Kyle, allow me to elaborate if you will. To further what cyclopsshooter has pointed out there are indeed materials best suited in any application based on need. Take knives for example. Read a few postings the other day about materials use and the reasoning behind it.
One fellow asserted that "harder is better, period". Carbide is hard but brittle, not the sort of material suitable for making blades from. Tough also matters which means a certain amount of flexibility if you will to go along with hardness.
Now MIM is dimensionally uniform from sample to sample but as with any part garbage in is garbage out. Because there is shrinkage during the process the parts mold must be oversized and the mold maker must estimate the final size then compare results to expectations. Also, because this is similar to casting, there will be certain areas that will display irregularities, what we call MIM Dots where material is introduced to the mold.
MIM as noted above is not necessarily "inferior" to barstock material but it will be more porous meaning strength is compromised. The usage determines whether or not that is a factor.
That is where a guy like cyclops is concerned about what's in his pistol and
where.
Below is one of the slide stops I previously photographed and the thumb safety from the same 1911. This particular pistol was riding the link and was literally cutting into the pin. Measuring the slide stop along the pin also revealed a variance between .195-.200 These are the sort of internals common to off-the-shelf 1911s as was the fit of the barrel which imparted the damage.
The thumb safety clearly displays its dot (not photographed on the slide stop) on the pin, not an area on either that you'd want to sacrifice strength. Again indicative of the species and the reason some of us care to trifle over what's what.
With a Wilson (and some models include MIM parts) or a Baer or DW (neither use MIM) you're not just paying for a name or for accuracy or for a nicer trigger feel or for relieved edges. You're also paying for a pistol carefully fit with excellent parts that will work better and last longer. 15,000 rounds may be 3 lifetimes of shooting to one guy and half a season to the next.
If ever resale value enters the equation for me I have to question the validity of my purchase. IOW, I don't buy firearms to sell.