While the iconic and forever cherished single-stack 1911 will probably never go out of style, the new popularity of 1911s is all about the double-stack design. With names like 2011, 2311, and 2K11, keeping up with the latest can be challenging. For this year’s Ballistic’s Best 1911s, we separated the single-stack 1911s from the double-stack 1911s to give each gun a fair shot at winning their respective category.
With 11 guns submitted, this year’s competition was close. We had seven guns in the double-stack category and four in the single-stack. Of the double-stack pistols, only one was chambered in 45 ACP, with the rest being 9mm. On the flip side, the single-stack pistols were all chambered in 45 ACP, with one exception being in 9mm. The length of barrels varied from one gun to the next, and surprisingly, the 4.1-inch and 4.25-inch barrels kept up just fine with the 5-inch barrel pistols.
Ballistic’s Best 1911s 2024: Competition Criteria
Like in years past, Ballistic’s Best competition criteria include standard expectations of handguns, such as accuracy, reliability, and the fitment of parts. Beyond this criterion, subjective criteria such as aesthetics, ergonomics, recoil control, trigger pull, sights, and the value vs. the price tag are up to the evaluators.
Introducing Your Evaluators
Like in years past, we assembled a specific and unique group of evaluators with various backgrounds to help determine the winners of this year’s Ballistic’s Best 1911s categories. Each evaluator brought a different perspective, whether about their knowledge of the 1911 platform, their experience competing at a high level in shooting sports with 1911s, or carrying a 1911 pistol for personal protection.
Steven Behnke, known as Mr. Big Kid on YouTube, is a professional reviewer of firearms. His channel was founded in 2017, and he’s been on a roll ever since, reviewing guns of all makes, models, and sizes, giving unbiased opinions and feedback. McKenzie Hanson, Digital Marketing Manager at Target Barn, has worked in the firearms industry for 10 years selling guns and as a range safety officer. She is also knowledgeable about old, unique firearms and has a small collection of her own. Kenneth Miller, Marketing Manager for AmmoMan.com, is an experienced carbine and defensive pistol shooter. Every year, he takes classes across the country from those who do it best in their field of expertise, whether long-range shooting or defensive pistol. He also tests, demos, and reviews various firearms to see how well they perform under harsh conditions.
We also had the honor of Brady Hardin as an evaluator. He’s a Single Stack Grand Master in the United States Practical Shooting Association and a Master in six categories in the International Defensive Pistol Association. He’s the Owner/Operator of Elite Performance, LLC, offering classes from basic pistol training to competition and self-defense. I, Kenzie Fitzpatrick, also participated as an evaluator this year, and my background in firearms is all over the place. I’ve been an instructor and professional competitive shooter for over a decade, competing in 3-Gun, AK Matches, Precision Rifle Series, GSSF, USPSA, IDPA, Steel Challenge, and more. I’m a hunter, a published writer in the firearms industry, and I host the Reticle Up podcast with 100+ episodes, as well as an annual women-only event.
Ammunition and Targets
Ammunition played a significant factor in accuracy and reliability, but having the right ammo to use in the pistols with compensators was especially important. The faster, lighter-grain bullets worked the compensator better, allowing those pistols to shoot flatter. Some of the defensive ammunition we were sent were the LeHigh Defense, Fiocchi Defense Dynamics, Hornady Critical Defense, and Remington High Terminal Performance Ammunition. These 9mm and 45 ACP ammunitions were crucial to test through these 1911s because they were designed as everyday carry and duty weapons. Most people purchase a gun and load their magazines with hollow points without ever seeing if those rounds cycle properly or group accurately through the barrel. Usually, the higher the quality of ammunition, the better the accuracy and performance.
Federal sent their 147-grain Gold Medal Match, 147-grain Syntech Training Match, and 150-grain Syntech Action Pistol rounds that were beneficial to test out in each gun to see how well they fed coated and flat nose bullets. It is worth noting that none of the firearms had issues feeding or ejecting any of this ammunition. We also had Remington Range 115-grain 9mm and Fiocchi Range Dynamics 124-grain on the 9mm side, which all ran great. The 124-grain was a sweet spot in terms of velocity for many of the guns. The 45 ACP Federal American Eagle 230-grain ammunition and the LeHigh Defense 135-grain ammunition shot lights out through the 45-caliber pistols. Miller (with the American Eagle) and Behnke (with the LeHigh Defense) both shot tight groups on paper targets and were impressed with the rounds.
