SDS Arms/Tisas ASF M1911A1
An Homage to the World War II Slabsides
Though M1911 pistols were issued and used during World War II,
only the M1911A1 was made during the conflict with all production
ceasing in 1945. These pistols were standard issue for U.S. military
personnel until the 9mm M9 pistol was adopted in 1990.
Call me a Tisas fan if you like, but the truth is I just appreciate good value. A year ago, I bought their 1911A1 U.S. Army 45, which is a nice, budget-priced, parkerized, lanyard loop equipped, military M1911A1 style pistol. I found the gun to be an excellent value and about as accurate as any of the government-issued M1911A1 I had experience with, which is to say adequate but not impressive. It’s great fun to shoot and was my favorite .45 until I got my hands on the new and improved SDS Arms/Tisas Army Service Family (ASF) M1911A1.
The ASF is a closer copy of the military original. Improvements include a more accurately sized (smaller) ejection port, a longer hammer, military frame markings, and a non-flared magazine well. MSRP of the new SDS Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 is $479, though the actual price seems closer to $435. It’s a lot more gun than you would expect at that price point!
Frank compared the SDS Arms /Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 (top) to
an original Remington-Rand M1911A1 (bottom) and found the replica
quite well done, varying only in tiny details.
Hammer shape and main spring housing were a virtual match,
though the spur of the original gun’s grip safety beaver tail was thicker.
The original gun was rebuilt in the Vietnam War era and could have
some non-Remington-Rand parts on it.
Historical Design Goals
The SDS Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 is advertised as a “more accurate representation of the 1911A1 Remington Rand that was manufactured during 1943–1945.” Remington-Rand was a typewriter company in Syracuse, NY, and the single largest contractor producing the M1911A1, ultimately making 875,000 pistols and earning laurels for producing guns of unrivaled quality for the lowest cost.
The ASF is like the Remington-Rand guns in that it shows a high quality of manufacture and is remarkably inexpensive. However, the truth is it doesn’t look any more like a Remington-Rand than it does an Ithaca, Singer, or Union Switch & Signal gun. All of them had the same basic design characteristics and used the same minimalist manner of marking their guns on the left side of the slide. Colts differed most notably from the other four in their extensive patent and rampant Colt trademark roll markings on the left side of the slide but resembled the others in their physical features. You really have to be an advanced collector to recognize the slight variations between the different manufacturers. The good news here is the SDS Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 is a great representative piece for all the M1911A1 pistols of World War II.
Improvements of the original military M1911 pistol made through
the mid-1920s became official in 1926 in the M1911A1. The SDS
Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 comes with both wood,
early style double-diamond, and plastic grip panels.
Like the military M1911A1, the SDS Arms /Tisas 1911A1 ASF
U.S. Army 45 doesn’t have a beveled magazine well.
Comparing The Real Deal
I happen to have an early 1945 vintage Remington-Rand M1911A1 that was arsenal overhauled after the Korean and Vietnam Wars (if only it could talk) and appears unissued. While I can’t say if it has all the parts it had when it left New York almost 90 years ago, it can still serve as a good representative World War II gun to compare against the SDS Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45.
Studying them side by side, the differences are tiny. The checkering on the hammer spur and trigger face of the modern gun are laser engraved with a wide cross-hatching rather than stamped with tiny diamonds as in the original. The thickness of the grip safety beavertail is likewise dissimilar in appearance. Virtually all M1911A1 pistols produced in World War II had the rearward face of the front sight flattened off and serrated to reduce glare. The modern gun’s front sight is the right thickness but has a round profile. The size of checkering on the plastic grips and their color differs slightly from the original, being smaller and lighter, respectively. The modern gun comes with an extra set of World War I-type wooden double-diamond grip panels, which is a nice bonus. Compared to the originals, they look coarse because their checkering is laser cut. The slide serrations are also slightly closer together. The “UNITED STATES PROPERTY M 1911 A1 U.S. ARMY” on the right side of the frame is laser engraved on the modern gun rather than stamped, but the awkward spacing of the nomenclature was thoughtfully preserved. Judging from the absurd length of the serial number, it may have been impossible to fit it below the “UNITED STATES PROPERTY” marking like the original.
