Wilson Combat Division 77 Project 1 [Hands On] 

Wilson Combat’s Skunkworks Future Shooter

It makes sense that a watchmaker would get into 1911s. Pistols that were designed in a time when machine-hours were expensive but man-hours were cheap. When precision fit meant you needed a person. This is where Bill Wilson found himself back in 1977, a jeweler and pistol competitor who wanted a better pistol than he could buy. This was the original impetus and birth of Wilson Combat.

In the nearly half century since, much has changed, and yet much is still the same. Though we now live in a time of luxury, where machines are capable of far greater than ever before while also being more affordable than ever, we’re still finding the touch of a human brings something to the table that an android still can’t quite grasp. Bill is now enjoying retirement and now Cam Ankele has the reins. 

Wilson Combat still makes 1911s – but boy howdy this one sure looks different. The namesake of this semi-skunkworks, Division 77, is homage to when Bill first started cutting metal himself. And it’s the Project 1 because it’s the first thing they’re putting out.

STANDOUT FEATURES

Wilson Combat doesn’t follow the standard 2011 formula. There’s no bulky two-piece frame and magazines that are unnecessarily too large, instead opting their EDX X9 2.0 as a base for slim all around. It’s still a smooth 1911 action, just not copying the other kids’ homework. There is no grip safety but it does have an ambi thumb safety.

The barrel and slide are ported, and on the range this setup actually works very well even with cheap ammo – this technology has come a long way. It’s not as if a 33-ounce 9mm pistol had all that much recoil to begin with, but this gun has a lot of show in it – so let it show. Wilson Combat has a lot of tools and charts to show there’s a 42% recoil reduction compared to a standard offering but the real truth is in your hands on the range; it’s impressive indeed.

One of the biggest changes from Wilson’s other offerings is the optic setup. Previously you had to get custom work from Wilson if you wanted to do this (we covered this whole process back in CONCEALMENT #40). Although Wilson Combat went through the trouble of developing their own interchangeable plates before, the True Zero Optic System, they didn’t use it here. Instead, with the Division 77 Project 1 they cut a universal-ish footprint directly into the slide and included removeable pillars to fit RMR, RMSc, and DPP optics.