While the Beretta M9 was the service pistol that finished out the Cold War for the conventional forces of the United States, not all of the units turned in their old 1911s for the new Italian wonder-nines. During the late 1970s into the 1980s there were Special Operations units that had the latitude to do just about anything that they wanted to with their service pistols. Unlike conventional military armorers who never changed parts on an M1911A1 until something broke, the Special Operations units had armorers dedicated to fine tuning and improving the existing war stock of .45 ACP pistols.

In 1977, Colonel Charlie Beckwith, a Vietnam combat veteran and Special Forces soldier was tasked with creating a new unit within US Army Special Forces specifically trained to deal with the looming threat of worldwide terrorism. We now know this unit as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta or simply “Delta”. Interestingly, when I was active and wearing the uniform, all the guys I knew who had been in SFOD-D, used the term “CAG” for Combat Applications Group. Colonel Beckwith demanded the best small arms for his Tier-One operators and his in-house armorers built the teams the best version of the 1911A1 pistol that they could.

When it comes to Special Operations M1911A1 pistols, we have the JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) version built for Delta and the US Army SF. However, Marines being Marines, the Corps was not going to just take what the Army had to offer. On the Marine Corps side of the house we have the MEUSOC (Marine Expeditionary Unit, Special Operations Capable) M45 M1911A1. Both the JSOC and MEUSOC pistols are similar but they do have some unique features.

MEUSOC M45 M1911A1

The MEUSOC 1911 is also written as MEU(SOC) and the official Marine Corps designation of M45 MEUSOC. USMC Colonel Robert Young has been credited with laying out the specifications for the gun in the mid-1980s. Rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel, the Marine Corps looked to the examples of the masters in the custom 1911 market, men such as Armand Swenson, Ed Brown, and Bill Wilson.

The base model for the M45 was the full-sized M1911A1 in .45 ACP with a 5 inch barrel. It was the skilled armorers at Marine Corps Base Quantico who meticulously assembled these pistols using the steel frames of the original M1911A1 pistols and a battery of parts from numerous custom 1911 makers such as Wilson Combat, Ed Brown Custom, Kings Gun Works, Nowlin Manufacturing, and Novak as well as slides ordered from Springfield Armory.

As the American civilian gunsmithing world had learned during the post-WWII era, the stock M1911A1 was a good pistol and a fantastic base upon which to build, but it was not perfect. Small improvements made through trial and error, from the 1960s on, resulted in a fighting pistol that was both reliable and accurate. The Marine Corps officially adopted their upgraded M1911A1 pistol in 1985.

Highlighted during our previous discussion of the Cold War M1911A1, during that era, conventional troops who were issued a pistol might be lucky to qualify with them twice a year. Once a year was more common. Such was not the case for those fortunate enough to be in a Special Operations unit, such as Marine Force Recon and MARSOC which came later. These operators fired thousands upon thousands of rounds per year in training. Their pistols had to be reliable and accurate.

In contrast to the World War II veteran M1911A1 pistols that filled the conventional Army and Marine Corps armories, the MEUSOC guns were constantly inspected and maintained. As I experienced personally, many of the 1911A1 pistols in the armories of designated training commands quite literally had the rifling shot out of the barrels, but as long as the guns still went “bang” no parts were changed. Those who were issued MEUSOC pistols kept track of their round count and the guns were completely rebuilt after 10000 rounds. This process was naturally time consuming as the guns were built and the parts hand-fit by trained armorers.

MAC MEUSOC 1911

Over the years, several companies have produced custom M1911A1 pistols based upon the MEUSOC specifications. These have traditionally been limited production runs and the price tags were considerable.

Recently, Military Armament Corporation (MAC) has produced and imported a MEUSOC clone built to mimic the original guns, but with an MSRP that most anyone can afford. The pistol featured in the photos here is a MAC pistol.

