When the Marine Corps retired its Colt M45A1 Close Quarter Battle Pistol in 2022, it marked the end of a 1911 run with the U.S. military stretching back more than a century. Now, Accuracy X brings us the next chapter.
Meet the M45A2 Battle Pistol, a hand-fitted, double-stack chambered in .45 ACP that the company considers the successor the M45A1 never got. Just 11 will be made, one for each year of the M45A1’s 2012 to 2022 service life, and each is engraved with its corresponding year.
A flat dark earth finish with a worn-in battle patina covers the frame and slide, while the barrel, trigger and small parts are blacked out for contrast, along with a carbon-composite, double-stack grip. Up top sits a tritium SLOT Sight front paired with an Accuracy X fiber-optic rear, both built around the company’s Multi-Sight System. Accuracy X first rolled out Multi-Sight in 2016 to let one 1911 cover multiple competition disciplines; here, it lets owners swap to a red-dot optic or another fixed-sight module in seconds. An extended Picatinny rail with a ball cut, front and rear slide serrations and a lanyard loop in the mainspring housing complete the package.
Markings pay tribute without copying. An Accuracy X shield and three stars take the place of the Colt roll mark, joined by an “AXI Government Model” stamp and a “U.S.” mark on the dust cover. Even the government inspection stamp gets a modern twist, reborn as a QR code linking to the company’s website.
Each set also includes an engraved USMC utility fighting knife, life-size replica of the Iwo Jima battle map from World War II, military-grade combat compass, a signed five-shot, 25-yard test target and a branded hard case.
For Accuracy X President Steve Huff, this one hits close to home. He grew up in a Marine Corps family, with a father who served in Korea and a brother who followed him into the Corps. Huff, a six-time Distinguished competitive shooter, framed the project as unfinished business.
“The M45A1 CQBP was the last chapter of the 1911’s service to this country, and we wanted to write the one that should have come next,” Huff said.
MSRP for the M45A2 Battle Pistol set is $9,212, plus shipping and insurance. As of launch, roughly half of the 11 sets remain. To order, contact Accuracy X at [email protected] or 877-762-1911.
