As I mentioned in last year’s 2024 SHOT Show roundup, the 1911’s design is classic and timeless. And this year’s show proved no different. Double-stack designs keep surging in popularity and the market is seeing more designs that are incorporating other double-stack magazines normally seen in other types of hammer or striker fired pistols.
Rock River Arms Production 1911
Rock River Arms is showcasing the new Production 1911, a modern take on a full-size traditional single-stack .45 ACP classic. With this new pistol, Rock River Arms’ goal is to build a pistol capable of delivering 2.5-inch groups at 50 yards with match grade .45 ACP ammo while still coming in around $1,500 for MSRP. Unlike traditional single-stack government frame guns with 5-inch barrels, the Production 1911 uses a linkless bull barrel system that does away completely with the more standard guide rod and bushing design. To accompany the fresh take on one of the most classic designs, its machining cuts and slide serrations are bolder and more modernized.
Military Armament Corporation Duty 9 Double Stack
Most 1911s, 2011s or other double-stack single action designs aren’t typically known for being cost friendly, which is something that Military Armament Corporation has been striving to become known for. While the new MAC Duty 9 isn’t MAC’s first double-stack pistol, this new-for-2025 widebody 9 mm 1911 pistol includes additional refinements like a target crowned barrel, lightening slide cuts, and a slide cut for optics that directly accepts any Trijicon RMR footprint pattern.
Staccato HD
Staccato 2011’s 9 mm pistols continue to grow in popularity, especially as the company expands into the concealed-carry market. For SHOT Show 2025, the company began teasing the new Staccato HD, available with 4- and 4.5-inch barrels. The new Staccato HD is an off-shoot of the tried-and-true Staccato 2011 P models with the notable exception that the new HD Models feed from double-stack Glock-pattern 9 mm magazines as opposed to the traditional .38 Super 2011 magazines that Staccato and earlier STI models use. Moreover, the Staccato HD is designed to be fully ambidextrous by virtue of having a slide catch on the right side of its frame. Such a detail is virtually never seen on a 1911-pattern design.
Lipseys Kimber 2K11
Right ahead of 2025, Kimber America announced its first double-stack, the 2K11. Lipsey’s is selling limited edition run of these handguns available in either .45 ACP (13+1-round capacity) or 9 mm (20+1-round capacity) with 5-inch, full-size bull barrels. These fully featured guns have optics-ready slides and one of Lipsey’s SKUs even ships with a pre-installed Trijicon SRO for added convenience.
Wilson Combat Division 77
Wilson Combat is arguably one of the best-known names in the 1911 world. At this year’s event, Wilson is officially showcasing the new Division 77 double-stack 9 mm pistol. This limited-edition, single-action and compensated pistol is hand-built in very limited quantities with the purpose of showing Wilson Combat’s vision and insight when it comes to building 1911-type handguns. The “77” in Division 77 refers to the year Bill Wilson founded Wilson Combat.
