The sights are fixed and dovetailed with night sight inserts often of value in a defensive handgun. After that, all fit, finish and performance-wise details of the C3 are as one would expect from Sigarms. My testing sample had a dull-silvered stainless steel slide, and parts with a black lower reminiscent of the ’70s-era look of practical shooting equipment.

The C3 has several things about it I personally like, the first being the totally irrelevant point of how it projects the look of Sig in the way the slide is made. And my personal favorite thing, I can take the C3 apart without a car lug-like bushing wrench and a box of tools. As you probably can tell, I like a handgun I can take apart with my hands and a minimum amount of tools.

I could make comments here about the 1911 pistol bushing-to-slide fit required to be “tight” in order for the gun to be accurate. That has not always been my experience, but then again I do not plan on shooting bull’s-eye matches in the hallways of my home. The C3 is way tight enough to be way more accurate enough for its intended purpose as a defensive concealed-carry handgun.

Carry

“Carry” is a great word but even better is all of the optional words in a Thesaurus along with the word “carry.” Look at and read these optional words in the context of you carrying a concealed handgun. Bear, convey, hump, lug, pack, tote, transport and then my two personal favorites, have or possess. Yeah baby, to have said handgun with you or to be in possession of said handgun to defend yourself with. Everybody has heard the little adage; “The handgun in your pocket is better than the handgun at home in the safe.”

The next question: Is what you have with you the best compact, concealable handgun you will carry everyday should you need to save your life … or maybe the lives of others? Choose wisely.

Concealed

To conceal is to hide, bury or maybe even camouflage really just about anything. Concealment can come in many forms to serve many purposes, makeup for a woman, a hair piece for a man, paint for a house, reblue on a gun, as examples. In this instance, we concern ourselves with the concealment of a weapon, a handgun in this case, to protect or defend ourselves if we choose or if, in fact, allowed no other recourse but to shoot. Concealment is good as it forms a degree of security for a carried handgun. Then again, a problem could arise if the method of carry is so concealed it doesn’t allow for reasonable access to the handgun. This concealment vs. access issue is often affected by the size of the handgun.

Two important issues to be addressed in a carry handgun are the thickness of the piece and the height from top to bottom. Many might question among other things the length issue, which I have not addressed. The length is not really an issue if you apply a little logic. An 8"-barreled handgun may be a bit much to carry easily and a handgun with no barrel might be too far in the other direction. And yes, folks did unscrew barrels completely to shorten the length so as to shove the gun in coat pockets and so on. I don’t imagine they were very accurate, but a black powder .45 Colt cartridge at arms length should be quite an introduction for the opening of an across-the-card-table gunfight. So then, it could boil down to what is the most compact and concealable package you’re willing to bet your life on.

Compact

Compact by one definition is “to compress in size or shape.” Gun guys are always trying to compact or compress something into smaller packages. The Colt Sheriff’s model was an attempt to reduce the full-size Single Action Army. The original ASP was a cut down Model 39 Smith & Wesson, the Colt Officers model was a hatchet job on the 1911, and the M4 Carbine is a morph from the M16 or a do over from the XM177 rifle … you choose. Even the Fat Man and Little Boy’s of today are mere shadows of their original 1945 size.

So then, the idea in compact is to reduce in size the weapon we are about to carry. As a gentle reminder one needs to consider for carrying, the handgun can’t be too small. On the other hand, when fighting at arm’s length for your life, the handgun can’t be too big. Sometimes perspective changes quickly.

The Past Pigmy Demons

Over the years, there has been a massive amount of chopped and channeled 1911s with guide rods, double, triple interlocking springs, flared barrels, no bushings, clipped and bobbed frames and myriad (mostly) crap that doesn’t work over the short or long haul — especially for a defensive handgun.

Are there exceptions? Yeah, there are always exceptions, but not that many. The trend has been to create a mini gun 1911 people will carry. Then again, an important issue will be — and is — does it work? If you talk to many knowledgeable people who either have been — or with a strong possibility they may be in — a handgun fight, most do not care for or carry chopped up mini guns. Besides the issue of reliability, the demon of controllability while firing rears its ugly head. Simply, the smaller the gun, the less controllable it is and the more competent the shooter carrying and firing it needs to be. Mini 1911s are a prime example of the type of guns wherein ownership and possession does not equate to competency. This smaller-than-full-size 1911 has been addressed by many, and the folks from Sig have cast their candidate into the fire. It is perhaps one of the best takes in the size vs. reliability issue.