In the late 1980s and early 1990s, revolvers were quickly being supplanted by semi-automatic pistols for use by law enforcement and civilian self defenders. The more modest levels of felt recoil, increased ammunition capacity and quicker reloading qualities that pistols provide makes them a better fit for engaging multiple threats in urban and suburban settings. Today, compact-sized, polymer-framed pistols chambered in 9 mm with double-stack magazines rule the concealed-carry and self-defense roost.
But for those who enjoy spending time in the great outdoors, the big-bore revolvers have endured. When fending off dangerous game, including angry bears, the trail gun maxim has been that cartridge power trumps ammunition capacity. That's why we still see single-action and double-action revolvers chambered in .357 Mag., .44 Mag. and .454 Casull tucked into the hip and chest holsters of those headed into bear country.
Steel-framed, single-stack 1911 pistols are a useful compromise between polymer pistols and steel revolvers.
Nevertheless, more and more polymer-framed pistols are making their way into gear sets of nature lovers these days. This is due in no small part to the popularity of the 10 mm Auto pistol cartridge. When fired from duty-size or long-barreled pistols, the 10 mm Auto can yield performance results on par with, or notably better than, those of the .357 Mag. revolver cartridge which has been an acceptable minimum for bear defense for quite some time. Take that ammunition power and pair it with a lightweight polymer frame that accepts double-stack magazines that hold 15 to 16 rounds and you've got yourself quite an attractive defensive package. This is why the polymer-framed 10 mm Autos are well on their way to being the next generation of trail guns.
But as with any of the latest and greatest shooting trends, the polymer 10 mm pistols are not necessarily the best fit for everyone. Although I enjoy working with most of them, some folks are going to find the relatively chubby grips a poor fit for their hand shape. Or the striker-fired action's trigger pull may not be to their liking. And what about managing felt recoil?
The Girsan Influencer X model is loaded with factory-custom features.
For those who have yet to find their trail gun fit amongst either the lightweight polymer-frame pistols or the heavy-duty big-bore revolvers, there is a third alternative that sometimes goes overlooked. They are the steel-framed 1911 pattern pistols chambered in 10 mm Auto. And for this conversation, I found a recently released model imported by the European American Armory (EAA) that offers an impressive balance of performance features and price.
Steel-Framed 1911 Pistols Chambered in 10 mm Auto
Invented by the famous John Moses Browning, the 1911 pistol platform would not still be in production, let alone in high demand, if it didn't bring a useful set of features to the table. The 1911 is a battle-proven design known for its reliability under harsh conditions. When made of quality materials by folks who know what they are doing, this semi-automatic is accurate as well. The single-action triggers can exhibit a short, crisp break that has yet to be duplicated by any other pistol design. And for those who find the 1911 to be a good fit, they often report appreciation for the grip shape and the natural point-ability and well-balanced feel.
The controls include a light, clean vented trigger, Commander-style hammer and an extended beavertail grip safety.
I've found the 1911s chambered in 10 mm Auto to be among the most enjoyable big bores that I've worked with. This is due in part to the added weight of the pistols' steel frame. As discussed in this post, a heavier handgun is going to soak up more recoil energy than a lighter one. But an excessively heavy gun is not enjoyable to tote around all day.
Thankfully, the steel 1911s split the difference in regard to trail gun weights. The popular polymer pistols are between 28 to 32 oz., unloaded. The typical big-bore revolvers can tip the scales at somewhere between 40 to 54 oz. The 5" barrel, government-style steel 1911s are usually 35 to 40 oz., perhaps a bit heavier if they have an accessory rail on the dust cover. So you get a middle-ground weight —enough to soften the 10 mm Auto recoil without making the gun overly burdensome.
A low-profile magwell extension is installed at the base of the grip frame to aid in quicker reloads.
Shootability vs. Ammunition Capacity
At this point in the conversation, someone is going to raise their hand to ask if the 1911s we've been talking about are the Government-style models. Yes, those are the guns I have in mind here. But don't they take old-fashioned, single-stack magazines? Yes, they do. Are you really advising some folks to traipse through bear country with a 10 mm pistol that only holds 8+1-rounds of ammunition? Yes, I am, but for a particular reason.
Before proceeding, here is some information for those who are interested in a 1911 but simply must have more ammunition in the grip. I would suggest taking a look at the EAA Girsan Witness2011 Hunter (see the review here) which uses a 2011-style 15-round magazine. I had a great time shooting it. But for this conversation, I want to make the case for pistol shootability taking priority over ammunition capacity. The 10 mm Auto is not a subtle cartridge to shoot out of any handgun. And if the pistol's grip is too big or bulky for a given self-defender's hand shape, then it will work to magnify the shooter's discomfort and contribute to the gun feeling difficult to control.
