Gun Report

SIG Sauer 1911 C3 No. 19GS0031 45 ACP, $1143 (Grade A Feb 2009)

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We thought the SIG Sauer looked a bit cleaner than the Colt CCO. The C3 moniker comes from Concealed Carry Compact; SIG tells us. There's an even more rounded version that we haven't seen yet. We liked the thin wood grips, the finish details, and the accuracy.

SIG Sauer 1911 C3 No. 19GS0031 45 ACP, $1143 (Grade A Feb 2009)

Gun Details

Manufacturer
Model Name
Model Number
Home Defense
Law Enforcement
Concealed Carry
Recreational
Competition
Price
Caliber/Gauge
Caliber Plus Cartridge
Capacity
Weight Unloaded
Warranty
Overall Length
Barrel Length
Sight Radius
Overall Height
Front Strap Height
Back Strap Height
Maximum Width
Grip Thickness Max
Frame Material
Barrel Material
Grip Material
Trigger Pull Single
Trigger Span Single

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The CCO, on top, has its integral rib cross-hatched by a metal-checkering file to cut glare. This works well, �though you can't tell it from this photo. The Sig Sauer slide has a smooth, plain top that showed off the excellent metal finish. Both guns had the front sights set into dovetails. The Sig had a retaining roll pin through it.

From underneath, it's mighty hard to tell these apart. The Colt slide is on top. Both have the firing pin lock at the rear of the slide, activated by a lever driven by the trigger.

The Sig Sauer looked pretty much identical to the Colt on the outside and even more alike inside. We thought the inside finish here was the best of the three.

Though we tried to like the Kahr PM4543, center, we were overwhelmed by the excellence of the Sig Sauer C3, left, and the discontinued Colt CCO, right. The latter two had it all, and the C3 had even more than the CCO, our testers said.

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Firearms Prices

Gun Tests has been independently reviewing firearms since 1989. This website contains many older reviews. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry the guns' prices at the time of the original review