While at SHOT Show 2011 last week, Capitalist Pig and I made some time to visit the STI International booth. We arrived mid-morning, and their U-shaped booth was buzzing with a crowd all the way around the perimeter of the booth at least two people deep.

STI had their entire product line out on the tables, where fondling was not only acceptable, but encouraged (not always the case at SHOT Show). I’ve recently decided that I need a 1911 in 9mm, so I made sure to get my digits on the STI Spartan. The Spartan is an entry-level 1911 that’s actually made by Rock Island Armory, then STI works their magic on it, and adds some nice features that make this pistol competition worthy out of the box. The Spartan enjoys a reputation for being accurate and a great value for the price (around $650). We had a chance to shoot the Rock Island version earlier in the week, and we were impressed with the fit and finish, as well as the feel and accuracy. The RI version is less expensive at only $400-ish, but with the STI additions (better sights, trigger, hammer…), I’m leaning towards purchasing the Spartan.

As we were fondling the lovely, shiny things, Chris from STI greeted us and asked if we had any questions. Since C. Pig and I both shoot the STI GP6, we had some technical questions, and we wanted to get one of the first glimpses of the new and improved version of the GP6. Chris spent a good amount of time with us, answering all of our questions about our current pistols, then he grabbed one of the new GP6’s, and explained all the new features. Most exciting for me is the addition of interchangeable backstraps. The GP6 already has great ergonomics and feels comfortable in my small hands, but with the smaller grips, I should be able to thumb the safety and depress the magazine release button with my right hand, a major plus for competitive shooting.

The other major improvement for the GP6 is the addition of a decocker, which STI is working hard to make available by end of 1st quarter. This addition eliminates what I believe to be a huge problem with shooting the GP6 in USPSA (practical pistol) competitions. The GP6 is well suited for the “production” division (gun out of the box division with minimal tweaking allowed), but one of the rules for this division is that the hammer must be all the way down for the first shot, which must be in double action mode. Since the current version of the GP6 doesn’t have a decocker, the only way to be compliant with this rule is to load a magazine, rack the slide, then grab the hammer and hold on for dear life while you pull the trigger and SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY manually bring the trigger back to the forward position. If that doesn’t sound uncomfortable enough, the safety on the GP6 will not engage with the hammer all the way forward, so USPSA rules force you to put the gun back in your holster with no form of safety applied. The new decocker will eliminate these safety issues and we are looking forward to this new addition, which can be added to any existing GP6.

Similar to the Spartan, the GP6 starts its life off as the Grand Power K100, made in Slovakia, then STI magic dust is applied, and voila, the GP6 is born. STI had a very special guest in their booth while we were there, Jaroslav Kuracina, inventor of the Grand Power K100. It was a treat to have the opportunity to meet the man who created our pistols, and it was awesome of the STI guys to make sure we got the chance to meet him.

Once we were through with our GP6 lovefest, we went back to perusing the STI product line, with Jose from STI as our guide through this part of the STI shiny things tour. While pistols rule the roost at STI, they did have a small selection of rifles, including an STI branded 10-22 (which looked similar to my Tactical Solutions tricked out purple 10-22 rifle, including the TacSol barrel) and the STI sporting rifle, which was super light for an EBR and nicely balanced. It will set you back a bit more than the average AR, at about $1,200 street price, but with the extra STI magic dust on it (including custom hand guard and JP trigger group), it’s a reasonable price for a competition ready rifle.

Another item that caught our eye was prominently displayed at the front corner of the booth – the STI Limited Edition 100th Anniversary Commemorative anniversary set, which contains both an STI 1911, and a special edition 2011 (a double stack 1911). According to STI, “The set comes in a handsome velvet lined walnut box with elegant brass lock and fittings and gold leaf markings on a leather top and includes a brass plaque featuring the serial number of the collector’s edition and a specially designed 2011 STI “Challenge” coin.”

If STI was tired of us hanging around at this point, they did a great job of not showing it. We finished our tour of the STI booth by chatting with Jay, who was happy to spend some time discussing STI’s contingency program for shooters competing in IDPA and USPSA. It’s a simple and straightforward program – sign up, wear an STI shirt, win an area match and get up to $600 to spend on any STI product. My application is in the mail, now I just have to work on that winning part.

STI has a great group of people that make great products. Despite the evil media badges we were wearing (and unlike a few of the larger companies that make 1911’s), the gentlemen at STI gave us their full attention, answered all of our questions, and never made us feel like we were getting in the way of something more important. I’m happy to raid my piggy bank to buy more STI products knowing it’s going to good people who stand behind their product.