An uncommon 1911 chambered in the potent .357 Sig cartridge hammers targets.
Eighteen years ago, Sig Sauer executives joined the full-size 1911 fray with their GSR Revolution. Since Sig Sauer manufactured more models, sub-models and variants of their pistols than Carter has Little Liver Pills, it’s a wonder that some guns don’t get lost in the flood. One that’s sure to get some attention is their 1911 TACOPS chambered in the hard-hitting .357 Sig.
Starting as a wagon factory in 1853, Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft (SIG) has created an international legacy that few companies can rival. Since the American market was an important part of SIG’s growth plans, they opened a new facility in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia in 1985.
The new division of the international giant took on the name SIGARMS. Outgrowing their first location in just two years, they moved to Herndon, Virginia, and again in 1990 to their preset factory in Exeter, New Hampshire.
After adding several companies to its portfolio, SIGARMS changed its name to SIG SAUER in 2007. Since then, and especially over the last three years, SIG SAUER has tripled its work force and invested $18 million in improved facilities, equipment and more engineers. Firearms industry experts have made a mass exodus toward SIG SAUER, which now boasts more than 800 employees.
Gun Details
The Sig TACOPS in .357 SIG is a Single-action semi-auto 1911-pattern pistol. It wears a standard 5-inch barrel. The barrel is enlarged at the muzzle with a constant diameter for about the last half inch with a slight enlarged radius at the very tip of the muzzle to provide a pressure fit with the barrel bushing. Some manufacturers and pistolsmiths opt for a tapered barrel at the muzzle to accomplish the same tight fit. Enlarging the barrel at the muzzle end to create a constant contact with the barrel bushing and slide is an accuracy enhancement.
Dimensionally, the overall length is 8.7 inches and the overall height is 5.5 inches. It is 1.4 inches wide at the widest point around the grip panels. The sight radius is 6.5 inches between low profile Novak-style sights. Tritium inserts in both front and rear sights aids aiming in low-light, no-light situations. It’s a comforting sight to roll over on the pillow at night and see the three dots glowing in total darkness.
Anchoring the sights is a slide with angular cuts at the rear to get a purchase when racking the slide. Moving forward on the slide it gets the characteristic Sig Sauer cuts that gives it a distinctive look. To keep control of this pistol, Sig incorporates Ergo XT grips. An unloaded TACOPS .357 tips the scales at 41.6 ounces with empty magazine in place.
When shipped from the factory the TACOPS comes with four 8-round magazines. To enhance reloads, a beveled magazine well extension is fitted to the bottom of the grip. Other features to enhance your grip include checkered front and back straps, as well as a beavertail grip safety.
A skeletonized hammer and trigger are attractive features. While we’re on the subject of triggers, this one has a pretty good feel. It exhibits about 3/16ths inch of take-up before it hits the “wall,” and another 1/32nd inch before the hammer falls. The total trigger weight stays consistent at 5 pounds, 12 ounces.
Range Time
Five different factory loads at multiple distances provided range testing. Several 5-shot groups were fired at 5, 15 and 25 yards. The longest distance was fired from a bench, and the shorter distances were fired off-hand.
Velocities were recorded at 15 feet from the muzzle with an Oehler 35P chronograph. From the factory, the sights were set so that the general impact for all groups at 25 yards was 2 inches high and 1.75 inches right. I dealt with the windage correction by moving the Novak-style rear sight.
PERFORMANCE
| CARTRIDGE | Velocity | 5-Yard | 15-Yard | 25-Yard |
| Federal LE 125 gr. HST | 1,376 | 1.55 | 2.45 | 2.15 |
| Speer Lawman 125. gr. TMJ | 1,382 | 1.95 | 2.74 | 1.80 |
| Hornady 147 gr. XTP | 1,230 | 2.44 | 3.43 | 2.51 |
| Hornady 135 gr. FlexLock | 1,170 | 1.75 | 2.15 | 2.24 |
| Hornady 115 gr. FTX | 1,241 | 1.64 | 2.10 | 1.95 |
The first load fired was Speer’s 125-grain total metal jacket (TMJ) training rounds. These are designed as training rounds to equal Speer’s 125-grain Gold Dot duty rounds. The average velocity recorded was 1,382 fps. The standard deviation was 10 fps. Calculating the terminal punch for this bullet 15 feet from the muzzle reveals that it produces 530 foot-pounds of energy FPE). The best 25-yard group measured 1.80 inches. Moving closer, the Speer load printed a 2.74-inch group at 15 yards, and a best 1.95-inch group at 5.
