Hi, been a while since I've posted anything.
But I had to post something about my newest acquisition; Sig's new 1911 Tacops in 10mm. And just to add to GoneBallisticinAlabama's 11 page thread, here is mine.
Why 10mm ? I have been asked that from 5 different people so far, so I'll tell the back story.
Back in 1990, just before I Joined the US Army, I purchased my first handgun, a STAR- Megastar 10mm Auto.
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This thing was a BEAST! Over 50 oz. loaded, solid stainless steel. Their Ad said "built to last", It should have said 'too over-built to hold on target'. It's Mag was a double-stack 14 round'r and the trigger travel was just shy of a mile
.
So nothing to brag about...But I loved the Cartridge! At that time, all I could find for it was CCI Blazers (Al case) and they were HOT! I remember shooting all sorts of stuff and amazed by the power of the 10mm. Eventually though, I traded it at a gun show. And have been wanting another 10mm ever since.
When I saw that SIG was making 1911s, I wanted one. Then I saw they made one in 10mm... WHAT!!!
Well 27 years later, I finally got a 10mm.
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This is my 3rd SIG pistol (P229 older 'made in Germany' frame and a 226 Legion). I only own one 1911 but its a S&W carry '1911ES' which is a small scadium frame. It's a great carry gun, but not a 'real' 1911, meaning not full size 5" bbl all steel, and I've always wanted one. And wanted the SIG and wanted a 10mm, So I killed 2 birds... and all that...
On to the review.
The Tacops shipped with 4 magazines, and the other usual stuff (lock, owner's manual, Lucas oil sample) in a blow-mold case.
![Gun Firearm Trigger Starting pistol Everyday carry]()
Fit and finish was very nice. The Nitron finish is just beautiful, perfectly even deep, semi-flat black across the entire frame and slide. Sights are a glossy black oxide finish which looks a little off and stands out more from the rest of the pistol more than I'd like.
**WARNING**: This pistol has NO melt and blend treatment. ALL edges are clean and sharp. Almost too sharp. The 25 lines/inch checkering on the front strap is very sharp, the edges on the front of the magwell opening, the thumb safety traction cuts and the slide's cocking serrations will slice you up .. no, It's not that bad, but they are aggressive. If you have 'office hands' you may need gloves just to hold it..
.
Mag release is extended a little with good jimping. Grips are Ergo (plastic) with a very nice aggressive patern/texture. I believe that even if your hands were slather'd in axle grease, this pistol will still not slip from your grip.
A note about the grips: Trying to remove them resulted in turning out the grip bushing on one screw. I've heard of this being an issue, so i wasn't surprised. The fix: clean the bushing and frame threads with acetone or electrical contact cleaner on a Q-tip, blast again with contact cleaner, blow off with canned air, apply medium strength loctite or Rockset, screw the grip and bushing back into the frame more than hand tight, but do not torque it. Let it cure (1 hour or so) then hit the grip screw again with a really quick turn of a hex driver and it should break free from the bushing.
Anyway..Slide was tighter than i was expecting..smooth as glass, but no play at all. This concerned me a little because i figured it would be very picky about mags and ammo choices at first but I'm sure it will loosen up after a couple hundred rounds. Barrel to bushing contact was very solid though.
One issue I have is the thumb safety, it is very difficult to flip on and off. I took it apart and stoned and polished the contact points and it made no difference at all
Maybe I'll try a lighter plunger spring.
Another is the trigger take up. It has a lot. Fortunately it has adjustment tabs on the front of the bow and, well... its no longer an issue now
. Oh. and while i was in there, i noticed the sear, hammer hooks and disconnector contact points were all polished. And the frame interior was very clean, smooth and free of any tool marks and burs. Good job Sig, Very nice.
Trigger pull was somewhat smooth, however, has some creep and breaks about 5 lbs (guess). Its a series 80 design, so some trigger smoothness is compromised by the linkage. But its fine with me, after all Its a 'Tactical' pistol
. I do wish that SIG would link the series 80 mechanics to the grip safety and not the trigger like S&W does.
