Savage Arms dates to 1894 in one form or another. Its most recent version broke away from the 800-pound gorilla that is Vista Outdoors– the folks that own Federal, CCI, Speer, and other ammo brands– in 2019 and has since been trying to reinvent itself ever since.
Branching out from its bolt-action rifle bread and butter, Savage has, in the past few years, started making and selling AR-15s (MSR-15s in the company’s parlance) and introduced pistols in the form of the Stance series.
While it seems like the Stance is just a rebranded Honor Defense Honor Guard pistol (that company went belly up in 2019), Savage is now introducing another, more tried-and-true handgun with a series of 12 Government model style 1911s.
They will be available in three finishes including black, stainless, and two-tone, and in both 9mm and .45 ACP, all in railed and standard frame formats. All use 5-inch barrels, VZ G10 grips, ambi safety levers, and Novak Lo-Pros. They feature an extended beavertail grip safety on a flat mainspring housing.
The price is a little high, starting at $1,350, which is even kind of spendy for a Kimber or Sig Sauer 1911, and it is unclear if Savage is making these in-house or is buying them from someone else and adding their branding and boxes.
Either way, it is a tough market right now for 1911s, especially when you see how good the guns from Turkey, Brazil and the Philippines are these days at half the price Savage is looking to get.
By Michael Crites
Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18.
During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications.
His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual.
As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY.
He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).
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