Golden Eagle 1911 High Speed Custom GBB Pistol

The 1911 High Speed Custom is a 1911 GBB pistol like you have (most likely) never seen before! Sporting a Hi-capa like lightweight slide and spiral fluted outer barrel together with an ambidextrous manual safety and magazine well flare, the 1911 High Speed Custom proves that grandpa can still party, keep pace with more youthful pistols, and look damn fine whilst doing it!

Starting at the tip of the outer barrel we can see 12mm CW female threads, allowing you to mount a tracer for some CQB intimidation or a suppressor if you have more of a sneaky playstyle using a 12mm CW to 14mm CCW thread adapter. As previously mentioned, the outer barrel of the 1911 High Speed Custom is a lightweight design with precisely machined spiral fluting on its outer surface, adding to this 1911 GBB's custom aesthetic.

The slide of this 1911 is where it truly departs from the norm, and has been reprofiled to reduce weight and contribute to the lightning-fast custom looks of this High Speed 1911 pistol. The upper portion of the slide, save for the area where the front sight mounts, has been entirely cut away all the way back to the ejection port, revealing the spiral fluted outer barrel for an unconventional and eye-catching look. The area below the barrel which houses the recoil rod guide has also been cut away, and the remaining portion of the front of the slide includes ports on either side, effectively skeletonising the slide for unparalleled slide speed.

The result of these ruthless weight reducing mods is a significant increase in both the slide speed and gas efficiency of this pistol when compared to a standard 1911 GBB. The FPS variance is considerably reduced when compared to a full slide equivalent, translating to more accuracy and faster follow up shots, rivalling the performance of split slide Hi-capa pistols! This 1911 should also bury other 1911s in cold weather performance, as the reduced weight of the moving parts should allow your gas to last for longer, despite its comparatively small gas reservoir.

The sights of the 1911 High Speed Custom can be found on the top of the slide, with the front sight mounted on what is left of the front of the slide, and the rear sight found at the rear, just above the hammer. The front sight is a fixed light-enhancing sight with a red insert, allowing for fast target acquisition, even in low light situations. The rear sight is a serrated "anti-glare" open sight which combines well with the light-enhancing front sight to prevent accidentally mixing up the sight dots and pulling your shot off. The rear sight is fully adjustable and can be raised and lowered by turning the screw on the top using a flathead screwdriver to set your elevation. The windage can be adjusted using the screw on the right side of the sight which will allow you to move the sight picture left to right. At the rear of the slide we can find deep, angular serrations to provide positive control over the slide of the pistol, meaning no matter the weather conditions you will still be able to cock the slide, with or without gloves.

Moving down to the frame, we can find a standard 1911 pattern frame with a standard length dust cover. The omission of a frame rail does, unfortunately, mean you will need an aftermarket adapter to add a pistol flashlight or laser, though this is an intentional design feature to keep this 1911 on task as a high speed, competition-oriented handgun. Sounds boring, right? Wrong, nothing about this pistol is boring!

The customised design continues when it comes to the controls, which all sport subtle yet effective modifications to improve the handling and ergonomics of this 1911 platform. The trigger has been skeletonised with three holes, matching 1911 designs of the modern era in aesthetics whilst helping the pistol lose even more unnecessary weight. The front face of the trigger is curved to encourage a natural and accurate finger position and has linear texture machined in to prevent your finger from slipping off when firing rapidly. The slide release catch can be found on the left side of the pistol's frame, directly above the trigger, and allows you to lock the slide back manually by pushing up on the control and to release the slide by pushing downwards on the textured surface on the top. This slide release is an extended design with a squared texture on its upper surface, making it easier to reach for those with smaller hands, and allowing effective use in poor weather conditions.

The magazine release button can be found on the left side of the pistol and is a standard low profile design. Many modernised 1911s use an extended magazine release button, which can help speed up reloads, but comes at the price of potentially dropping your magazine when drawing the pistol from a holster. This 1911 leaves that option open if you want to lean in to the competition shooting role, but as it comes the 1911 High Speed Custom sticks with the standard military-style magazine release in a sensible move from Golden Eagle. This is a highly practical choice, and prevents magazines from being lost whilst the pistol is holstered and prevents the magazine from being accidentally ejected during a frantic draw. Extended magazine catches are all well and good if your pistol stays in your hands at all times, but if you use it as a sidearm and are drawing and holstering constantly you will be much better served with the military-style textured magazine release present on this 1911 pistol.

