by Rich Grassi I mentioned before that I started police service with a Colt National Match .45 Auto of the 1911 pattern. Fashioned like the guns that would have the engraved Gold Cup, the National Match had the Accro rear sight, not the better-for-target-shooting Elliason, held in by a constant slipping solid pin.

The T3 by Nighthawk Custom has a true-Commander type barrel and slide complete with standard bushing-spring plug arrangement. This makes disassembly common with other 1911 pistols without guide rods or bushingless barrels.

I watched as hometown gunsmith Howard Roe Farrimond, a gent who'd grown up with my father, removed the pin and carefully kinked it. It took more force to get the pin back in where it stayed trouble-free for another thirty years. It was and is a wonderful pistol and I never had to use it to save my life. I'm grateful for that too. Exposure to the 1911 before that? Well, the operator of the local air freight office showed me one in the 1960s. That was before I knew to examine the gun for maker's markings and various anomalies. One thing I did notice was that the trigger guard was cut away. Then, like now, it seemed like a simple-minded thing to do but it was his gun. In high school, I learned about some of the variants of the 1911/1911A1 and how to tell the difference. Field stripping the combat pistol was in the line of duty - including launching recoil spring plugs around the classroom. I learned that they're stocks not grips and that these old armory pistols would "double" if you gave them the chance. Over many years, there have been many 1911 pistols. I'll never forget the "parts bin" Essex-frame 1911 built by a fellow cop who'd designed it as a "hardball gun." The sights were high fixed Micro sights, with a flat mainspring housing, a long trigger, a bobbed hammer (trimmed enough to prevent "bite") and a GI "paddle" thumb safety. The gun was finished in Metaloy (Metaloy Industries, Inc., 3430 Hwy 143, Berryville AR 72616; www.originalmetaloy.com) an industrial hard chrome finish. This stuff was hard as it could be and would just shine dully where it was scraped.

The Commander-size slide with the Officers' size frame and mag chute actually look more balanced than the standard Commander-size pistol. Shorter frame aids in concealment.

Sadly, I let that one get away. Another of this particular cop's guns choked in a shooting. I was there the next day when he decided, "No more automatics for me." I got into that pistol pretty good and found that it was the ammo that had caused his problems. Later, when I had a Colt Commander done by John Lawson (The Sight Shop, 1802 E. Columbia Ave., Tacoma WA 98404; http://thesightshop.org), I took it to my attorney's office so he could admire it. My brother officer came in and took the Commander to hand. Ruefully, he hefted the pistol and said, "It feels like the handshake of an old friend." When people ask me, "Why the 1911?" I can't think of a more heartfelt answer. When I take it to hand, it feels like it belongs; an extension of my will. Not a totem, but a tool, the use of which can get me back to hearth and home from that dark and dangerous place. Won't other tools do that? Oh, yes. Quite well, in fact. Nothing else has done it so well for so long. John Browning designed this thing before computer-aided drawing, ergonomics studies, CNC machining, high speed photography and aerospace metallurgy. In fact, look at the other things from 1911, see how they've changed: A contemporary automobile, aircraft, telephone, radio then and now. How many of those things gave a century of service? In celebration of its service, a 1911 and I went out to the range. An oddball in size, it combined the 4 ¼" barrel and slide of the Colt Commander and the bobbed-off frame of the Officers ACP. Created by the artisans of Nighthawk Custom, they call it the T3, this one is stainless, and they believe it's the Ultimate Carry Pistol. Well, it could be.

The unaccustomed-to light trigger wasn't a factor as much as lack of pistol practice in this 289/300 effort on the FBI Instructor course. The score passes but the pistol is capable of more.

Seven rounds of .45 ACP put Cpl (later Sgt.) Alvin York in good stead during an assault by six of the Kaiser's boys in the "Great War." I imagine York could've done as well with an 1851 Navy but I'd imagine he'd be just as happy not to. This beastie carries seven rounds handily in new magazines. The Heinie Sights are of my liking day or night. The aggressive stocks and checkering keep the little gun in my hand and the blended magazine well gives enough extra length so my little finger doesn't hang out in space. It's still noticeably shorter. I can't seem to score quite as highly on the FBI Firearms Instructor Bull's Eye course as the gun is capable of. With excellent ASYM Precision 230 grain FMJ Match, I scored 289 out of 300. Stapling up a silhouette, I did some holster drills. The T3 handles like a high class service pistol and I had no trouble making myself look good in the short term. The trigger on the sample is a little light for me. I like to keep a service trigger at five pounds and clean. Nighthawk has every right to be proud of this fine pistol. It inspires confidence. That's what the 1911 is best at. (http://www.nighthawkcustom.com/)