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32 Law Enforcement Technology July 2014 www.officer.com FIREARMS TACTICS N ot long ago I tested SIG SAUER's 1911 XO in XO Black. This is an all stainless steel, all business, 45 Auto, full-sized 1911 without rails. It sports a generous beavertail grip and SIG SAUER's durable Nitron finish. I'd like to say that testing this gun was eventful, but it wasn't. The 1911 XO turned out to be a reliable, well fitted gun that instilled pride in ownership and confidence in use. It's the kind of 1911 I like to own: Ready for duty but not too pretty to get dirty. Construction This handgun was designed for long- term hard use. Rather than an alumi- num frame, it is a full-sized 41.6-ounce all-steel gun. It uses a traditional recoil spring and plug rather than a full-length guide rod. There are several schools of thought on the recoil spring concept. Most "modern" versions of the M1911 handgun use a full-length guide rod. For the uninitiated, these guns can be easily identified by locking the slide to the rear. The second protrusion from the front of the slide below the barrel is the guide rod. The 1911 XO doesn't have one. Many manufacturers include the full- length guide rod to add a little dampen- ing weight to the front of an aluminum frame pistol and to avoid any kind of spring binding. The 1911 XO doesn't need this weight, and it uses a shorter, efficient spring guide. It is roughly about 10 ounces heavier than most duty guns. W hen I field stripped the 1911 XO the first time, I was surprised to find a flat recoil spring. In the original design, the spring was made of coiled round wire. The 1911 XO uses a coiled flat spring. It is a conventional configuration, meaning that all of the coils are equidistant. There is a little debate about the advantages of a coiled flat spring. One reason to have one is to get the same level of pressure and a little more slide travel, assuming that a coiled one with similar specs would be longer when fully compressed. Some will tell you that a flat spring is more resistant to binding, which is a non-issue on any SIG SAUER gun I have ever fired, including models The verdict on SIG SAUER's 1911 B Y L I N D S E Y B E R T O M E N Duty-ready, but not too pretty to get dirty LET_32-35_FirearmsTactics0714.indd 32 6/25/14 12:00 PM