The Colt Model 1911 is a remarkable 114 years old. For an old gun, the M1911 continues to prove it has the chops to serve in the 21st century. A special version of the modern 1911 Rail Gun was selected as the Marine Corps CQBP (Close Quarter Battle Pistol) in 2012. The USMC version of the Colt Rail Gun, known as the M45A1, was carried by elite Marine Corps units through 2023, just as Marines carried the 1911A1 Government Model throughout two world wars, Korea and Vietnam. This is America’s gun.
Colt 1911 Tactical Rail Guns: Your Marine Gun
Since 2012, Colt Rail Guns have become extremely popular. Not only for their elite USMC status, but for the fact that they can be easily equipped with tactical lights and laser sighting devices. This makes them ideal for law enforcement SRTs (Special Response Teams, S.W.A.T.) as well as for personal defense use. And 1911 Rail Guns are available in different calibers.
There are civilian counterparts to the CQBP, the latest being the Colt Combat Unit Rail Gun (introduced in 2016). There is also the Colt Model O Rail Gun (available in .45 ACP and 9mm).
The 1911’s Legacy
The Colt Model 1911 has been copied ever since the original patent expired decades ago. In times of war, it was even copied under license to meet military demands. In fact, for more than half a century, copies of the Model 1911, in all its various sizes and calibers, have been manufactured by arms-makers both in the U.S. and abroad.
The success of Colt’s Rail Guns prompted those same manufacturers to produce their own Rail Guns. So, today, Government Model and Compact 1911 Rail Guns are available from every domestic and foreign manufacturer of 1911s worldwide.
Taylor’s & Co., in Winchester, Virginia, imports their deluxe 1911 Tactical Rail Gun (now known as the 1911 Tactical 5-inch) from Armscor in the Philippines. One of the world’s largest manufacturers of 1911s, Armscor produces over 30 different models covering virtually every variation of design. This includes everything from the original style Government Model 1911 and 1911A1 (c.1925) to contemporary Compact and tactical versions.
Armscor models vary in price and features, and they can build a quality 1911 tailored to retailers’ specific requirements. In other words, you get what you pay for, and their top-end models are built to perform muzzle-to-muzzle, with Colt and other 1911s costing considerably more.
Taylor’s Tactical 1911 A1 FS Rail Gun
The Taylor’s Tactical model is a special variation of the Colt Combat Unit Rail Gun. It is chambered in 9mm and upgraded stateside for Taylor’s & Co. with a correct grey Cerakote finish, and grey G10 grips with a left-side thumb relief indent. It is a remarkably close but lower-priced version of the Colt model. The current Tactical model, chambered in .45 ACPP, features a Black Rock finish with checkered wood grips
This same attention to detail and features is also applied to high-quality CO2 versions of the Colt Model O Rail Gun by Swiss Arms. The company builds a visual doppelganger known as the SA 1911 TRS (Tactical Rail System).
The blowback action Swiss Arms model is chambered in 4.5mm (.177 caliber). It is powered by a 12-gram CO2 capsule inserted into a 1911-style magazine that holds 18 steel BBs. At a glance, it is virtually indistinguishable except for the Swiss Arms name on the slide.
Why build a perfect copy of a Colt 1911 Rail Gun as a BB pistol? Well, the Swiss Arms TRS is no ordinary BB gun. Likewise, the Taylor’s 1911 A1 FS Tactical is no ordinary 9mm semi-auto.
The Details
The Taylor’s gun is an alternative to the Colt 9mm (or .45 ACP) Combat Unit Rail Gun. Correspondingly, the Swiss Arms is a perfect CO2-powered training gun based on the Colt Model O, fully one step beyond “just a BB gun.”
Taylor’s & Co. Government Model 1911 A1 FS Tactical Rail Gun has a standard 5-inch barrel. The 9mm model comes with two Italian-made Mec-Gar 10-round magazines with extended base pads and anti-tilt followers. The example shown is Cerakote Gun Metal grey, but the 9mm can also be ordered in Cerakote Coyote Tan, OD Green, and Nitride black, all with matching or contrasting G10 grips.
