Description
The Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP is the pistol every other 1911 is a copy of, built by the company that has been making it since 1911. This one is stainless from end to end, with a five inch National Match barrel, a beavertail grip safety and rosewood grips.
The Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP holds seven rounds plus one at thirty five ounces, with fixed sights, and not one thing on it that needs explaining to anybody who has held a 1911 before.
What the Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP gives you
- .45 ACP, 7+1, one magazine supplied
- 5 inch stainless National Match barrel
- Serrated stainless steel slide
- Stainless steel frame with a beavertail grip safety
- Rosewood grips
- Fixed sights
- 35 ounces
- Right hand
- Colt part number O1911CSS
Why the Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP is still the default 1911
- A five inch barrel gives the full sight radius the design was drawn around
- Thirty five ounces of steel makes .45 ACP recoil slow and pushy rather than sharp
- Every holster, part and accessory in the 1911 world is cut for this pattern first
- A single action trigger with a short reset is still one of the best triggers on any production pistol
- The manual of arms has not changed in over a century, so instruction is everywhere
Colt O1911CSS specifications
- Manufacturer part number: O1911CSS
- Model: 1911 Government
- Caliber: .45 ACP
- Capacity: 7+1, one magazine supplied
- Barrel length: 5 inches
- Barrel: stainless, National Match
- Slide: stainless steel, serrated
- Frame: stainless steel, beavertail grip safety
- Grips: rosewood
- Sights: fixed
- Weight: 35 ounces
- Drilled and tapped: no
- Action: semi-automatic, single action
- Hand: right
The National Match barrel is what you are paying for
Sports South records the barrel on this pistol as a stainless National Match unit. That is not marketing language, it is Colt’s designation for their tighter tolerance barrel, and on a 1911 the barrel and its fit to the bushing and link are what decide whether the gun groups. Every other part of a 1911 can be replaced by the aftermarket for pocket change; the barrel is the part you would rather have right from the factory. It is the single clearest difference between this and a plain GI pattern gun.
Honestly, against the cheaper option
We also sell the Rock Island GI Standard, which is the same layout in .45 for a great deal less money, and for a lot of buyers that is the right gun. What the Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP adds for the difference is the National Match barrel, a beavertail grip safety, rosewood grips, stainless throughout rather than parkerized steel, and the roll mark of the company that invented the thing. If you want a 1911 to shoot, the Rock Island will do it. If you want a Colt, nothing else is one, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend the two are interchangeable.
One magazine, and the ammunition to run it
Zanders records a single seven round magazine in the box, which is traditional for a Government model and still the first thing to fix. The Mec-Gar full size ten round match grade magazine is a real upgrade over a seven rounder. For volume practice Magtech 230 grain FMJ is the deepest .45 we stock, and CorBon 230 grain +P JHP is fine in a thirty five ounce steel gun, which is exactly the platform +P was designed around.
Rosewood grips, and other Colts
The rosewood grips are good ones, but rosewood grips are also the easiest thing on a 1911 to change: there is gator leather cut for the Colt Government and a Pachmayr Signature rubber gripper if you would rather have texture than figure. Elsewhere in the Colt rack we have a scroll engraved stainless 1911 and the Colt Government in 9mm. The Tisas 1911A1 Stakeout is the other five inch .45 worth comparing, and it ships with two magazines.
Carrying cocked and locked, and why that is not alarming
A single action pistol is carried with the hammer back and the thumb safety on. People new to the pattern find that unsettling to look at, and it is worth understanding rather than avoiding. The hammer being back is simply the state the trigger needs; the thumb safety blocks the sear, the grip safety blocks the trigger unless the hand is properly around the grip, and the firing pin cannot reach the primer unless the trigger is pulled all the way through. Three separate things have to be right before it will fire. That is why the design has been carried this way by soldiers, police and civilians for well over a century.
What it does demand is a holster made for the pattern, with a rigid mouth that stays open and covers the trigger guard completely. A soft nylon sleeve is not adequate for a single action gun carried ready. That is not a criticism of the pistol, it is the same rule that applies to every firearm with a light trigger, and it is the one corner nobody should cut.
One more practical note on the grip safety. It has to be fully depressed for the trigger to work, which means a high, firm hold every time. Shooters who ride the web of the hand low, or who shoot with a very relaxed grip, occasionally find the gun will not fire and assume something is broken. Nothing is. Close the hand properly and it goes. This catches more new owners than any other characteristic of the design, and it is worth knowing before a range trip rather than during one.
Steel, weight and why heavy is not a flaw
There is a habit of treating weight as a defect, and on a full size steel handgun it is the opposite. Mass is what absorbs recoil impulse instead of transmitting it to the shooter, and it is what keeps the sights settled between shots. A polymer framed pistol of the same barrel length will be nine or ten ounces lighter and noticeably livelier in the hand. Which you prefer is a genuine matter of taste, but anyone who has shot both usually finds the heavier gun easier to shoot well and harder to carry all day. Buy accordingly.
The beavertail grip safety, and the rest worth knowing
- Seven plus one. A Government model holds seven, not eight, and anyone telling you otherwise is describing a different magazine.
- Fixed sights, not drilled and tapped, no optic option.
- Thirty five ounces of stainless steel. This is not a carry gun for a summer shirt.
- A beavertail grip safety is fitted, which is the one modern addition on this gun and the one that stops hammer bite. A GI pattern 1911 has no beavertail grip safety and will bite a high grip.
- The .45 ACP cartridge is standardized by SAAMI, and Colt publish the range at colt.com.
Why the Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP earns its place
- A National Match barrel from the factory, which is the part that decides accuracy
- Stainless throughout, so it will survive a lifetime of handling
- A beavertail grip safety fitted, so no hammer bite
- Rosewood grips rather than plastic
- It is a Colt Government, and nothing else is
This suits the buyer who has decided they want the real thing rather than a copy, the shooter who wants a five inch .45 that will group out of the box, and anyone building a collection that ought to contain one. It is not a concealed carry pistol at thirty five ounces of steel, it holds seven rounds where a modern nine holds seventeen, and it has no optic cut. None of that is the point. The Colt 1911 Government 45 ACP is a hundred and fourteen year old design bought by people who know exactly what they are buying.
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