1911s for USPSA, IDPA, and IPSC

Getting set up to shoot Single Stack? 

There are a LOT of options, especially when it comes to the 1911. I would like to offer some advice from my perspective as a competitive shooter and a professional pistolsmith. Please keep in mind, most of the options that I will discuss tend to be fairly personal. There are many shooters who are quite successful using something quite different than what I may recommend. The first thing you need to do is pick a gun. I recommend choosing a gun that is basic enough that you can make or have a smith make the specific upgrades to the gun that you want. My first recommendation is always a Colt. They are currently producing some very high quality components. Colt is also continuing to expand their offerings. I prefer a gun with a rail for the added weight in the frame up front. 

Colt’s Railgun makes a great base gun, and it’s what I chose to build my personal match gun with. They currently produce the Railgun in .45 ACP and 9mm, and they recently released a 10mm which could very easily be converted to 40 S&W. The other gun that makes for a fairly straightforward build is the Springfield Range Officer and the Springfield RO Operator. The biggest difference in these two models is the Range Officer has an adjustable rear sight and a standard receiver. The Range Officer Operator has a rail and a fixed rear sight utilizing a Novak style sight cut. Both models are available in 9mm and 45 ACP. Either the Colt or the Springfield offering would make a great start in building you the perfect Single Stack. STI also has several good offerings that are geared towards the competitive shooter. STI’s Trojan model is probably one of the most popular guns used in the Single Stack division. There are innumerable options available to you when you are trying to decide on which 1911 to start with. The guns listed above are simply a couple of good guns that I’ve had success with.

Jeremy Reid
USPSA Grand Master
2017 US World Shoot Team Member

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