TargetBarn.com supported this year’s Ballistic’s Best 1911 edition competition by supplying Official USPSA style targets, pasters, and bullseye ring paper targets. Caldwell sent steel targets so all of us could enjoy shooting reactive targets as well.
Holsters
ANR Design Holsters sent several variations of holsters to fit the double-stack and single-stack 1911s, both light-bearing and non-light-bearing, for use with Streamlight and Surefire lights. These holsters were also set up on different mounting systems for both inside-the-waistband and outside-the-waistband. When drawing a single-action pistol from a holster, your goal should be to get your support-hand thumb on top of the thumb safety before pulling the gun upwards. As you push the pistol toward your target, the safety should be disengaged and used as a thumb rest for your strong-hand thumb. The ANR Designs holsters never interfered with getting this kind of proper grip, nor did the Kydex get in the way of any red dot optics.
Many of these pistols were intentionally designed for concealed carry, so it was vital to have good-quality holsters to see how concealable they were. A spare magazine pouch is also beneficial, especially with single-stack pistols due to their limited capacity. The ANR Designs pouches can be ordered for single-stack, double-stack, inside-the-waistband, outside-the-waistband, and with different mounting hardware.
Miller: Fitment of the ANR AIWB rig was solid. I love that it comes with two DCC clips, as well.
The OWB holster went nicely with my Safariland QLS setup. I could run that passive retention setup at the range all day.
The Double-Stack 1911s
Ed Brown Fueled Prodigy Comp
Ed Brown takes stock pistols to a new level, improving many firearms’ fit, function, and even accuracy. They submitted the 4.25-inch Prodigy pistol upgraded with many new parts to make it shoot smoother and flatter. Outfitted with an integral compensator with a single port on top, gases are released upward to drive the muzzle down, reducing felt recoil. The customizations made by Ed Brown include an ambidextrous thumb safety, Beavertail grip safety, EDM trigger components, and a whole new trigger job. Other upgrades that made this pistol even more reliable to shoot included a new extractor, barrel throating, and a recessed barrel crown.
I have shot and owned several Prodigy pistols, including the 4.25-inch and 5-inch barrel models. The difference between the Ed Brown Fueled Prodigy and the stock firearm is astronomical. The two guns are not much aesthetically different, but with the internal upgrades and trigger tuning, the gun feels much more like a fine-running machine. I love a compensated barrel, especially with shorter barrel pistols, as they substantially reduce felt recoil. This leads to better sight acquisition with faster follow-up shots, making the gun perform better. Even with these upgrades, the Fueled Prodigy still feels semi-custom for a marginally high price point for the average gun owner.
Hardin: Improvement levels of part fitment and reliability over the standard Prodigy are good. This gun is what many people wanted the Prodigy to be from the beginning.
Hanson: The compensator worked its magic over on this pistol. Even though it’s already a 9mm, the comp made it feel like you were shooting a 22 LR, especially with slower ammunition. Ergonomically, it was an easy gun to grip and hang onto in recoil.
Miller: I liked this gun. It was an outstanding balance of size for a concealed carry gun, and shootability was off the charts for me. The comp worked incredibly well, and I didn’t see any problems with it other than picking a good round that will cycle reliably. I believe the Hornady Critical Duty was the best with this pistol.
Behnke: I am a fan of the Prodigy series pistols. The additional Ed Brown features seem to take this to the next level. I think they made a great decision to build upon this platform and make it run smoother, flatter, and feel better.
Jacob Grey TWC9
The Jacob Grey TWC9 pistol looked drastically different from the others, with many slide serrations, grip cuts, and mag well textures. This pistol clocks in at almost 2 pounds, which was a plus for this pistol. The heavier the gun, the better it is on felt recoil. The 4.25-inch barrel puts this pistol in multiple categories: carry, competition, and pure range enjoyment. With a 3.5-pound trigger pull, it’s a solid contender in the competitive shooting landscape. The optic mounting system for the TWC9 fits RMSc and RMR style footprints, making it a compatible pistol for many models of red dot optics.