The slide has no markings, and I wonder if folks who have a laser engraver will be tempted to mark it with the manufacturer of their choice. None of these minor differences diminished my enjoyment of the SDS Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45. and I hope they won’t discourage you either. If you want to have the experience of shooting a new World War II M1911A1 without mortgaging your home, you can’t beat this gun.
The left side of the SDS Arms /Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 (top)
is unmarked. Original M1911A1 pistols (bottom) will always have
their manufacturer markings here.
Note slight differences in the size of the serrations on the slide and slide
lock release, and the checkering on the manual safety and hammer spur.
Build Observations
In response to customer demand, Tisas 1911s now only use fully milled parts, rather than a mixture of Metal Injection Molded (MIM) and milled-from-billet parts. While the difference in strength, and by extension durability, may be slight, milled-from-billet parts are recognized as superior to MIM parts. Slides and frames are milled from steel forgings for the highest strength, consistent with the original design specifications. Unlike many far more expensive 1911 pistols, the safety and slide lock release lever were easy to operate with the shooting hand thumb. Trigger pull measured 5.5 lbs. with a very short take-up of perhaps 1/16″ to the wall and another 1/16″ of travel to a crisp break. I felt it was great right out of the box.
If you want a close copy of the M1911A1 that saw action in WWII, Korea,
Vietnam, and every other place American military personnel held the line
for freedom, the SDS/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 is tough to top.
Right: Note slight differences in the size of the serrations on the
slide and slide lock release, and the checkering on the manual
safety and hammer spur.
Shooting “New” History
I tested six different loads for accuracy at 25 yards, shooting five shot strings from the bench with a Caldwell Pistolero rest and recording velocity at 15 feet from the muzzle on a Competition Electronics Pro-Chrono Digital Chronograph. All the ammo functioned perfectly, though the Italian Mec-Gar magazines would not hold the slide back after the last round. Rather than the standard G.I. double-stepped follower nose, they have only a single step. They are well made, and the follower is polished stainless steel, but to get the slide to stay back, I needed to insert a standard G.I. magazine.
As hole after hole appeared in the 5.25″ diameter bullseye of my standard NRA 25-yard slow-fire pistol target downrange, I came to the delightful conclusion that not only was Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 showing very good accuracy for a service pistol, it was notably better accuracy than most of the genuine military M1911A1 pistols I’ve shot over the years. When I averaged all the group sizes shot with the various ammo types, the average center-to-center spread for a five-shot group was only 2.85″.
The most accurate load tested was Black Hills Ammunition’s premium self-defense bullet, the solid copper 135-grain HoneyBadger, with an average velocity of 1,119 fps and groups averaging 2.11″. Hornady Critical Defense 186-grain FTX JHP, a very reliable expander due to its unique elastomer plugged star crimped jacket hollow-point design, averaged 974 fps and groups of 2.63″. Black Hills Ammunition’s 230-grain JHP averaged 834 fps and groups of 2.73″. Essentially tied for accuracy were: Federal’s American Eagle 137-grain lead-free ball, a frangible bullet designed for safer indoor range practice, which averaged 1,073 fps and groups of 3.04″, Winchester WIN 1911 230-grain JHP which averaged 899 fps and 3.06″ groups and Fiocchi Defense Dynamics 200-grain JHP which averaged 863 fps and 3.06″ groups. Point of impact on the target seemed to range from 2.5 to 4.3″ above the point of aim at 25 yards, depending on the load.
Included with the SDS Arms/Tisas 1911A1 ASF U.S. Army 45 are a sturdy plastic, lockable hard case, two Mec-Gar seven-round magazines, two sets of military-style grip panels (plastic and wood), a cleaning brush, non-marring plastic bushing wrench, and a trigger lock and instruction manual.
For more info: TisasUSA.com
