Nighthawk’s Falcon 1911 A Winner

By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor

   In some fields there is a race to the bottom in price and economy of manufacture.

   Other makers create the best possible product and then price it. Nighthawk Custom has earned an excellent reputation in the field of high grade 1911 handguns. The high end 1911 often demands a break in period and perhaps some are finicky.

   The Nighthawk is an exceptional handgun that comes out of the box running and will keep running for hundreds of rounds with minimal cleaning and lubrication. Yet the pistol is tight and built to exacting tolerances. These tolerances insure the pistol returns to a solid battery each and every cycle. Close tolerances result in less slop and this means less eccentric wear and a long service life.

   I found this pistol to be very accurate; a stand out in a field of accurate handguns. The Nighthawk will exhibit five-shot groups of two inches for five shots at 25 yards, sometimes less. A trained hand will be able to hit man-sized targets to 100 yards or so.

   This is a distinctive handgun. Supplied in a nice zippered padded case, the Falcon wears a black non-reflective and self-lubricating corrosion resistant finish. The finish is applied evenly and without any mars or runs. It also features ball end cuts on the slide that make for an eye pleasing profile.

   The slide doesn’t feature forward cocking serrations but rather High Power-like slide cuts. The result is a very attractive appearance. The top of the slide is nicely cut in a serrated pattern, almost a sighting rib. The barrel bushing is tight, and this contributes to a high degree of accuracy. The barrel is well-fitted and the slide rolls smoothly over the locking lugs.

   Both the front and rear sights are dovetailed in place, featuring a large dot in the front and a smaller dot in the rear. The larger front sight is instantly visible in dim light and allows fast aiming and accurate fire. The smaller dot may be aligned when greater precision is needed.

 The front sight has the appearance of a Novak post while the rear sight is a Heinie Ledge-type. This ledge allows racking the slide on the belt or boot heel. I don’t see this happening, but when the slide locks back on the last round, it is possible to eject a spent magazine, cram the gun in the belt and insert a fresh magazine. Then hook the slide on the belt and the Falcon is ready to go. This may be accomplished with one hand. It may be an important advantage.

   The slide lock safety and beavertail grip safety are properly designed and offer crisp operation. That beavertail safety releases its grip on the trigger halfway into its travel which ideal for personal defense use. The rear of the slide is serrated in sync with the serrations on the rear sight.

   Meanwhile, the feed ramp is nicely polished and the extractor and ejector are properly tuned. The barrel bushing requires a bushing wrench to turn, which isn’t a drawback considering the accuracy potential of the pistol. The Falcon is supplied with two 8-round ACT MAG magazines.

   An advantage of the 1911 handgun is a straight-to-the-rear trigger compression. The Nighthawk Falcon features a trigger with no creep, a tight take up, and a crisp 4.2-pound trigger compression.

   The pistol also features a counter shrunk treatment of the slide stop pin. This is neat and attractive, and makes for less chance of a tie up caused by the slide pin meeting pressure.

   I have heard of this occurring during competition, but only rarely. Just the same this is a nice touch and the pistol has been designed to insure that both the common and uncommon stoppages of the 1911 do not occur with the Nighthawk.

   Another good touch is the pistol’s 25 lpi front strap checkering.

   The magazine chute doesn’t appeal to some shooters. Its quarter-inch difference in length doesn’t affect concealed carry when a proper holster is worn, but the magazine well makes for greater speed and surety in speed loads. The funnel is a nice touch and one of the most interesting design features of the Falcon. While we not need a speed load often if you do the advantage is there, and the pistol is much smoother in manipulation.

   When I evaluate a handgun I like to use a broad range of ammunition. Lead bullet handloads, jacketed ball loads, hollow point loads and +P ammunition should function and deliver reasonable accuracy. Premium ammunition and carefully crafted handloads should be the most accurate.

   I’m happy to report the Nighthawk Falcon has continued to over 1,400 enjoyable rounds without a failure to feed, chamber, fire or eject. It has been lubricated every 300 rounds and cleaned thoroughly at 1,000 rounds. There is no evidence of eccentric wear.

   It is fast from leather and fast on target. The pistol is as controllable as a steel frame Government Model should be. Superior sights and a crisp trigger action make the Falcon an exceptional handling 1911 that tracks well and shoots as well as any handgun I have handled.

   In offhand fire the pistol is a joy to use. It isn’t difficult to connect with man sized targets to 100 yards. At this range a fast stepping load such as the Black Hills Ammunition 185-grain TAC +P offers less drop than the standard 230-grain load and light recoil for a +P. As for as absolute accuracy a five shot two-inch group isn’t difficult to achieve at 25 yards. I have choses the Black Hills Ammunition 230 grain JHP as the general purpose personal defense and home defense load. There isn’t anything wrong with a 230-grain FMJ hardball loading for field use and I sometimes load the magazines with the Black Hills version.

   While there is a lot of revisionist history these days and misguided claims for small bore efficiency the .45 ACP is a proven cartridge with plenty of wound potential. It operates a low pressure and exhibits a subdued muzzle flash.

Carry Gear

   The Nighthawk is long but slim and invites concealed carry. This past winter I adopted a shoulder holster to keep the weight off of my back. A properly designed shoulder holster offers a package with the gun and spare magazines on the same harness.

   Sam Andrews offers one of the finest if not the finest shoulder holsters in the world. Craftsmanship is first class. The holster may be removed from the harness and used as a strong side holster. Extra components to carry a knife or even a rack for three magazines make the Andrews Monarch an exceptional load bearing device. This is a great choice for use beneath a covering garment. With practice in the proper technique the draw is sharp. Andrewsleather.com

   For carry under a sport shirt an inside the waistband holster is needed. I have used the Michael P. Taurisano (Taurisholsters.com) IWB for many years. The holster offers a rigid spine, excellent molding, and an adjustable belt loop. The IWB offers good concealment by burying the holster and the handgun inside the trouser under the shirt. The Tauris design features a reinforced holster mouth- it will not collapse after the handgun is drawn. This holster is an exceptional design well executed, ideal for the Nighthawk pistol.