Performance Master Class 1911: A 10-8 Collaboration Built to Run
Every so often, a 1911 launch feels less like another variation and more like a serious statement—built with real end-user experience, not just marketing copy. The new Springfield Armory Performance Master Class 1911 is exactly that kind of pistol. This is a Lipsey’s distributor exclusive offered in .45 ACP and 9mm, developed in partnership with Hilton Yam, founder of 10-8 Performance and a retired FBI Special Agent who spent more than two decades in the Miami Field Office, including 19 years on SWAT and serving as the division’s Principal Firearms Instructor.
In other words, the pedigree behind the Performance Master Class 1911 is rooted in a long career of demanding standards, hard use, and a clear understanding of what a duty-grade 1911 should actually be.
Springfield didn’t take shortcuts with the foundation, either. The Performance Master Class 1911 is built on hand-selected Springfield Armory forged carbon steel frames and slides, paired with forged stainless steel bull barrels. Each pistol is a full-size 5-inch gun that’s described as being precisely fit and blended, which matters because the difference between a “nice 1911” and a “serious 1911” often comes down to the quality of that fit—especially when you start talking about consistency, lockup, and how the gun feels as it cycles.
Hilton Yam’s fingerprints are all over the details, and that’s where this build really starts to separate itself from many production 1911s. The pistol is outfitted with select 10-8 Performance parts, including a reverse recoil spring plug, extended magazine catch, flat trigger, a specialized slide stop, and 10-8 grips in G-10 by VZ Grips. Springfield also leaned into the visual identity with a squared trigger guard, and then backed up the aesthetics with functional texture and reload support: aggressive 20 line-per-inch frontstrap checkering, plus a two-piece extended magwell that clearly signals this pistol is meant to be run, not just admired.
To complete the ready-to-go package, Springfield includes three magazines with each Performance Master Class 1911, which is the kind of practical touch I always appreciate when a pistol is positioned at this level.
Performance Master Class 1911: AOS Optics-Ready, Real Co-Witnessing
One of the biggest modern “must-haves” for a premium 1911 is optics readiness that doesn’t feel like an afterthought. The Performance Master Class 1911 checks that box with the Agency Optic System (AOS), developed in collaboration with Agency Arms. AOS uses a series of plates designed to fit a wide variety of popular optics footprints, including RMR, Shield, Delta Point Pro, and Docter. That footprint coverage is a practical advantage because it keeps the platform flexible—whether your preference is a classic RMR-pattern optic or something in the Shield family.
The part that really matters to shooters who actually put time on the gun is how Springfield handled backup sights and sight picture. Each AOS plate includes an integral rear sight, intended to deliver proper optic height and an intuitive sight picture for a visible co-witness in nearly all optic configurations. That’s not a small detail. On many optic-ready pistols, co-witnessing can become a compromise—either your irons are too low to be useful, or the sight picture feels awkward. The Performance Master Class 1911 is clearly designed to keep the sighting system cohesive rather than forcing you to choose between optics capability and a usable iron-sight setup.
Out of the box, the pistol ships with a cover plate with an integrated rear sight, so you’re not stuck waiting on parts before you can run it. Springfield also includes a coupon that allows the owner to purchase the optic-mounting plate of their choice at a reduced price of $49.99, which is a smart way to keep the base pistol configuration clean while letting the shooter choose their preferred optic ecosystem without turning the buying process into a scavenger hunt.
Performance Master Class 1911: Models, Price, and What Makes It Different
The Performance Master Class 1911 comes in two versions, both wearing the AOS setup and both priced the same. The 10-8 Performance Master Class 1911 AOS .45 and the 10-8 Performance Master Class 1911 AOS 9mm. Both have an MSRP of $2,099.
If you’re comparing this to other production 1911s, the most meaningful “upgrade” story isn’t about one single feature—it’s about how the whole build philosophy comes together. The combination of a hand-selected forged frame and slide, the forged stainless bull barrel, the precision fit and blending, the 10-8-focused control parts, the aggressive 20 LPI frontstrap checkering, and the extended magwell reads like a pistol configured by someone who has lived with the platform professionally. Add the AOS optics ecosystem with an integral rear sight on the plates, and the Performance Master Class 1911 lands squarely in that space where a modern, optics-capable 1911 can still feel like a properly set up fighting gun.
Hilton Yam himself puts the intent plainly: “The new 10-8 Performance Master Class is a culmination of all the aspects of my time working with the 1911 — from competitive shooting, to my law enforcement career, to building and designing parts for them. This pistol represents everything I would want in a production 1911.” And Springfield’s Steve Kramer frames the collaboration from the brand side: “Springfield Armory 1911 pistols have long been renowned for their durability and performance. We’re thrilled to be working with Hilton Yam and 10-8 Performance to bring our two company’s vision for this new Master Class pistol to reality — and the results speak for themselves.”
From my perspective, the Performance Master Class 1911 doesn’t try to reinvent the 1911. It refines it with the kind of feature set that experienced shooters tend to add anyway—only here it’s integrated at the factory level, guided by a partner whose resume is built on what works when the stakes are real.
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