by Scott Smith

In the world of firearms, there are many traditions. Aged leather holsters add character to handguns. Fine wood stocks make long guns into works of art, etc.

One of the biggest traditions in shooting is that the 1911 is still the choice of professionals, be it on the street or on the competition field. The reasons are as varied as the numbers and styles of 1911s out there. Generally the strongest points of the 1911 are: consistent trigger; the ability to adapt the handgun to fit many people; the ability to shoot a variety of cartridges (albeit not out of the same pistol), and, in the case of the tinkering American, loads of parts to have it "built your way."

One of the primary uses of the Government Model is for self-defense and the Gunsmithy at Gunsite Training Academy in Paulden, AZ, builds this grand old pistol in the tradition of the founder and leading developer of the "modern technique," Col. Jeff Cooper. The colonel felt the 1911 needed good sights, a crisp 4- to 5-pound trigger pull, and no sharp edges.

Well, the head pistol plumber at Gunsite, Ted Yost, has built this 1911 and added a few practical amenities: a high ride beavertail with posi-grip bump; extended and contoured thumb safety; premium internal parts; forged frame and slide hand fitted to the heart of the pistol, and a KartNM barrel/bushing for accuracy-all not too tight to sacrifice reliability.

The Gunsite GSP2001 or Marksman Series, at first glance, compared to the wonder 1911s of IPSC, is boring. The pistol has a deep black blueing, nicely laser engraved with the Gunsite Raven, smooth cocobolo grips, no big mag wells, no bright flashy fiber optic front sights, and no extraneous other whizbangs. All in all, a very utilitarian pistol, and that is what it is meant to be-a pistol carried and used for duty, self-defense-but it also will run with the best of them on the IPSC or IDPA field.

Good Blood Lines
Lest we cast stones at this finely put together handgun for not being a wonder whizbang, let's take a look at it. At the heart of the Gunsite Marksman is a fitted Kart National Match barrel and bushing which are used in many of the pistols that take home the gold at Camp Perry; so they must not be slouches in the accuracy department. This is mated to a Caspian frame and slide that have been used to build many winning pistols for the Bianchi Cup and USPSA/IPSC titles; so they must hold up to a lot of hard use. So far this is a 1911 with championship blood lines.

Next, we look at the small parts, the ones that make the pistol or prevent it from going bang. Safeties are from Wilson Combat-another leader in the field. The slide is topped with Novak Sights. Tool steel hammer, sear, disconnector, and premium grade pins are used so the really small parts won't let you down.

The Marksman doesn't sound quite so boring when you look at the details. But then, as the old saying goes, take care of the small things and the big ones will fall in place, too. So far the Marksman seems to have covered all the minor details.

For a duty or self-defense handgun the big detail is: how does it shoot? Followed immediately by does it go bang every time the trigger is pulled? And, lastly, what does or doesn't it shoot? All valid questions to the duty cop, high speed SWAT cop, or to the average citizen that legally carries for self-defense.

So how does it shoot? The Gunsite Marksman shot everything and shot it well. Over the course of a month and several different shooters, more than 2,000 handloaded rounds with bullet weights from 155-grain LSWC to 230-grain LRN were put down range by this Commander-sized Marksman. It had one failure to feed-a handload of questionable background had the LRN shear over the brass, and a failure to fire on a handload that had an inverted primer and wouldn't shoot no matter the blaster. Two out of 2,000 rounds; not bad.

Alright, so this Marksman makes everything go bang when the trigger is pulled; that's good, but can you hit anything with it? Glad you asked, because if the pistol doesn't yield at least 4-inch accuracy at 25 yards for a duty/self-defense gun, what good is it? The good news is that our sample Marksman was capable of 1.5- to 2-inch groups, outstanding for a Commander-length pistol.

The best nine-round group-1.5 inches-with factory loadings was shot with International Cartridge's 175-grain loading of SinterFire's frangible bullets. That was all nine, not the average of the best five shots. Other factory loadings-Black Hills 185-grain JHPs, Cor-Bon 230-grain JHPs, Blazer 230-grain FMJs, Winchester 230-grain SXTs-all ran flawlessly and consistently shot nine-round groups under 2 inches.

Throughout our testing of the Gunsite Marksman, it was toted around in a Gordon Davis "Yaqui" Slide with his matching belt, with a reload on the off side in a Sidearmor Single Mag Carrier. The double-layer gun belt held the magazine carrier and slide securely in place as it should. The Davis version of the Yaqui Slide (YS) is more stable than others since it is extended to the rear of the holster like a pancake style holster (a true YS has a belt tunnel behind it and tends to feel like the holster will roll over). Presentations from the Davis YS were smooth and quick, just like they should be from a good holster.

After getting a fine pistol like the Marksman and gear, take a class from someplace like Gunsite, or your favorite institution of higher firearms education, to learn how to properly use your firearms. For more information on the Gunsite Marksman and options available or to obtain the holster and belt give them a call at: 520-636-4565, or visit them on-line at: www.Gunsite.com. Also be sure to join a group like the Second Amendment Foundation to help secure your rights to own the Gunsite Marksman.