Colt Combat Elite Government 45 ACP 5" Optics Ready Shooter's Model Pistol

The Combat Elite Government is Colt's full size 1911 built for shooters who want a red dot on a 45. The slide is cut for a compact reflex sight, so an optic mounts without a trip to a gunsmith. Under it sits the 5 inch Government length barrel, which is the profile that gives the 45 ACP the slow, rolling recoil impulse the cartridge is known for. Colt runs a stainless and black two tone treatment on this one, and the frame and slide are steel the way a 1911 should be.

This gun is a Colt Shooter's Model. That designation means it left the factory 100 percent new in the box with a slight finish imperfection picked up during manufacturing, the kind of mark that usually takes good light or a magnifier to spot. Colt does not extend its one year warranty to Shooter's Model guns, and the difference is cosmetic rather than mechanical. Everything that makes the Combat Elite work is still here: a crisp single action trigger, the grip safety and thumb safety every 1911 shooter already knows, and a frame that takes the enormous aftermarket the platform has built over a century.