S&W 1911 quality?

[C-grunt]

I was all settled on getting a Beretta for my new target pistol and I decided to fondle a S&W 1911 PD today. I gotta say that it felt REALLY good in my hands...better that any other 1911. I havent heard much about them though. How are they in terms of reliability, accuracy, and overall value?

 

[daysleeprx]

From what I've read on here and other boards, the S&W is a very underrated, high quality 1911.

 

[Safety First]

I have the S&W 1911Sc which is the same as the pd. It is an excellent CCW, light weight at 28 oz empty and is more accurate than I am. Also if you ever need to send it back S&W pays freight both ways and you also receive a life time warranty from one of the oldest and best gun manufacturing companies in the world.

 

[pstmstr]

S&W

I bought the stainless full sized with adj sights two weeks ago and love it. About 500 rds fired so far with 0 problems, very accurate, and nicely fit.

 

[Jim Watson]

SW1911 is of quite good quality. I am not entirely happy with their mutation from the Colt/Browning/US Army design, but they seem to have the bugs out.

Do NOT buy one of the light weight Scandium alloy guns (PD or SC models) for target shooting. It will have more felt recoil and will kick you into bad habits. Get an all-steel pistol of 38-40 ounce weight.

 

[Smith357]

The other day I had a chance to test fire 3 new 1911 pistols made by Smith & Wesson.
The magazines were extended 8 rounders. The ammo used was standard mil-spec 230 grain FMJ, the same ammo was used in all guns. All guns had skeletonized hammers, and beavertail grip safetys.

The 1911Sc is S&Ws Scandium frame version of the venerable John M. Browing design. It was very light at just under 30 oz and well made. The sights were fixed carry low pro Novaks. Upon firing it had a bit of a bite, but not too bad, it was still controllable. Trigger pull was long, stiff, and a bit mushy on the break, no better than a standard Colt. While firing through the second magazine. I got a stovepipe jam, after clearing the jam it then failed to feed. I though I might have had a bad magazine, so I switched back to the first, and again I got a feed problem. I put the gun down, and was done with that one. Accuracy was fair but not what I have come to expect from a 1000 dollar gun.


The 1911PD was a stainless version with the Crimson Trace laser sight built in the grip, after fiddiling about with the laser I fired a few rounds down range. The laser was off target by about 2 inches at 5 o'clock, I sort of figured since it was a S&W test gun for a factory dog and pony show they would have taken the extra 5 minutes to sight it in. The PD's fit and finish was very good, but again the trigger was heavy and stiff with a lot of overtravel. The PD started having feed and ejection problems from the second shot. I was extreamly dissapointed that I only got 5 rounds out of it before I gave up. With a list price of over 1300 I was extreamly disapointed.


And the 1911DK is the performance center Doug Koenig model. With adjustable sights, and a magazine feed well. By this time I was skeptical that S&W could even produce a 1911 that would work. And this one had the funkiest trigger on it I had ever seen. But I loaded it and drew down on the target. I pulled the butter smooth trigger and it broke like glass, I smile came over my face and I thought to myself this is what it's all about. This gun shot like a dream. It was punching one ragged hole in the target. The funky looking trigger felt great in my hand. I loaded a fresh mag and tried a bit of rapid fire. I emptied the mag in under 2 seconds and shot a 3 inch group @ 25 feet. OOOooo yeah. It's was every bit as good as any Wilson Combat I have shot, and at half the price. At only 1200 dollars I highly recomend this gun for any who are in the market for a custom 1911.

 

[ravencon]

My initial favorable impression of my 1911 Sc is diminishing with more range time. As has been said, with its light weight it is not an ideal range gun. For me, the grip safety bites more than it needs to. A better design would help.

Nor is it an acceptable carry gun. I've had too many F-T-F of the last round in the mag using defensive ammo. I've never had this problem with hardball.

Accuracy has been better than my ability.

As with any pistol-YMMV.

 

[D-Man]

The two above somewhat negative posts seem to be more of the exception than the rule. Most everything I've seen on forums have been very positive towards the S&W 1911's.

I do own a standard S&W 1911, and the only problem I have had with it is with the ACT magazines that came with it developed hairline cracks in them. This is supposedly a known issue with an early batch of them. These were sent back and replaced with new ACT mags, and they have been flawless.

If there are any problems with the S&W, it seems like their customer service will handle things smoothly, quickly, and very professionally.

