Ed Brown 1911 10mm LS10 Review

The Ed Brown LS10 is a long slide 1911 10mm from one of the biggest names in custom 1911s.

The late 1980s were the height of the custom 1911 gunsmithing. This was when the 1911 had become well-known and popular among progressive pistoleros, but before any factories began offering guns in any configuration other than basic M1911A1 flavor.

At the time, there were dozens of gunsmiths working on the 1911, mostly one-man shops, but a few names stood out then, as now. Ed Brown is one of those names, and while it is no longer a one-man shop, thirty years later, Ed Brown Products continues to put out quality custom 1911s. The Ed Brown LS10, a long slide 10mm, is one of its newest models.

“Long slide” 1911s have never been very common, so let’s define the term. A long slide 1911 is one that features a barrel (with slide to match) longer than the Government Model-length five inches. Long slide 1911s have been around since at least the early ‘80s—Arnold Schwarzenegger was rocking an AMT Hardballer with a 7-inch barrel in 1984’s The Terminator, although that gun was mostly chosen so the slide would be the same length as the huge first-generation laser unit atop it.

The “10” in LS10 means that this pistol is chambered in the 10mm Auto cartridge. Americans are rediscovering the 10mm, and in many ways, a 6-inch barreled 1911 with a red-dot optic maximizes the platform for this cartridge. Let’s look at the pistol itself before we dive into the 10mm.

The Ed Brown 1911 LS10 features a six-inch barrel, which is the usual length for a long slide 1911. That slide sits on a full-size all-steel frame. Ed Brown states the pistol weighs approximately 43 ounces with an empty magazine inserted. My new digital scale read 42.07 ounces for an empty pistol, 44.59 ounces with an empty magazine inserted…which still is only a hair more than some 5-inch guns I’ve tested with mag wells and beefy tactical rails.

Yes, it’s a big gun, but, in my opinion, it’s less unwieldy and far better balanced than a six-inch barreled revolver. Empty, the gun balances over the slide stop pin, and loaded, the balance point moves even further backward. Ed Brown provides two 9-round stainless magazines with the pistol.

This pistol ships with a Trijicon RMR mini red dot mounted on the slide, along with tall iron sights that can be used through the RMR’s window. The iron sights have Trijicon tritium inserts to give you an illuminated 3-dot sighting picture in low light, even if the dot on your RMR is off or out of commission.

If you’ve never held a truly custom 1911 in your hand, then you just don’t realize how much of a difference there is between such a gun and a factory production model. And for what you’re paying for a custom 1911, there better be a big darn difference, right?

The Ed Brown LS10 sample I was sent did not have even the tiniest bit of play anywhere in the gun. The barrel fit snugly to the slide, which was mated perfectly to the frame. As tight as the gun was, the slide moved smoothly back and forth, and the gun was reliable right out of the box. Slide and frame are CNC machined, then hand-fit; in this day and age, no 1911, especially not a custom 1911, should need a “breaking in” period or be so tight out of the box you can barely work the slide by hand.