Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP – Proven 4 in Stainless

Description

The Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP is a hand fitted 1911 built to be carried rather than admired in a safe. It is the shortest gun in the ACP family, a 4 inch 1911 45 ACP pistol on a compact carbon steel frame, finished in matte stainless and set up here with an ambidextrous thumb safety. This is a serious amount of money for a handgun, and the honest case for it is not the feature list. It is the fitting, the trigger and the accuracy guarantee that comes with it.

What your money actually buys on the Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP

Wilson Combat guarantees the Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP will shoot a 1.5 inch group at 25 yards. That number is the whole argument. It comes from a stainless match grade barrel with a flush cut bushing, hand fitted to the slide and frame rather than dropped in, and from a slide to frame fit that is lapped in by a person rather than held to a tolerance band by a machine. You can buy a 1911 for a fifth of this price. You cannot buy that fit for a fifth of this price.

The trigger on the Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP breaks between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds on a medium pad, tuned by hand. On a single action 1911 that is the difference between a gun you shoot well and a gun you shoot around, and it is the first thing most people notice when they pick one up.

The frame and slide of the Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP carry the Eagle Claw treatment, a directional texture on the frontstrap, mainspring housing and rear slide serrations that grips a wet or gloved hand without shredding a cover garment the way aggressive checkering does. The G10 Eagle Claw grips match it.

Carrying it, and the parts of the deal worth knowing

The Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP wears a Wilson Battlesight at the rear with a red fiber optic front. As a carry 1911 with fiber optic front sight the daylight pickup is genuinely fast. Be clear about the trade though: fiber optic gives you nothing in the dark. If a low light gun is what you want, tritium is the answer and Wilson will build it that way, but this particular pistol is set up for daylight.

The Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP weighs 37.2 ounces empty and 41.4 ounces loaded. That mass is exactly why a full power 45 ACP round feels like a shove instead of a snap, and it is also why this gun needs a real gun belt and a well made holster. A 4 inch 1911 hides easily; two and a half pounds on a flimsy belt does not carry comfortably no matter how well it hides.

The ambidextrous safety fitted to this Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP is worth having whether or not you are left handed, because it makes the gun usable with either hand if the strong one is occupied or injured. Wilson Combat ambidextrous safety paddles are fitted and staked properly rather than clamped on, which is where cheaper ambi conversions tend to fail.

Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP specifications

• Caliber: 45 ACP
• Barrel: 4 in stainless match grade with flush cut bushing
• Overall length: 7.6 in
• Height: 5.1 in
• Width: 1.3 in
• Weight: 37.2 oz empty, 41.4 oz loaded
• Frame: compact carbon steel with Eagle Claw treatment
• Slide: carbon steel with Eagle Claw rear serrations
• Finish: matte stainless
• Sights: Wilson Battlesight rear, red fiber optic front
• Trigger: single action, 3.5 to 4.5 lb
• Thumb safety: ambidextrous
• Grips: G10 Eagle Claw with black medallions
• Magazine well: contoured
• Accuracy guarantee: 1.5 in at 25 yards
• UPC: 810025501853

A note on capacity before you order. Our listing shows 8+1, while Wilson Combat publishes 7 rounds as the standard capacity for the compact 45 ACP frame; the difference is which magazine ships, since Wilson sells both a 7 round standard and an 8 round lo-profile compact magazine. Call us and we will confirm what is in the box on this particular gun rather than guess. The full factory specification is on the Wilson Combat ACP page. You can see the rest of our handguns or the wider in stock firearms list here.

A written 1.5 inch at 25 yards accuracy guarantee, which almost no production handgun carries.

A hand tuned 3.5 to 4.5 pound single action trigger rather than a factory average.

Eagle Claw texturing grips a wet hand without destroying a cover shirt.

Ambidextrous safety fitted and staked at the factory, not a bolt on conversion.

The Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP is for the shooter who already knows they want a 1911 and has decided to buy once. It rewards someone who will train with a single action carried cocked and locked, use a holster that fully covers the trigger guard, and stick to quality magazines, because an ACP Compact stainless 1911 is no more forgiving of worn out magazines than any other 1911. If you want maximum rounds on board for the money, a modern double stack is the rational choice and we sell those too.

If you want the Wilson Combat ACP Compact 45 ACP because of how it shoots, nothing in that category shoots better.