted to purchase them. I usually manage to resist and return them. I love Kimbers, commercial Colts, Springfield Armory 1911s, and CZ pistols. I was (and am) hugely impressed by Ruger’s SR1911s. They are true 1911s with flat mainspring housings. I’ve long intended to buy one, may still, but just haven’t. I also like SIG SAUER’s 1911s. If I were looking for a 1911 to hunt with, rather than just carry around the farm, I’d have one of their 10mms.

I’ve seen a lot of gorgeous custom 1911s come and go, too. I’ve lusted after all of them but usually resisted. Since I carry my 1911s, I want unobtrusive sights that won’t catch when drawing from a holster. That may not be as accurate, but it’s fine for my purposes. That World War II Ithaca 1911 with holster-and-pocket-snagging target sights went long ago in a trade, and I honestly haven’t missed it. Although I’m left-handed, I’m fairly ambidextrous with handguns, so I’ve never owned one with an ambidextrous safety, and I don’t want one. My issue 1911s all had standard safeties on the left side. I got used to them and don’t want to confuse myself while running down armadillos (or anything else) in the dark. So, let me tell you about my favorite 1911s, circa 2024. Springfield Armory 1911A1: I’ve had my Springfield Armory 1911A1 .45 more than 30 years. It’s neither light nor compact, but it’s the pistol I’m most likely to keep handy. It has the arched mainspring housing, almost a stock 1911A1 except it has a bobbed, skeletonized “Commander” hammer and forward-slanted slide grasping grooves. A huge improvement over issue sights are this 1911’s three-dot sights. I have smooth cocobolo wood grips on it. It feels good and doesn’t catch. Steel with a 5.0-inch barrel, it weighs a little over 3 pounds with a magazine loaded with seven 185-grain hollowpoints. I know it’s there…and “feel” it if it’s not there. In Kansas, it’s usually there. However, during Kansas rifle season, I always wear a blaze-orange vest with big pockets. As a concession to weight and bulk, in this mode I usually carry an inexpensive little SCCY 9mm. With blaze-orange polymer frame, it’s more of a fashion statement than genuine practicality. It shoots well, hits where I look, and has three-dot sights.

Otherwise, if I’m not carrying the Springfield 1911A1, I do have a favorite alternative. Here, you’ll have to accept my eccentricities. I often carry a 1917 Colt revolver. It is similar in weight, and I’m already used to the weight. Like 1911s, I’ve had one or another since I was a teenager. Its standard-issue sights (groove in topstrap rear, rounded blade front) are not nearly as good as three-dot sights. Oddly, it’s a handgun that has always fit my hand, and I’ve used it to win bets by hip-shooting cans. Its .45 ACP cartridge is also familiar. I stoke it with three-round “halfmoon” or six-round “full-moon” clips. However, with old-style lockworks, I never carry a loaded round under the hammer. Mostly, though, I carry the 1911A1, “The King.” After all these years, .45 ACP recoil doesn’t bother me. I can’t shoot it from the hip like I can the revolver, but that’s a silly TV trick. The sights come up fast and visible. It rings plates with authority and is wonderfully not finicky about the ammo it digests. I’m not likely to win national titles like Askins did, but it does what I need it to do. In his latter years Askins was a friend and mentor to me, and I hunted and shot with him and listened to his tales of gunfights along the border and in his several wars. Yes, I follow his advice. Five magazines on hand. Three loaded, two rotated empty to rest the springs. Kimber Commander: I’m not big on embellished firearms, but this one is special. Among the dozens of 1911 variants Kimber has offered, this specific one doesn’t appear to be cataloged anymore, so let’s just call it a Commander .45 ACP with full-size frame, so magazines are interchangeable with full-size 1911s and 1911A1s. The shortened slide houses a 4.25-inch barrel. And it also has a flat mainspring housing, stippled rear strap, extended bobtail grip safety, and skeletonized hammer. The frame is matte black, and the slide is polished blue. It has forward-slanting cocking grooves.

It feels good, shoots great, and is deadly accurate (within my capabilities). This one I shoot a bit for fun and practice. I most assuredly don’t carry it. It was presented to me by industry friends at the 2001 NRA Convention in Kansas City, coincidentally my hometown, because some months earlier I’d been selected for promotion to Brigadier General. The Marine Corps is chronically short of general officers, so as is customary I was already serving (as a Colonel) in a one-star job. A year later I volunteered for command of a task force in the Gulf. As was occasionally done (and always illegal), I was “frocked” with a star without Senate confirmation. A year later, still in command over there, still without confirmation, still wearing the illegal star, we got caught. After multiple investigations, I was essentially cleared, but miffed senators weren’t going to confirm me. I got a nice medal, and my task force got the Joint Meritorious Unit Citation. I retired as a Colonel…farther than I ever expected to go. So this gorgeous 1911 serves as a bittersweet reminder of a great Marine Corps career that I wasn’t quite ready to leave. The engraving was done by the incomparable Lisa Tomlin, featuring fine scrollwork on the slide; the Marine Corps eagle, globe, and anchor in gold inlay on the right side of the slide; and perfectly scrimshawed on the grip. On the left side is my name and the star I couldn’t keep.

Nighthawk Custom: Like I said, I’ve seen a lot of custom 1911s come and go, from many of the great makers, and this time, I think I’m going to bite. On the surface, it’s a simple pistol: 9mm, stainless, Commander frame and slide, 4.25-inch barrel, flat mainspring housing, frontstrap and backstrap well stippled, skeletonized hammer, bobtail grip safety, highly visible Trijicon sights with a tritium bead front and a small tritium bead below the rear notch. Technically, this is a Lady Hawk 1911, with the frame slimmed down about as trim as it can be. My hands aren’t that big, and it feels okay to me, although it’s unclear exactly who we might be keeping it for (my wife or me). As might be expected from a full-up custom 1911, the trigger breaks like glass at just over 3 pounds. Almost needless to say with such a pistol, the accuracy is excellent. After firing several hundred rounds (with various weights and bullet styles), there have been no stoppages. Here’s what sets it apart: I have never felt a 1911 (hardly ever any semiauto pistol) with a slide that works as easily and smoothly. Donna is doing some handgun shooting, improving rapidly. The truth is, she has trouble racking the slide on many pistols. Some 1911s (including mine) are beyond her hand strength without serious struggle. Therefore, whether Lady or “Macho Male” models, this Nighthawk Custom is amazing. She can rack the slide with almost no effort, and I can feel the hook sinking deeper. This time I’m likely to get reeled in. I might even try it the next time I have to fend off an armadillo attack. 

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