I suppose my 2025 goal is all about discovering companies I’ve never heard of that manufacture great products. One such company is Warwick Tactical, a builder of 1911 grip modules, frames, slides, precision rifle bolts, and more. All made in the USA.
Warwick Tactical Double-Stack 1911
I attended the NRA Annual Meeting this year, where a friend brought me over to the Warwick Tactical booth. We went to check out the company’s single-stack and double-stack guns. The precise machining, attention to detail, and the smoothness of the actions on every pistol blew me away. My only complaint was that I hadn’t heard of them sooner.
After the NRA event, Warwick sent me one of the double-stack 1911 pistols from the show for review. They’ve named it their Direct Mount Limited Optics Pistol, but it is so much more than just that.
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If you enjoy custom double-stack 1911 pistols and are looking to add another to your collection, this gun is a beauty. Likewise, suppose you participate in PCSL 2 Gun competitions, 3 Gun, USPSA, Steel Challenge, or other styles of competition shooting that allow the use of a double-stack 1911. In that case, this pistol is the total package.
While many manufacturers build similar-style guns, Warwick offers the same value, if not greater, at a much more affordable price. Let me tell you about my favorite features of the Direct Mount Limited Optics Pistol.
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No Iron Sights!
The primary reason a competition shooter will love this pistol is that the slide has no iron sights at all. This is my favorite feature, and I’ll tell you why. There is no point in having co-witness iron sights on a pistol designed and used for competition shooting. The front and rear sights can be a distraction and more harmful than helpful.
If you’re a high-level competitor or even an average one, part of your preparation for competition is ensuring your gun is ready for action. This means you will maintain a working red dot optic and ensure a new battery is installed before major matches.
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If a red dot optic were to break, lose zero, or come loose during a stage, at that point, you’re probably not going to be able to recover from the points lost. Back-up iron sights are practical for other purposes, but for competition, I prefer the red dot optic only.
Direct Mount Dot
There are very few manufacturers that can design a gun where you can mount a red dot optic directly to the slide without the need for any plates. In the custom build world, it’s more possible than guns machined for the masses. However, production pistols must cater to multiple optic footprints and therefore, use optic plates.
The reason a direct mount is superior to an optic plate is twofold.
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One, the lower the red dot optic, the easier it is to shoot with a more natural point of aim. Red dot optics that sit super high can take hours of dry fire practice to learn how to hold the pistol lower to find the dot.
Second, there are fewer points of failure when you can direct-mount an optic. Think about it.
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If you need to attach an optic plate to the slide, you must drill two holes in both the slide and the optic plate, and ensure that these screws do not loosen over time. Then, the optic itself must be attached to the optic plate. This requires two more holes in the optic plate, and you hope that these screws do not loosen either.
Holosun 507Comp
Warwick Tactical cut the slide on this pistol to accommodate the Trijicon RMR/SRO footprint. So, it is compatible with any optic that utilizes this same footprint.
The gun shipped with the Holosun 507Comp already mounted, which is my preferred optic for competition shooting. I like this optic because of its multi-reticle system. This allows the shooter to choose the desired reticle for whichever shooting sport they’re participating in.
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There is a 2MOA dot, an 8MOA circle, a 20MOA circle, and a 32MOA circle. You can run one single reticle or a combination. The reason this is valuable for any multigun sport, for example, is that the 2MOA dot can be used for precision shots greater than 30 yards, and the combination of the dot and a 20MOA circle can be used for shooting close-range targets or paper targets where two hits anywhere neutralize the target.
The window on the 507Comp is massive, the brightness is adjustable, and it’ll work in extreme heat, rain, and cold.
The Warwick Tactical Precision-Fit Frame, Slide, and Barrel
When you dive into the custom double-stack 1911 world and away from mass-produced polymer-framed guns, you start to notice the fit and function more. Warwick Tactical fits the frame, slide, and barrel, which is what makes a pistol run consistently and smoothly.
They machine its frame and slide fits within 0.0003-inches – 0.0004-inches clearance and 0.0005-inches parallelism. Once a frame and slide are mated, they blueprint and fit a barrel with the same precision CNC machining technology. To put it another way, this is how companies build a perfect pistol.