The smooth grip panels felt like a miss, even with the texture added to spots on the gun. I would’ve preferred some more grip texture to keep the gun tight in my hands, especially with a shorter barrel design. The trigger was set at a sweet spot for either carry or competition, with a generous trigger guard for larger fingers or shooting with gloves. The flared mag well was subtle but effective with reloading. The only other ergonomic flaw I noticed was where the ambidextrous safety meets the grip safety. I developed a small hot spot in the web of my thumb that I think could be improved upon.
Hardin: The TWC9 is an interesting and unique concept that can be appreciated. Quality control tolerances could use a little attention as the extractor tension seemed to be off due to the type of malfunctions that occurred.
Hanson: The Jacob Grey TWC9 and I did not get along. I have a weaker grip due to a past wrist surgery and carpal tunnel, and the TWC was not forgiving of this in the least. Its vibe feels very modern, and the aluminum frame makes it very lightweight.
Miller: The TWC9 had a good impulse when recoiling. The look of this gun is outstanding. It has many features I would be telling people about if they are looking for a double-stack 1911. The price seems a little high, but reasonable for what it is. At that price point, you’d have to compare this pistol to a Staccato and see which performs better.
Behnke: I love the finish and the slide feel. However, the trigger feels alright. I think the trigger pull and reset could be improved for the price.
GP Arms Patriot Defense
GP Arms might be a brand-new manufacturer of 1911-style pistols, but they aren’t new to the platform. The owner, Gilbert Perez, is a qualified gunsmith with decades of knowledge and experience working on and performing with these guns. Gilbert is a fellow competitive shooter, respected in the shooting sports community by many, as he doesn’t just design great guns; he runs them. GP Arms is based in East Tennessee; all his pistols are made with American parts. I have been so busy this year that I didn’t get my hands on any of his guns to shoot before this year’s Ballistic’s Best competition, so I was 100% unbiased in testing this firearm. The pistol submitted was the Patriot Defense, a 4.1-inch barreled 1911 with four port holes on top.
The GP Arms 1911 was one of the last pistols I shot for the day. I assumed this gun wouldn’t feel as good to shoot as the 5-inch barrel 1911s. This was an assumption made from years of competing with double-stack 1911s and always finding the flatter shooting pistols to have longer barrels. Boy, was I wrong. Never count out a ported barrel. I tried to find a complaint about this pistol and came up empty.
This pistol is designed as a carry gun, but I shot it so accurately with zero malfunctions that I would feel confident competing with it as well. Whether we shot 90-grain LeHigh Defense hollow points through it or Federal 150-grain Syntech bullets didn’t matter. You feed the gun, and it eats. The fact that this 1911 pistol starts at just $1,950, with marginal pricing on upgrades ($40 for a steel mag well, $200 for barrel porting, and $130 for a TiN-coated barrel), is what makes it a total knockout.
Hardin: Overall, the best double-stack 1911 was the GP Arms. The price point is phenomenal, and the quality and craftsmanship for the price are outstanding. The popples help the gun track very fast and eliminate the recoil. The Syntech, Remington, American Eagle, and Fiocchi ammo were great and fed reliably through this 1911.
Hanson: The GP Arms was my favorite. Despite having the shortest barrel compared to the other guns, it felt the most natural.
Miller: The Patriot Defense pistol by GP Arms felt so good to shoot, especially with higher velocity ammunition. I just had a blast running it. I loved the aesthetics, and the value you get for the price was unreal. Shooting the Hornady Critical Defense 115-grain ammo through the GP Arms pistol was a highlight, and the gun felt flatter shooting with this ammo compared to slower rounds like the 147-grain ammo. Shooting plate rack drills clean and fast felt so good. When firing the gun, I had what looked like zero dot movement from the optic.
Behnke: The finish is so-so, in my opinion. I think I would’ve chosen a different option. However, the trigger feels good, and optics-ready in a carry 1911-style gun is always a plus.
Kimber 2K11
I have kept the all-new 2K11 secret since visiting the Kimber factory in Alabama this summer. The release of this pistol is a massive win for Kimber, and its placement in this year’s Ballistic’s Best 1911s justifies the time and effort it has put into this pistol. The gun submitted is just one of the models, with variances from colors to sights, mag well size, and more.
