Pros & Cons
Here’s a quick list of my top pros and cons up front.
Pros:
- Affordable, attractive 1911 pistol
- Compact and concealable
- Steel construction is solid
- Tight slide to frame fit
- Nice adjustable trigger
- Fusion Firearms is known for good customer service
Cons:
- Front fiber optic popped out of housing while shooting
-
Doesn’t work with other 1911 magazines
Fusion Firearms
Before we dig into the gun itself, who is Fusion Firearms? That’s a good question; I didn’t know either.
Fusion Firearms was started in 2005 by Bob Serva. Before that, Bob Serva was the owner and president of Dan Wesson. He bought Dan Wesson in the 1990s when it was in financial trouble and revitalized the company. He was responsible for refocusing the brand on precision revolvers and for developing Dan Wesson’s first 1911 pistols. As you probably know, quality mid-tier 1911s have become a cornerstone of Dan Wesson’s modern identity.
After selling Dan Wesson to CZ in 2005, Bob created Fusion Firearms to continue his passion for building high quality, American-made 1911s. Since then, Fusion has been known for making high quality custom and semi-custom 1911s. The company also sells 1911 build kits for hobbyists. Fusion offers solid customer service, good value for your money in the custom 1911 world, and high-quality parts for gunsmiths and tinkerers.
Bantam R
In 2019, Fusion branched out from its standard product offering to launch a line of internationally manufactured 1911s at a more affordable price, called the Freedom line. These guns are machined in Turkey, but Fusion does the final fitting in the U.S.
I found one of these Freedom series pistols in the Guns.com Certified Used inventory. This Bantam R is chambered in 9mm, but it is also available in .45 ACP, .38 Super, and 9x23. It is considered a micro-compact carry with a 3-inch, chrome lined, bull barrel. The action is a standard 1911 Defender design, and it takes Series 70 parts. It has a reverse guide rod system with dual springs.
The slide, frame, and barrel are CNC-cut from bar stock steel. Overall weight is 2 pounds – hefty for a small gun, but it feels solid in the hand and takes recoil well. Slide-to frame-fit is good with minimal wiggle, and the barrel lockup is similar. There was definitely some gunsmith fitting here.
More Features
The slide has serrations on the front, back, and top, which is a nice aesthetic touch. In keeping with the traditional design, there is an internal extractor that has been tuned. There is also a single-sided safety and an extended slide lock.
The ejection port has been lowered and flared. The grip safety is timed well and takes little movement to disengage. Even the slide stop pinhole has been beveled for easier takedown. The curved trigger is aluminum and adjustable. It broke at a nice 3.5 pounds.
Iron sights were Novak-cut with a serrated black rear and white fiber-optic front, but as you can see, I had to replace the fiber with a red tube. We’ll get to that. There is a factory optics cut option, but this handgun didn’t come with it.
The butt of the grip is rounded for carry. There is good front strap checkering, and the magwell has some beveling. The grip is topped off with decent red Cocobolo panels. One eight-round Officer-sized Mec-Gar magazine is included.
Initial Impressions
When I first handled this pistol, I was impressed that I could not tell it was a sub-$850 1911. Fit and finish are excellent. The slide is super smooth, and the trigger is above average, even for a 1911. Everything is dehorned for reduced snag potential.
My first shots were outstanding. Because of the weight, the recoil impulse is tame, especially considering how small this pistol is. I found it accurate and easy to shoot. I wished it were more than just a single stack, because it just wanted to go and go. Sights are easy to acquire because they are set up in the modern fashion with a dark rear and a bright front. The gun works well with my Falco OWB leather holster.
Issues
Continued testing revealed some flaws on the Bantam R. Budget guns must make some compromises, and often it’s with quality control and attention to detail.
First, the factory white fiber optic popped out on me while shooting. I had to finish filming this video with a big hole in the front sight, so you might see some shots without the fiber. These things happen, and it is an easy fix. Because this gun didn’t seem like it has a lot of rounds already through it, I would guess it was not melted in place properly at the factory.
The second issue I found was the Bantam didn’t work with any of my other 9mm 1911 magazines. My Brownells and Wilson Combat mags all fit very tight, and none would feed properly. Some could not even be inserted.
One got jammed in so tightly that it locked the action. I had to take the whole gun apart to remove it. These were standard-length magazines, and typically 1911s don’t have an over-insertion stops, but you must slam them in hard to get them stuck. In theory, the magazine catch should have stopped any gentle over-insertion. This mag was gently inserted. Luckily, there was no ejector damage.
My theory is that the entire magazine cavity is not to spec. According to Fusion, the factory mags are Mec-Gar, but any 9mm 1911 magazines should work. I would be careful using any non-factory magazines. This is one of the tradeoffs with more affordable firearms – there is a higher risk of issues and less quality control.
Conclusion
