Lately, 9mm 2011s have become all the rage for EDC. Just look at the Springfield Prodigy and Staccato line of pistols. Well, Alpha Foxtrot has come out with their own take on an EDC conceal carry they call the 1911-S15. It has a secret, it can take Glock magazines!

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Korean Made 1911-S15

Alpha Foxtrot is actually owned by Dasan Manufacturing in South Korea. But the Alpha Foxtrot 1911-S15 is made in the US. Dasan has invested heavily in US manufacturing with their 80,000 sq ft manufacturing facility located in Duluth, GA.

The 1911-S15 comes in a pistol pouch instead of a typical cardboard box or hard pistol case. I actually prefer this to the typical plastic pistol cases. Pistol cases take up room whereas I can safely store the 1911-S15 in its pouch and keep the pouch in a range bag.

The Alpha Foxtrot pistol pouch has elastic loops to store seven magazines. The 1911-S15 only came with one magazine. It comes with a Shield Arms magazine and I already had spares to use with my Glock 43X.

The pouch has a divider to keep your 1911-S15 segregated from the metal magazines. Of course, you can have larger pistols and larger magazines in this pouch.

Forged aluminum 7075-T6  frame with steel inserts for lightweight durability. Weighs 28.5 oz empty.

Forged Ultra Match barrel, slide and rails  are coated in Polished Black DLC resulting in  a smooth cycling pistol that is easy to clean.

Uses standard 1911 hammer and trigger so tuning  and customizing is a breeze.

The 1911-S15 comes with an extended thumb safety. I would prefer an ambidextrous thumb safety. On top of the slide are three-dot iron sights. The rear sight is adjustable.

 

As mentioned earlier, the slide is coated in DLC giving it this semi gloss like sheen. 

The frame is machined 7075-T6 aluminum. It has front and back strap checkering as well as side checkering. I would have preferred more aggressive checkering but for an EDC CCW pistol, the smoother texture is more comfortable.

The trigger is adjustable.

It Takes Glock Mags!

Yes, reader, you read that right! It takes Glock magazines. Specifically Glock 43X magazines. As mentioned earlier, the 1911-S15 comes with a Shield Arms S15 magazine so it holds 15+1 9mm rounds.

If you wanted to, you can use factory Glock 43X magazines and hold fewer cartridges. 

Since the 1911-S15 takes Shield Arms magazines, you can use +5 rd extensions. I used a Taran Tactical mag extension and now it holds 20+1 rds of 9mm.

Compared To Its Competition

My friend came over with his Staccato CS which has a similar size so I took photos of it next to the Alpha Foxtrot 1911-S15.

The Staccato CS uses a proprietary magazine whereas the 1911-S15 uses Glock and Shield Arms magazines.

One thing the Staccato CS has that I wish Alpha Foxtrot implemented into the 1911-S15, is a flared mag well. The CS has a polymer frame but it has a molded mag well flare. It is subtle but it is nice to have compared to the 1911-S15 grip which does not have any flare at all.

The Alpha Foxtrot 1911-S15 is heavier but it is almost the same size as a Glock 43X.

Shooting The 1911-S15

Just for fun, I shot the Alpha Foxtrot 1911-S15 with night vision. Even though the grip is more of a Glock angle, it was not hard to aim at steel targets. I was able to connect a number of times. But an optics cut slide with red dot mounted would be better for shooting under NODs.

The trigger is decent but it is not like the Staccato. The 1911-S15 feels like it has double the trigger pull. I would have preferred a lighter trigger like the Staccato but it is useable. According to Alpha Foxtrot, the 1911-S15 uses a standard 1911 trigger and hammer so you can tune it.

Accuracy is ok. Here is a group shot rapidly at 15 yards away. I’m sure with a red dot, I could shrink this group down.

Final Thoughts On the Alpha Foxtrot 1911-S15

I love the Glock magazine compatibility. Using the Shield Arms S15 magazines is a great solution. You can easily carry 15+1 rds in a 1911-styled pistol for EDC. The metal frame and steel slide add some heft to the pistol helping to soak up some recoil. Like I said earlier, I would like a flared magwell just to help with reloads. Shooting the 1911-S15 is soft feeling. I am looking forward to their optics cut slide coming soon. I think the Novak-style rear iron sight is nice but it takes up a lot of space. I am not a fan of shooting iron sights and prefer a red dot, I like modern technology. Alpha Foxtrot also makes a threaded barrel for the 1911-S15. The pistol retails for $1,430 which is a considerable savings to similar double stack 9mm compact 1911. For more information check out their website.