 

[Rockrivr1]

I bought one of the first run S&W 1911s when they first came out. The only thing I did to it was change the grips and I've been shooting it in USPSA for a couple years now. I cannot make one bad comment about this firearm. The round count on it is easily in the 10s of thousands at this point and it pretty much runs without a hitch. It's also my most accurate handgun. I used to shoot a Glock 22 in USPSA, but found I was getting better scores with the 1911 and I've stayed with it ever since. For the price, IMHO, you cannot go wrong with these 1911s.

 

[TIMC]

I have a full size S&W 1911 that has been a nice shooter. Mine is a limited edition run of 250 guns from Lew Horton's. The trigger is crisp and feels really good. Accuracy is better than my Springfield 1911A1. I have had no feed or extraction problems with it.

 

[Gordon]

I bought a Gunsite Edition 1911PD; Commander length with all the bells and whistles. It is very smooth except for the checkering. Recoil of course is higher than a full size all steel gun, but not an issue for the carry gun I bought it for. I qualified with it for inclusion on my CCW. I have 2500 rounds or so thru it , Ball and Win 230 Ranger Talon with 0 malfs. Wilson mags lock up tighter than S&W ones, but both work fine.My gun has a suberb 4.5# pound trigger , which is what I want on an everyday gun. It puts ball into 3.5" at 25 yards when I do my part- a little better with the Ranger JHP. My only complaint is the ugly barrel crown and an unpredictable ejection pattern from the external extractor.
This is the ONLY S&W product I've tried since 1999 that was nice enough to keep ! I consider it superior to Springfield, Kimber and Para guns in the same price range. I thank God S&W CAN produce a proud American product!

 

[tegemu]

I have a Scandium Commander that I have had Bobtailed ( see it at www.ontargetcgw.com , click on 1911 Gallery and then select Smith & Wesson Bobtail. ) It is the prettiest, good shooting, reliable, easiest to conceal and comfortable 1911 I have ever had my hands on. I currently have 5. This pistol, because of the Bobtail removing the point of the grip, conceals better than my Kimber Ultra Carry II with a 3" barrel. I don't think you can get a better value in a carry gun anywhere on the market. It is my primary carry gun.

 

[Safety First]

I like my Sc so well, that as funds become available, I will at some time in the future purchase another, but have a couple of other guns on my short list right now,,,,

I will probably send mine back to the PC later for a Bob tail job, if they are doing them and if it brass is still trying to 'de-face' me I will have them work on that issue which so far is the only complaint about mine... I purchased mine for CCW, so the additional "slight" recoil is of little concern. It is a great carry gun, conceals well in either my Brommeland Max Con V or Alessi PCH, both holsters are as it good as it gets for CCW in IWB's.

 

[fastbolt]

I've handled and fired several of them, from an early production SW1911 to the more recent DK.

Overall, nice pistols.

I finally elected to buy a SW1911Sc 5". Yes, the lightweight frame has some increased felt recoil. I discovered that when I bought a lightweight Commander back in the early 70's. Nothing's changed, it seems.

The steel pistols are pretty controllable, and make for nice range guns, but I own 4 other steel 1911's of various sizes, and bought the SW1911Sc for lightweight carry.

I saw a couple of our guys have a couple of failures-to-close-into-battery one day when we were test-firing a SW1911PD 4.25" pistol. When I checked the pistol it was pretty damned dry, and not a little dirty. When I locked my grip, though, it functioned fine for me with the same JHP ammunition. It could've used some lube, though.

There was indeed a reported cracking issue with some of the ACT magazine lips, according to what I was told by a vendor. Interestly enough, I was also told that it was supposedly noticed with blued magazines instead of the nickeled magazines. The several blued magazines I've seen in use, and own, haven't exhibited any apparent issues thus far. I'll be conducting some long term testing of some, though, just to see. It's not like this hasn't happened to some other magazines, however.

I'm not worried about it with S&W's customer service and warranty, though.

My SW1911Sc exhibited similar (excellent) accuracy when compared to my XSE. Functioning has been excellent with various loads.

I'm beginning to suspect the SW1911 series is becoming one of the best out-of-the-box 1911's available, and at a decent price. The reliability of the S&W external extractor doesn't hurt, either.

