Sig Sauer 1911 ‘We the People’ CO2 pistol

Tim tests the Sig Sauer 1911 ‘We the People’ CO2 pistol - a CO2-powered, fully-functioning replica of an American icon

The 12-gramme CO2 bulb is housed in the drop-down magazine

credit: Archant

This month’s review is the Sig Sauer 1911 ‘We the People’ CO2 pistol. My favourite pistol type has always been the 1911 and the Sig Sauer 1911 is a copy of the 45 auto calibre firearm, but it’s a full-metal, blow-back, CO2, .4.5mm, BB-firing pistol. It looks, feels and operates exactly like the original 1911. The silvered frame really makes the gun stand out, as do the myriad stars adorning the gun. These represent the 50 states in the United States of the American Constitution, hence the name of the gun – ‘We the People’ – because they are the first three words in the Constitution document.

The grips each have 25 raised stars forming the grip pattern. On top of the slide is a circle of 13 stars, representing the colonies that declared their independence in 1776, but enough of the history lesson.

BBs drop into the stick magazine

credit: Archant

DROP-DOWN MAG’

The 1911 uses the industry standard, 12-gramme CO2 bulb, housed in the removable drop-down magazine, of course. The CO2 charging is a simple ¼ Allen key, ( ¼ ?)s which they supply along with a packet of silver BBs. The magazine release catch is operated from the left-hand side, and as with all 1911s, you cannot reach it with the thumb of your firing hand if you are right-handed. It was designed by John Browning as a combat pistol and the U.S. Army didn’t want magazines dropping out in the heat of battle, hence the button is not directly under the thumb. Your grip on the pistol has to be changed in order to drop the magazine, or you use the supporting/other hand. The metal magazine has a spring-loaded catch, which can be locked down, and 17 4.5mm steel BBs can be loaded via a circular gate – a container with a speed-loading opening makes this really quick and easy. The base of the magazine is formed to look like that of the real magazine.

The front sight has a large white dot, also.

credit: Archant

SAFETY SYSTEMS

The gun has two safety systems, again from the original U.S. Army remit in 1911. There is a manual safety catch on the left rear; push up to take it off ‘fire’, and the small red dot will then be covered up. There is another catch on the right that can by pushed up and down and this works, as well. There is also a beaver-tail working grip safety under the hammer on the backstrap. In order to fire the gun, this grip safety has to be pressed in, just like a 1911. It’s a weighty pistol, coming in at 1kg, but it feels and looks right. The destressed finish I like a lot; a grey wash disappears in patches to reveal the silvery steel construction of the pistol’s body and frame.

Being a single-action pistol, the hammer has to be manually pulled back to cock it or just rack the top slide which is cooler!

credit: Archant

REALISTIC

Over the chronograph, the gun ran 5.1 grain BBs at 315fps – that’s 1.2 ft.lbs – and shot-to-shot variation was good also. You get three magazines’ worth of shots before the power drops to a level where the moving top slide does not cock the hammer. The trigger is not double-action, so it will not fire just by pulling back on the trigger. You have either to pull back and cock the hammer manually, or in a more cool fashion, rack the top slide. Unlike a lot of so-called 1911 CO2 pistols, the Sig’s trigger actually works like a 1911, i.e. it slides backwards.

It’s also a skeletonised trigger, the same as the real ‘We the People’ gun. Trigger weight is a very manageable 1.8kg. The blow-back really kicks, and when the magazine is empty, the top slide locks to the rear, so it’s a ‘last shot, hold open’ system. Not many CO2 pistols have this, and it make it all the more enjoyable to shoot. All these features make the Sig Sauer ‘We the People’ a very realistic CO2 pistol.

The barrel bush comes out the same way as a real 1911

credit: Archant

FIELD-STRIP

You can field-strip this gun, and it strips just like a real 1911 – the description in the manual stops halfway through, though, which is odd. The sights are fixed with a sight base of 165mm. It has big bright 2.5mm white dots inset into the sights. The sights are fixed, but lined up very well. Accuracy is also good, with aimed shots coming within 25mm at six yards, as the gas runs down on the third magazine, so after 51 shots it will shoot lower.

The magazine was hard to seat with the top slide forward, so my tip is to have the top slide locked back when putting the magazine in; this does leave the hammer cocked, so only do this when you are ready to shoot. My best three-shot group in a five-shot string was 5.7mm centre-to-centre and this was all in the 10 ring, nice. If you want a CO2 pistol that’s a cut above the rest, and if you are a fan the 1911, then this Sig Sauer is just what you need.  

Thanks to Oliver at Highland Outdoors Ltd for help in production of this article.

Tim shooting the 1911 WE THE PEOPLE