Tool-less Guide Rod
I wish every double-stack 1911 I own had a tool-less guide rod. If you’ve ever disassembled a similar pistol without one, you know the struggle of having to use clips or pins. If you ever need to field strip your pistol and don’t have a pin, you’re pretty much out of luck.
The tool-less guide rod design essentially self-captures the spring. You push down on the bar built into the guide rod to where it holds the spring in place. Then, you can finish disassembling your gun from there.
Warwick Tactical also uses Wolff recoil springs, which are compatible with the tool-less guide rod. Once you go tool-less, it’s a pain to go back.
Small Parts with Big Impact
Warwick Tactical appears to have listened to the market demand for what end users want in a custom-built double-stack 1911. The reason I say that is because of the small parts and design details that make a big difference.
One thing Warwick did with this pistol is install a magazine release threaded #4-40 so shooters can install aftermarket extensions and buttons. In the video above, I demonstrate the importance of selecting a magazine release that suits you and your grip best. Some shooters with large hands can accidentally engage the magazine release while gripping the gun, ejecting a magazine unintentionally.
Another component that Warwick Tactical installed to enhance the value of the gun is an external extractor. External extractors can be more reliable on firearms that will experience high round counts, such as competition pistols. They are also easier to clean and replace than internal extractors. This makes it easier for a shooter to replace the part if needed rather than having to send it back to the manufacturer or a gunsmith.
Range Test
For the Warwick Tactical Limited Optics Pistol, I chose 124-grain and 147-grain competition loads that I would use in matches. After chronographing them all with my Garmin Xero C1, they all meet the minimum power factor requirements for sports such as USPSA and IDPA.
I zeroed the gun at 25 yards with some practice ammunition and then shot groups on a Caldwell Orange Peel target. These targets make it easy to see your impacts as well as measure the accuracy of a group.
The Remington 147-grain ammunition performed the best with a 1.12-inch group. The only ammunition that wasn’t a full metal jacket was the Federal Gold Medal Action pistol ammo, which uses a jacketed flat nose. It cycled perfectly, like the others, through the Warwick Tactical pistol, despite the different bullet profile.
This pistol is a dream to shoot. The trigger is fantastic, and every time I miss, it’s on me. The gun settles quickly, realigning right back on target every time. If you’re a fast trigger puller, your split times for a double can be within 0.10-1.15 seconds of each other. I would 100% run this in shooting competitions, and with a price tag of $3,500, this gun is a steal.
Warwick Tactical Direct Mount Limited Optics Pistol Specs
| Gauge | 9mm |
| Action | Single-Action |
| Barrel | 5-inch Government Length Match Grade Bull-Barrel |
| Capacity | (2) 140mm 20rd Magazines Included |
| Sights | Cut for Trijicon RMR/SRO Footprint (as low as possible for SRO lens clearance) |
| Trigger | Warwick Tactical F.I.T.S. Trigger System w/ Interchangeable Trigger Shoes (Medium Flat Standard) – 2.5-3 Pound Trigger Pull Weight |
| Safety | Billet Ambidextrous Thumb Safety |
| Magwell | Dawson Precision Ice |
| Grip | 7075 Billet Aluminum Grip (Stainless Steel grip +$200 option) in Aggressive or HexHive texture |
| Finish | Black Nitride, Chrome-moly Slide and Frame |
| MSRP | $3,500, $3,700 with stainless grip (Optics Not Included) |
Performance
| Fiocchi Range Dynamics 124 grain FMJ – top left | |
| Velocity | 1105 fps |
| Accuracy | 1.97 inches |
| Super Vel 124 grain FMJ Factory New – top right | |
| Velocity | 1058 fps |
| Accuracy | 1.63 inches |
| Remington UMC Handgun147 grain FMJ – bottom left | |
| Velocity | 984 fps |
| Accuracy | 1.12 inches |
| Federal Gold Medal Action Pistol 147 grain jacket flat nose – bottom right | |
| Velocity | 894 fps |
| Accuracy | 1.28 inches |
(5 Rounds Shot at 20 yards and Chronographed using the Garmin Xero C1 Pro)
