Today I tested a brand new SW1911 - the newest single stack .45ACP 1911 clone on the block with the external extractor.
I have to admit I am don't like 1911s, but as a gun writer at the local magazine I try really hard to look at them as objectively as possible. In fact, my ultimate quest is to find a 1911 or 2011 which works 100% out-of-box. No "break-in" BS or other excuses. So far I tested many brands from Auto-Ordnance to STI but none of them passed the test. (The only totally dependable piece was a Colt Gold Cup 10mm, but that gun was fine tuned by a smith.)
The SW1911 was a really nice gun, I loved the two tone black/silver look. It came with Wilson Combat mags and Novak sights. It produced some very-very impressive offhand groups. At 25 meters the best groups measured 1"-1.5" with 230gr FMJ and we were able to reproduce these also from 50 meters!! So the accuracy was top notch.
Unfortunately the situation with reliability was quite the opposite. We got around 15-20 FTFs in 100 rounds (round jamming to the top of chamber), so no one was able to empty a magazine without a hitch. The problem appeared randomly with fully or a partially loaded magazines. (The same full power ammo worked flawlessly from a USP45F.) The manual safety was also pretty loose so you could render the gun unoperational unintentionally, racking the slide on a fully loaded mag was extremely hard.
So my quest continues...
Anyone had similar experiences with the SW1911?
I have to admit I am don't like 1911s, but as a gun writer at the local magazine I try really hard to look at them as objectively as possible. In fact, my ultimate quest is to find a 1911 or 2011 which works 100% out-of-box. No "break-in" BS or other excuses. So far I tested many brands from Auto-Ordnance to STI but none of them passed the test. (The only totally dependable piece was a Colt Gold Cup 10mm, but that gun was fine tuned by a smith.)
The SW1911 was a really nice gun, I loved the two tone black/silver look. It came with Wilson Combat mags and Novak sights. It produced some very-very impressive offhand groups. At 25 meters the best groups measured 1"-1.5" with 230gr FMJ and we were able to reproduce these also from 50 meters!! So the accuracy was top notch.
Unfortunately the situation with reliability was quite the opposite. We got around 15-20 FTFs in 100 rounds (round jamming to the top of chamber), so no one was able to empty a magazine without a hitch. The problem appeared randomly with fully or a partially loaded magazines. (The same full power ammo worked flawlessly from a USP45F.) The manual safety was also pretty loose so you could render the gun unoperational unintentionally, racking the slide on a fully loaded mag was extremely hard.
So my quest continues...
Anyone had similar experiences with the SW1911?