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Century Arms has released the Centurion 11, an ultra-affordable classic 1911. We aim to find out if it's any good.
What Is It? The Centurion 11 is a classic-build imported 1911. Fixed sights, and a feature set reminiscent of early 1911 models. You won't find any creature comforts or upgrades. This is a 1911 as they once were.
Who's it For? Without custom-shop type features or parts, the Centurion 11 is a model for someone wanting a classic 1911. The affordable price also makes it an easy pistol for someone looking to get into 1911s. The small blade front sight may be a challenge for those accustomed to more modern pistol stights, and can not be changed out without some serious maching work. For that reason I would suggest an alternative as a primary defensive tool, but that doesn't mean the Centurion 11 can't be used for defense or won't be enjoyable on the range.
Take a Look at the Centurion 11 including what's in the box, notes from the manual, fit, finish, & features, and field stripping in the tabletop video below.
Specifications:
Action: Single-action
Caliber: .45 acp
Capacity: 8+1
Length: 8.6 inches (219mm)
Height: 5.31 inches (135mm)
Width: 1.37 inches (35mm)
Weight: 2.19 pounds / 35.5 ounces (1.00kg)
Barrel Length: 5.01 inches (127.5mm)
MSRP: $399.99
Retail Prices As of Date this was written
(click links for current pricing)
1911s, especially in 45acp are known for potential sensitivity to ammunition and magazines. It's been my experience that a lot of that sensitivity has been worked out over the last 113 years of production, but the lore still continues. Regardless, it made the What's For Dinner™ and Multi-Mag segments of thhe standard GBGuns range protocol of great potential interest. I hit the range to treat the B1911 to the same set of experiences I've done with over 400 other handguns:
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun. No warm up, no practice.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
Multi-Mag: The 1911 has been around a long time, and there are lots of magazine options out there. In my experience not all 1911s work with all 1911 magazines, so before using other magazines in WFD I needed to test if those other magazines work in the gun.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written
78gr+P Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense $32.49 / 20 at Bud's Gun Shop
155gr Alchemist Ammunition Frangible
185gr Barnes TAC-XPD $30.49 / 20 at Ammunition Depot
230gr FMJ Blazer Aluminum $25.71 / 50 at Firearms Depot
230gr FMJ TulAmmo Steel (Currently not imported)
230gr HST Federal Premium $29.49 / 20 at Bud's Gun Shop
230gr JHP Sig Sauer V-Crown $24.99 / 20 direct from Sig
230gr Remington Ultimate Defense BJHP $24.31 / 20 direct from Remington
230gr JHP Speer Gold Dot $27.72 / 20 at Firearms Depot
230gr JHP Ammo, Inc $16.85 / 20 at Firearms Depot
Standard range ammunition was PMC Bronze 230gr FMJ. $21.99 / 50 at Bud's Gun Shop
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
Watch the entire process in the Shooting Impressions video below:
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared.
On the Range both Teya and I were honestly impressed. At first glance there are few "ooo's" or "awe's" with the Centurion 11. It's well built, but offers no fancy upgrades or showy parts or finished. Shooting it however yields a surprisingly nice experience. Though a 1911 is a 1911 is a 1911, not all are created equally. How well the parts are fitted and how well the gun is sprung can make a considerable difference in performance and feel. The Centurion 11 is done right.
At this price I can't think of a better basic 1911. At a higher price it would seem you'd be paying too much as long as the Centurion 11 is around. Although it's good to have a basic build like this around, I really hope Century Arms continues to import from this manufacturer.
Century Arms? Are they still around? I have not seen them on Yuuuutoooob for years; Oh, yeah, I forgot that I unsubscribed. They used to sell the most amazing "high quality" junk imaginable! They always had shooters firing the gun they were selling at demo targets, then cut to the bullseye impacts shown, but they never showed both the shooter and the target AT THE SAME TIME to see what DISTANCE the firing was done at? Creative editing effects, no? The last video years ago from them before I unsubbed was a couple of pallets of closeout Remington R51 9mm wonder pistols (you wonder what came over you to buy that?) I think they asked $350 for those disast…