A BBQ gun is a handgun that you show off. It’s the type of pistol that ranges in looks from ostentatious to damn gorgeous, reflecting the owner’s sense of taste and personality. It can be engraved, wear a luxurious finish, and have a grip made from exotic material. While a BBQ gun looks visually appealing, the pistol is also quite capable of taking care of business. The BBQ gun tradition started in the Old West. These guns were worn at semi-formal affairs like a barbecue. The type of events where you wear your good boots, not your everyday boots. Same with your gun; you’d pack your fanciest, best gun. The Girsan MC1911 Liberador from EAA Corp fits the definition of a BBQ gun with its bold, shiny finish and engraved faux ivory grips. I think it’s a great off-the-rack BBQ gun.
BBQ Gun From Turkey
Girsan, which is located in Turkey, manufactures a slew of 1911s. I’ve run a bunch of different models made by Girsan and have found them to be affordable 1911s that run well. The MC1911 Liberador might not fall into the affordable category because it retails for a little less than $800, but compared to a custom 1911, the Liberador is a damn bargain.
I opted for .45 Auto, though 9mm and 38 Super models are available. The stainless steel frame and slide are polished to the point that they look like the pistol is nickel-plated. You can pick your teeth in the reflection. The trigger, muzzle bushing, recoil spring plug, barrel, ambidextrous safety, magazine catch, hammer, and grip safety sport a shiny gold finish. The grips are a faux ivory engraved with the Mexican coat of arms. My gun also has a magwell in flat black installed that matches the finish of the mainspring housing. I like the addition of magwells on 1911s to speed up reloads. Any “El Jefe” would be proud to tote this piece.
The Liberador In Hand
In hand, the Liberador’s front grip strap is checkered, as is the flat mainspring housing. Just enough texture to help with recoil and not chew on your hand. The trigger is serrated, and the grip safety and frame are blended fairly well, so there are no hard edges that could cause abrasion in recoil, especially when shooting .45 Auto. The thumb safety snaps on and off confidently and with ease. The low inertia hammer, accessory rail, magwell, and the course slide serrations at the muzzle and aft on the slide give the 1911 a modern look. The slide is domed like GI-style 1911s.
Making The MC1911 Personal
The MC1911 Liberador is off the rack, so to speak, and I wanted to add a personal touch, so I ordered a set of faux mammoth grips that are a cross between stag horn and jigged grips from Premium Gun Grips. The grips came with four gold-finished screws, which perfectly match the Liberador and are appropriate for the right BBQ gun look. Swapping 1911 grips is simple enough; just use a screwdriver with a blade that fits the slot of the screws. You don’t want to bung up a screw on your fancy gun. The other tweak I would make to this pistol is lightening the trigger pull. At 6.5 pounds on average, this 1911’s trigger pull weight needs to be reduced by at least three pounds. Other than that, all I needed was a holster to match the opulence of the MC1911 Liberador.
BBQ Gun Leather
You could go the Kydex route, but to me, the proper material for a handgun you want to show off is leather. Leather has character. I sourced a beautiful hand-carved leather holster and matching belt from Falco Holsters. The Falco CX11 holster is luxurious as it is beautiful. The Italian leather has a floral pattern hand-cut into it, as does the matching KX11 leather belt. The belt is 1.5 inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick, making it plenty sturdy for a full-size 1911. The floral pattern in the belt and holster match, as does the hand stitch detail at the edges. It is a fancy and beautiful rig.
The CX11 is an OWB pancake-style holster with a forward cant for a more effortless draw. The gun is retained via a thumb-break strap that rests between the hammer and the rear of the slide when carrying the 1911 cocked and locked. The trigger area is covered, and the holster is open at the bottom. The 1911 fits perfectly and is tight. All new leather holsters need a breaking period, and there’s a trick to breaking them in fast.
How To Break In a Leather Holster
You will need denatured alcohol, a small brush or rag, and a plastic bag. Insert the pistol multiple times into the holster, then look inside the holster to see the marks in the leather left by the pistol. In this case, the trigger guard area was tight, and the area around the rail had marks. Soak the rag or brush in the denatured alcohol and apply the alcohol liberally inside the holster.
Pay attention to the areas with the drag marks. Next, place the pistol in the plastic bag and push the handgun while it is still in the plastic bag back into the holster and seat the pistol properly. The plastic bag protects the gun will slightly stretch the leather. Leave the pistol in the holster until the alcohol dries. I also soaked the back side of the thumb strap to break that in and left the pistol in the holster overnight to dry. When I removed the pistol and plastic bag from the holster, the Liberador fit the holster perfectly and was loose enough for a smooth no no-drag draw.
Range Time With The MC1911 Liberador
It’s one thing to look like a million bucks, but can it perform? I used Remington UMC 230-grain FMJs, Blazer aluminum case with 230-grain TMJs, and Winchester SilverTip 185-grain HPs. I ran the accuracy test at 25 yards. The best 5-shot accuracy was with the Blaze, which measured 1.34 inches and averaged 1.39 inches. Next best was Remington at 1.65 inches and an average of 1.98 inches. The SilverTips from Winchester had a best of 1.69 inches and averaged 1.81 inches. Decent accuracy. So it can talk the talk as well as walk the walk.
Moving to a modified Bear Solution Standard drill at seven yards, I fired four rounds into the left rectangle, transitioned to the right rectangle, and fired four more as fast as I could without throwing a round. Then I performed a reload and fired three rounds into the center circle. This drill is good for speed shooting, target transition, trigger press, recoil control, and target acquisition.
Magazines
The Liberador comes with one eight-round magazine, which helps keep the cost down. Luckily, I have plenty of other .45 Auto 1911 magazines, and they all ran in the Girsan Liberador. The heft of the Liberador, due in part to the accessory rail, helped to settle the pistol I recoil. It uses a single recoil spring, so it cycled a lot like a GI-style 1911. It was smooth, but I’ve fired smoother cycling 1911s.
There were a few initial hiccups. I had two FTE jams in the first two magazines. If you know 1911s, you know new 1911s need some break-in time. They are like new boots and new a break-in period. I continued to throw more ball ammo through the MC1911Liberador, and those issues went away.
READ MORE HERE: Springfield Armory TRP 4.25” CC Review: A Bobtail 1911
Why You Would Need a BBQ Gun
Living in NC, our barbecues are called pig pickins’ with large cookers on axles and split pigs roasted low and slow for hours until the skin is crisp and the meat juicy and tender. Family, friends, and neighbors are invited. Wherever you have a real barbecue, you need to dress appropriately, and the MC1911 Liberador from EAA Corp. is a fast and relatively inexpensive way to get into a semi-custom BBQ gun. Plus, Liberador is Spanish for Liberator and, depending on the context, can mean someone or something that is freeing or liberating. I think the name works well with the 2A mindset, and, of course, the barbecue.
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