Arsenal Firearms AF2011A1

AF2011-A1
Standard model AF2011A1 chambered in .45 ACP with fully loaded double magazine.
Type	Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin	Italy
Production history
Designer	Nicola Bandini
Manufacturer	Arsenal Firearms
Unit cost	$4,799 - $7,224 USD [1]
Variants	Standard Dueller Dueller Prismatic
Specifications
Weight	1.85 kg for Standard 2.00 kg for Dueller
Length	220 mm for Standard 260 mm for Dueller
Barrel length	125 mm for Standard 165 mm for Dueller
Cartridge	.45 ACP .38 Super
Action	Short recoil operation[2]
Feed system	Two 8 round detachable box magazines attached to a single base plate

The Arsenal Firearms AF2011-A1 is a double barreled, semi-automatic pistol of Italian origin. The weapon is a derivative of the M1911 pistol and the majority of internal parts including the firing pins, firing pin plates, sear groups, springs, recoil rods and mainspring housings are interchangeable with standard M1911 replacement parts.^[3] The purpose of the AF2011A1 pistol is to increase the ballistic capability of the .45 ACP round at a lower cost. The AF2011A1 has its roots in the Grieco pistol that also came with double barrels for the same purpose.^[4]

History

The AF2011-A1 Double Barrel Pistol comes actually as the very first industrial double barrel semiautomatic pistol of all times. The original idea came about ten years back to Swiss armourer Vivian Mueller, who at the time experienced cutting and welding together multiple parts of the famous Sig P210: the result was a long slide, double barrel 9mm, highly decorated collector piece, which indeed shot very well. Our idea took the challenge further: to commemorate the legendary Colt 1911-A1 in the Centenary by making a true industrial market-ready double barrel .45 caliber pistol. We achieved success in the brief span of 6 months, after intense and round-the-clock 3D designing, stereolithographic modeling and parts machining.^[5]

— Arsenal Firearms AF2011 Description

Design

The AF2011-A1 is double barreled pistol based on the design of the M1911.

Cartridges

The available cartridges for the AF2011-A1 are:

• .45 ACP
• .38 Super

Variants

As of September 2015 the AF2011 was available in three variants:

• Standard Model: A double barreled pistol based on the M1911.
• Dueller: Has a 6.5 inch SUS416 stainless steel barrel, serrated slide, magnum beavertailed grip and custom trigger set.
• Dueller Prismatic: Has top external compensators, 45° side ambidextrous brake ports, 6.5 inch SUS416 stainless steel barrel, serrated slide, custom trigger set, magnum beavertailed grip safety and G10 tactical grips.

In popular culture

Films

The AF2011A1 Dueller Prismatic is seen in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre. In the film the villain Mr. Hinx is shown firing the weapon at Mr. Bond's plane leaving two distinct bullet holes in its side.^[6] Arsenal Firearms supplied five weapons which had to be specially modified to fire movie-blank rounds.^[7] Also, the AF2011A1 is seen dual-wielded by Milla Jovovich as Alice in the trailer of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.

Miculek video

In May 2015 American professional speed and competition shooter Jerry Miculek uploaded a video of himself firing two .45 ACP AF2011A1 pistols simultaneously. In the video, Miculek can be seen firing 20 rounds in 1.5 seconds.^[8] The video quickly went viral and was featured in a number of firearms and general news publications.^[9] As of September 2016 the video has generated over 5.5 million views making it the most viewed video in Miculek's YouTube channel.^[10]

References