The PC 1911 weighs a couple of ounces more than a GI 1911, a factor that only enhances the gun's overall shootability.

When Smith & Wesson startled the handgun world with the introduction of its own rendering of the Government Model .45, it seemed almost a slam-dunk that the company's Performance Center would soon have a tricked-out version of the same gun. As a matter of fact, I was at the press conference where the SW1911 was announced, and one of my colleagues innocently asked if there would be such a gun. As I recall, the official answer was a cautious "Maybe." But when I glanced over at the Center's director, Tom Kelley, I knew different. He had one of those cat-that-ate-the-canary grins. It was then that I knew a Performance Center 1911 was coming.

And the PC 1911 is worth the wait. The original SW1911 is a fine .45; it came out of the starting gate strong and continues to run well with other 1911s.

But the Performance Center has taken the basic version and refined it to the level of true excellence. The "main plant" .45 was excellent; this one is outstanding.

BASIC ELEMENTS
The PC 1911 is an all-steel, 41-ounce (a little heavier than most 1911s) single-action auto. There's a 5-inch barrel, checkered grips, adjustable sights and a host of other features.

While there is a strong family resemblance between the SW1911 and the PC 1911, it's important to understand the significant differences between them. The PC 1911's main structures are the receiver and the slide, which start with the same forgings used in the SW1911. But the Performance Center gun goes to a completely different CNC program. The result is a slide and a receiver that don't fit together until a skilled craftsman hand-laps them into a precise relationship.

Performance Center designers selected the fully adjustable Wilson Combat rear sight. It features a plain rear face.

One of the things that 1911 match armorers were once taught to do was tighten the fit of GI slides and receivers. It's far better to manufacture them close and then fit them perfectly by hand. The result is a pistol in which the slide goes straight back and straight forward--no play in any other direction.

No 1911, however, can deliver blue-chip accuracy without a top-notch barrel that is fitted to perfection. Actually, the fit of the barrel to the slide at front and rear probably edges the quality of the bore and the rifling when it comes to producing tight groups. In the case of the PC 1911, the barrel is machined from stainless steel bar stock, cut-rifled and finished to oversize shape, ready to be fitted by hand. Then, in the process of hand-building a pistol, a Performance Center pistolsmith carefully fits the barrel to the barrel bushing at the front end of the slide. He also ensures that the rear end of the barrel (the barrel hood) is snug against the breechface in the slide. And he also fits the lower barrel lugs to the slide stop and barrel link. The result of all the handwork ensures that the barrel returns to the exact same relationship with the slide every time the slide slams forward into battery.

On my sample gun, the trigger pull is just over 31⁄4 pounds. It's clean and crisp in the extreme, so I will avoid gunwriter clichés like breaking icicles, glass rods or fresh-chilled celery. The trigger is of the usually preferred so-called "long" type, the length originally used on 1911s. It is skeletonized to reduce weight and has an adjustable trigger stop that most of us will be well advised to leave just as it comes from the factory.

SPECIAL FEATURES
Although the PC 1911 is made of stainless steel, it is done up in the company's Melonite finish. Applied over a bead-blasted surface, Melonite comes out in a durable, nonreflective black. The last thing any serious handgunner wants on a working gun is a shiny, reflective surface. This is as true for the Camp Perry shooter as it is for the IPSC or IDPA competitor--or, for that matter, the working cop. The PC 1911 is businesslike but still just a little on the elegant side.

The best 10-shot group from the PC 1911--fired from a Ransom Rest at 25 yards--measured a fantastic .98 of an inch. The ammo? Black Hills 230-grain JHP.

The flat-black slide has a couple of special features. The rear sight, for example, is a fully adjustable type developed by Wilson Combat. It has the precise click windage and elevation adjustments associated with match guns but is built on a base that offers a sort of protective fence that makes sense on a gun that could see rough service. The front sight--a serrated, slightly angled black post-- is dovetailed into the slide.

The slide-cocking serrations add a unique touch. They're on panels at the front and back end of the slide on both sides. The lines that form the serrations are cut in a wavy pattern that works perfectly and is distinctly eye-catching. And the massive external extractor--of the type used on the PC 945 pistol--ensures positive extraction and ejection.

The grips are a wine-colored checkered laminate--just plain checkering, with no identification or fancy patterns. But that dark, variegated color is distinctive. Grips are there to aid the shooter's grasp on the pistol, and these get it done. But even more tactile help comes from 30-lpi checkering on the frontstrap and a somewhat coarser pattern on the mainspring housing. The grip safety is of the beavertail style, and it has the pad that ensures that the shooter compresses it fully.

