I got a chance to shoot one of these this past week. I traded time with a guy at the local range — a few mags on his S15 for a few mags on my Prodigy. There’s one of these in my local gun store and having handled it, it seems surprisingly good quality for a 1911 from a company I’ve never heard of, and which has a few surprising features.

The company is based in Georgia but is owned by a South Korean company. Their 1911s seem to be pretty popular based off of the YouTube videos I’ve perused, and the S15 has garnered some love. So, at the gun store I noted this: it has a great finish — a glossy, absolutely glass-like finish that makes the slide run very easily. Markings are minimalist. The top is forged steel, the lower is T6 aluminum and thinner than most 1911s. The grips are part of the receiver and not separate pieces which seems to be key to keeping the width small. The trigger is mid-line 1911 good, which means better than nearly all striker fired pistols, and better than most stock 1911s. There’s no play in the slide or the barrel lockup. The bull barrel is crowned and also finished in the same DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating the slide has. All the usual 1911 goodies are here — grip safety, a beavertail to protect the hand, a bobtail to aid in concealment, and a small rail on the 3.25″ barrel. Novak sights are adjustable and won’t impress all but I like them. No cut for an optic which might make some balk, but it like it. It has a flat top to the slide making it perfect for perspective shooting.

But the big draw for some is the use of the Shield Arms S15 magazine. Chambered in 9mm, the S15 has a 15 round capacity. It will also use Glockl 48x 10 round magazines without a hiccup, if you’re in a shit state that limits your ammunition capacity.

Here it is on the bench…

How did it shoot? Flawlessly. The guy had alonst a 1000 rounds through it without issue and I fired a box of 124 grain without no problems at all. Recoil is very mild and the slide speed is fast enough to you’re back on target almost immediately. It threw the shells consistently slightly forward and about two yards.

Taking my time, I got one 2″ ragged hole at 15 yards. Drawing and point shooting, I still put all of the metal into the 10 ring at 10 yards save for two flyers. It is very very good.

Drawbacks: There’s no ambi-safety and we’re well past time when this should be standard on any 1911 over the $800 range. Hell, Tisas and Girsan throw them on most of their 1911s, but Kimber, Springfield, and others just can’t seem to grasp the “economy of scale” argument. There’s no optic cut for you gotta have a red dot guys.

One trip isn’t enough to adequately rate a gun, but first impressions? It looks great, shoots accurately, and seems (at least from a sample of one) to be pretty damned reliable. For the $1200ish price tag, it just might be worth it as a CCW.