Side Winder .45

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2001 by Cameron Hopkins

With but a nubbin of a grip safety, your hand can ride considerably higher on the pistol's backstrap, bringing it closer to the bore line of the gun, giving you maximum recoil control, not to mention greater concealability. These are good things. The downside is that such a high grip offers up the fleshy web of your hand to the gnawing of the hammer. Hammer-bite is a common problem on the 1911, which is why beavertails were invented in the first place. What now, bobbing off the beavertail?

The answer is to simultaneously bob the hammer. "I'm sure this will stir up some controversy, but if you think about it, you really can't come up with a logical reason why you would need to be able to manually manipulate the hammer of a carry 1911," Brian stated. Indeed, there is no malfunction drill that requires a second strike of the hammer; tap-rack-bang is the preferred solution for dud primers.

"No hammer bite is possible, and printing is less of a problem. I've always liked the feel of a Browning Hi-Power in this area, and the flush-fit grip safety captures some of that feel, albeit thinner,' Brian noted.

The SideWinder features one of the nicest carry bevel packages of any custom 1911 GUNS has tested. Brian carefully radiused all the sharp edges and corners, blending them gently by hand with file strokes. The bottom edge of the slide is particularly noteworthy, beveled along its length. This is a tasteful touch that few pistolsmiths bother to address.

Practical Enhancements

Brian replaces the stock Kimber thumb safety with an Ed Brown Competition lever, but he doesn't just swap parts. The, skilled Coloradan Practical Enhancements also re-contours the safety, smoothing and polishing it for a more comfortable fit. It snicks on and off with a crisp snap, not too stiff, not too easy, just right.

Gone is the stock Kimber trigger and in its place is the classic three-hole aluminum combat trigger, upgraded with Brian's cosmetic pinholes. By careful handfitting, Brian removes all vertical play and tunes the trigger for minimal over-travel. The sear release pressure is set at 4 lbs., perfect for a carry gun. Brian is capable of exquisite 2 lb. competition triggers, but he well understands the stupidity of a hair trigger on a carry gun. Besides, this master's 4 lbs. feels like two, so perfectly polished are the hammer hooks and sear nose for that iciclesnapping crispness.

The sights are also custom: a set of Richard Heinie's excellent "Slant Pro" fixed sights, fitted with Brian's special bar-dot-bar tritium inserts. Brian melts the Heinie sights right into the Kimber slide, blending the two parts so expertly that they appear as one.

The top of the slide features a French border, a nice cosmetic touch. The rear of the slide is delicately serrated at 40 lpi.

Brian swaps out Kimber's plastic mainspring housing for one made of aircraft aluminum alloy. But once again we see that Brian is no mere parts-changer: "After replacing the plastic mainspring housing with an alloy one, I again use another special jig of my own design to radius the mainspring housing flush with the frame, machine the initial horizontal and vertical lines, then bring each diamond to point by hand. I then gently bead blasted it, giving it a very nice -- but secure -- 'soaphar' feel," Brian said.