Hardin: In the double-stack category, out of all the guns, the one that surprised me the most was the Kimber 2K11. How high the quality, reliability, and how the gun feels, shoots, and tracks is not what most people, including myself, commonly associate with Kimber in a positive and honest opinion. This gun is a pivoting point for Kimber, and hopefully, there is more to come from Kimber. This gun is perfect. Please make more guns like this for both double-stack and single-stack 1911s. I also really love the optic mount system. It appears very easy and simple.
Hanson: The Kimber 2K11 ergonomics were disappointing to me. Adding more texture to the grip or having more weight to balance the gun would improve the design. Despite this, the gun was soft shooting, especially with heavier grain 9mm rounds.
Miller: The Kimber looks really good, and I like all the design features. Being optic-ready is a massive plus for a gun like that. The gun ran all the ammo I put through it, as it should, but it didn’t overly WOW me.
Behnke: It was pretty cool to see a double-stack Kimber. This gun absolutely has a premium feel and performs well.
Tisas 1911 Duty B9R Double-Stack
The Tisas was the only gun to score a perfect 5.0 in one of the criteria out of all 11 pistols submitted this year. This score was about the value of the gun vs. the price point. If you want a solid 1911 double-stack pistol for under $800 that will run reliably and shoot accurately, the Tisas B9R Duty Double-Stack is the gun for you. What I like most about the Tisas pistol is it feels like a no-frills gun designed to be carried, used, and abused. The gun comes optics-ready, has iron sights installed, is equipped with a rail for light and laser attachments, and has an ambidextrous thumb safety. It’s a little lightweight compared to what most people are used to feeling in 1911s, but it still is a comfortable gun to shoot, primarily since it’s chambered in 9mm.
Hardin: I loved this gun and will be buying one in the future. The only thing I would change is to do away with the GI guide rod and install a full-length guide rod. The recoil spring binds up when cycling the slide due to the short guide rod.
Hanson: My biggest gripe with the 1911 Duty B9R is that the controls were hard to manipulate. Otherwise, it is surprisingly nice to shoot for a sub-$800 gun. It cycled smoothly and had a Picatinny accessory rail. I liked the blacked-out rear sights and white front sight.
Miller: The Tisas was really well balanced. I was comfortable with its recoil impulse and could hit the steel target repeatedly at 70ish yards. It’s also a fantastic price point for the value.
Behnke: It’s hard to beat the value of what you get from this pistol. This is a great introductory gun if you haven’t dabbled in the double-stack world yet. Considering the price, the performance was acceptable.
WATCHTOWER Apache
The Apache pistol is attractive-looking and is one of the pistols that ranked highest in the aesthetics category. The Apache is a compensated pistol, meaning it is designed to run hotter, faster-velocity ammunition. We evaluators noticed that the slower, heavier-grained bullets didn’t cycle the slide as quickly and weren’t working the compensator effectively. The Apache is designed to work with double-stack 1911 magazines, so magazines such as the 170mm MBX magazines will increase the capacity of this pistol. The Apache would make for a great competition-style pistol in the “Open” division. The SRO was a solid choice for a mounted red dot optic that showed how well the gun tracked or brought the dot back to the original point of aim. It’s for sure a flat-shooting pistol.
Hardin: I love the gun overall, and it shoots great. However, the ambidextrous thumb safety needs to be deburred. The right-side safety is too wide as it is now and needs to made narrower. The extractor tension also seems to be a bit too tight. There were a few malfunctions with the extractor not wanting to let go of the brass.
Hanson: The grip was too big for my smaller hands. It felt noticeably heavier than the other guns, and in turn, the recoil was much more manageable.
Miller: The Apache was one of my favorites to shoot and handle. It just felt like something I would want to show off to friends. The smooth slide and how heavy it was made it feel like a gun I would leave on my desk and play with all day.
Behnke: The Apache was one of my favorites of the day. Aesthetically, it is an attractive-looking pistol, and overall, it performed well.
OA Defense 2311
The OA Defense 2311 is more affordable than most double-stack 1911s, especially because it is compatible with Sig P320 magazines. The value of what comes with this pistol for the price is what impresses me most. The gun ships in a custom Savior Equipment pistol range bag with three 17-round magazines. The stock iron sights are what most people install after a gun purchase to upgrade their pistol. The Night Fision tritium night sights pop and are easy to pick up when shooting. Three optic mounts come with the gun for RMR, DPP, and RMSc footprints. The OA Defense 2311 is also fully ambidextrous with a dedicated right-side slide stop, thumb safety, and reversible magazine release.