Taylor’s Government Model weighs in at an even 40 oz. (2.5 lbs. empty). This is about the same as the comparably-sized Colt Rail Gun. The overall length (to the back edge of the upswept beavertail) is 8.56 inches, the height with extended magazine base pads is 5.5 inches, and the overall width is 1.18 inches.
Based on Colt Series-70 designs, the 1911s exhibit fine fit, finish, and sturdy build quality. Likewise, it has exceptionally close tolerances between the outer dimension of the slide and inner dimension of the frame rails.
The fit and finish go beyond the price point. The Tactical model also comes with a heavy-duty recoil spring and full-length guide rod. These are two features that are generally extra cost options on 1911s.
The heavy-duty recoil spring makes chambering the first round, clearing the action, and field stripping the guns more demanding. However, the extra effort is rewarded with less felt recoil and improved handling and accuracy with higher velocity JHP rounds.
Getting the Taylor’s 1911 on Target
The Taylor’s model comes with dovetailed Novak-style rear sights adjustable for windage and elevation. This works with an interchangeable dovetailed green fiber optic blade front sight (exclusive to Taylor’s & Co.).
The Novak-style rear sights also have rounded edges to prevent them from snagging on clothing. But those rounded edges also save hands and tactical gloves from the minor cuts occasionally received from straight-edged adjustable rear sights.
For handling, the slide release is deeply checkered for solid purchase on the reload (even with tactical gloves). Likewise, the gun has elongated, ambidextrous thumb safeties.
The Taylor’s model has six deep vertical grooves in the frontstrap and 20 lpi checkering on the flat mainspring housing. In addition, there is a raised, serrated palm swell grip safety, extended beavertail, grooved skeletonized trigger, and commander-style hammer. All custom upgrades usually found on 1911s costing well over $1,000.
Shots Downrange
Looking downrange, the Novak-style white dot rear and green fiber optic front sights are very easy to acquire. More importantly, they are easy to reacquire when firing heavier recoiling 9mm JHP rounds.
Trigger pull was excellent, with very quick reset. The skeletonized trigger averaged a smooth 4.14 pounds with a short 0.125-inch take-up, crisp break, and quick reset. The tactile surfaces of the G10 grips provide a solid meld of hand-to-gun. Additionally, the magazine and slide releases functioned flawlessly throughout the range test. There is nothing here not to like.
Test ammo was a mix of three different 9mm loads. Two from Sig Sauer, Elite Performance 115 gr. FMJ and 124 gr. V-Crown JHP, along with heavy-hitting Federal Premium 124 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP.
I fired offhand using a two-handed hold and Weaver stance. 5-round strings were fired at a regulation Law Enforcement Targets cardboard B-27 silhouette. Rounds clocked an average velocity of 1,223 fps for the Sig Sauer 115 gr. FMJ, 1,153 fps for Sig 124 gr. JHP, and 1,113 fps with Federal Premium Hydra-Shok.
From 25 yards, the 5-inch barrel Taylor’s Tactical model averaged a best 5-shot group measuring 0.875 inches with the Sig V-Crown JHP rounds. The best 5-shot group with Sig FMJ measured 1.187 inches, and Federal Premium Hydra-Shok spread 1.0625 inches.
I’m not sure if it was me, the gun, or a combination of the two. But I always managed to have three out of the five shots within 0.625 inches of each other.
Dialing It In
During practice sessions, I kept hitting high and left. The rear sight had to be dialed all the way down at 25 yards (at least for me). I also needed to move the windage right several clicks to avoid a tendency for the gun (or, again, me) to hit left of POA. After adjusting sights for my eyes and shooting style (right-handed, left-eye dominant), the A1 FS Tactical did its job.
I experienced zero failures to load or extract. Likewise, there were no issues with the slide or magazine release. The gun’s finely checkered flat mainspring housing and thin G10 grips put the 1911A1 FS Tactical firmly in the hand.
I can’t call the Taylor’s Tactical a precision shooter. But it is close enough and, for self-defense use, capable of consistent center-mass hits at 25 yards fired offhand. And that is before you make use of the rail to add a light/laser sight. That would up the gun’s game to another level.
