Many people believe that the 1911 is one of the best handguns ever made. With renewed interest in the 1911 caused by the explosion of 2011s, different calibers, and optics choices, Sig Sauer’s 1911-X lineup has entered the chat. I recently had the chance to get my hands on a 1911-XCarry. I decided to treat it somewhat badly to see how it would perform.

1911-X Carry in a Match Setting

Every year since 2011, my local gun club has hosted a 1911-only pistol match to pay homage to John Moses Browning and his creation. No red dots allowed, 45 ACP encouraged, 8-round only magazines, and a high round count is what shooters can expect for this event. There’s no better place to put a 1911 through its paces and see what happens. I had the gun, and with the match date arriving quickly, I decided to give it a shot, and how I did it was probably unfair to the pistol.

Match Prep, or Lack Thereof

Sig sent me the 1911-XCarry, and it came with a Romeo red dot and small conceal carry iron sights (XRay3 day/night backup sights). A few days before the match, I was at the range and shot 8 rounds through the gun with one of the supplied mags from SIG. That’s it, 8 rounds of Speer 230 grain factory ammo, just to see if the irons were somewhat close to point of aim. Next, I removed the Romeo red dot and added some oil to the barrel and slide in the appropriate places. What could go wrong with that kind of preparation?

Match Details

This match called for 302 rounds of ammo, if you didn’t miss. I could have used all factory ammo, but that wouldn’t be hard enough on this gun. I ended up using 5 different kinds of ammo throughout the match. They were 230 grain Speer round nose, 230 Grain Speer Lawman, 230 grain gold got G2, 230 grain ball reloads, and 200 grain Semi wadcutters. For magazines, you guessed it, all different brands and styles. I used 12 magazines for the match and had Wilson, CMC, Mec-Gar, Sig, and a few with no names or logos on them. I did not try to set this 1911-X up for success, and I was expecting it to return the favor to me during the match.

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I asked a lot of this gun, and here are a few details about the match so you understand. As I mentioned, the round count was 302 rounds over 8 stages. That’s about 38 rounds per stage, but I promise we all fired way more than 302 rounds. At each stage, I started with a mag in the gun and 6 more mags on my belt. On every stage, I had extra mags staged on the course or extras in my front pocket; there was a lot of shooting to do! On 6 of the stages, there were spinner targets. There were also some longer-range targets out to 50 plus yards. We shot from a bus, a moving side by side, a wobbling platform and of course, a minivan. The match had challenges of every type you could think of for a handgun.

Match Results for the Sig 1911-X

So, how did it do? The 1911-XCarry is a commander-length pistol in .45 ACP. Coupled with the backup iron sights, it is safe to say that it took me at least a couple of stages to get to know the gun. I remember shooting the 3rd stage of the day and having a realization while I was shooting. I thought, “Ok, that’s the sight picture I need to hit where I want”. I’m sure I would have figured this out sooner had I actually practiced with the gun.

After I learned the correct sight picture, the rest of the day went much better. At one point, there was a steel bowling pin bonus target almost 50 yards away, and I got one chance to hit it. The pistol delivered; I was pleasantly surprised! Accuracy didn’t seem to be a problem once I did my part, no matter the ammo used or the distance of the shot.

As mentioned earlier, I stacked the deck against the 1911-X by using all different types and brands of ammo and magazines. I was truly prepared to deal with multiple types of malfunctions during the match. I shot over 350 rounds of ammo, and I experienced exactly zero gun malfunctions and stoppages. All I did all match long was feed it ammo and shoot it a lot. If I had performed at the same level as the gun, my placement in the match would have been higher. I ended up 15th overall, including a couple top 10 stage finishes. I came away truly impressed by the gun’s performance, knowing how much prep I had put into it. My squad mates were also impressed by the gun. By the end of the match, several were asking about the gun and where to get one.

Sig 1911-X Carry Specs and Details

How did Sig do it? For the second part of this article, I’ll take a closer look at this gun from Sig and the parts in the build that performed well for me. From Sig, the pistol came with 2 magazines, a Romeo-X Compact red dot already mounted, and all the options you’d want in a carry 1911 handgun. As previously mentioned, the X-Carry comes with low-profile backup iron sights. I consider these night sights a backup option and not primary sights.

Fire Controls

The controls on the 1911-X are also on the smaller side. It does come with ambi thumb safeties that have a smaller profile, but they are my only gripe about this gun. You’ll notice that they have straight paddles and they have a square corner on the rear of the paddle. This corner dug into my trigger hand quite a bit. By the end of the match, it was sore with a small blister and a callous forming. Someone with smaller hands might not experience this, but I would need to change the safeties or dehorn them for my personal use.

The gun also features a commander-style bobbed hammer, extended beavertail and extended slide stop. I was surprised to see the extended slide stop, as most production guns don’t come with this feature. It certainly makes using the slide stop easier for shooters who don’t just rack the gun to send the slide forward.

Slide, Frame, and Barrel

The frame, slide, and barrel are what make any 1911 run or not run. The fit of the gun is obviously more important to making the gun reliable than anything else. The slide to frame fit for the Sig 1911-XCarry is good – above average good. The back of the gun is tighter than the front, as there is some side to side movement. Don’t forget that JMB designed the 1911 to rattle with some loose tolerances, so some play in the slide is not necessarily a bad thing.

Barrel lockup on this gun is about on par for a production 1911. When in battery, I can feel some slight movement when I push on the barrel hood, which again is not a bad thing. The trigger pull came in at 5.5 pounds and actually got better the more I shot it. The slide and frame are stainless with a Nitron coating, and the barrel is carbon steel with DLC coating. The controls must be black oxide as the finish started wearing off from my shooting it.

On the inside of the gun, you’ll find a non-ramped bushing barrel. This surprised me. I was expecting to find a ramped barrel, but Sig got the ramp on the frame and the throat of the barrel just right, as the gun worked and functioned perfectly. Another surprise to me on the inside of the gun was a Series 80 style safety. This safety will not allow the firing pin to move unless the grip safety is depressed. So even if the hammer drops without the grip safety engaged, the firing pin won’t be activated. Some other features are included on the gun: a 1913 picatinny rail for lights or lasers, a flat trigger, checkered front strap on the frame, an external extractor in the slide, a full-length guide rod, an extended ejector, and G10 grips.

READ MORE HERE: Deep Dive into the MAC 9 1911 Double Stack

1911-X Summary

You might be thinking it’s just another 1911, so what? That’s true, but this 1911-X was treated somewhat badly out of the box, and it performed perfectly. To me, that was an impressive feat to pull off, and Sig did it. The Sig 1911-XCarry is a full featured, ready to carry out of the box pistol with Sig Sauer styling that can’t be confused with other brands. As of this writing, you can get free ammo with a new Sig 1911 purchase here. You can carry as is or modify to your needs, but this seems to be a really good start for a great carry pistol. Find more details here.

Specs

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