The slide catch has a nice little extension (nub) on it towards the grip that helps you engage it without shifting your grip too much.
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The barrel is VERY nice. It appears to be a 'Match' barrel. The chamber has a polished feed ramp and decent case support and a slight flare at the muzzle for the bushing.
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And the muzzle appears to be target crowned.
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The chamber is not as tight as my Wilson case gauge, but that's good because I can't fully chamber my polymer coated reloads in the case gauge
but they 'plunk' right into the Tacops' chamber.
Comes with standard GI short recoil guide rod (strangely its a 2 peice
) and a flat-wire spring of unknown weight.
It also comes with a flared Magwell extension that dovetails into the Mainspring housing with a hex-head screw to secure it.
![Silver Metal Fashion accessory]()
This was slightly loose on my pistol, but a little loctite and a little torque fixed it right up.
Oh, and the Mainspring housing is steel. In fact, other that the grips and the trigger, the ENTIRE pistol is stainless steel (or at least steel). Slide , Frame, Controls, Barrel, screws, guide rod...etc. It weighs in at 41 oz unloaded.
And Tritium night sights come standard on the Tacops.
BUT!! All this means little until you hit the range. And the one word for that would be WOW!
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This thing is a joy to shoot.
I fed it 50 rounds of SIG's 180g FMJ (chrony'd @ 1175 fps)
100 handloaded 180gr coated (target load chrony'd @ 1158 fps)
20 handloaded 150gr SEIRRA Power Jacket (didn't measure vel)
10 handloaded 155gr XTP (full pwr load chrony'd @ 1314 fps)
50 handloaded 165gr Rainier plated (didn't measure vel)
Most were AA#9 charges except the Seirra's. Those were HP38.
The SEIRRA's were the winner at 25 yards. 2" 5-shot group from a rest (and tired eyes.)
I had zero malfunctions, and I used all 4 Mags. It gobbled up everything I had. The 45ACP Tacops had many negative reviews about the included magazines. I dont know who makes these, but they worked swell for me. Maybe the 10mm mags are different, or these people just wanted an excuse to buy some Wilson Mags. I dont know, but mine are fine.
External extractor...What? How's the ejection, you ask? Ohh, The Damn ejection...Well it was at 4 O'clock into the next ZIP code!
Holy *&^% this thing launches a bee line of brass directly right rear. It doesn't just lob it into the air, it actually shoots brass so far away i lost the first couple of Mags of brass. We finally had to build a kind of Tarp lean-to to catch it. Not pleased with that at all
. But if this is a your 'Work' gun, it's great..just before you shoot, warn everyone to your right to 'STAND CLEAR OF THE EJECTION LANE!"
Recoil was less snappy than 230gr 45ACP and, IMHO had less felt recoil and less muzzle flip (torque)
We also shot at AR500 8" and 6" Dongs. Now we've shot these with everything from 9mm to 45ACP to 40S&W, 357SIG and even 357 MAG leveraction rifle, and we have never seen the 6" dong wrap around the frame, until now
. Even the 8" dong was flailing wildly every time that 180 grain 10mm slug hit it. Everyone was impressed at the authority this cartridge hit with. Also, as a comparison, I fired four 357 Mag Federal 158gr from a Colt Trooper MKIII (6' bbl) over the chrony and then four 155 gr 10mm. The 357 Mag Avg was 1298 fps, the 10mm avg was 1314! So go suck-it, Desert Eagle..This is MY 357 Mag Auto Pistol
.
Well I'm VERY happy with the performance of SIG's 1911 Tacops 10mm. The ejection issue is not a friend of the reloader, but in every other way this Pistol is the 'shiz nit'. Very accurate, functions flawlessly, great barrel, Looks great, has many nice extras, 4 Mags, and for $1002 out the door... no buyers remorse here. This is the first and only review I've ever written on any gun I own, so that should tell you how impressed I am with this great firearm.
Thanks for reading .
