Shoot with Style & Personality with the LPWS Chiraq 2011 Ported Edition

by Kenzie Fitzpatrick

September 21, 2024

The 2011 market has just exploded with talent, with custom gunsmiths and major firearm manufacturers leaning into building these types of firearms. Why the popularity? Shoot any polymer frame gun side by side against a 2011, and you’ll immediately understand. When built right, they are reliable, have good capacity, less felt recoil, and are built off the popular 1911 design. Mix a high-quality 2011 pistol with good-quality ammunition that the gun likes, and you’ll have a workhorse that’s hard to beat—like the LPWS Chiraq.

The LPWS Chiraq 2011 Ported Edition

A custom 2011 builder that you should be aware of, if you aren’t already, is Legion Precision Weapon Systems (LPWS). Located in Arizona, the company has served the valley for ten years in the military, law enforcement, and civilian markets. It provides general gunsmithing services, Cerakote, CNC machining services, and, of course, what we’re here to talk about—full 2011 gun builds.

What LPWS does differently than any 2011 manufacturer is announcing a “drop” of five pistols on a specific date themed with a specific cerakote design. These pistols have about a 5-month lead time from the order date. If you’ve ever ordered a 2011, this is a blink of an eye compared to others. These variants are anything but ordinary and, in my opinion, works of art.

The Chiraq 2011 at First Sight

When I reached out to LPWS to get a testing and evaluation or demo pistol to use for this review, I was told the demo gun they usually send out had a long queue of folks waiting for it. Instead, the owner told me he’d send his wife’s gun for me to use. It is also a testament to their customer service in trusting us reviewers out there with their personal guns.

When I picked up the gun from my FFL, he opened the box and thought I had lost my mind. He thought I had ordered that gun for myself. You see, I don’t own anything pink at all, and all I could see was the pink of this pistol.

My honest initial reaction was how cool the gun looked from a custom 2011 standpoint. I’ve seen the artwork of Infinity Firearms and the cerakote jobs Nighthawk Custom can do. So, I know how hard it is to make them look so seamless. This is no different with the LPWS.

Even though pink is not my color, this badass pistol design speaks volumes about what they can make a reality.

Features that Matter: Slide and Grip Texture

When it comes to 2011s, grip texture is everything. A few manufacturers just make 2011 grip modules, and many firearm manufacturers sell their grip separately to be fit by professional gunsmiths to uppers.

The Cheely Custom Gunworks E2 grip on this gun is one of my favorite grips and grip textures. Likewise, the Cerakote work on it is flawless, and the texture is aggressive without destroying your hand.

The tri-top slide of the LPWS pistol is also texturized where it matters. Unlike striker-fired handguns, for example, the slide on the LPWS 2011 is so light and smooth that it is easy to rack. Instead of using the rear serrations usually found on striker-fired handguns to pull back the slide and rack a round in, you use the front serrations on a 2011 to load it.

Using the web between your thumb and pointer finger on your support hand, squeeze the slide near the muzzle behind the front sight, pull back on the slide, and let go to chamber a round. This slide texture is strategically placed to aid with this process.

Optics Cut with Co-Witness Iron Sights

I no longer recommend any handgun to anyone that isn’t optic-ready. Whether you prefer iron sights or red dot optics, every handgun these days should be able to mount them.

Not only that, but it’s important to be able to co-witness your iron sights with the red dot optic. The LPWS 2011 pistol comes outfitted with a Trijicon SRO red dot as well as suppressor height night sights. The Trijicon adapter plate on the gun fits the Trijicon RMR, SRO, and Holosun 407c or 507c red dot models.

Trijicon SRO

The Trijicon SRO is one of the best competitive pistol red dot optics ever made. Its giant window size alone makes this optic great for competitive shooters who need fast target acquisition.

The SRO comes in 1 MOA, 2.5 MOA, and 5 MOA options. I personally prefer the larger 5 MOA optic for competition shooting. It’s easy to acquire on all target sizes, easy to transition and pick up from one target to the next, and shows well in all lighting environments.

The SRO has eight brightness settings, including one super bright mode and two night vision modes. Plus and minus controls on the side of the optic make it super easy to adjust the brightness. The SRO is extremely durable and has been used by some of the top competitive shooters in the world.

I own four of these on different firearms and have not had any failures from these optics. They were built to endure.

For more information, please visit Trijicon.com.

Flat Competition Trigger

The Red Dirt trigger installed in the Legion Precision Weapon Systems 2011 is by far one of my favorite triggers on the market. I installed one in my Prodigy pistol, and it is lightyears better than the stock trigger that came on it.

