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The slash-cut slideon the Gaboon setsits appearanceapart from allother 1911s.The Gaboon’sinternal recoilspring plugand innovativebushing is theengineeringbehindthe look.The NeXt alteration to the 1911 permitsthe pistol to be loaded or unloaded with thesafety engaged. It’s a feature that takes somegetting used to but it is entirely practical.The recoil spring plug for theGaboon looks much differentthan one from a standard 1911.The recoil spring plug insertsfrom the rear of theslide and is not heldin place by thebarrel bushing.Late last fall I received acall from Dustin Bonar.Dustin is the son on thelate Joe Bonar who wasa friend and the lead1911 scientist at Novak’sfor many years. Joe andI were close. He was inmy wedding and threw me in the NewRiver while I was still wearing the tuxand the Lightweight Commander heso eloquently engineered for me. Joepassed several years ago and has beendeeply missed by family, friends andthose who relied on him to build 1911sto keep them safe.Dustin was already working atNovak’s but soon took over his father’sduties there. He was just out of his teensbut still knew how to build a 1911.Hell, his dad had been showing himhow since before he was kissing girls.For Dustin, 1911s and other firearmswere his childhood puzzles. Dustin leftNovak’s in 2008 when he decided hiscreative mind needed more leeway.That’s when he started LST (LightningStrike Technologies).You probably think “LightningStrike” refers to an electrical blast orRichard’s Gaboon ran finewith a nice cross-sectionof ammo.The recoil spring plug is removed fromthe Gaboon by pushing it to the rear ofthe slide. It serves the samepurpose as a standardrecoil spring plugit just installsdifferently.the rapid assault of some tactical deathsquad. Nope, Dustin has been infatuatedwith snakes for as long as he canremember and routinely kept them aspets when younger. “Lightning Strike”refers to the speed of a snake’s strike.This brings us to the Gaboon; whatDustin Bonar calls his first signature1911. The Gaboon is an African pitviper that spends most of its timemotionless, lying in wait on its prey.A Gaboon strikes with amazing speedand agility and their venom is seriouslydeadly. With age, the Gaboon grows apair of rostral horns and is the largestof the vipers.What does this have to do with 1911s?Nothing, until now. Dustin stretched theDustin Bonarin the LST shopassembling theauthor’s Gaboon.Dustin may lookyoung but heliterally grew upbuilding pistolsunder the tutelageof one of the best1911 smithsever; his father,Joe Bonar.LST typically installs Novak sights onthe Gaboon but the author preferredthe XS 24/7 style sightbecause they are sofast to get on target.They also put youin mind of therostral hornson the snakethe pistolis namedafter.analogy and by altering the pistol’sappearance with some rakish lines,modernized the 1911. LST offers theGaboon in 9mm, .38 Super, .40 S&W,.45 ACP and Dustin’s preferred cartridge— the 10mm. The result is adeadly and dependable pistol that, likethe Gaboon viper, will lay in wait untilcalled upon to strike at some aggressivetroll. Given Colt’s history ofnaming revolvers after snakes, it’s afitting moniker. Before we finished ourtalk I ordered a Gaboon in .45 ACP.Cosmetic?In March of 2009 I drove to LSTto collect my pistol and while thereDustin explained his goal with theGaboon was to radically renovatethe looks of the 1911 without sacrificingfunctionality or altering themechanics of the original design.To accomplish this, a slash cut ismade on the bottom of the slide; thearea where the recoil spring plug isinserted. This makes a conventionalbushing useless so Dustin devisedContinued on page 88There is a great deal of difference betweenthe Gaboon barrel bushing (left) and astandard 1911 bushing (right). From a functionstandpoint the Gaboon bushing doesnot hold the recoil spring plug in place.WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM 75