Three Hornady loads got run through the ringer. The first was their Custom load 147-grain XTP. The published muzzle velocity is 1,225 fps and I found it very consistent with the average for a 10-shot string run across the chronograph. It averaged 1,230 fps, with a high of 1,245 and low of 1,203 fps. The standard deviation was 13 fps. Calculating the terminal energy for this round 15 feet from the muzzle puts it at 494 fpe. This is a rather high-pressure load, since it threw empty cases 20 to 22 feet from the firing point. At 5 yards, this load printed a 2.44-inch group as its tightest, and the 15-yard group best went 3.43 inches. The smallest 25-yard group measured 2.51 inches.
The next Hornady load was the 135-grain Critical Duty FlexLock, with a published velocity, again, of 1,225 fps. This load fell significantly below the published velocity data, being chronographed at an average of 1,170 fps. It was rather consistent, with a standard deviation of 9 fps. The extreme spread was 28 fps. At 15 feet from the muzzle, this load produces 410 foot-pounds of energy. The tightest 25-yard group measured 2.24 inches. The smallest groups at 5 and 15 yards measured 1.75 and 2.15 inches, respectively.
The last Hornady load was the 115-grain FTX, which, yet again, has a factory published velocity of 1,225 fps. From the .357 Sig 1911, it averaged 1,241 fps with a standard deviation of 8 fps. At 393 foot-pounds of energy, this load produces the least terminal impact of the loads tested. The smallest 25-yard group measured 1.95, while the average for all 25-yard groups went 3.14 inches. Not only is this the most diminutive group of the loads tested, it launched empties a mere 8 feet to the side. It put five shots into a 1.64-inch group at 5 yards, and clustered five into 2.10 inches at 15 yards.
The last load evaluated was Federal Cartridge’s Law Enforcement Tactical 125-grain HST. This load averaged 1,376 fps for 10 shots, with a standard deviation of 14 fps. The fastest shot in the string went 1,401 fps and the slowest tripped the graph at 1,345 fps. A close comparison, Federal’s factory published velocity is 1,360 fps. This load seems to range toward the upper end of its working pressure since it launched empty cases fairly consistently 22 feet to the side and slightly behind the firing line. This load generates 526 fpe. At 25 yards its best group measured 2.15 inches, and at 15 and 5 yards posted groups measuring 2.45 and 1.55 inches, respectively.
To be honest, I think this pistol has greater accuracy potential than I was able to squeeze from it. On the evening that I fired the off-hand groups at the shorter distances I had been running a chainsaw and splitting firewood with a 5-pound splitting maul for the six hours prior to my range session. A few weeks prior to testing this SIG I had a heavy equipment operator clear out the final 250 yards of my 1000-yard range and I’ve been steadily turning the downed trees into firewood and structural timbers for future range construction projects.
One of the projects on my wish list of range construction projects is a shoot house, and this pistol would be a good candidate for entry and clearing practice. One of the features not mentioned previously is a Picatiny rail that rides under the the frame just in front of the trigger guard. I have mounted a Surefire X400 weapon light and red laser on the TACOPS and the pistol balances well with the additional 4.9 ounces of weight up front.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Manufacturer | SIG SAUER |
| Model: | 1911 TACOPS |
| Caliber: | .357 Sig |
| Action: | 1911 Semi-Auto |
| Barrel: | 5-ins. 1:16 twist |
| OA Length: | 8.7 ins. |
| Weight: | 41.6 ounces |
| Sights: | Low profile night sights |
| Finish: | Nitron |
| Capacity: | 8 |
| Price: | $1,213 (MSRP 2016) |
A long-time fan of the 1911 pistol that John Moses Browning designed more than a century past, I naturally gravitate toward the design that made the .45 ACP famous. SIG’s rendition of the 1911 in the TACOPS is a winner, and the .357 SIG round makes this pistol a high-velocity heavy hitter. Now that I have my hands on the .357 SIG 1911, I’ll keep it close for quite a while.
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