Auto-Ordnance was originally created in 1918 by John Taliaferro Thompson to manufacture the Thompson Submachine Gun. Despite the success of his design, Thompson lost control of the company after World War II. It changed hands several times before being sold in 1951 to George Numrich of the surplus firearm giant Numrich Arms Corp. During that period, M1911 pistols were marketed with the Auto-Ordnance name; however, many of those guns appear to have been cobbled together from surplus parts, giving Auto-Ordnance Government Models a less-than-sterling reputation. Eventually, the M1911 pistols were dropped from the company line.
In 1999, when Auto-Ordnance was purchased by Kahr Arms, production of M1911 pistols once again commenced. The company's initial O-frame offerings were replicas of G.I.-issue guns, replete with spur hammers, M1911A1-style grip safeties and even lanyard loops on the mainspring housings. Three such pistols-a Parkerized World War II G.I. model, and Standard and Deluxe versions of the basic M1911A1 design-are still catalogued by Auto-Ordnance. In 2004, the company capitalized on the custom M1911 craze by introducing several Thompson Custom models, including the 1911TC Stainless reviewed here.....
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