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If you are an admirer of custom firearms or have browsed 1911 forums online, you've probably come across the name Les Baer. Les Baer's Monolith Stinger Heavyweight pistol is a combination of two of the company's signature-style guns—the Monolith and the Stinger. This pistol contains an all stainless-steel frame that features a full-length dust cover aiding with recoil for the .45 ACP cartridge. It also has a foreshortened slide and shortened grip frame. Additional features include Rolo Night Sights, rear-slide grip serrations for assistance with the tight slide, Cocobolo stocks, and a high beavertail grip safety. And since it is a custom gun, the pistol can come in different calibers other than .45 ACP as well as different finishes including Blue or Les Baer's Dupont S finish.
Charter Arms updated one of the oldest models in its lineup with the new Pathfinder II, which features a lightweight 7075 aluminum frame, making it more well-balanced and easier to carry.
The 2011-style pistol was designed to address the capacity limitations of the single-stack M1911 platform, and Kimber's approach to the concept is its 2K11, a competition-ready offering with several notable features.
Manufactured in New Haven, Conn., in late 1940, this Hi-Standard pistol was shipped as a Model “A,” but a heavier Model “D” barrel was installed later to replace the original, light barrel, leading one American Rifleman reader to call it a Model “A-D.”
In the effort to help tens of thousands of critically ill children and their families across the nation through local Ronald McDonald Houses, Ruger is among some of the industry’s foremost Platinum-level sponsors of The Kids & Clays Foundation.
The future is shaping up to be a good one for fans of Smith & Wesson revolvers. The iconic American company had released 14 new models thus far in 2025 at the time this was written mid-year. And, with one exception, they have all shared a common feature—no internal lock.