When I think back to the 1911s of my youth, they were nothing like this gun. Colt and the 1911 platform have come a long way in 107 years and still have a long way to go. The Taylor’s & Co. models are guns that add new substance to the journey of John M. Browning’s legendary design.
Airing on the side of authenticity
There is very little in this visual comparison between the Swiss Arms SA 1911 TRS and the Taylor’s & Company 1911 A1 FS Tactical to indicate that one of them is a blowback action CO2 air pistol and the other a 9mm tactical firearm.
Swiss Arms has built the best-looking contemporary CO2 Model 1911 thus far. It accurately duplicates all of the modern updates that have been applied (externally) to the venerable Model 1911.
One of the first updates to the 1911 and 1911 A1 was the ambidextrous thumb safety invented by Southern California gunsmith Armand Swenson in the late 1960s. The ambidextrous safety is perhaps Swenson’s most famous invention.
Still, his work on improving the model 1911 for lawmen and competitive shooters (changing barrel and slide lengths, building custom triggers and hammers, and making internal modifications to improve accuracy and function) was so profound that it came to be known as “Swensonizing” a 1911. The Swiss Arms SA 1911 TRS is pretty Swensonized.
The Swiss Arms TRS
Compared to the Taylor’s & Co. 1911 A1 FS, the Swiss Arms TRS has the same dovetailed front and rear white dot target sights, skeletonized trigger and hammer, dustcover accessory rail, flat mainspring housing, palmswell grip safety with upswept beavertail and improved slide design with forward serrations.
On the Swiss Arms models, the front slide serrations duplicate the designs used on tactical and competition guns. However, on cartridge-firing models they are more for looks than providing a tactical assist if you need to press-check the chamber for a loaded round.
Even wearing a leather tactical glove, the forward serrations quickly earn their keep by allowing one to push the slide back just slightly from the front. This is especially beneficial on models with heavy-duty recoil spring that work against the slide. We’ll take the sharp looks of the Swiss Arms SA 1911 TRS and leave the heavy recoil springs to the centerfire models.
When you get into the finer details of tactical models like the Taylor’s 1911 A1 FS or Colt CQBP, the Swiss Arms model once again excels with excellent fine checkering on the flat mainspring housing and detail contouring on the palmswell.
The serrated Delta-style hammer and fine serrations on the ambidextrous thumb safeties also speak to the attention to detail that Swiss Arms has put into these guns. Especially the TRS, which looks like it is ready to tackle an IDPA match.
A Tale of the Tape
Let’s start with measuring the Swiss Arms model against the .45 ACP Taylor’s & Co. A1 FS Tactical. Being a full-size model, the A1 FS tips the scale at an even 40 oz. empty (2.5 pounds). This is about the same as the comparably-sized Colt Rail Gun.
The overall length (to the back edge of the upswept beavertail) is 8.56 inches. Similarly, the height with extended magazine base pads is 5.5 inches, and the width (including the ample G10 grips) is 1.18 inches.
It is a hand-filling sidearm that points naturally and offers excellent sighting capability. The Swiss Arms TRS weighs a little lighter at 32.1 ounces empty (2.1 pounds). It has an overall length of 8.6 inches (to the back edge of the upswept beavertail), a height from the base of the magazine to the top of the rear sight of 5.25 inches, and a width of 1.20 inches.
The slide width is 0.875 inches on both guns. Finally, the width with the ambidextrous thumb safeties is 1.26 inches on both the A1 FS and TRS. In other words, it is almost 1:1 in every detail.
In Hand Comparison
One of the key advantages of extended-length ambidextrous thumb safeties is the ease of use with either hand. This makes the gun suitable for left-handed operators or for handling with the off-side hand in an emergency. There are also ambidextrous shooters who are equally adept with either hand.
On the A1 FS Tactical, the ease with which the safeties can be operated is moderate (some felt resistance). There is an audible click with engagement and disengagement. On the Swiss Arms, TRS operation is light (mild resistance). There is a lightly felt and audible click with engagement and disengagement.
Hammer resistance on a de-cocked gun (safety off) is moderately heavy with the A1 FS and light with the 4.5mm caliber TRS. But it still offers a full length of draw and a solid click when cocked.
