1911 Racer: STI Lawman 5.0

Yes, Virginia, STI made single stacks

STI Lawman 5.0

Howdy, folks, and welcome back. Last week we looked at some of the history of the 1911, and its similarities with the Colt Single Action Army, better known as the Peacemaker. This week, we're going to move on to a specific example.

Over the years, I've had quite a few 1911s, but tended to sell or trade the last one to fund the next one, rather than building a collection. I had a fair sampling of the lower end of the market, from Taurus (prone to rust and tended to break parts,) and Rock Island (reliable and decent, but basic and ugly,) up through Springfield (mine, an early 90s "Defender" would not run at all,) and Colt. I never broke a part on a Colt, so maybe the materials are higher quality, but the machining left both of mine full of shar pedges, and fitting was lackluster on both of mine. That led to lackluster accuracy. I was disappointed to pay Colt prices for such

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If any one of those were my whole experience with the platform, it'd be easy to join the ranks of the detractors. "Jam-o-matic! Fudd Cannon! Relic!"

Fortunately, I had also been exposed to what a well-tuned example could do. A friend who was also a machinist tuned up my Sistema (built under license from Colt in Argentina in the '30s) to an amazing degree. I'd seen Wilson and Nighthawk guns run, and the STI 2011 race guns that dominate USPSA

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When I got into USPSA, because I already had 1911s, I wanted to shoot Single Stack division. Because my budget was limited, I didn't want to pay for a full custom, but my lesser guns quickly proved to be just that: lesser.

I started looking for something in between. What I eventually settled on was an STI (the firm now known as Staccato,) Lawman 5.0

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The price point was almost identical to my Colt, and yet what a startling difference. The Lawman series, ironically, weren't even built as competition guns, but for duty and self defense. Evidently STI's race gun experience trickled down; this is a truly exceptional pistol

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First, what is it? It's a 5" 1911. It's a single stack, unlike the 2011s for which STI/Staccato are famous. All steel. It uses a full length guide rod, and a fully ramped and supported barrel. The rear sight, although it looks like the usual Novak, is actually STI's own adjustable unit. The frame is checkered, and the grips are aggressively checkered G10. Ejection port is lowered and flared. The finish is matte blue everywhere but the slide flats, which are polished

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What really makes it shine, though is how well all that meshes. The slide-to-frame fit is smooth and precise. With a few dabs of grease, it feels like it's on ball bearings. The trigger is smooth. Pleasantly light without being danger light, like so many race guns. The barrel bushing is within the realm of possibility to turn by finger-power, but a bushing wrench makes life much easier. That precise fitting lets it hold the upper A-zone of a USPSA target at 50 yards. I've shot bullseye with this pistol and not been embarrassed.

All that, yet it's no finicky racehorse. Somehow it's also reliable. I've put between eight and ten thousand rounds through it in years of competition shooting, nearly all my 200 grain LSWC reloads, and it has jammed twice

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That's not to say that it's flawless. The STI "adjustable tactical" sight has an issue, it doesn't move through the full range of travel that it should. When I got it, it shot 6-8 inches high with the sight bottomed out. Since I wanted a fiber optic front sight anyway, it was easier to get a taller one from Dawson to compensate, rather than actually address the issue with the rear. As a result, it doesn't work well in most leather holsters

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For all it's supposed to be a duty/carry gun, I decided to make it my Sunday driver. It's expensive, blued, and the aggressive checkering that makes it so easy to get a grip while running and gunning will just shred a cover garment.

Next week, we'll look at the daily driver.