Texturing on all four sides of the grip contributes to a firm feel of this pistol’s relatively slim grip frame.
You may find, just as I have, that a single-stack 1911 grip frame is a better fit for your hands than a double-stack polymer frame. And because the grip fits, you'll be much more likely to practice with it. With practice comes confidence, and with confidence a willingness to carry. In short, a single-stack capacity pistol that is confidently carried provides more defensive options in the wood than a double-stack pistol left at home.
The Affordable EAA Girsan Influencer X Pistol
If this is your first time delving into the subject of 1911 pistols chambered in 10 mm Auto, then you may be surprised to find out just how many options are currently available. Steel-frame models with 5" and 6" barrels are available from Colt, Springfield, Kimber and Ruger, just to name a few. However, they come with some sticker shock for those who are used to polymer gun pricing. The current cadre of polymer 10 mm pistols are selling for real-world prices between $200 to $689, depending on make and model. The available 1911s often start at around $1,000 and can go up to as high as $3,000.
The tested 8-round magazines included factory provided Check-Mate stainless steel and Mec-Gar blued steel options.
EAA, however, offers a selection of Turkish Girsan 1911 and 2011-style pistols chambered in 10 mm at impressively fair prices. Among them is the new-for-2025, optics-ready 5”-barrel MC1911 S Influencer X. This model, which borrows heavily from the match-grade pistols in the X series, has a suggested retail price of $789. But at the time of this writing, it was available for prices just under $700. That places it within about $25 of the more expensive polymer guns.
The 2-tone, Cerakote finished Influencer X is just about as feature rich as a factory custom 1911 can be. The forged-steel round-top slide features lightening cuts near the muzzle, front and rear cocking serrations, a dovetailed white dot front sight and a fully adjustable rear sight. The rear sight assembly can be removed to expose the slide's cutout configured for RMSc-size optics to be directly mounted without the need for an adapter plate. For this evaluation, the rear sight was replaced with a sturdy, RMSc footprint Swampfox Sentinel II 3-MOA green dot optic. This particular model has been a great fit and held up well in testing with other defensive pistols, so I put it to work here with positive results.
The Swampfox Sentinel II is a preferred model for the author.
Internally, the Influencer X sticks close to the original Browning design, including a removable barrel bushing, linked barrel, singular round-wire recoil spring and the short recoil guide rod. But externally, a full suite of 1911 upgrades have been installed. The barrel has an inverted competition crown and is finished to match the frame. The frame's full-length dust cover sports an integral 3.5", 8-slot Picatinny accessory rail and lends a bit more weight to the muzzle end of the gun.
At the heart of this pistol's controls is a vented aluminum trigger. The stock Girsan 1911s are listed with 5- to 7-lb. single-action triggers. As a member of the X series, the Influencer X is described as having a tuned trigger that will weigh in at 4 lbs. 8 oz. or less. According to a Lyman's digital trigger gauge, the trigger of the pistol sent for this evaluation breaks crisply and cleanly with just 2 lbs. 1 oz. of trigger pull. Lots of 1911 fans have paid good money to qualified gunsmiths to achieve a trigger this light after buying a more expensive gun.
As configured here, the Influencer X provides 43.7 ozs. of recoil taming weight.
The remaining controls include a checkered slide stop lever and serrated round button magazine release button, both found on the left side of the frame, along with an ambidextrous thumb safety. The commander-style serrated hammer is couched in an extended beaver tail grip safety that has a grooved memory bump. The grip frame's front strap and the straight mainspring housing are cut with fine line checkering for improved purchase along with the new high-texture polymer grip panels.
The base of the grip is fitted with a low-profile polymer magwell extension to aid in quick reloads. This model arrives with two Check-Mate through-hardened stainless steel 8-round magazines. With the optic and an empty magazine, it tips the scales at 43.7 ozs. The fit and finish were top shelf throughout. All the controls operated smoothly and properly and the slide was tightly fitted to the frame without any of the “G.I. wiggle” common to some budget-priced 1911s. Overall, it's an impressive package for the price.
The internal workings of these pistols closely follow the original Browning design.
How Much Recoil Are We Talking About?
It's not my intention to try and convince anyone that 10 mm Auto pistols of any style are “soft shooting” handguns. They are not, especially when loaded for bear. However, there is a scale for qualifying the intensity of perceived recoil that most folks can agree with. Let's use the compact 9 mm semi-automatic pistols as the starting point, or the low end of the scale.
