I first tried the “Oracle Arms” 2311 prototype at SHOT Show 2023 Industry Day at the Range. Since then, the new brand “OA Defense” has been introduced, and four 2311 pistols are now available. The focus of this article is the Compact Pro from OA Defense.
The OA Defense Compact Pro
This pistol’s evolution has been impressive and has been one of the most anticipated handguns to hit the market. There aren’t many firearms you get hands-on experience with from prototype to final iteration. So, this gun review has been an exciting one for me to do.
The OA Defense Compact Pro has many features that make it a great defensive pistol that shoots lights out.
What’s Included
OA Defense has done a great job listening to the end consumer. The company understands what a new gun owner wants or what is essential for the end consumer to be able to carry the gun daily.
Most manufacturers include the bare minimum of stock sights, no optic plates, no pistol bag, and usually just 2-3 magazines. When I opened the Compact Pro pistol box (which is also a marketing masterpiece), I was shocked to see what it came with.
The gun comes cased in a custom OA Defense branded Savior Equipment range bag. If you don’t know about Savior Equipment, they make some of the best range bags available. They include high-quality zippers, tons of magazine storage pouches, zippered compartments, and heavy-duty carry handles.
The gun also ships with five 15-round magazines—unheard of for a stock pistol. OA Defense ships four slide plates with the firearm, including an iron sight cover plate and the DPP, RMR, and Holosun K/RMSc footprint plates.
The gun comes standard with the Night Fision tritium night sights installed. However, OA Defense also considered consumers who want to co-witness their iron sights if they mount a red dot optic. The Compact Pro has Night Vision tritium night sights at an intermediate height for the RMR optic plate. However, a suppressor-height front sight is also included for use with the DPP optic plate.
Comfort, Concealability, and Controls
The 2311 design takes the 1911-style gun with double-stack capacity and combines them to be compatible with 320 magazines for an even lower cost of ownership. Furthermore, the right-side slide stop makes the OA 2311 the first completely ambidextrous double-stack 1911 platform.
The controls of the Compact Pro are similar to those of a 1911. It has an ambidextrous thumb safety, flat-faced trigger, and modular grip and magwell. The lack of a grip safety is a feature I appreciate in a carry gun. You won’t always get a perfect grip on your pistol when drawing from concealment in a stressful situation.
If a gun isn’t comfortable, isn’t concealable, and you struggle with manipulating the controls, you probably won’t carry it. I like that the OA Defense Compact Pro has all three of these qualities.
The gun is comfortable because it has a good grip texture. Likewise, it isn’t too heavy or oversized to wear as a carry gun all day. In addition, the ported barrel reduces muzzle rise markedly compared to other 4.25-inch barreled pistols.
I have had a few friends shoot this pistol against full-size handguns. They have all remarked that the Compact Pro’s recoil is easier to manage, and the grip is more comfortable.
The Compact Pro also has an easy-to-reach and press extended magazine release paddle from Springer Precision. Likewise, a great enhanced pro trigger and easy-to-disengage thumb safety make the pistol easy to run. Finally, ambidextrous “thumb rests” along the sides of the frame provide a platform for your support hand thumb.
The contoured slide and slide serrations make slide manipulation easy. The Picatinny rail allows accessory mounting, allowing you to further enhance your pistol.
Carrying the Compact Pro
This gun is as concealable as other pistols with 12-15-round capacities on the market. The Smith Concealment holster (available from OA Defense) for the OA 2311 is an excellent option for EDC. It is made of Kydex/Boltaron material, which provides excellent resistance to high temperatures. You can also easily adjust the retention with a Philip’s head screwdriver if necessary.
The unique feature is how the holster is cut to allow you a full firing grip on the gun without your fingers contacting the bottom of it.
You can order the holster to accommodate the Streamlight TLR-7X rechargeable rail-mounted light. It is a 500-lumen, 5,000-candela light with a 140-meter beam. It will run 1.5 hours off a CR123A battery or one hour on the Streamlight SL-B9 rechargeable battery.
The AWIB holsters utilize a Discreet Carry Concepts Monoblock Gear Clip in DCC dark matte grey for 1.5-inch belts. I wear a 1.5-inch-wide KORE Essentials Multicam Black Tactical Nylon Gun Belt, which is compatible with the holster clips. The OWB holsters utilize a TRS Belt Slide Mount for belts up to 1.9 inches wide.
Simplicity
Traditional 1911 guns can be a challenge to take down, especially when a bushing tool is needed to disassemble the barrel bushing. The Compact Pro has a linkless barrel and a bushing-free design, which allows tool-free takedown, fieldstripping, and assembly.
This eliminates many of the barriers for new gun owners who find the 1911 platform intimidating. The Compact Pro pistol shares the 1911 platform’s modularity, with multiple configuration options for the grip and magwell.
Performance
The ported barrel is a big plus for managing felt recoil and performs especially well with +P self-defense ammunition. Most self-defense hollow point-style ammunition is loaded to be +P for maximum impact on a threat. It’s essential when carrying daily with +P ammo to have a gun that is rated for—and can handle—that extra pressure.
The OA Defense Compact Pro pistol shot consistent groups with 9mm ammunition loaded with 90-grain, 115-grain, and 124-grain bullets.
As a side note, always sight your iron sights to your eyesight. After shooting five groups with five different types of ammo, I noticed I had low-right groups, consistent enough to justify making sight adjustments.
All the defensive ammunition grouped well, with the best performers being Hornady and Federal. The grouping is just as important as how reliably the gun feeds said ammunition. The OA Defense Compact Pro pistol reliably fed the different types of bullet profiles and had no issues firing or cycling the Super Vel +P ammunition.
I can’t recommend the ported barrel enough, too. It easily managed the felt recoil.
Final Thoughts
I appreciate the effort and thought that went into the gun’s details and how OA Defense presents the brand. Manufacturers who continue to add value with extra magazines, including optic plates and pistol bags, will always be ahead in my book. The closer a gun is ready to be carried right out of the box, the better it is.
I am impressed by how well the pistol shot, and once again, I can’t recommend the ported barrel enough. The Compact Pro is innovative and makes for an excellent self-defense firearm.
For more information, please visit OADefense.com.
OA Defense 2311 Compact Pro Specifications
| Caliber | 9mm |
| Barrel | Ported 4.25 inches (also available in non-ported) |
| Weight without magazine | 25 ounces |
| Trigger Pull Weight | 3.5-4.0 pounds |
| Capacity | 15 rounds (available in a 10-round option) – Comes with five 15-round OA magazines |
| Sights | Night Fision Tritium night sights (standard height installed; intermediate height for RMR optic plate; suppressor height front sight for use with DPP optic plate) |
| Four Slide Plates | Iron sight cover plate; RMR, DPP, & Holosun K/RMSc footprint optic mounting plates |
| Origin | Made in America and ships with Custom range bag by Savior Equipment |
| MSRP: | $2,349.00 |
Performance
| Ammunition | Average Velocity (5 Shot Average using the Garmin Chronograph) in Feet Per Second | Accuracy (5 Shot Group 15 Yards) in Inches |
| Federal Punch JHP 124 grain | 1088 | 1.235 |
| Remington JHP 115 grain | 1140 | 1.812 |
| Super Vel +P SCHP 115 grain | 1088 | 1.416 |
| LeHigh Defense XD 90 grain | 1253 | 1.231 |
| Hornady Critical Defense FTX 115 grain | 1071 | 1.102 |
