by Dave Workman
Senior Editor

Used to be that the name Auto-Ordnance was not automatically synonymous with quality control, but all that appears to have changed since the company was purchased by Kahr Arms back in January 1999.

Everyone knows about Kahr quality, and the performance of its striker-fired semi-auto pistols. They are rugged, reliable and affordable.

From all indications, Kahr is trying very hard to build that same reputation for the Auto-Ordnance line of Model 1911 pistols, which brings us to a saga for which there is a bit of background.

For some time now, I've been casting around for a M1911-type pistol of the Commander size. There are some good quality guns out there, in roughly the same size range, made by Kimber, Springfield and others, all of which are growing in price at about the same pace they are growing in reputation.

Of course, Colt still punches out the original Commander, but I was looking around for a Series 70, not one of the newer versions with the firing pin disconnector. The older models seem to be either in short supply or their owners treasure them, and when I've found one for sale on the used gun market, the owner wanted a premium, even for what turned out to be a beater.

Adaptability
Why this obsession with the Commander-size pistol? The short answer is that this particular model size is the most dimensionally appealing, and perhaps the most adaptable, of all M1911 presentations. With a 4.25-inch barrel, it is altogether a good concealed carry piece, yet entirely functional as a duty sidearm, and not out of its realm in a pitched battle if things ever deteriorated to that level. It is well-balanced and, when properly built, is capable of long service. With good sights and proper fit, the Commander-size gun is capable of decent target work in the hands of someone who knows how to shoot.

Then last February at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, I stumbled upon the Auto- Ordnance "Mid-Size Standard," a Plain Jane pistol if ever there was one. Built to mil-spec dimensions, with the rather small sights one is accustomed to seeing on a World War I or World War II vintage military pistol, a spur hammer and brown plastic checkered grips, this was a reasonably-priced pistol that had one very urgent feature that I demanded on a gun in this class: A full 4.25-inch barrel and bushing, rather than a 4-inch bull barrel and full-length guide rod that seems to be all the rage with nearly every competing model.

Over the next few months, I thought about that pistol often. Finally, I launched a project that would use whatever gun I could reasonably afford in this size class, and began exchanging e-mail with Kahr's inimitable Frank Harris, and with fellow gun scribe Walt Rauch.

It was a Rauch review of a full-size Auto- Ordnance mil-spec M1911 in the pages of Combat Handguns that tipped me off to improvements in that company's products.

Gunsmith's Testimony
But my investigation didn't stop there. At Harris' suggestion, I contacted renowned pistolsmith Bill Laughridge at Cylinder & Slide in Fremont, NE. A word about this. Harris, it has been my experience, is a no-nonsense guy when it comes to talking about the products he sells. That he had the confidence in Auto-Ordnance's improvements to have me contact a gunsmith of Laughridge's reputation speaks volumes about where Auto-Ordnance has come in the last three years.

Laughridge had taken some guns from Auto-Ordnance and tested them for hardness on a Rockwell machine. Having similarly tested other 1911 clones of various pedigree and origin, and finding what he felt was soft steel, he was happy to report that the new stuff from Auto-Ordnance features good heat treating.

"Obviously," he said about the Auto-Ordnance pistols, "they are a price point gun. This gun that's coming through Kahr Arms is damn near on the money. . . . I think the Kahr Arms gun, the way it is heat treated, I would think you'll get 40,000 to 50,000 rounds."

That prediction got my immediate and undivided attention.

Company Objective
Harris confirmed that castings for Auto- Ordnance pistols are still done in Spain, but they are now shipped to the United States for heat treating at the Kahr facility in Massachusetts. That process appears to make all the difference since 40,000 to 50,000 rounds is far more than the average shooter will ever put through a handgun.

Laughridge told Gun Week that he was closely examining the Auto-Ordnance pistol as a platform from which to brew up custom guns. He predicted that Kahr's ownership of the once-criticized company means only good news ahead.

"I think Kahr is going to continue to improve and get into a medium-priced box stock gun," he said. "I don't think Kahr is interested in the low ball market."

Harris confirmed this, noting that Auto- Ordnance's aim is to keep the cost of its M1911 pistols down, providing a product that is affordable, but hardly "cheap" in the derogatory sense. There is considerable difference between those two terms.

At that point I finally called Harris and requested a test gun, with possible intent to purchase. He dropped a minor bit of bad news in my lap. Turns out that Kahr/Auto-Ordnance has decided, at least for the time being, to not include the "Mid-Size" in its product lineup.

But every dark cloud has a silver lining. Harris quickly tipped me off that there were eight of the pistols in stock, and he'd be delighted to ship one out to me for testing and evaluation. It took me only a minute of mumbling to say "Yeah!"

About two weeks elapsed. The October deer season opener in Washington state arrived with me in the mountains when the pistol landed at a local gun shop. The test gun (Serial No. AOA01666) came in a lockable hard plastic, padded box with a cable lock, instruction manual, one 7-round Metal Form magazine and a rear sight that had been pounded into the dovetail at a rather odd angle. There was also a small brown envelope in which was a single shell casing from a round fired in the gun. This is a requirement of the so-called ballistic fingerprinting laws now on the books in Maryland and New York and threatening everyone.