The step up in recoil from a 9 mm to a .45 ACP pistol is noticeable but usually manageable. For those who are used to the .45s, the recoil shift is the same when moving up to 10 mm Auto, meaning, noticeable but not monumental. I would say that the next step up in recoil is found moving from the 10 mm Auto pistols to .357 Mag. revolvers. This is not because the .357 Mag. wheel guns are inherently more powerful than a 10 mm but because of the gun's design. There is no recoil spring or moving slide to use up some of the recoil energy to cycle the action. Instead, the .357 Mag. revolver’s recoil drives back into the grip frame which can make it more noticeable, especially with bear-grade loads.
This pistol’s weight, light trigger and textured grip contributed to a positive shooting experience.
At the top of this particular recoil spectrum, I'm going to stop with the .44 Mag. revolvers, which are typically the hottest handguns the average shooter is willing to wrangle. The mistake some folks make when looking for a trail gun is that they jump from a 9 mm directly to a .44 Mag., learn a few things the hard way and then give up on a trail gun all together. Moving up from a 9 mm or .45 ACP pistol to a 10 mm Auto is a much less startling and more manageable learning process.
Loading for Bear
For the shooting range evaluation with the Influencer X, the pistol was test fired with a mix of practice and premium grade loads using a total of four Check-Mate stainless steel magazines. The test set also included two top notch blued steel magazines from Mec-Gar. The pistol, ammunition and magazines all operated without any hang-ups, hiccups or issues throughout the course of testing.
Several ammunition companies now offer top-notch bear loads for 10 mm Auto pistols.
The formal bench-rested, 3-shot group accuracy testing was conducted with three loads representative of what is currently available for bear defense at a distance of 25 yards. If you need to keep costs and recoil down, look for the 180-gr. full-metal jacket rounds with listed muzzle velocities between 1150 to 1275 f.p.s., which are available for around $0.60 to $0.95 per round. In this case, the ammunition used was a Remington UMC load listed at 1160 f.p.s. It shot accurately but, as you'll see in the table, the actually muzzle velocity was measurably slower (as were all the loads tested). That's why these loads are well, the “bear minimum” you should consider carrying. Folks in the know would say that 200-gr. bullets made for deep penetration and launching at 1,200 to 1,400 f.p.s. would be the better choice.
One company that offers a managed recoil deep penetration option is G9 Defense. Their 10 mm Auto Woodsman load is topped with a pointed 145-gr. solid-copper projectile listed at 1450 f.p.s. The recoil when fired from this pistol was on par with a typical .45 ACP. These bullets are energetic and effective but more expensive at a listed price of about $2.20 per round.
The best individual 3-shot group of 1.62” was fired using the Underwood hard cast load.
The hardest hitting bear loads on the market push 210 to 230 gr. hard-cast, flat-nosed bullets for maximum penetration and bone-breaking power. I went with Underwood Ammo's 230-gr. load to cover this category which is listed for about $1.40 per shot. Folks, once you get past the 200-gr. bullet weights, recoil is going to be stout. This load was more of a handful, but it was also the hardest hitting of the test set. Here are the range results with a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph used to measure the bullets' muzzle velocity averages:
Parting Shots
The single-stack, steel-framed 1911s chambered in 10 mm Auto can be accurate, reliable and shootable trail guns for those who are looking for a potent alternative to a polymer-framed pistol. The Girsan Influencer X in particular looked good on paper but exceeded my expectations in the course of testing. It has moved to the top of my list for favorite factory-configured 10 mm pistols that I’ve evaluated. Quite frankly it would be a bargain at twice the price.
My hope is that the main take away from this conversation is this: No matter what your needs, preferences or price point may be, there is trail gun out there waiting for you to find it. Just because you may have had someone pass you a big-bore that was unpleasant to shoot doesn't mean all of them will be. Keep exploring your options until you find that just-right fit for you.
Pistol Specifications:
Importer: European American Armory Corp. (EAA)
Manufacturer: Girsan, Turkey
Model: Girsan Influencer X
Action: recoil-operated, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol
Chambering: 10 mm Auto
Barrel: 5" steel; six-groove rifling; 1:16" RH twist
Slide: carbon steel alloy, Black Cerakote finish
Frame: carbon steel alloy, Tungsten Cerakote finish
Sights: dovetailed white-dot front; fully adjustable square-notch rear; RMR optic cut
Magazine: 8-round detachable box
Overall Length: 8.75"
Height: 5.9"
Width: 1.30" (grip)
Weight: 43.7-ozs. (with empty magazine)
Accessories: carry case, two magazines, bore brush, patch handle, lock, owner's manual
MSRP: $709
