Auto Ordnance 1911GCH

The email from GUNS editor Brent T. Wheat was short and to the point. “Tank, I’ve got an assignment for you. It’s kind of a rush job. Don’t let us down!”

The “rush job” concerned Auto Ordnance’s new rendition of John Moses Browning’s slab-sided classic, for those of us wanting an affordable option for owning a “GI-issue” 1911A1. Holding it brings to mind our troops fighting for our freedoms with this WWII-era version of the 1911.

This year Auto Ordnance has honored our iconic .45 ACP service pistol with a beautiful new finish.

Colorized Classic

There’s no better way of showing respect for an original “old warhorse” than giving it a face-lift of sorts with the time-honored heat treatment method of color case hardening. The look is fitting for a fighting pistol, accenting the rugged simplicity of the big-bore autoloader without being gaudy.

Expertly performed by Tyler Gun Works, the CCH technique involves heat-treating steel for a specific purpose, leaving behind a beautiful array of mottled colors. The brindled swirl of colors is worthy of this great pistol.

Frigid Firing Session

“Hey Brent! It’s a um … Tank. I’ve got the gun and I’m up in Pennsylvania, and it’s … a … kinda cold up here! The wind-chill is going to be around 25-below-zero all week. Think I … um, could get an extension for this project?” I nervously asked the former SWAT sniper turned editorial despot over the phone.

“Suck it up buttercup! We need it in 3 days max!” So, off to the range I go …

(Editor’s Note — I actually gave him three-and-a-half days.)

Thumbing a fat 230-gr. military ball ammo into the blued steel 7-shot magazine, I think of all the grizzled veterans reaching for their .45s in a last-ditch effort to save their skin during some intense battle.

The mil-spec trigger is surprisingly good for a factory firearm, having an average of 5 lbs. 11 oz. on my gun, after 10 measured trigger-pulls with my Lyman gauge.

Shooting in sub-zero weather with a 20 mph wind had me thinking of what the soldiers in the Siege of Bastogne experienced during WWII. I know, jumping out of a heated truck, shooting for 30 minutes and then jumping back in is a sorry comparison. But it was cold!

My cousin’s farm has a makeshift range consisting of steel swingers set up at various distances along with a shooting bench. Being a casual, but rather chilly range test, I shot the Auto Ordnance with elbows on table. It’s not the steadiest method, but better than off-hand.

My hit average on 10″ steel plates at 50 yards was 6 for 7 (I always managed to miss one). This was a fun “warm up” (ha!) for paper punching at 25 yards.

With frigid temperatures, my runny nose produced “snot tusks” of Boone & Crocket proportions, making me look like a prized walrus any Eskimo would proudly harpoon.

Besides ball ammo and various handloads, I also had Black Hills HoneyBadger 135-gr. ammo and assorted 230-gr. JHPs. Groups of 2.5 to 3″ were the norm and the HoneyBadger ammo was the most consistent when shooting at the 2″ Birchwood Casey targets. I lost no fingers to frostbite and found the gun performed without a hitch on the frozen tundra.

The Auto Ordnance 1911GCH ships with one 7-round steel magazine and has an MSRP of $1,327. It’s a gorgeous commemoration honoring the brave men and women who fought so valiantly for our freedoms.

www.tylergunworks.com

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