Monthly Archives: January 2021

Barra 1911 Part 2

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Barra 1911 Part 2

A 1911 by any other name

By Dennis Adler

In the looks department, if you like 1911 Rail Guns, the Barra delivers on design to match its current Colt 1911 centerfire counterpart. Rail Guns by the nature of their design are less elegant looking than the classic 1911, but the Barra pulls off a pretty good look for fit and finish.

The Colt Model 1911 is timeless. A fair enough statement considering that aside from the Colt Peacemaker, it is the longest continuous production handgun in history, to be specific, 110 years for the 1911 and 148 years for the Single Action Army, though you could deduct 15 years when manufacturing was suspended at Colt’s between 1941 and 1956, but that still leaves 133 years by the original manufacturer.

As a company, Colt’s has gone through bankruptcies and reorganizations quite a few times, as have many American manufacturers, including Colt’s biggest competitor Smith & Wesson. It is not unusual in American industry. Some great American companies, companies we once called American institutions, have failed to survive such events in their original form or name (though some do survive). Colt’s is on that footing once again, and soon may become part of CZ (just as Dan Wesson did some years ago). Will Colts manufactured by Colt, even if owned by a foreign company, still be Colts? It’s a reasonable question. Will a Colt’s Manufacturing Co. owned by CZ still build 1911s and Peacemakers? Most likely, but will it still have the same prestige? read more

Barra 1911 Part 1

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Barra 1911 Part 1

The first “new” gun of ’21

By Dennis Adler

The shape of things to come is the shape of things that were, the Colt Model 1911. This is still the gun to beat when it comes to a timeless classic even in its latest tactical guise as a Barra CO2 version of the current Colt Combat Unit Rail model.

Why did I put “new” in quotes? Well, there’s nothing new about a blowback action 1911, even a modern tactical version like the Barra. Why then is the first new model for 2021 based on a design that was used for one of the very first blowback action CO2 models introduced seven years ago? The answer is that the 1911 is the most successful handgun of the 20th century; the fundamental design is literally 110 years old! If you think about it, there isn’t much from 1911 that is still around today in its original form. What else is memorable from 1911? The first bi-wing seaplane was put into service in 1911, and flying boats would become highly successful in commercial aviation by the 1930s. In 1911 GM introduced the Kettering electric starter on the Cadillac and hands and wrists have been thankful ever since. Crossword puzzles….OK, that’s one that really hasn’t changed too much, but when it comes to handguns a whole lot has changed since 1911 and continues to change, yet the 110 year-old Model 1911 design endures even in the age of polymer-framed Glocks and Sig Sauer M17s. Why? Because John M. Browning designed the most rugged, reliable, and easy to service handgun for the U.S. military in 1911, a gun so good it remained the standard issue sidearm from 1911 to 1985, that’s 74 years; through two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the early conflicts in the Middle East, and even since it was replaced (twice in a little over 30 years time), the 1911 has remained in use with some specialized military units and with law enforcement. In spite of newer, higher capacity, lighter weight handguns, the 1911 is still that good in 2021. read more