Regarding specifications, the MAC MEUSOC is a true single-action M1911A1 pistol with traditional barrel bushing, recoil spring, guide, and spring plug. The barrel is 5 inches and the overall length is 8.8 inches. The sights are described as “enhanced GI style”. The front sight is taller than the original which you might remember was little more than bump on the front of the slide. The steel rear sight is taller as well and has a flat front which can be snagged on a belt, etc. for one-handed emergency racking. This is an important feature on a gun that is a designated “fighting” or “combat” tool. Based upon my 40 years of experience, a rear sight that is “snag-free” or sloped has no business on a fighting gun.

The old grip safety, which often caused severe discomfort to the web of the shooter’s hand after more than a few dozen rounds, was replaced by a “beavertail” configuration. To mate with the new grip safety, a rounded “combat” hammer was added. A “three-hole” trigger with serrations replaced the WWII stock version. Cross cut serrations were added to the slide stop and the magazine release button. A big departure from the original was the addition of an enlarged, ambidextrous manual safety.

Down on the frame you will find the telltale indicator of a serious M1911A1 pistol; wrap-around Pachmayr black rubber grips. Back in the 1980s, the surest way to know someone was serious about their pistol shooting was the presence of Pachmayr grips. This feature gives the shooter a solid purchase on the pistol in all weather conditions; cold, wet, hot and sweaty, gloves or barehanded.

Interestingly, the original M1911 pistol had a flat mainspring housing which was changed to a rounded version for the “A1”. As time progressed, shooters leaned back toward the flat housing. That part on the MEUSOC is checkered and includes the old school lanyard loop that the Marines just could not get away from. The MAC MEUSOC pistol comes with two 8 round magazines with extended base pads that keep you from slamming the palm of your support hand into the lanyard loop. I must confess that more than once, when using the flat base 7 round GI mags that I bruised the palm of my left hand on that feature from hell.

Range Time

As you might have expected, my range time was with the new model MAC MEUSOC 1911, not the older cold war era model. However, to honor this old cold warrior, I dug into my ammo locker to see what I could come up with in the old school .45 ACP controlled-expansion ammunition and I found boxes of Cor-Bon, Federal, and Winchester that had been stored in milspec ammo cans in for going on three decades now.

And so, in addition to 230 grain ball ammo, I tested the aforementioned in the MEUSOC.

The review coincided with both the basic and advanced pistol classes that SOTGU was set to teach in Texas. Thus, the pistol and ammo travel southeast, down from the mountains to the Lone Star State. On the range there were steel targets aplenty. Myself and my son, Jarrad, took turns running the gun and it became a bit of a contest to see who could shoot the steel silhouettes from both practical distances out to impractical distances of 40, 45, 50 and then 75 yards.

Long story short, the Military Armament Corporation MEUSOC 1911 comported itself admirably. The sights were right on making hits out to 75 yards possible. Just as important as accuracy, the pistol ran flawlessly, even with hollow-point ammunition. Zero stoppages out of around 250 rounds. The rubber Pachmayr grips made the pistol even more a pleasure to shoot, even when launching the 165 grain JHP +P CorBon loads at a factory velocity of 1250!

The Wrap

Even though we acknowledge that the M9 Beretta is the pistol that led the conventional US Military out of the Cold War, custom built versions of the M1911A1, such as the JSOC and MEUSOC pistols also were present for the crossover. Official records indicate that, at least for the Marine Corps special operators, the MEUSOC pistol was in service from 1985 to 2022.

Specifications

Caliber: .45ACP
Capacity: 8+1
Operation: Single Action
Frame/Receiver – Slide Finish: QPQ Tenifer
Sights: Enhanced GI Style
Grips: Pachmayr rubber
Barrel Length: 5″
Barrel Finish: QPQ Tennifer
Overall length: 8.8″
Height: 5.55″
Width: 1.3″
Weight (Unloaded): 2.33 lbs.
MSRP $809

— Paul G. Markel