Range Science
In my experience with Nighthawk pistols — of which about 10 have passed through my hands — they usually come out of the box, make it through my standard 500-round test without cleaning, oiling, or malfunctioning, and they average 2″ at 25 yards from the Ransom Rest, with the last couple guns shooting increasingly tighter average groups.
As per my usual, I put about 500 rounds through the Colt. I usually fire a mix of ball and jacketed hollowpoints when testing, but I ran a more eclectic array this time … something we’ll probably all be doing soon. This included ASYM’s 185-grain match JHP (which my Wiley Clapp Commander loves), 135-grain HoneyBadger from Black Hills, as well as conventional JHPs from them in 185-, 230- and 230-grain +P, as well as their 200-grain lead SWC.
Load Up supplied loaded ammunition using David Lauck’s (D&L Sports) service pistol bullet. In keeping with modern bullet design, where the performance results from the outside of the bullet as opposed to the shape of the cavity inside a hollowpoint, it’s essentially a 200-grain SWC redesigned to feed in autos. It comes in two profiles: one for revolver use and one for autos. In addition to trying both versions of the loaded ammo, I loaded a couple hundred rounds using the revolver bullet. The final load used was Double Tap’s +P 255-grain SWC, a massive hard cast lead slug that moves out around 875 fps. It’s an unusual load, more akin to a .45 Colt, but one I like a lot for its sheer momentum and which would be useful for predator defense where penetration carries the day.
All that said, sometimes you’re testing the gun and sometimes you’re testing the bullet, and this is a bit of both. The Nighthawk Colt ran flawlessly with conventional ammunition — that is, all the hollowpoints — as well as the HoneyBadger. It did, however, have a couple misfeeds with the revolver bullet, although it digested some 200 rounds of the same load without incident. Similarly, there were a couple misfeeds with the 200-grain SWC, and the +P 255-grain SWC caused a couple cases of premature slide lock, a common problem with uncommonly potent loads, which the 255 certainly is.
Government Model pistols, since they are expected to function with everything a shooter might grab off the shelf, from light 185-grain target loads to full power hardball, come with a 16-lb. recoil spring. Nighthawk upgraded this one to 17 lbs., and the gun had no spring related issues with anything other than the 255-grain +P: everything else, from 135- to 230-grain +P did fine. Moral of the story? Either stay within the usual power range or swap in a stronger recoil spring, such as the 18.5 I usually put in my guns.
So how did it actually shoot? Very, very well. The sights gave a good, distinct sight picture and the excellent trigger made it easy to get off a good, clean shot. While I did not do a formal Ransom Rest test with it, I was able to fire a best group of 2″ at 25 yards, standing and firing unsupported from a modified Weaver, which leads me to believe this gun is right in the accuracy range I expect from Nighthawk pistols, even though it still has its factory Colt barrel.
Sometimes more is more, but sometimes less gets it done, too. Machined from forged steel, unlike many of the other M1911 pistols, Colts are still excellent guns, and the carefully selected modifications Nighthawk has added make this one even better.
For more info: NighthawkCustom.com, Black-Hills.com, DLSports.com, DoubletapAmmo.com.
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