Since this gun is really a handmade, custom shop pistol, where the emphasis is maximum performance, not shaving man-hours and costs, the pistol lacks a specific name or model number for reference (other than “The 10mm 1911”). After numerous conversations with its creator, Dave Williams, and shooting the gun numerous times, we have adopted an appropriate moniker for this awesome gun. We call it “The Blaster!” That may not do justice to the precision and craftsmanship oozing from this gun, but after shooting it a bit, “The Blaster” seems to fit it just fine. When you’re throwing 200 grains of lead and copper at more than 1,150 fps, that qualifies as blasting.

The Blaster

The heart of the Blaster is the 6" Custom Kart match bull barrel with a supported chamber. The supported chamber is designed to easily handle the pressures of the hottest 10mm cartridges commercially available. A full-profile compensator is attached to the outside of the barrel and the ports are cut through the comp and barrel by Mag-na-port. This allows for a full 6" of rifled barrel, the added weight of the comp at the muzzle of the gun, and of course, the two ports on top to minimize muzzle rise. Don’t confuse this with a more traditional bushing compensator attached to the slide. Bushing compensators are effective, but in my opinion, the system employed on the Blaster is superior.

Of nearly equal importance to the overall performance is the precision-made National Match light-rail frame and the mated National Match slide. When I say mated, I mean these forged components are machined oversize and initially won’t even fit together. Then, the fitment surfaces are reduced, by hand, to the absolute minimum allowing them to move cleanly with no up-down or side-to-side movement. The Custom Shop experts can create the delicate balance between precision accuracy and flawless function.

Springfield machines many of their own parts, but some are designed by Springfield and the manufacturing is outsourced in order to keep the primary job of hand assembling guns at the highest level of production. The hammer and sear for the Custom Shop guns look like the others, but they are machined from Starrett tool steel and are hand fit to the guns. Likewise, the triggers are made elsewhere, slightly oversized, and prior to hand fitting, won’t even fit in the frames. Only when these precision parts are honed and polished will they mate together and give the crisp clean functioning that defines a “handmade” pistol.

As for the slide, no details were spared here. Machined into the top is a 1/2"-wide band of 40-lpi serration running from the rear sight to the muzzle. It reduces glare and creates a natural eye reference to the alignment of the sights well before the rear sight is in your sight picture. The rear of the slide is also serrated in a 40 lpi horizontal pattern, giving it a distinctive look complementing the overall package. The slide has aggressive serrations at the front and rear for ease of functioning, and it has a lowered and flared ejection port. The sights are comprised of a Bo-Mar deluxe low-mount rear sight and a custom dovetail front sight. The sight radius is nearly 8", which enhances the accuracy potential for those shots at longer range .

Paint Scheme

What kind of finish do you put on a pistol destined to become “The Blaster?” The Custom Shop has lots of talented professionals and artists, and in the finishing arena is Jeremy Sides, who specializes in Springfield Armory’s proprietary Armory Kote finish. Armory Kote is a Teflon-based thermo-baked finish created specifically for Springfield Armory. Like many of these finishes, it is available in a wide range of colors, is self-lubricating, and very tough. To create a distinctive look for the Blaster, Dave and Jeremy conspired and came up with a two-tone “Xtremeflage” finish with black as the base color of the slide, and olive as the base color of the frame. The tiger stripe-like pattern is airbrushed by hand and baked on. I like this finish. It suits the character and mission it was designed for, and helps give the gun personality.

I love shooting this gun, too. Knowing the FBI dropped the 10mm as its primary cartridge because recoil makes it difficult to control for some shooters may give you the impression this gun is a bit of a beast to shoot. It is not. Even with the heavy 200-grain Cor-Bon loads, the recoil is less than my stock Glock Model 21 shooting .45 ACP Federal 230-grain +P HST rounds. Now I realize this is a serious .45 round, but the point is, I’m used to it and I shoot it a lot. The Blaster was somewhat tamer than this with the heavy loads and, with some of the lightweight ammo, it was really a pussycat to shoot.

Initially, I just shot a few magazines to get a feel for it. Since it’s a 1911, it fits my hand like a glove and points like an extension of my hand already. It feels exceptionally well balanced despite the longer barrel and barrel weight/compensator. The added weight and the ports definitely minimize muzzle rise when shooting. Although this gun isn’t really designed as a self-defense handgun, it makes a great tactical pistol in many ways. Double taps are quick and accurate, and clearly the 10mm cartridge is a stopper. Since it has a light rail, about the only thing missing to make this a super tactical gun would be a beveled magazine well. Hmmm, the mor e I think about that, the more I like it. I’m envisioning a Tactical Blaster down the road …