Although a wide-body handgun using a double-stack magazine, because it was designed from scratch for a 10-round magazine, the KZ (left) is smaller than its double-stack brothers.

Polymer frames do result in a significant weight savings, but nobody seems interested in doing a single-stack polymer 1911 frame. I don't know if this is due to a feared backlash from 1911 devotees demanding that the perpetrators of such a gun be burned at the stake or because manufacturers don't see a market for single-stack plastic 1911s. Whatever the reason, 1911s with non-metallic frames have all featured double-stack magazines. The advantage of such a gun is that it will hold an increased number of the quintessential defensive cartridge, the .45 ACP. The downside is that it alters the ergonomics of the most popular defensive handgun of all time, the single-stack 1911. Wilson Combat has entered the polymer-frame, wide-body 1911 race and has addressed this issue along with a few others in an elegant offering, and I never thought I'd use that adjective in describing a "plastic" handgun.

At the risk of oversimplification, I would say the major difference between production handguns and custom handguns is that production guns are assembled, whereas custom guns are fitted. Delivered with the gun (and every Wilson Combat custom pistol) is a quality-control checklist that delineates more than 70 specific fitting, assembly and inspection steps taken to ensure correct fit and function of all components. These are initialed by one of the 'smiths or supervisors at the shop. Many of these steps address actual dimensions and tolerances that had to be held/met before the gun could be accepted.

In the "test fire" section, particular attention is paid to the proper functioning of the first and last two rounds of both eight- and 10-round magazines using hardball, hollow-point and lead semi-wadcutter ammunition. In fact, all Wilson handguns are test-fired a minimum of 58 times before being accepted. If there is a single failure at any point during the 58-round test firings, the gun must be reworked and the entire 58-round test program must be begun again. Bill is quite proud of his QC program and credits his inspection procedures with the fact that returns are at an all-time low, and that covers a span of almost 30 years.

Let me correct that earlier reference to a "plastic" gun because the KZ is much more than that. The KZ-45's frame is actually a composite of stainless steel and Kevlar-reenforced polymer that Bill feels is possibly the strongest polymer frame on the market. A stainless steel insert is permanently bonded into the polymer during manufacture, and it is this steel insert that contains all the critical pinholes, frame rails, barrel-lockup areas and the feed ramp. This approach assures maximum service life because all load-bearing points are steel, not plastic.

The external extractor on the KZ tested will be replaced by Wilson's standard internal extractor on future guns. Other excellent features like the sturdy combat sights, high beavertail and grip-safety bump will remain the same.

Because the KZ was designed from the beginning as an 11-round pistol (10 in the magazine and one in the chamber) rather than as a 13- or 14-round gun, it was possible to minimize the grip dimensions. In fact, despite its double-stack configuration, the KZ is no wider than a single-stack 1911.