GUN TESTS GRADE: A

$3,699

This was a recent ordering price direct from NighthawkCustom.com. The Falcon is a 5-inch-barrel Government Model-type 1911 without a frame rail. Among the Nighthawk’s features is a mainspring housing and magazine well custom built from tool steel and de-horned to prevent sharp edges. The forward portion of the slide has what Nighthawk calls High Power-type slide cuts. There are three ball-cut grooves in the top of the slide. The sights are Heinie Ledge types with the Straight Eight (stacked dots) tritium night-sight inserts, same as the Guncrafter. The grips are G10 and give the user plenty of adhesion and abrasion and are slightly thinner than some of the other grips tested. Most of the raters liked this design better than some of the thicker grips. The mainspring is checkered at 25 lines per inch (lpi), while the rear of the slide is checkered at 40 lpi to match the rear sight serrations. The barrel crown and smooth recoil spring plug present interesting architecture.

Action Type	Short recoil-operated locked breech, single action
Overall Length	8.6 in.
Overall Height	5.5 in.
Max. Width	1.25 in.
Weight Unloaded	38.8 oz.
Weight Loaded	43.8 oz.
Slide Material	Forged Steel
Slide Retraction Effort	19.0 lbs.
Receiver	Steel
Finish	Black Nitride
Front Strap Height	2.6 in.
Back Strap Height	3.2 in.
Barrel Length	5.0 in.
Grip Thickness Max.	1.25 in.
Grip Circumference	5.2 in.
Magazines	Two 8 round
Rear Sight	Heinie Straight Eight Ledge
Front Sight	Tritium Insert
Sight Radius	6.51 in.
Trigger Pull Weight	4.2 lbs.
Trigger Span	2.8 in.
Safety	Slide lock safety/grip safety
Warranty	None written
Telephone	(870) 423-4867
Website	NighthawkCustom.com
Made In	USA

The pistol is de-horned for carry use. After all, no matter how expensive these handguns are, each was designed as a personal-defense handgun. The front strap is nicely checkered and features a high cut that lowers the bore axis. The slide stop is nubbed and the frame beveled in the same manner as the Guncrafter. The match-grade barrel features chamber flutes, which may make cleaning easier and are eye catching. The stainless barrel bushing is finger tight. and disassembly isn’t difficult. The trigger is very crisp, with a small take up before meeting 4.2 pounds of compression. The Nighthawk is supplied with two Act Mag magazines.

During the firing test, the Nighthawk never failed to feed, chamber, fire, or eject. Operation was flawless. We really like the sight design the Nighthawk shares with the Guncrafter. The High Power cut in the slide allows racking the slide as you would with forward cocking serrations. Perhaps not as sure, and perhaps that is not the intent, but some of us do not like the looks of forward cocking serrations. The Nighthawk Falcon’s performance on the combat firing line was the best of any of the handguns. The Nighthawk simply rained bullets into a tight group. We fired from standing, firing quickly at close range, and also from a braced barricade at longer ranges. Per our estimation, the Nighthawk Falcon was the most accurate in combat terms in firing off hand. The Guncrafter Industries 45 and the Springfield Loaded Operator were very close in this contest, but the Nighthawk pulled away from them to a larger degree as the target got smaller and the range was further.

Our Team Said: In the Nighthawk we found an exceptional handgun, without compromise, and without fault. The Nighthawk is worth the money, even better if you find one at a lower price.

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45 ACP Range Data.xlsx

Fiocchi XTPHP 200-grain 45XTPB25	Dan Wesson 1911 Heritage	Springfield Armory Loaded Operator	Nighthawk Falcon	Devil Dog 4.25 Standard	Guncrafter Commander
Average Velocity	970 fps	954 fps	951 fps	899 fps	922 fps
Muzzle Energy	418 ft.-lbs.	404 ft.-lbs.	402 ft.-lbs.	359 ft.-lbs.	377 ft.-lbs.
Small Group	1.8 in.	2.0 in.	1.5 in.	2.2 in.	1.4 in.
Average Group	2.4 in.	2.5 in.	2.0 in.	2.7 in.	1.8 in.
Hornady Custom 230-grain XTP +P 9096	Dan Wesson 1911 Heritage	Springfield Armory Loaded Operator	Nighthawk Falcon	Devil Dog 4.25 Standard	Guncrafter Commander
Average Velocity	919 fps	907 fps	903 fps	867 fps	880 fps
Muzzle Energy	431 ft.-lbs.	420 ft.-lbs.	416 ft.-lbs.	384 ft.-lbs.	395 ft.-lbs.
Small Group	2.0 in.	2.2 in.	1.7 in.	2.4 in.	1.6 in.
Average Group	2.4 in.	2.6 in.	2.1 in.	3.0 in.	2.0 in.
Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 230-grain GDHP 23975GD	Dan Wesson 1911 Heritage	Springfield Armory Loaded Operator	Nighthawk Falcon	Devil Dog 4.25 Standard	Guncrafter Commander
Average Velocity	855 fps	839 fps	828 fps	810 fps	780 fps
Muzzle Energy	373 ft.-lbs.	359 ft lbs.	350 ft.-lbs.	335 ft.-lbs.	311 ft.-lbs.
Small Group	1.9 in.	1.8 in.	1.6 in.	2.6 in.	1.7 in.
Average Group	2.4 in.	2.4 in.	2.1 in.	3.3 in.	2.0 in.