Red Dirt Triggers come in both flat and curved triggers and are designed to fit Staccato pistols, the Prodigy, and many other 2011 pistols, along with the Cheely grips. The version in the LPWS Chiraq 2011 is the F5 flat trigger.

Red Dirt has a trigger sizing guide on its website. You can determine the best trigger for you by measuring the length of your trigger finger from the webbing to the end of the fingertip. The F5 version is for those who measure 3.5 inches and longer.

They do make shorter triggers (F1-F4 versions) as well. The F5 fits most shooters well and is still usable for people with smaller hand sizes.

Weight and Balance of the LPWS Chiraq 2011

The biggest difference between polymer-framed guns and 2011s is the overall weight and balance. Of course, you’re comparing apples to oranges. But a 2011 is usually made to be heavier with either an aluminum or steel grip for better balance. The heavier the gun, the less felt recoil, especially when tuned with good ammunition.

LPWS uses the aluminum Cheely E2 grip on the Chiraq and weighs 2.6 pounds with the Trijicon SRO installed. The gun’s balance is perfect and is noticeable when you shoot multiple follow-up shots. You can run this gun as fast as you can pull a trigger, and the sights will realign right where you had them, even with a less-than-perfect grip on the gun.

Range Test: Felt Recoil and Follow-Up Shots with the Ported Barrel

The difference between a non-ported barrel and a ported barrel is astronomical. It directly affects felt recoil and how quickly you can re-align the sights for follow-up shots.

The LPWS 2011 has a 3-port system that redirects gas upward to push the gun downward. This gives the shooter better recoil control, increased accuracy, and slightly decreased barrel velocity.

The ported barrel is one of my favorite features of this gun. It truly takes so much of the muzzle flip out of the gun and gives you better control during courses of fire. If you ever consider competing in 3 Gun, 2 Gun, or even Open Division in shooting sports like USPSA and Steel Challenge, this pistol will give you all the competitive advantage you need.

Shooting doubles and Bill drills with this pistol is a true pleasure. I can almost guarantee that all skill levels can achieve great results with this pistol. Specifically since they aren’t fighting a ton of felt recoil or muzzle flip.

Reliability of the LPWS Chiraq 2011

I honestly tried to get this gun to fail. I was extremely curious about this pistol as a contender in the competitive shooting sports world. So, I wanted to know if it would run dirty and cheap ammunition.

I mean it when I tell you I threw the book at this pistol to try and get it to fail. This included running some of the cheapest and oldest ammunition I had on hand through it. I tried full metal jackets, hollow points, and even Federal Syntech-coated flat-nosed bullets to see if they would feed right.

Likewise, I also tried ammunition with varying overall lengths to see how shorter and longer ammunition fed from the magazine into the chamber. There were zero malfunctions, and I was genuinely surprised by how little the differences were between each ammunition type.

I also wanted to know if the LWPS Chiraq, with all the various ammunition, would meet the “power factor” requirements for USPSA. Even with the ported barrel, my lowest power factor was 135, with the 115-grain 9mm running 1180 feet per second. The minimum in USPSA to compete for score is 125.

To know if your ammunition meets the minimum power factor, multiply the bullet grain weight by the projectile’s velocity and divide this number by 1000. If it’s over 125, you’re good to go!

Magazine Selection

One thing to mention about reliability and ammunition is ensuring you have the right magazines for this pistol. While it comes with two STI magazines tuned to the gun, I also shot this gun using my MBX 2011 magazines.

I don’t tune my magazines like I should because I use them with so many different firearms. However, if you ever have feeding issues with magazines, it is most likely the feed lips that need adjusting to work with the gun.

Even without tuning the magazines, the MBX brand magazine worked just as well as the STI magazines.

Can We Talk About These Custom Drops?

I think Legion Precision Weapon Systems is one of the most underrated 2011 manufacturers. The company is doing some cool, unique builds that aren’t just sexy but also functional. From the Candyland editions to some battle-worn and camouflage designs, LPWS makes it look too easy to have a custom gun that fits every person out there.

These custom builds are easy to spot, and pictures don’t do them justice. With just five guns of each variant made, you can be almost like an art collector—but with custom firearms.

For more information, please visit Legion-Precision.com.

LPWS Chiraq 2011 Ported Edition Specs

Features

• 8-pound guide rod spring (15-pound guide rod spring for the 4.25-inch barrel options)
• Non-functional grip safety
• Ambidextrous guarded safeties
• Lightened hammer
• Flush cut and hand-blended barrel with 45-degree deep crown
• Double undercut trigger guard
• Heavy-duty extractor
• Comes with one STI 17-round Magazine and one STI 26-round magazine

Performance

Original article is located https://athlonoutdoors.com/article/lpws-chiraq-2011/

 November 3, 2024