Slide effort on the 1911 A1 FS is heavy due to the recoil spring and full-length guide rod design. Resistance with the CO2 model is lighter, as would be expected. However, the Swiss Arms TRS also uses a dual recoil spring design. It is one tightly wound spring around the guide rod and a second larger spring around the barrel to further assist the gun’s brisk blowback action.
Comparing Triggers
Last is the trigger pull. The Taylor’s & Co. guns (9mm and .45 ACP) have an average trigger pull of 4.14 pounds. It has only 0.125 inches of take-up, zero stacking, a crisp break, and a short reset. The Swiss Arms SA 1911 TRS pulls at an average of 4 pounds, 15 ounces. It has 0.187 inches of take-up, very light stacking, a crisp break, and a short reset.
Add the full-length dustcover accessory rail and easily acquired fixed white dot sights, and there is nothing more you can ask for in a 1911 Rail Gun understudy. (Yes, adjustable rear combat sights would be a nice touch, but at 21 feet, it is unnecessary for the airgun.)
The chronograph test was shot with the TRS as was the final indoor 21-foot accuracy test. Firing Umarex .177 caliber steel BBs, the average velocity for the TRS was 300 fps. It is factory-rated at 314 fps. The chronograph test recorded a high of 312 fps, a low of 300 fps, and a standard deviation of just 3 fps for six rounds.
Firing using a two-handed hold and Weaver stance, the TRS delivered the best 10 rounds measuring 0.625 inches in X ring.
The Takeaway
A training gun like the Swiss Arms TRS is a worthwhile investment if your EDC is a Government-sized model like the Taylor’s & Co. 1911 A1 FS Tactical. What a high-quality, blowback action CO2 model with authentic operating features brings to the table is identical handling, reloading, and shooting, minus the noise and recoil.
This can be preferable to training with a laser because of the gun’s actual action, a retracting (reciprocating) slide with each shot downrange, and a target that registers actual hits from the 4.5mm steel BBs. This is opposed to the inert handling of your EDC with a laser down the barrel and electronic targets.
Add to that the live play of recoil and seeing physical hits on target, as well as being able to practice tactical reloads, holstering, drawing from cover, etc. Not to mention being able to do this in the comfort of your own backyard, basement, or game room. This makes the investment in the Swiss Arms model almost a secondary consideration. This is an almost unbeatable duo.
For more information, please visit TaylorsFirearms.com and PyramydAir.com.
Specs: Taylor’s & Co. 1911A1 FS Tactical
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Action Type | Semi-Auto |
| Trigger | SAO |
| Barrel Length | 5.0 inches |
| Overall Length | 8.56 inches |
| Overall Width | 1.18 inches |
| Height | 5.5 inches |
| Weight | 40 ounces |
| Finish | Stainless and Cerakote |
| Capacity | 10+1 |
| MSRP | N/A |
Performance: Taylor’s & Co. 1911 A1 FS Tactical 9mm
| Sig Sauer 115 gr. FMJ Elite Performance | |
| Velocity | 1,223 |
| Accuracy | 1.875 |
| Sig Sauer’s 124 gr. V-Crown JHP | |
| Velocity | 1,153 |
| Accuracy | 0.875 |
| Federal Premium 124 gr. JHP | |
| Velocity | 1,113 |
| Accuracy | 1.0625 |
Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by ProChrono chronograph, and accuracy in inches for best 5-shot group at 25 yards fired offhand using a Weaver stance and two-handed hold.
Specs: Swiss Arms 1911 TRS
| Caliber | .177 |
| Action Type | Semi-Auto |
| Trigger | SAO |
| Barrel Length | 5.0 inches |
| Overall Length | 8.6 inches |
| Overall Width | 1.20 inches |
| Height | 5.25 inches |
| Weight | 32.1 ounces |
| Finish | Polished alloy |
| Slide Finish | Nitron-finish alloy |
| MSRP | N/A |
Performance: Swiss Arms 1911 TRS
| Umarex .177 caliber steel BBs | |
| Velocity | 300 |
| Accuracy | 0.625 |
Velocity in fps by ProChrono chronograph, and accuracy in inches for best 10-shot group at 21 feet fired offhand using a Weaver stance and two-handed hold.
