4 GI Models Go Head-to-Head

It is easy to get choice paralysis when deciding on a 1911 or 2011 pistol. There are so many finishes, stock upgrades, grips, optics packages, and calibers to pick from that there is a model for just about anybody. But for some, nothing will satisfy except for a standard plain Jane GI 1911. So, we took four GI 1911 models out to conduct a comprehensive comparison between each company’s take on the platform.

A Comparison Between 4 GI 1911 Models

GI 1911s are as close to Browning’s original design as they can get. And there is beauty and functionality in their simplicity. There is also memory, whether we want to relive our own or reach further back to a time we can’t grasp. In this overview, we will look at GI 1911 pistols available today.

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The Players

We sought out the players using a set of criteria to define what constitutes a GI 1911. It has to be all-steel and full-size with a 5-inch barrel. It also has to be chambered in .45 ACP. Finally, it has a spur hammer, fixed low-profile sights, and uses a barrel bushing and short guide rod assembly.

The contenders are an even mix of domestic designs and imports. In the American corner is the Colt Government Model and the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec. Representing Turkey is the Century Arms Centurion 11. Last but certainly not least is the Philippine-made Rock Island Armory GI Standard.

Colt Government Model

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Colt is the first name in 1911 pistols. It was Colt’s engineers, in partnership with Browning, that developed the pistol as adopted. Colt was the primary producer from its inception, although other manufacturers have long since joined the fray.

Most of Colt’s current production 1911s are Series 80 style pistols with a firing pin safety. Original M1911s did not have this feature and are classed as Series 70 pistols. For a time, Colt stopped making them, but they are back in production as the Colt Government Model.

The standard Colt Government Model has a matte blue finish and feeds from seven-round flush-fitting magazines. It wears checkered rosewood grips and, of course, is chambered in .45 ACP. Otherwise, it is a mix of new and old features.

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For example, it wears a stainless-steel Colt National Match barrel. It also has a flat mainspring housing as seen on the original M1911. But it borrows A1 features like the narrow hammer and scalloped trigger guard.

Springfield Armory Mil-Spec

1911 pistols had something of a revival in the 1980s, thanks to competitive shooting, and Springfield Armory answered the call. The current rendition of their standard GI 1911 is the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec.

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It is a homage to the M1911A1 and comes in a blued, parkerized, or stainless finish. The model used here is the Defend Your Legacy edition. It comes with a parkerized finish and checkered wood grips to fit the impression of a wartime M1911A1.

It features an arched mainspring housing and Series 70 lock work. However, the Mil-Spec is more drop safe than a traditional 1911. It uses a titanium firing pin to prevent accidental discharges when dropped on the muzzle.

The Mil-Spec also has an enlarged ejection port and a stainless steel barrel bushing that is left bright. Another deviation is the inclusion of three-dot iron sights over the typical lower-profile options.

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Century Arms Centurion 11

Turkey has been making 1911-style pistols in modern NATO-spec factories for a few decades. In recent years, their wares have come into the United States. These pistols come under different banners and with different features. Among them is the Centurion 11 from Century Arms.

The Centurion 11 represents the wartime A1 at its most stripped down. It has a black Cerakote finish and is dressed in checkered plastic grips. Otherwise, it has the same arched mainspring housing, scalloped trigger guard, short trigger, and solid steel frame like the Mil-Spec.

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The slide wears narrower and lower-profile iron sights than both the Colt and Springfield. Its barrel is polished stainless steel, like most of the other options. The Centurion boasts a wide M1911 hammer and an elongated manual safety that stands out from the rest. Both the feed way and the feed ramp of the barrel are left in a bright polish.

Rock Island Armory GI Standard

Rock Island Armory produces more 1911 pistols than any other company put together. Their effort after the Second World War and their catalog has grown to 1911s, 2011s, and beyond. Their base model is the GI Standard.

The GI Standard has a black parkerized finish on both the slide and frame. Its grip has a flat mainspring housing and is topped with a pair of smooth wood grips. The barrel is left parkerized except for a section around the ejection port that is polished bright. The sights are unadorned and less high-profile than the Colt or Springfield. However, they are narrower than those used on the Centurion 11.

Aside from an enlarged ejection port, a longer trigger, and an eight-round magazine, this pistol is a simple homage to the original GI model. Like the other handguns in this lineup, it comes in a hard case and ships with a single magazine.

GI 1911s Compared and Contrasted

From a distance, a GI 1911 is a GI 1911. The features are more or less the same, and the caliber is the same. So too is that familiar outline that is synonymous with what many of us think when we picture a handgun. But the closer you look, and the more you shoot, the differences start to appear.

The 1911 Fit and Finish

Fit and finish come down to external presentation and internal machine work. The first half is somewhat subjective, while the latter is identifiable.

The Colt Government Model and Springfield Mil-Spec look the part with checkered wood grips and smooth finished surfaces. Correspondingly, the Government Model’s matte blue finish is attractive. However, it is a compromise between the authentic and well-executed parkerized finish on the Mil-Spec and early polished blue examples.

The imported guns strike a rougher tone. Their external finishes are rougher in character, and the import marks and branding won’t win fans.

The Centurion 11 and RIA GI Standard come back in the internal machine work category. The Centurion has a polished barrel and feed way and only a few machine marks on the interior of the slide and barrel bushing. Although the internal finish is rougher, the RIA’s machine work is similar to my Colt Government Model along the inside of the slide and bushing.

The first-place winner is the Springfield Mil-Spec with consistent finishes inside and out, as well as no discernible marks.

