Click pictures for a larger version.

Slide lock.

Ambidextrous extended thumb safety.

Texas Star hammer.

Beavertail grip safety.

Trijicon tritium night sights.

Back in the Spring of this year, I was invited to a shooting event in Utah, along with a half-dozen or so other writers, to do some long-range rifle shooting, as well as some handgun shooting, by Eddie Stevenson, who put the event together. Eddie has worked in the firearms industry for a long time, and knows how to correctly assemble the right people and products for everyone present to get the most use of the time involved. In other words, we all had a great time.

Present at this event was a company that was new to me, and to the industry, called Republic Forge. Republic Forge is based out of Perryton, Texas, and like most good Texicans, the folks representing the company were proud of that fact. Before being properly introduced, I was thinking "Here is another company trying to enter the already-overcrowded 1911 market". After meeting the Republic Forge people, and especially after laying eyes upon their pistols, I was thinking "I have GOT to get me one of these!"

Republic Forge is truly a custom pistol shop. The pistols are built one at a time by an individual gunsmith. Their website is very unique in the industry in that the customer can go online and build and price his or her pistol down to every detail, much like when ordering a new pickup truck or car. The customer selects the basic style of the pistol, and then selects from a large array of options, including finishes, sights, small parts, and grips. The grip options include, but are not limited to, incredibly tough VZ in many colors, walnut, elephant ivory, and even exotic mammoth ivory, which is some of the most-stunning grips that I have ever seen. There is nothing else that compares to the beauty of this stuff.  Dale Pancake of Republic Forge states, with a straight face, that they own the largest herd of Wooly Mammoths in the Western Hemisphere. If you look closely, you can see just a slight grin on his face as he watches the reaction of the listener.

The slides and frames of Republic Forge pistols are finished in tough, durable Cerakote, in a variety of colors. These pistols are built to be fired, and Cerakote is a finish that provides surface hardness and corrosion protection. Slides are also available case-colored as well as built of Damascus steel, if preferred. Frames are double-stack or single-stack. The Republic Forge gunsmiths will build pretty much whatever the customer wants, as long as it is first-quality.

Back to the event in Utah. We were out shooting some really first-class long range rifles, and Dale had his 10mm Longslide along. After banging steel at various distances with the rifles, I had the opportunity to shoot that 10mm. I have always had an unnatural affection for the 10mm cartridge, and I was anxious to try this one out on some steel. Particularly inviting was a steel cut-out of a mountain lion that was a distance of 225 yards away. I had no real hopes of hitting the thing with any degree of frequency, but after the first few shots, I was hitting that steel more than I was missing it, and again, it was at 225 yards distance. This was an incredibly accurate pistol, and the flat-shooting 10mm cartridge had no trouble at all reaching that steel cat with authority. By this time, I was stating out loud, "I have GOT to get me one of these!" Thankfully, I did not have to resort to begging on my knees when Dale stated, "I will get one headed your way". By now, I was thinking, "God loves me. He really, really loves me!"  It is good to be me, and Dale Pancake is a fine Texican for generously loaning me this dandy pistol.

I again had the opportunity to shoot some Republic Forge pistols at the annual Shootists' Holiday at the NRA Whittington Center near Raton, New Mexico in June of this year. I had invited Dale to join us at the event, and he allowed everyone who desired to shoot his pistols and burn his ammo. Once again, I remained impressed. As an aside, which might be of interest to no one else, but it meant a lot to me, I had a slight medical issue while in New Mexico. While talking with three fellow Shootists who are medical doctors about the best way to get me some help, Dale quietly walked over and offered me the use of his plane and pilot to get me back to Tennessee as soon as possible. He didn't really know me, but was willing to call his plane down from Colorado to get me some help. Turns out a helicopter crew came down from Pueblo, Colorado and flew me to their hospital, but it impressed upon me the type of man that Dale Pancake is, but I didn't crater, so back to the subject at hand: this Republic Forge Longslide 1911.

Critical specifications for the Republic Forge Longslide are listed in the chart below. The weights are listed in ounces, and linear measurements in inches. The grip and frame widths were measured at their widest points. The maximum width is measured across the ambidextrous thumb safety levers. The height includes the sights and magazine base. The trigger pull is listed as pounds of resistance. The weight includes the empty nine-round magazine. Length is measured from the muzzle to the tip of the beavertail grip safety.

Shooting this Republic Forge pistol was a real pleasure. I get to shoot almost every day, and some firearms I enjoy more than others. I call it "work", but I can't get any of my friends to feel sorry for me. The government allows me to call it work, and they enjoy taking a large portion of the pay that I receive for doing so, so officially, it is work. However, it is also a great deal of fun, especially with such a reliable, accurate, and well-made pistol.

Chronograph results are listed in the chart below. Velocity readings were taken at ten feet from the muzzle, at an elevation of 541 feet above sea level, with an air temperature of fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit. I gathered together every type of 10mm ammo that I could for testing. Bullet weights are listed in grains. Velocities are listed in feet-per-second (fps). JHP is a jacketed hollowpoint. JSP is a jacketed soft point bullet. TAC-XP, DPX, and Lead Free are homogenous copper hollow nose bullets from Barnes Bullet. PB is Cor-Bon Pow’RBall. HCL is a hard cast lead bullet. GDHP is Gold Dot hollowpoint, and GSHP is Golden Saber hollowpoint. The properly-loaded 10mm cartridge benefits from a longer barrel, and this six-inch 1911 is a good platform from which to launch those bullets.

Accuracy was, as expected, superb. The pistol's accuracy potential far exceeded the accuracy potential of most of the ammo tested, as velocity extremes were pretty wide with some loads. This high-performance ammo is not made to be match grade, but the pistol is certainly capable. Still, some ammo turned in some fine groups, while others did not. The inexpensive Armscor 180 grain FMJ was very consistent, and grouped in the one-inch range at twenty-five yards, with other ammunition grouping almost as well, and some groups going as large as three inches, all vertical, due to velocity variation within that particular load.

I fired this Republic Forge pistol with more than twenty different factory loads, as well as with one handload, and functioning was flawless. Every load tested fed, fired, and ejected perfectly. I would expect no less from a pistol of this quality, and the Republic Forge Longslide delivered.

The quality of the Republic Forge pistols is as good as it gets, and the price reflects it. If you are the kind of guy who wants the cheapest pistol available to throw into the glove box of the pickup just to have a gun handy, Republic Forge is not for you. If your regular carry gun is a pawn-shop HiPoint 9mm carried in a three-dollar nylon holster, Republic Forge is not for you. Nothing wrong with the HiPoint. They work, and are backed by good people, but they are for shooters with a different mindset. These Republic Forge pistols are built for the serious shooter who accepts no compromise, and wants the best of the best.

To build and price your own Republic Forge pistol, or to find a Republic Forge dealer near you, go to www.republicforge.com.

To order any of the high performance ammo shown here, go to www.buffalobore.com, www.doubletapammo.com, www.cor-bon.com, www.midsouthshooterssupply.com, or www.luckygunner.com.

Jeff Quinn

Click pictures for a larger version.

Accuracy testing was done at twenty-five yards with the pistol secured into a Ransom Master Series machine rest.

Five-shot group is representative of what the Republic Forge pistol can do with consistent ammo, such as the Armscor 180-grain FMJ.

Kart match barrel.

Cobramag nine-shot magazine.