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NightHawk Custom Dominator
The Dominator has a beveled and
blended magazine well that aids in quick insertion of magazines when under stress. Note the cocobolo grips and the fine checkering on the front strap.
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The slide has cocking serrations cut at the front and rear and the top of the slide has straight grooves extending its length to reduce glare. The magazine well, besides being beveled and blended, is extended for fast reloads.
The dovetailed front sight blade has a green tritium dot while the dovetailed rear is a fully adjustable square notch with two yellow tritium dots making for quick sight acquisition in dim light. This brings me to my only criticism. Since the rest of the gun is finely beveled, I would like to see the rear sight beveled so those sharp edges won't cut when racking the slide.
Nighthawk using quality steel components--no metal injection molded parts. The Dominator weighs 40 ounces, is 8.75 inches long, 5.5 inches in height, 1.8 inches wide and the barrel is five inches long. The trigger on the sample broke cleanly at 3.9 ounces with no takeup or overtravel.
The barrel crown has a straight-bevel that ends flush with the hard chromed barrel bushing and gives the business end of the gun an interesting look that contrasts with the black slide and recoil spring plug.
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Like the other Nighthawk Custom 1911s, it comes in a green nylon carrying case with a gold embroidered Nighthawk Custom logo, two eight-round stainless steel magazines and an instruction manual.
Untitled Document
ACCURACY RESULTS:
Nighthawk Custom Dominator |
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| .45 ACP Ammo Type |
Bullet Weight (gr.) |
Avg. Velocity (fps) |
Avg. Group (in.) |
| Hornady TAP/FPD +P |
230 |
915 |
2.02 |
| Federal HST +P JHP |
230 |
962 |
2.20 |
| Hornady TAP/FPD +P |
200 |
1,023 |
2.35 |
| Black Hills grain JHP |
230 |
889 |
2.47 |
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Notes: Velocity recorded 10 feet from the muzzle with Oehler 35P chronograph. Accuracy
tested off a sandbag rest; results are the average of three five-shot groups at 25 yards. |
The sample gun came with cocobolo grips that really enhanced the gun’s appearance, but don’t be fooled. This gun isn’t just another pretty gun-rack queen; it really delivers in the accuracy and reliability department.
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At 25 yards off the bench and using Crimson Trace Laser Grips to compensate for aging eyesight, all ammunition turned in accuracy figures much better than needed for self-defense applications with the best average of three five-shot groups being 2.02 inches with the Hornady TAP FPD +P 230-grain load. Switching to the iron sights for some fun at varying distances with offhand drills both one- and two-handed in controlled and rapid fire, the gun handled well. Recovery from recoil was rapid and the gun pointed naturally.
No matter what ammo was used or whether the gun was well lubricated or run practically dry, it functioned perfectly throughout the test. Besides being naturally slick, the hard chrome made cleaning the frame easy. I just wiped it down with a cloth.
An option is to order the gun with a hard chromed slide, which I think is an excellent idea not only for looks and durability but also for ease of cleaning.
Shooting facilities provided by Scottsdale Gun Club, www.scottsdalegunclub.com
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