The LAR Grizzly pistol was a modified
Colt M1911 style pistol with oversized components designed to handle larger, more powerful cartridges than could be used in the standard-size 1911 pistol. The original prototype built by Perry Arnett was made from two Colt 1911 frames and slides cut and welded to accommodate the .45 Winchester Magnum round, with two steel doubler plates welded to the slide flats to retard the action and increase strength. Between 1983 and 1999, approximately 15,000 guns were produced in four versions capable of firing six different cartridges. All guns were hand-fitted and capable of high accuracy. The Grizzly is an oversize of the
Colt M1911 design, and most parts are interchangeable with those of the standard-size pistols of other manufacturers. The Mark I model, offered in the mid-1980s was developed to fire the powerful
.45 Winchester Magnum round. At various times, conversion kits were sold allowing the pistol to fire other rounds, including
.45 ACP,
10 mm Auto, and
.357 Magnum. Later, the Mark IV model was designed specifically to handle high pressure
.44 Magnum loads and the Mark V was designed to chamber the still more potent
.50 AE. The 357/45 Grizzly WinMag
.357-.45 GWM was a powerful wildcat round designed for the LAR Grizzly pistol. The standard Grizzly models had a 5.5" slide, most often seen fitted with a 6.5" barrel that extends one inch beyond the slide, and less commonly with a 5.5" barrel in combination with a factory-fitted bushing style recoil compensator. Special models with 8" and 10" barrels for hunting and silhouette competition were also produced (in small quantities). A Grizzly caliber conversion kit typically included a barrel, a magazine, an ejector, an extractor, a barrel bushing, and a recoil spring. Some also included a bushing-type recoil compensator and a wrench for use with the compensator. ==Operation==