The gun isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the other guns in the double-stack category, but it ran well. You can carry it as a defensive handgun and mount a light and your favorite red dot optic. The gun prefers fast velocity ammunition, as the brass barely ejected from the slower 147-grain and 150-grain 9mm ammo.
Hardin: Interesting and a very different type of duty gun.
Hanson: I liked the big, flared mag well, and the mag release was easy to manipulate. Didn’t like that you lose the rear sights when mounting an optic, but the ambidextrous controls were excellent.
Miller: Personally, I think this was the ugliest gun we had out there. It’s like it doesn’t know what it wants to identify as. But shooting it was great. I know I would never carry it, but I could see myself using it as a competition gun or just a range training gun. I think it was a little oversized for the vast majority of hands, but I can see that playing in its favor with shooting fast and for short drills. Great ergonomics, though, and I like the accelerator thumb rest. Performed really well with the 115- and 150-grain ammunition.
Behnke: I love the styling of the 2311. It has a totally different look than anything else out there and is very light.
The Single-Stack 1911s
Colt Custom Carry Limited
The Colt Custom shop produces some beautiful firearms that are almost too good-looking to shoot. The Custom Carry Limited pistol, I thought, was the prettiest looking 1911 out of all the guns. The grips were the perfect color combination with the finish of the pistol. This pistol was highly accurate, had the best single-stack trigger job, and was easily managed on the recoil side. The safety was my favorite in terms of size and was easy to find with my thumb when drawing out of the ANR Design Nidhogg Series outside-the-waistband holster. I had nothing negative to say about the gun.
Hardin: Colt Custom Carry Limited. The gun needs a better finish, better trigger, better slide-to-frame, and barrel fit for the price at which it is currently listed. The checkering and undercut are phenomenal. Overall, this gun is good, but the price should be somewhere in the sub-$1,900 range.
Hanson: The Colt Custom Carry was one of the more aesthetically pleasing guns in the lineup. Not only were the grips pretty, but they were also textured, allowing for a solid grip. The Stan Chen Gen 2 mag well was a nice touch, allowing for a flared mag opening without adding extra length or width to the grip.
Miller: The best part of this pistol was the trigger. The very pronounced break made the gun fun to shoot.
Behnke: The finish of the Colt is attractive. The coloring of the grips with the finish of the pistol itself really fit well together. This was one of my favorite triggers for this year’s Ballistic’s Best 1911 competition.
Springfield Armory 1911 Operator
The Operator pistol is simple, good-looking, reliable, and one of the best pistols Springfield Armory has released, in my opinion. The grips were a little smooth, but for a 9mm, you don’t need as much grip texture. I think the price is right as the fitment of parts felt good, the trigger was smooth, and it was great to see that the gun was optics ready. I would trust this gun as a carry gun any day of the week.
Hardin: Massive improvement over the former Range Officer Operator; an excellent middle ground between a standard 1911 and something like the TRP. Great value for a solid entry-level 1911 with good quality. Springfield didn’t cut corners in the crucial places that needed attention to make 1911 user-friendly and desirable.
Hanson: I found the gun’s rear sights and front sight easy to pick up. Everything about handling the gun felt smooth. Obviously, the recoil was more manageable than the other single-stack pistols because it is chambered in 9mm. It was still a breeze to shoot for not being a full-size handgun.
Miller: I think the operator has a good profile. It fits nicely in my medium-sized hands. I liked the wood grips and checkering. I appreciate that it comes with great sights out of the box, but the U sight wasn’t for me. It will be even better with an optic on it. The safety feels good, and I don’t think the slide serrations are necessary on a 9mm, but I like them. This pistol would be my preference if it were a .45.
Behnke: The Operator performed well for me. It looks to be well-built.
Century Arms Centurion 11
What a price! The most budget-friendly pistol submitted, it performed as needed. It fired ammunition and hit targets. The sights were not easy to pick up, so I would put some paint or nail polish on the front sight for a little added visibility. The gun is as comfortable to shoot as you would expect from a 45 ACP.
Hardin: A great option if you’re looking for a GI-style 1911 or want a budget-friendly 1911 that works.
