What do you know Wilson Combat for? High-level, custom-grade 1911s, right? We know Wilson Combat has extended itself into ARs, Shotguns, and suppressors, but it also branched out of the 1911 world into other handguns. Their latest comes from the newest branch of Wilson Combat, Division 77, and it’s appropriately named Project 1.
Division 77 is a mad lab at Wilson Combat, working to develop the latest and greatest in small arms technology. Wilson Combat started in 1977, and that’s where the 77 comes from. Division 77 is set to release plenty of new guns, but Project 1 is the first they’ve shown us. What is Project 1? Well, it’s not a 1911, and it’s not a 2011, so what is it?
Division 77 Project 1 is continuing the EDC line of 9mm compact handguns. It’s not a compact gun. I’d describe it as a race gun. The type of gun that would be at home in an open match. They took the idea of flat and fast shooting to an extreme degree.
The Project 1 – It’s So Fast
The Project 1 is a full-sized handgun. It holds 18 rounds of 9mm and features a five-inch barrel, so we are getting into a Government profile-sized gun. The metal frame features the Wilson TRAK checkering on the front and back grips and G10 grips with the Wilson Combat Starburst pattern. It’s super aggressive, and your hand fills every little gap and locks the gun into your hand.
Wilson Combat uses many of its Bulletproof parts, including the hammer, magazine release, and ambidextrous safety. As you’d imagine, it’s optics-ready. To top things off, the barrel and slide are ported for reduced muzzle rise and faster recovery.
From shooting Project 1 at our recent Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous, I can say the compensated design works quite well. It allows you to recover rapidly. In fact, it’s so fast that it outran me with ease. The dot returned to the target faster than I was mentally ready to shoot again. At one point, I just pulled the trigger as fast as I could, and it seemed like the dot never left the window.
Like any Wilson Combat weapon, the Project 1 features a masterclass of triggers. It’s superbly light and completely flat in profile. It glides rearward and releases without much pressure or effort. The single-action hammer races forward as fast as you can pull the trigger.
It’s also absurdly accurate. I’m a pretty good pistol shot, but I was hitting a fairly small 18 x 12-inch steel rectangle at 50 yards with the gun and a Trijicon RMR. For a pro, that’s nothing, but I’m no pro.
A Master Class
This gun is designed to give shooters a fast, flat shooting tool. Everything about the gun is designed to increase speed while maintaining accuracy. Shooting it is a ton of fun, and I’m not a good enough shooter to run the gun as fast as it could go, but I want to be! A lot of little things were done to improve the user’s experience.
Things like the optics mounting system. It’s universal but doesn’t require any plates. You have a series of removable locking pins that can be moved to mount various optics. We get things like an enhanced magwell, heavy-duty magazine baseplates, a Picatinny rail, and an external extractor.
While it’s clearly 1911-inspired, it’s not a 1911. Project 1 departs far enough from the platform to be something completely new. I can’t wait to get one in my hands and see if I can run it as fast as it deserves.