 

[Slvr Surfr]

Of the 4 1911s I own the only one I carry is my S&W 1911SC 4.25". I had some issues with light primer strikes after getting it used. I sent it to S&W and have had 0 Malfunctions since. This pistol is an excellent choice, and heavily backed by its maker to boot. S&W took care of the problem for free and even sent me 2 mags to make up for it. I would not hesitate to buy another S&W. The trigger on my Sc is smooth as butter. Small takeup and a very clean break. Id put it right in the 4.5# area. Had it not been for the price of the Sc. I would have bought a PD version instead.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[Tom Servo]

Love mine. It does kick a bit, but with practice it's easily manageable. Mine came with the best stock trigger I've ever felt right out of the box. 4.2lbs with a crisp, definite break.

The only malfunction I've ever had was under very specific circumstances. Using WWB, after ~300 rounds in one sitting, I'd get failures to go into battery on the last round in the factory mags. At that point, the gun was filthy, and I was tired and most likely limp-wristing. Otherwise, it feeds fine.

It's very accurate, and it's the gun that seems to get passed around and shot the most when I take groups of people to the range. It *is* a fun gun to shoot.



Mine had a problem with the grip safety early on. When I called Smith, they immediately sent out a prepaid FedEx label without even asking about the warranty. I had the gun back six days later, and they'd installed night sights free of charge.

Aside from that, the VZ grips are the only modification I've made. An excellent carry gun.

 

[XavierBreath]

I own two SW1911s simply because I got them for a screaming good deal. Frankly, I wasn't expecting to darned much, and I bought them to use as trade fodder at the next gun show. There are some things I don't like about them, but it is mostly cosmetics. I shot them, and I found that I had two reliable and accurate 1911s. I'm keeping them.

 

[C-grunt]

I really like the standard models but I was looking at the Doug Koening model. It has a funky looking trigger that pulled really nice. Would this model be worht the extra 100 dollars?

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

Don't know if the Koenig model is woth th extra bucks. I can only say that my standard S&W 1911 is the most accurate out-of-the box, factory production pistol I've ever fired. I could NOT be any happier with mine.

Sam

 

[JoeHatley]

I think the SW1911 is one of the best values available.



That's #362, with over 15k rounds through it.

Joe

 

[DAVE RICHARDS]

My 1911Sc was perfect for about 2000 rounds. Best out of the box 1911 I've ever owned. Then the plunger tube broke. S&W fixed it said some of the early guns had improperly staked plunger tubes. Mine was one of if not the first in my area BTW. After 100 rounds the plunger tube sheared off! Called S&W and they said it sounded like a frame problem. Turns out the frame was warped! They hooked me up with a new frame and it's perked right along. My problem was obviously an anomoly. Except for the plunger tube thing the gun has fired
every single time. Is very accurate. And I must have gotten lucky because my trigger pull is only 3.25 lbs. from the factory! My friends that have bought them have all been very pleased. Except for the weird frame thing I am very pleased with mine.

 

[Gundenstern]

Some people to say to you "I didnt know Smith and Wesson made a 1911", but not only do they make them, they make darn good ones. Mine has a conservative estimate of 600 rounds through it and no problems have arisen yet. As soon as I find a good ambidextrous safety I'll be in business for an SD gun.

 

[torrejon224]

I have four, a Gunsite, commander sized, a railed model and a plain jane gov't model which is currently being bobtailed and totally rebuilt with Brown, EGW and Caspian parts. I'm only doing this for cosmetics not because anything was wrong with the gun. All have been completely reliable thru thousands of rounds and the only issue was a loose, rattling grip safety which S&W fixed and returned within eight days! Customer service is the best in the business IMO. There were issues with rough barrel crown on some of their guns but in no way did it affect accuracy of these weapons. All of mine will shoot 1.5 groups at 25 to 50 yards all day long! Would not even consider buying another brand of 1911 and now that they are coming out with one minus the firing pin safety, I may have to get another!

 

[Craig M. Arnold]

Smith & Wesson 1911s

I've got two of them. A 5 inch PD and a Stainless. Both are great 1911s. I was lucky to get both of mine for a song, so I'm a happy camper.

I do plan to get a Sc Commander when I see one for a very good price.

Best regards.

 

[EddieCoyle]

I got a like-new-barely-used all stainless one yesterday in a trade for a Mini-14 and fired 750 or so rounds through it today. For ammo, i used everything including the kitchen sink. The only problems I had were with some of my handloads (200gr LSWC) when the gun failed to go into battery on the first round after slide release. I'd drop the mag out and the slide would pop into battery.

The gun is very accurate and a great shooter. It's my second favorite .45 ACP S&W autoloader. Nothing beats my 4506.