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Nighthawk Custom, a premier American firearm manufacturer, prides itself on the ability to produce single-craftsman-built guns. Perched atop a suite of John Browning-inspired handguns rests the company’s Agent 2, a M1911 chambered for .45 ACP or 9 mm Luger. The Agent 2 is no ordinary M1911, in fact this modernized single-action repeater was meticulously handcrafted with the help of a few outside designers—Agency Arms, Railscales and Hillbilly 223—to create a competition-grade target gun with modern styling and features that the company states is “the epitome of innovation.” To learn more about the Nighthawk Custom Agent 2, watch this NRA Gun of the Week video hosted by American Rifleman’s David Herman.
In 2024, former owner Gregg Ritz purchased Thompson/Center Arms. Now the company has introduced a modern take on its classic Contender/Encore concept: the ENCORE PROHunter.
While it's certainly a saturated marketplace these days, the AR-15 has never been more popular with American firearm enthusiasts, and many manufacturers are continuing to feed the need with new options loaded with new features.