I immediately notified Harris about the sight, then took it down the street where a gunsmith popped it out and re-fitted it correctly. Then I was off to the pistol pit with a selection of various .45 loads ranging from 230-grain ball to 185-grain JHP handloads.

Good Finish
Weighing 37 ounces unloaded, the Mid-Size has a curved mainspring housing, standard thumb and grip safety with the narrow GI tang on top, spur hammer, standard slide stop/release lever and cocking serrations cut at an angle rather than vertically at the rear of the slide on both sides. The finish was surprisingly good for a gun in this price range, and the front strap, front of the trigger guard, and underside of the dust cover all had the appearance of some polishing before the bluing was added. On top, the slide was matte-finished to eliminate glare.

Both myself and younger son, Josh, who happens to be a pretty fair pistol shot despite his "aw, shucks" attitude about it, first fired the Auto-Ordnance off-hand, printing rounds consistently to the left of center. After shifting our point-of-aim to the right of the X-ring, to the 8-ring on a Birchwood Casey target, we both started punching center holes. Josh managed some pretty tight groups from the 15-yard line.

Later, off a sandbag rest, I made the pistol perform considerably better, producing consistently tight groups that I gradually worked into the 10-ring.

Harris said Auto-Ordnance fits its pistols with Wolff springs, and for sure, the recoil spring in this pistol came from that source, an 18-pounder that cycled the slide reliably. During my initial testing, I recorded two malfunctions having to do with ejection that I blame on "weak-wristing" the gun, and two failures to feed that I could not properly blame on any single cause, because they subsequently fed just fine.

Rear Tang
Both "weak wrist" events occurred during the first shooting session, and might be traced to my sincere dislike for the original narrow-tang grip safety designed for this pistol by John Browning. A genius, Browning must have held a grudge for handgunners because that downward-sloping rear tang just pounds the hell out my hand between the thumb and index finger. After donning a pair of Uncle Mike's shooting gloves, that problem was eliminated, but days later, as I wrote this, a tiny scab still remained.

One thing this pistol proved is that one does not necessarily need to polish the ramp for a .45-caliber semi-auto to feed properly. This gun fed just about everything I stuck in the magazine, including JHP ammo from Winchester, Remington, Federal, Taurus and Black Hills.

Ejection is high and wide from the gun to the rear right, just where brass ought to go out of a service pistol. The extractor and ejector functioned flawlessly, and soon the empties began piling up on the cement floor of the shooting shed.

I must lament Auto-Ordnance's decision to shelve, at least for the present, this pistol model. Apparently, there may not be as large a demand for this size .45 as one might expect, or perhaps there is simply too much competition already out there, albeit at an admittedly higher suggested retail price point.

Personally, I think the Mid-Size (Commander-size) Model 1911 is the most perfectly-dimensioned member of the M1911 family. I own two full-size M1911 pistols, one a Springfield and the other a custom job from Olympic Arms. Both are proven sidearms, with thousands of rounds down the bores and almost spotless performance, and I pack one or the other frequently in a concealment holster. I also own a Kimber Compact Custom, a dandy little .45 that goes with me almost daily, even though the bottom rear of the shortened grip does beat my palm a bit because my hand is larger than the gun butt.

The Mid-Size from Auto-Ordnance-like the Commander and its clones-does not present that problem. With its full-size grip frame and shorter barrel, this is a versatile pistol.

I'm not ashamed to acknowledge that I sent off a check to Kahr Arms to pay for this gun, and promptly took it to a gunsmith pal of mine for a bit of personal modification, which I will detail in an upcoming report. I will disclose now that the gunsmith is Richard Niemer, presently with Olympic Arms and previously the guru at Detonics, so this guy knows a few things about handguns.

Niemer quickly stripped the Auto-Ordnance Mid-Size, all the way down to removing the plunger and spring. Like Laughridge, he tested several parts from the pistol for Rockwell hardness, and he was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, having had some experience with older firearms wearing the Auto-Ordnance label. He noted that the slide on this pistol Rockwelled harder than those on some custom pistols, and the Rockwell hardness on some of the internal parts truly raised his eyebrows. He was particularly impressed with the disconnector and extractor.

In the meantime, for those searching for a very affordable full-size M1911 pistol, Auto-Ordnance provides a good basic package. There are three styles available:

The Parkerized model is Auto-Ordnance's version of the military 1911A1, complete with a lanyard loop. It has a military-style rollstamp, standard low-profile blade front and drift-adjustable rear sight, and brown plastic grips with spur hammer.

Auto-Ordnance's Standard model is the same size gun with a 5-inch barrel, spur hammer, brown grips, but no lanyard loop.

The Deluxe model has higher-profile three-dot sights, blue finish and wrap-around synthetic grips.

If you're on a tight budget, yet shopping for a new-in-the-box M1911 pistol, one of these full-size guns from Auto-Ordnance (630 Route 303, Dept. GWK, Blauvelt, NY 10913; phone: 845-353-7770; on-line: www.auto-ordnance.com) could be in your future.