Hanson: I found the Centurion 11 uncomfortable to shoot and manipulate. Where the grip safety sat hurt my hand, and I found the magazine release to be a little too stiff. I also wish it had an accessory rail. But, the price point would have to increase for some of these upgrades.
Miller: I could leave this gun. The trigger was not pleasant, and I felt it to be gritty. I don’t care if it’s “good for a GI gun.” It’s just not good. I don’t want to spend my money on something that is a relic gun with a lousy trigger or bad sights unless it’s the actual gun. The safety was also the worst of the bunch. I would give this gun to someone I wanted to handicap on a drill or steer away from 1911’s.
Behnke: For a GI-style 1911, it’s not bad at all. The slide does feel a bit “sticky” compared to its competition.
Sig Sauer 1911 XR-45
I was happy that the Sig Sauer pistol won the single-stack division. Sig has paid attention to details that matter, and I think have listened to customers about what they want to see in a 1911. Having an optic, even though it’s a 1911, is what really made this pistol a winner. The gun was accurate, and with the red dot, you could see how well the gun came back down in the same spot after recoiling. The all-blacked-out design was aesthetically pleasing as well.
Hardin: The Sig dot was pretty surprising for such a tiny dot; it seems reasonably reliable. However, I feel its proper place is on a P365, not a 5-inch barrel 1911. A government model 1911 needs a bigger dot regardless of intended use. Overall, this was a great gun. However, it should be $1,500 or less. Even with the optic, it isn’t worth the current MSRP. I would be curious to do some hard-core testing on the gun to try and break it; something in the trigger parts just feels slightly off on quality.
Hanson: I really like the gun’s simple look. The optic plate accepts a compact optic while keeping the rear sights, allowing you to co-witness with the night sights. I think this adds a lot of value to people who carry 1911s daily.
Miller: I like the fact that it comes with a light/laser rail. The slide feels very smooth, and there’s no hitch in it, which I think just feels like a nicer-built gun.
Behnke: I am a big fan of the looks on this gun. It feels like a solid pistol and looks different from most 1911 single-stacks. It keeps its 1911 style with some modernization, especially with the optic. The performance of this pistol was excellent as well.
The Wrap
With the sheer amount of rounds we put downrange through these 11 pistols, we were sure we would see numerous malfunctions and were surprised only to have a handful of issues. We stacked hollow points on top of jacketed ammunition on top of flat-nose coated bullets, and most of these guns didn’t bat an eye. Hanson experienced a few stovepipes from the single-stack 45 ACP pistols, which she later attributed to her not having a strong grip. This was an important discovery for Hanson, as a full-size 45 ACP might not be a great recommendation for someone with smaller hands and not as much hand strength. The Jacob Grey TWC9 pistol also malfunctioned constantly for her.
Finally, the extractor tension on the Apache seemed too tight, with the extractor not wanting to let go of brass. Behnke experienced a major ammunition lock-up from this pistol, which resulted in us having to use force on the optic to get it free.
The double-stack category packed some heat, and two-tenths of a point separated the winner. The GP Arms Patriot Defense 4.1-inch barrel pistol knocked it out of the park this year and was an unknown firearm manufacturer for almost all the evaluators. GP Arms pistols, manufactured in East Tennessee by a professional competitive shooter, brings more than 20 years of 1911 gunsmithing experience. These gun builds utilize all American-made parts. The all-new Kimber 2K11 barely missed first place, but their placement in Ballistic’s Best proves just how well-made their introductory double-stack 1911 is.
The single-stack category had a clear winner, with second and third place separated by two-tenths of a point. The XR 45 ACP scored over 4.0 points in each category except for one, making it a consistent, quality win.
Seeing so many unique, new 1911 pistols submitted for this year’s competition was great. None of the guns looked or felt the same. What’s also great is some of these brands are just getting started when it comes to building these types of firearms, which means we look forward to the guns submitted in 2025.
READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
For our 2024 Ballistic’s Best, our experts evaluated over 90 firearms, firing literally thousands of rounds downrange. They used our scoring system, drilling down on features such as accuracy, reliability, and more. Then the experts picked the very best performer from each and every group.
Our readers, that’s you, get to vote on the very same groups our pros tested out on the range.
Check out our polls and CLICK HERE for Single-Stack and for CLICK HERE Double-Stack to cast your votes.