To MIM and To Cast

For better and worse, today’s GI 1911s are subject to modern manufacturing processes. This makes for a consistent product produced in large quantities at a lower cost to both manufacturers and the shooter. But there are plenty of truths and myths about modern processes that an entire thesis could be dedicated to. In short, CNC is not infallible because of stacking tolerances, but hand-fitting does not make a God-tier handgun.

Today’s GI 1911s are made largely of forged and machined parts with some important departures toward MIM parts. This has been the case for the better part of forty years. Colt and Springfield are leaders in this process and have some cache over other options due to that cumulative expertise.

Cast pieces are less of an issue today than in the past. Rock Island Armory previously used cast frames in their process, but has since moved on to all forgings. Thankfully, 1911s have unrivaled parts availability, and all forged parts are available. But out of the gate, none of these options will please everyone.

1911 Accuracy Comparison

A good single-action 1911 is going to be more accurate than the person shooting it. The good combination of sights, trigger, and grip goes a long way too. I conducted an off-hand accuracy test with each pistol from a distance of ten yards. Then I took the best load and shot the pistol from a benchrest at twenty-five yards.

These are six-shot groups measured in inches center-to-center, and they are as follows:

Accuracy from any of these models is more than sufficient for everything but the most stringent bullseye work. At ten yards, the Centurion 11 gave the best results, though closely followed by the RIA. The Springfield proved to be a consistent performer, as did the Colt. But the latter performed the worst overall, with a 2.1-inch group using Sig V-Crown 200-grain jacketed hollow points.

At 25 yards, the domestic pistols were sandwiched between the imports. But overall, the Centurion is more accurate in my fallible hands.

Reliability

In addition to going for groups, each pistol was fired to a three-hundred-round count with the same ammunition. Each pistol was cleaned and lubed with 3-in-1 machine oil before testing began, and no remedial cleaning was performed. I also freely interchanged magazines across each pistol.

The Springfield, Rock Island Armory, and Centurion 11 experienced no failures. The Colt Government Model used in this test has been a standby test gun. It has about 1,000 rounds through the pipe. Within its first three hundred rounds, I had one failure to eject. Although it happened during a different timeline, I will count it as a knock.

1911 Ergonomics

How a pistol is set up directly impacts how you shoot it and whether it can be trusted to be reliable. While each pistol ran and gave accuracy that was hard to judge without a caliper, ergonomics was a mixed bag.

Grip

In terms of weight and balance, all pistols handle identically and come within one ounce of each other. Likewise, all point instinctively like a finger.

The inclusion of either a straight or arched mainspring housing will make or break the feel, depending on how large or small your hands are. My larger hands are more taken up with the arched housings of the Springfield and Century. But the Rock Island GI Standard prevails overall for larger hands.

The thicker wooden stocks and longer trigger provide for an optimal trigger reach. Smaller and average hands will do well with the other options.

Controls

In terms of buttons and switches, the magazine release and slide release on all models operate identically and without fail. The thumb safeties are easily reached for activation and deactivation. However, the larger pedal on the Centurion makes a good rest for the shooting thumb and is slightly easier to manipulate.

The grip safety on the pistol also acts as a beavertail to prevent the hammer and slide from cutting into your grip. The grip safety on the Centurion is a sloppier fit. That lends to the impression that there is more to engage than there actually is before pressing the trigger.

All of them require a conscious but not excessive bit of pressure to disengage. Recoil with all of these handguns is slow, but they have a heavy muzzle rise. The beavertail smacks into the hand and leaves it red, but intact. That goes for all models except for the Colt. The beavertail is fit in a way that it reliably cuts my hand open after a few magazines.

Trigger

The Colt, Century, and Springfield feature short triggers and Series 70 lock work. The RIA has similar lock work but a longer trigger. Correspondingly, the Colt Government Model and Springfield Mil-Spec boast triggers that break at 4 lbs. clean. Surprisingly, the Centurion came out of the box with a 5½-pound trigger. The Rock Island gives a respectable 4 ½-pound pull.

All triggers have about 2mm of travel with or without resetting before hitting a clean-breaking wall. The trigger return is strongest with the Rock Island Armory GI Standard and the Springfield Mil-Spec. The return spring on the Colt and Century tends to be more lethargic.

The GI 1911 Value Comparison

Value is how we assign the features we want and what we are willing to give up to get them. That usually means exchanging hard-earned money for the physical and intangible features we want. But prices should always be taken as a relative measurement due to time and place.

In terms of price, the Century Arms Centurion 11 has an MSRP of only $400. It is thoughtfully built and the most accurate of the pistols I have tested. However, you may not like the import marks, the grip safety fitment, and polymer grips. There is also the possibility that importation issues can complicate warranty work, should it be needed.

Rock Island Armory has a long track record in the 1911 game. Their ground game in the United States is on a solid footing. The GI Standard is a favorite for larger hands and is a solid, high-ironed shooter that can be had for $420. But smooth wood grips and branding can ward off an otherwise great buy.

Colt hits the intangible category like no other 1911. After all, nothing answers the range questions quite like the response of “Colt 1911” or “Colt 45.” That’s how my Colt Government Model became my first 1911 pistol. However, at an MSRP of $1,049, you get a handsome pistol that shoots well but not double-the-money well.

Springfield has a respectable and expanding line of 1911 pistols, and the Mil-Spec is the humblest of the bunch. Although outpointed by the Centurion in accuracy, it is the most consistent performer and has the best fit and finish on the inside and out. You also get an instant carry gun thanks to the three-dot sights and titanium firing pin. At $725, the overall package is insurmountable.

Jim’s Take: GI 1911 Comparison

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