The inception of the Nighthawk Custom Chairman pistol began two years ago. The development process was long and arduous, but Nighthawk, as per usual, wanted something special with its finished product.
We were first introduced to the Chairman at the Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous in Gateway, Colo., in October. At that point, the gun was so new it didn’t even have a name yet.
So how did the Chairman pistol come to be?
“We wanted to have a 9mm long-slide pistol. We’d never done one before,” Chief Operating Officer Nelson Davis told Personal Defense World. “The idea being if we could make one run reliably, it’d be the softest shooting, most enjoyable pistol we have to offer.”
To accomplish that, Nighthawk had to lighten the slide in order to get it too function correctly. The 9mm round isn’t as powerful as a .45 or 10mm, which is what is traditionally used in a six-inch 1911.
The result? A 1911 that adheres to Nighthawk’s long line of ridiculously detailed craftsmanship.
“It’s very accurate,” Athlon Outdoors writer Jay Pinsky says. “The trigger is super smooth and the gun is just baby soft to shoot, which is what you want when you work on accuracy.”
Nighthawk Chairman Pistol Specifications
- Model: Chairman
- Series: Boardroom
- MSRP: $4,195
- Frame: Government
- Caliber: 9x19mm Parabellum
- Safety: Single side standard with ambi optional
- Height: 5.5 inches
- Overall Length: 9.65 inches
- Width: 1.4 inches
- Slide Width: 0.92 inches
- Weight: empty with mag is 43.8 ounces
- Sight Radius: 7.75 inches
- Barrel Length: 6 inches
- Mag Capacity: 10
- Rear Sight: Nighthawk adjustable standard, with Aristocrat three-position adjustable (shown as optional)
- Front Sight: Gold bead
- Finish: DLC coating with TiN gold coating on barrel
- One piece 25 lpi mainspring housing
