Dan Wesson, a subsidiary of CZ-USA, has been manufacturing 1911s for quite some time, and models like the Bobtail have gotten a good amount of attention for their carry-friendly features.

The new Guardian pistol is available in .45 ACP and 9mm. It has a Commander length slide and 4.25″ barrel instead of the truncated 4″ barrel found on some other compact 1911s. The Bobtail frame is present, in an aluminum alloy to save weight. 30LPI checkering on the frontstrap, night sights, and an extended thumb safety are all desirable on a carry firearm, as is a durable finish. The Guardian features all of these, with their “Duty” finish being touted as extremely abrasion resistant.

I was pretty impressed with the overall package that I examined at IWA in Nuremberg. CZ-USA states that the weight of the pistol is 1.8lbs. No trigger weight is stated, but I would estimate that the one I handled broke at about 5lbs. It was a very clean and crisp trigger for a production 1911.