The plain black rear sight is windage-adjustable and secured with a set screw. The slightly ramped front sight is dovetailed into the slide.

I was skeptical, though, of the gun's ability to function with +P ammunition as my experience has been otherwise with subcompact 1911s. The slide simply cycles faster than the magazine can deliver the next cartridge for pickup. To find out, I fired three magazines of six rounds each (Detonics supplied two extras for the test and evaluation; only one comes with the gun) as fast as I could with Hornady 230-grain SXT +P, but all I got for my efforts was a sore hand from recoil. I did the same act using Cor-Bon 165-grain +P PowerBall and 230-grain +P JHP; again, sore hand but no malfunction.

I discussed this with Jerry and Pete, and their advice was for an owner to try various loads and settle on one that they found to be reliable. As Jerry writes on the Detonics USA website and also mentioned to me, he has found that it is all too possible for one user to have problems with a particular gun, yet the same gun in someone else's hands will not malfunction. The cause is, he thinks, how each person grips the gun or, better put, how well he resists the gun's recoil.

Shooting the CombatMaster for group was at first frustrating; I'd get two, three or four shots into a nice group at 25 yards, but one round would slide out, ruining an otherwise picture-perfect group. I had about given up after multiple attempts on the 5.5-inch Shoot-N-See bull's-eye targets when I realized that perhaps I was not seeing the sights well enough due to the combination of black sights, a short sight radius and a black target. I switched to a one-inch target paster and, using Remington UMC 230-grain JRN, was rewarded with a 1.5-inch five-shot group.

Not wanting to push my luck, and with John agreeing, I stopped shooting for groups. Group-shooting at this distance might well be more effort than it's worth, but it is nice to know the mechanical limits of the gun.

A 1.5-inch five-shot group at 15 yards with Remington UMC 230-grain ball--very nice.

One note regarding the Detonics magazine: It is shorter by half an inch than the same six-round-capacity Colt mags due to an innovative idea. When the Detonics magazine is fully loaded, the rear leg of the follower protrudes through the baseplate via a slot cut in the plate.

This serves two purposes: First, you can tell if the magazine is fully loaded by touch, and second, the magazine can be made shorter since it does not have to accommodate the follower leg. Arguably, the rear downward leg of the follower could be shortened, but this can create the problem of the follower body tipping forward during its cycle and causing a malfunction.

The author, doing accuracy work off-hand. Although it wasn't expected, the short-barreled gun functioned fine with +P ammo.

Finding a carry rig for the Detonics is not a problem despite the forward-located rear sight. I found it fit in an old Sparks Mirage belt slide, as well as ones from Gould and Goodrich. The Galco NSAII IWB also accepts it. Lou Alessi was the first to make a holster specific to the original and continues to do so. I also tried it in Galco and DeSantis elastic ankle rigs; it fits. Of course, it works in a good bellyband rig as well, and the gun is a natural for the various quality fanny packs.

The Detonics website addresses its suggested retail price of $1,200 for the new Detonics as follows: "Not a bargain alternative to the traditional 1911-style semiautomatic, Detonics is the logical refinement."

I can but add that you do pay for quality, and based on this sample, you get it.