Review: SIG Sauer 1911 Super Target

Precision shooters have never had it so good. Whether you are into Bullseye or other competitive sports, picking a handgun to do the job is easier than ever. In the past, you had to purchase a gun, pick a good gunsmith and have him tune it for you. Today, manufacturers like SIG take all the drudgery out of tricking out a handgun for competition. Take, for example, its Model 1911 Super Target pistol. Right off the shelf this gun is ready for the range and your favorite sport. Caliber is .45 ACP with all the standard features that a good competitive gun would have.

First, I have to say this is one very handsome handgun. Made from stainless steel, the finish on the gun is a high gloss, satin finish, if that is possible. To accent the gun, there is a racing stripe along the slide with the SIG logo in a polished stainless. The components share the same finish, which adds to the gun's classic looks.

The top of the slide is rounded off and has a serrated strip along the top that starts at the rear sight and ends just before the front sight blade. There are traditional cocking serrations at the rear. Slide-to-frame fit was wiggle free, and no tool marks were evident.

The rear sight assembly is the typical sight we've come to expect from SIG. It is adjustable for both windage and elevation, although there's no clue as to what the specifications are for sight movement per click.

The rear sight is serrated to help reduce glare, and it sports a well-defined notch and rounded corners. The front sight boasts a pea green fiber-optic insert. Carefully engineered, the blade has small holes drilled in the sides to allow the light to enter the sight, giving it extra luminescence against a dark or black center bull.

The extractor is long and reliable, as is the mechanical ejector deep within the confines of the frame. The ejection port is extended, rounded off and concave at the rear to help clear the spent rounds while at the same time keeping them free of dings for all you reloaders.

The match-grade barrel is a full five inches and topped off with a slight bump at the end for a tight fit within the confines of the barrel bushing.

The trigger has been skeletonized to a reasonable degree and has an overtravel adjustment, but I was slightly disappointed by the five-pound pull.

The hammer has been partially skeletonized as well (about half of its mass), and the only criticism I have here is SIG could have made this a little wider at the top, sort of target width. My reason is that the rear sight assembly overhangs the slide- making it hard to grab the hammer, especially with a larger thumb, should you want to operate it manually.

The slide release is wider than normal, which is great for fast reloads when the slide is back and you need to get into action fast. While the ambidextrous safety levers look small, they are comfortable to reach even with target grips. Thanks to some extra thickness near the levers, your shooting-hand thumb just glides over the grip and onto the lever.

The magazine release has been extended to allow full function, again over the thickness of the grip panels. The front and rear of the frame have been precisely serrated, and the beavertail safety features a memory bump.

The light-colored custom wood grips are outstanding in fit and finish. The checkering is perfect in every detail without any crushed diamonds or overruns at the borders. The SIG logo is set in the middle, with ribbons of clean wood running right around the logo.

There are hand swells on each side, so it will work for both righties and lefties. The grip panels extend down and beneath the frame for extra shooting comfort and in effect create a mag well funnel for fast reloads.

For testing I shot both hardball and wadcutter rounds to check the gun's feeding, extraction and ejection. In all the firing I did from both a rest and offhand, I didn't have a single issue with this gun in the more than 250 rounds I fired. It was accurate as well, as you can see in the accompanying accuracy chart.

I love finely tuned cars with enough horsepower to get me there in style, and I could easily compare this gun with the cars I love to drive. Aside from a lighter trigger pull and wider hammer, I think this is a great package. The precision is certainly there, as is the handling, and this would make a great gun for any competitive sport.

Click on thumbnail to view specs.

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