Uselton's Carry Classic

Guns Magazine, June, 2003 by Dick Williams

"So why do we need another 1911 manufacturer?" This question was asked by some at the 2002 SHOT Show when we heard there was a new Model 1911 on display at the Caspian booth. I even started to ask it myself until I thought about the question's inherent implications and how successfully it has been used, particularly against gun owners, over the years.

This is America! Americans are free to choose what we want without proving a need. If it's not against the law, we are not required to prove something is a necessity. If you behave as though the question has merit, you put all gun owners on the defensive and imply that the 2nd Amendment can be negated by someone else's arbitrary determination of what free people need or don't need.

This is the same insidious question newly-wed wives ask their husbands when the guy wants to buy another gun. We miss out on a few good gun buys until we learn that the correct answer is, in fact, another question:

"Why do you need another pair of shoes?"

In America, if someone builds a better pair of shoes, your wife will find them. After this brief self-lecture from my portable soapbox, I was properly motivated and set off for the Caspian booth to see the new Model 1911.

The first real clue that the Uselton 1911 is something special came from the Caspian guys in the booth, who commented that this new series of 1911s was exceptionally well put together. Since Caspian components are used for the most part in this new 1911, obviously Caspian has more than a passing interest in the gun's success. It's equally obvious that Caspian does not want their components utilized in a poorly assembled firearm and would not endorse anything less than a quality endeavor.

Man With A Mission

Rick Uselton's goal is quite simple; to build a classic style 1911 that provides outstanding quality and accuracy out of the box. The pistol comes with all the custom parts the die-hard 1911 shooter wants these days. As mentioned, most of the gun's parts, and all of the major components, are made by Caspian.

Of the slide's components, the only exceptions are the barrel, link, and bushing from Storm Lake, and the recoil system from Ed Brown. Everything in the frame is likewise by Caspian, with the exception of the thumb safety and magazine from Chip McCormick, springs from Wolff, and a trigger made by Uselton Arms. Sort of a "who's who" list of suppliers.

The gun offered for review was the Carry Classic, the first in a series of custom Model 191 is planned by Uselton Arms. The Carry Classic is a two-tone .45 featuring a blue frame of compact officers model dimensions with a stainless steel, commander-size slide. Both frame and slide are matte finished to reduce glare.

The slide is hand lapped to the frame to improve fit and insure smooth cycling. Uselton uses the Storm Lake stainless steel barrels because he feels they are the best available. The Classic features a flat faced, skeletonized trigger set at 3.5 pounds, a combat hammer, and Novak-style fixed sights.

The stainless steel beaver tail grip safety had a raised section running vertically instead of the horizontal hump we've seen at the base of many such components lately. Before firing the gun, I thought this might make the felt recoil a bit harsh in a downsized 1911, but after a few rounds, I really liked the feel of this configuration.

The front strap and the flat, stainless mainspring housing are both very nicely checkered for better control, as are the beautiful wood grip panels. At the time of this writing, the total price for the Carry Classic is $1,650, certainly competitive for a hand-built 1911 with all custom parts.

Short-Term Test

This particular Carry Classic had already been purchased by another party, which meant that shooting sessions would be limited since someone was eagerly waiting for delivery of his new treasure. I went to work with four different factory loads from Black Hills ammunition. The 185-grain JHP and 230-grain JHP are both outstanding for personal defense, plus the 230-grain JHPs had proved themselves in an earlier hunt for wild boar. There was no break-in period for the Classic; I started group testing and chronograph measurements immediately.

All of this firing was slow and deliberate with the Oehler three-screen chronograph used to measure velocity and targets placed downrange at 25 yards. With each load, five rounds were put through the chronograph and two five-shot groups were fired for accuracy (see Table 1 and 2.) There were no malfunctions during these firings.

Results from the chronograph were a pleasant surprise with velocities running very close to the same ammo fired in a five-inch barreled government model. These velocities were much higher than those realized in a couple of subcompact 191 is with three and 3.5 inch barrels respectively. Group sizes were about as expected, somewhere between 2.5 and 4 inches, which is about as well as I can do off hand with iron sights, a four-inch barrel and aging eyes.

Windage ranged from dead on to about 1.5 inches left, something easily corrected by drifting the rear sight to the proper position after selecting your load. Judging from the elevation of the groups fired, the sights appear to favor lighter, higher velocity loads. The Black Hills 1 85-grain JHPs at almost 1,000 fps were only three inches above point of aim at 25 yards, something I could live with in a defensive handgun.