The trigger--although aluminum--is an austere, no-nonsense black instead of the usual silver.

Mechanically, the grip safety is a lever that pivots at the top end. A high grip means less pressure on the grip safety at the point of greatest leverage--at the lower end. Realizing this, both aftermarket and original-equipment grip safeties often show a so-called "speed bump" or "insurance pad" at the bottom. This pad projects the rear surface of the safety farther out. It usually works well enough, but it tends to increase the dimensions of a pistol that too many people already consider to be too large in the first place.

Novak's Answer resolves these difficulties very simply. The Answer is a single piece of aluminum or steel configured to slip into the slots machined in a 1911 receiver that normally accept the mainspring housing. Shaped to comprise what is usually the grip safety and mainspring housing, the Answer forms the entire rear surface of the gun's receiver. It has the shape of a smooth, beavertail safety with no insurance pad, connected to a precisely checkered flat mainspring housing--all in one piece. It should be fitted by a competent pistolsmith and must have the normal mainspring and related parts properly installed in a cavity at the lower end. It is held in place by the mainspring housing pin at the bottom and the thumb safety at the top.

Novak's Answer completely does away with any grip-safety function.

That is a matter that will likely raise an eyebrow or two around the world of handgunning. Properly used, the mechanical safety is sufficient security against inadvertent firing. It's also prudent to use a titanium firing pin and proper Wolff firing-pin spring to prevent discharges of dropped 1911s. You have to manage these pistols with the techniques developed by Col. Jeff Cooper and currently taught at the Gunsite Academy. That means, among other things, the shooter keeps his finger off the trigger until the sights are on a definite target. All of this raises the question of whether you need the grip safety on a pure single-action auto pistol.

Note the crisply matched border of the slide's matte-finished top and smooth side. The matte top cuts down on glare and offers a non-slip grip when racking back the slide.

Within the last several months, I've had occasion to review several "pure single-action" autos, new and old. One was the brand-new Sigarms X5, a super new gun derived from the P226. Another was the old classic Browning HiPower. I've also worked with Heckler & Koch's Tactical .45, which can be used as a single-action pistol. In the past I have reviewed--to involve carrying and firing--many other guns such as the SIG P210 and Star autos like the PDs and BMs. Not one of these guns has a grip safety, nor do countless others in the century-plus history of fighting automatics.

I don't see a strong need for a passive grip safety on this class of firearm. Therefore, I don't see any reason why removing it with the installation of Novak's Answer could create any safety hazard, as long as the shooter continues to manage the gun with due care and in accordance with the well-understood principles of 1911 shooting.

The pistol shown in these pages is the very first gun to have the Answer installed. With an aluminum Answer installed, the customized Colt Lightweight Commander weighs 261?2 ounces empty, with a seven-shot Novak magazine in place. It also has a number of special touches that deserve description.