By Dan Kidder
Managing Editor

Good things come in small packages, so the adage goes. To prove that point, Springfield Armory has taken all that is great about the 1911 and shrunk it down into a subcompact that retains all of the features we love and eliminates all that we dislike about the 1911.

The first problem many shooters have with a 1911 is that it is big, heavy and hard to conceal. With a 3-inch bull barrel, 6.5 inches overall length and weighing a mere 26 ounces unloaded, this gun is small and light enough to conceal even for those small framed folks. The additional Extreme Carry Beveling makes sure the gun won’t hang up or dig into your body by smoothing out sharp spots typically found on 1911s.

Another complaint about 1911s is that the grip is too large for many shooters. The Micro Compact .45 has reduced the grip size to the perfect balance between too small to adequately control and too large for shooters with small hands. The gun feels amazing in the hand and is a natural pointer.

On the upside of the 1911, the gun retains all of the familiar controls and the same manual of arms as 1911 shooters are used to. The ambidextrous thumb safety adds versatility, while the grip safety and magazine release are right where you expect them to be. Disassembly is familiar as well, requiring no additional tools other than a small retainer clip on the recoil spring to field strip the pistol.

Overtravel adjustable, skeletonized trigger and delta  lightweight hammer add to the professional and modern look of this gun. On top, a pair of Trijicon ramped tritium night sights provide snag free drawing with easy aiming in all kinds of light. Inside, a titanium firing pin, flat recoil spring, beveled ejection port and smoothly polished parts make this gun a real operator. It flawlessly performed with any kind of .45 ACP ammo I fed it, from the most expensive personal protection rounds to the cheapest target loads.

While the two magazines that come with the pistol are stainless steel 6-rounders, the gun will accept standard sized 7 or 8 round 1911 magazines, though they do protrude about an inch out of the grip. If I have to reload, the gun will be in my hand and not on my hip and that extra inch means up to two more rounds, which doesn’t bother me in the least.

The gun is small enough to conceal, but pretty enough that you will want to carry it in the open. Its bi-tone coloring of black and stainless is enhanced by genuine cocobolo hardwood grips that make the Micro Compact .45 a stunning pistol.

With an MSRP of around $1,100 this pistol isn’t cheap, but it is another fine product out of Springfield Armory, the company George Washington founded. Check one out at your local Sportsman’s Warehouse gun counter.