Finally had an opportunity to get it down to the range this morning (boy, it’s been a long four/five days of waiting…), and to say I’m pleased would be an understatement: it performed flawlessly. I put 150 rounds of Blazer Brass through it, and had no failures of any sort…not unusual for S&W 1911’s (though I’ve heard rumors about other brands
), but even my government-size SW1911 had two FTL in the first rounds (though nothing for the following 750). This NIB Sc, however, swallowed all 150 rounds up and spit ‘em out (and ejected the cases) with nary a complaint. The Novak mags, as well, worked wonderfully – easily loaded the full eight rounds and provided flawless feeding mag after mag after mag. The magazines inserted and dropped as well as they fed. Slow-fire, rapid-fire, double-taps…no problems at all, either with mags or with the pistol itself.
I’d guess the trigger to be 5 or 5.5 lbs., a bit heavy for pure range fun, but since it’s clearly designed to be primarily a carry/defensive gun, that would seem appropriate…and it’s easily fixable if one so chooses. With a bit of break-in, I’m assuming that pull weight will level off to a nice, comfortable 5 pounds even, maybe a bit under. The break is clean and crisp, no creep or overtravel. The trigger itself is sharp on the edges, as was my SW1911 – but a few moments with a small file on the edges easily takes care of that concern.
The grip safety and thumb safety both performed perfectly, though the thumb safety activation is probably a bit looser than a carry pistol should have, but since my SW1911 also has a comparatively loose thumb safety, that seems to simply be S&W chooses to have them. Since I don’t plan to carry this – or, at least, not much – it’s a non-issue for me…but could be a concern for others.
The sights seemed – as near as I could tell without a rest – set exactly at POA/POI. Because of the heavy’ish trigger and the anticipation of recoil upon the lightweight frame, I periodically found myself shooting low – but a few deep breaths, squaring of shoulders and refocusing on proper trigger control got it right back in the center, with the shots falling on top of one another time and time again…it’s an impressively accurate pistol if attention is paid to proper form and control.
The aforementioned lightweight frame – allowing for an overall 28-ounce weight, as opposed to the near 40-ounce weight of a standard government 1911 and a 36-ounce (?) weight for a commander – allows for a balance and feel that is quite unlike a steel-frame 1911, and I quite enjoyed it. It feels nimble in the hand, accenting even more the perfect ergonomics of the 1911 design. The lightweight nature of the pistol also imparts a bit more robust recoil than its bigger brother, the SW1911, but surprisingly not as much as one might imagine; I thought the two were quite comparable. One indication that the Sc has a bit more bark was the redness on the web of my hand…I don’t see that much with the SW1911 – so even if I didn’t particularly notice it, it made itself known. I didn’t see that it added much to muzzle flip – not a snap, instead it just seemed to add a bit more to that “heavy push†of the .45 – so sight acquisition for follow-ups was also comparable to a standard government 1911. I’m not sure how S&W did it, but for all intended purposes, they have designed a lightweight commander that feels and performs just about like a full-size, steel-framed model.
Without going into specific details on the parts, a few things of note: the bushing (one of the few commanders with a bushing, BTW) is incredibly tight on the frame; the slide-to-frame fit appears well fit; the sites are three-dot and S&W seems to have (finally) gotten rid of most of that awkward gap under the rear Novak site; the finish is rather attractive, with a dull sheen that puts it somewhere between nitron and bluing…I’ve no idea how it will wear; the grips on this particular example leave a bit to be desired, but a quick call to S&W has a new set on its way to me right now…now that’s service! In short, if the full-size SW1911 and its components are any indication of the quality within, then I think it’s safe to assume that the hammer and internals are of quality make and top-notch fit. Incidentally, disassembly for field-stripping/cleaning is identical to the government model; it has a FLGR.
To summarize, the SW1911Sc has proven itself to me to be reliable, accurate and an excellent value for the money…and it just feels damn good in the hand.