To round out the amenities, the PC 1911 is fitted with an ambidextrous thumb safety and an extended magazine well. Both are features typical of race guns; the ambi safety makes sense for weak-hand shooting stages. And a magazine change under the stress of competition or real-world danger is easier with that flared magazine well. Two eight-round Novak magazines come with each PC 1911.

ACCURATE, SHOOTABLE
Although I didn't have the chance to take the PC 1911 through a course at Gunsite (where you really find out what it's worth), I did have time to run a lot of Black Hills 230-grain ball through it in informal shooting exercises--rolling pop cans and busting dirt clods. I also tried some fast pairs (two shots, two sight pictures) at seven yards and hammers (two shots, one sight picture) at short yardages.

The PC 1911 is a racy rendering of a classic, built by hand from the forgings up.

Most 1911s run around 38 to 39 ounces, but the PC 1911 is heavier, at approximately 41 ounces. The full-length guide rod adds some weight, and so does the add-on magazine well. Extra weight would not be welcome toward the end of a 15-mile forced march, but I don't do those anymore. Extra weight is really welcome in recoil control, however.

The gun's weight and superb trigger make it a dream to shoot. But I had no idea as to its inherent accuracy until I broke out my Ransom Rest.

Originally, I had intended to use an assortment of 10 different loads, but things went so well that I continued a little further with every load in the ammo box for which I had at least 10 rounds. The total came to be 14 different commercial loads. Only two of these loads were of the so-called "Match" variety. Most of them were typical JHPs from various makers, along with a number of 230-grain ball types. It was a good variety, though perhaps a little heavy on the 230s.

The PC 1911 just ate up everything. Not one of the 14 loads went over 1.87 inches. The 16 different loads averaged 1.47 inches for 10 shots at 25 yards, and the best 10 averaged 1.27 inches. Further, of the 16 different 10-round groups, six were one-hole. The Black Hills 230-grain JHP turned out to be the best single load, delivering a .98-of-an-inch group. Next came Federal's 185-grain Match SWC (1.04 inches), Hornady 230-grain HP-XTP (1.10 inches), PMC 200-grain SWC (1.11 inches) and Remington 230-grain Golden Saber (1.24 inches). I'm champing at the bit to see what I can do with selected handloads.

RANGE RESULTS
FACTORY LOAD	AVERAGE VELOCITY (fps)	STANDARD DEVIATION (fps)	GROUP SIZE (in.)
Winchester 230-gr. JHP	860	14	1.61
Remington Bonded Golden Saber 230-gr. JHP	829	15	1.4*
Federal Gold Medal Match 230-gr. JHP	847	8	1.80
Hornady XTP+P 230-gr. JHP	908	9	1.10*
Remington Golden Saber 230-gr. FMJ	807	7	1.74
Black Hills 230-gr. JHP	842	11	0.98*
Winchester SXT 230-gr. JHP	862	13	1.46
PMC 230-gr. SWC	950	9	1.11*
Hornady XTP 200-gr. JHP	912	12	1.41*
Federal Gold Medal Match 185-gr. SWC	776	10	1.04*
Pro Load 185-gr. JHP	952	12	1.61
UMC 185-gr. FMJ FN	1,029	26	1.87
Remington Golden Saber 185-gr. JHP	1,032	22	1.84
Federal Expanding 16-gr. FMJ	1,094	17	1.79
Notes: Accuracy results based on a 10-shot group fired from a Ransom Rest. Velocities measured with an Oehler model 35 chronography with sky screens placed approximately 12 feet from the muzzle. Asterisk (*) indicated one-hole group.

Obviously, the Performance Center set out to build an accurate gun and succeeded. But two things become obvious when you study the matter a little more intently. While it is interesting to note how accurate the PC 1911 is, it is more significant to note the consistency of the gun's performance. It's not a matter of a small number of loads pulling down the average group size. There was little difference in group size from the best to the worst. In plain language, this remarkable pistol took anything I threw at it--all off-the-shelf commercial ammo--and delivered match accuracy--an average group size of 1.47 inches. The size of the X-ring on a standard NRA bullseye target is 1.695 inches. Draw your own conclusions.

The pistol's distinctively wavy slide serrations are as functional as they are attractive. They're also on a panel at the front of the slide.

You can't expect this level of performance from a gun without handwork. It takes a guy who knows what he is doing, which, in this case, was S&W's Tom Gordon, one of the fine craftsmen who staff the Performance Center. The PC 1911 is pricey, currently listing at $2,272. But try to buy a gun of this quality from any other source. I don't think you can.