Moving down the frame we come to the grip of the 1911 High Speed Custom, which is a standard 1911 grip shape design with the comfortable and slim feel the platform is known for. This grip has not been left out of the customisation, and sports ultra-grippy web pattern texture on the surface of its grip panels, and a magazine well flare added at the base of the grip. A magazine well flare is an enhancement that has its roots in competition shooting, designed to speed up and simplify reloads whilst also allowing for reloading without looking at the pistol, freeing up the eyes to scan for the next target. More recently this feature has made its way into combat optimised designs for good reason; the easier and faster your reload is the more likely you will be ready for the next engagement!

The hammer of the 1911 High Speed Custom can be found at the rear of the frame, and as with most GBB pistols, will be actuated by the slide, and fall when the trigger is pulled. It is this type of realistic action that makes gas blowback pistols so popular; you can't get much more realistic than this! The hammer is also skeletonised, matching the other lightweight and forward-thinking modifications applied to the 1911 High Speed Custom, and tying the whole pistol together as a completed piece. On the upper surface of the hammer, we can note the linear texture which allows the hammer to be cocked manually with the thumb, for those movie style stand-off moments. This isn't necessary to operate the pistol but it sure is cool, and also allows you to de-cock the action of the pistol (though we advise you remove the magazine first in case your thumb slips!).

The 1911 High Speed Custom comes with two safety systems built-in; the ambidextrous manual safety, and the beavertail grip safety. The manual safety can be found at the rear of the frame, on either side of the pistol, and sits comfortably beneath the shooter's thumb for fast access. This allows both left and right handed users to operate the 1911 High Speed Custom without issues, and carry the pistol cocked and locked without fear that the safety catch will slow them down. When not in use, this safety can also be used as a "gas pedal" style thumb rest to help control the muzzle climb and assist in rapidly aiming at multiple targets. This safety can be activated whether the pistol is cocked or not by flipping it up with the thumb into the recess on the left side of the slide. With the safety on, both the trigger and slide will be locked.

The secondary safety, known as the "beavertail grip safety" is a hallmark 1911/Hi-capa feature, and disables the pistol from firing unless the safety is depressed and the pistol is gripped properly. This prevents negligent discharges during drawing from a holster and encourages an efficient and effective shooting grip. The beavertail safety can be found at the rear of the grip and can be deactivated by holding the pistol with the protrusion pressed in. This feature is particularly important if you push the limits of speed when using your pistol, as when working fast and under pressure, accidents can happen. The beavertail safety can prevent you from accidentally firing on the draw and shooting either your own leg or your teammate! The beavertail safety present on the 1911 High Speed Custom is a minimalist design, making it super easy to depress and keeping it out of the way whilst still remaining large enough to protect the web of the hand from "hammer bite".

All of the weight reduction applied to the 1911 High Speed Custom is evident when the pistol is fired, especially when it is fired quickly! If you are familiar with Airsoft GBB 1911 pistols you will doubtless know that due to the slim magazine design and smaller gas reservoir the pistol struggles more than others when fired quickly and in colder conditions. This 1911 alleviates this platform-wide issue with its minimalist slide and outer barrel and provides a stunningly quick semi-auto trigger response and a sudden, sharp slide cycle. When you pull the trigger, everything happens so fast, and before you know it the slide is back in position ready for the next shot! There is without a doubt a reduction in felt recoil in this 1911, as the reduced weight of the slide means less weight throwing your sights out of line. Like with all Airsoft GBB pistols, performance is a game of compromise between recoil and speed. The 1911 High Speed Custom lands squarely in the speed department, but the jarring movement of the slide still provides plenty of exciting, immersive feedback with every shot.

If you are the type of player that values speed but would rather take a more unique path to it rather than tag along with the Hi-capa crowd, the 1911 High Speed Custom could be what you are after! This pistol would also suit a 1911 fan who is looking for something with familiar ergonomics that can still hold its own in the colder months. To sweeten the deal, Golden Eagle supplies this pistol in an excellent quality hard storage/carry case, complete with dual clasp closure and dual padlock holes for added security.

Features

• Full metal construction
• Lightweight ported slide
• Spiral fluted outer barrel
• 12mm CW female barrel threads
• Modern "web" pattern grip panels
• Ambidextrous manual safety
• Skeletonised trigger and hammer
• Ambidextrous low-profile beavertail grip safety
• Snappy performance thanks to its lightweight design
• Magazine well flare - Easy, quick reloads
• Light enhancing front sight with anti-glare rear sight
• Supplied in a superb quality hard storage/carry case

Package Includes

• Golden Eagle 1911 High Speed Custom GBB Pistol
• 25 Rnd 1911 GBB magazine
• Speed loader
• User manual