Ladies and Gentlemen,
I recently purchased Smith's version of the venerable 1911 design and here are my thoughts and experiences with it.
THE OUTSIDE:
Excellent, no tool marks are evident on the outside. All the parts are properly fit and finished. There are no sharp edges on the gun but it does not have the drippy look of a Kimber melted gun.
This gun is a happy medium between Springfield sharp edges and Kimbers melting in the rain look.
The Sights are Novak Three dot. The are properly aligned and nicely installed.
The grips and Hogue rubber grips with the S&W logo in place of Hogues. Nice grips if you like rubber. I dont so I replaced them with a pair of Rosewood grips also made by Hogue. The mag well is beveled. This is one of the nice touches that most current 1911 manufacturer are including on their guns. The Smith bevel is more even and larger than Kimber, Springfield or Colts.b
The Front Strap is serrated like a Sig or Berretta semi auto. I don't know if these serrations help grip the gun but the dont hurt anything and I like the look.
The Mainspring housing is Black Aluminum and is checkered very SHARPLY. It is very well machined and fits into the gun tightly.
The grip safety is Wilson Combats Hi Ride.
The Thumbsafety is Chip McCormick's paddle style and the slide stop and extended mag release are also supplied by Chip McCormick. The trigger is your basic three hole type.
THE GUTS:
No tool marks inside either. The breechface is very smooth. The Barrel is a Briley matchgrade with Briley bushing. The barrel to slide fitting is tight. I mean Les Baer 1911 tight. Part of this tightness is due to conicidently the Les Baer Barrel link.
The Sear is Wilson Combats A2 tool steel and polished to match the Chip McCormick hammer. The ejector is extended The thumbsafety is hand fit to the sear and snicks on and off like a custom gun.
All the springs are from WC Wolff Gunsprings. All the surfaces are smooth.
SHOOTING IT
Accurate very accurate. Better than my SA, as good as a Les Baer Thunder Ranch The trigger was 4.5lbs out of the box and crisp and clean with little take up and no overtravel. The trigger is better than SA, Kimber and even the Wilson guns I have handled and shot.
I have only put about 175 rounds through it but so far is been flawless with each type of ammo.
Here is the break down of the ammo I used.
25 rounds of Blazer 230 grain. I like Blazer for the price but it is loaded hot than other factory ammo.
25 rounds of a mix of Golden Sabers and Fed Hyrdashoks. The gun likes both of these rounds and I can shoot them more accuratley than Blazer. I shot both the Blazer and the mix of HPs about 10 mins after buying the gun.
50 rounds of Winchester White Box JHP's. Expensive for range ammo but good accurate soft shooting loads. I managed to keep all of these rounds in the 10 or X ring all the way out to 20 yards. Thats pretty darn good for me, especially not having shot in about a month and using a new gun. (I hadnt shot a 1911 in almost a year.)
Since I decide the gun was accurate and so far reliable I used it in an IDPA style match last night. 75 rounds of Speer lawman went through the gun without flaw or hiccup.
Boy, Its been a long time since I time since I have shot IDPA.
My Conclusion:
This is a very good 1911 style gun with some great parts. I dont like the Swarts style safety so I took it out after the first time I shot it. I didn't give me any trouble but I dont like the idea of it.
Now I am going to stick my neck out.
This gun is better than an SA Loaded or Kimber. In fact, in my opinion it belongs up there with Wilson's CQB guns. There I said it. Now where is my Kpot?
Sorry no pics I spent my digital camera money on this gun.
I recently purchased Smith's version of the venerable 1911 design and here are my thoughts and experiences with it.
THE OUTSIDE:
Excellent, no tool marks are evident on the outside. All the parts are properly fit and finished. There are no sharp edges on the gun but it does not have the drippy look of a Kimber melted gun.
This gun is a happy medium between Springfield sharp edges and Kimbers melting in the rain look.
The Sights are Novak Three dot. The are properly aligned and nicely installed.
The grips and Hogue rubber grips with the S&W logo in place of Hogues. Nice grips if you like rubber. I dont so I replaced them with a pair of Rosewood grips also made by Hogue. The mag well is beveled. This is one of the nice touches that most current 1911 manufacturer are including on their guns. The Smith bevel is more even and larger than Kimber, Springfield or Colts.b
The Front Strap is serrated like a Sig or Berretta semi auto. I don't know if these serrations help grip the gun but the dont hurt anything and I like the look.
The Mainspring housing is Black Aluminum and is checkered very SHARPLY. It is very well machined and fits into the gun tightly.
The grip safety is Wilson Combats Hi Ride.
The Thumbsafety is Chip McCormick's paddle style and the slide stop and extended mag release are also supplied by Chip McCormick. The trigger is your basic three hole type.
THE GUTS:
No tool marks inside either. The breechface is very smooth. The Barrel is a Briley matchgrade with Briley bushing. The barrel to slide fitting is tight. I mean Les Baer 1911 tight. Part of this tightness is due to conicidently the Les Baer Barrel link.
The Sear is Wilson Combats A2 tool steel and polished to match the Chip McCormick hammer. The ejector is extended The thumbsafety is hand fit to the sear and snicks on and off like a custom gun.
All the springs are from WC Wolff Gunsprings. All the surfaces are smooth.
SHOOTING IT
Accurate very accurate. Better than my SA, as good as a Les Baer Thunder Ranch The trigger was 4.5lbs out of the box and crisp and clean with little take up and no overtravel. The trigger is better than SA, Kimber and even the Wilson guns I have handled and shot.
I have only put about 175 rounds through it but so far is been flawless with each type of ammo.
Here is the break down of the ammo I used.
25 rounds of Blazer 230 grain. I like Blazer for the price but it is loaded hot than other factory ammo.
25 rounds of a mix of Golden Sabers and Fed Hyrdashoks. The gun likes both of these rounds and I can shoot them more accuratley than Blazer. I shot both the Blazer and the mix of HPs about 10 mins after buying the gun.
50 rounds of Winchester White Box JHP's. Expensive for range ammo but good accurate soft shooting loads. I managed to keep all of these rounds in the 10 or X ring all the way out to 20 yards. Thats pretty darn good for me, especially not having shot in about a month and using a new gun. (I hadnt shot a 1911 in almost a year.)
Since I decide the gun was accurate and so far reliable I used it in an IDPA style match last night. 75 rounds of Speer lawman went through the gun without flaw or hiccup.
Boy, Its been a long time since I time since I have shot IDPA.
My Conclusion:
This is a very good 1911 style gun with some great parts. I dont like the Swarts style safety so I took it out after the first time I shot it. I didn't give me any trouble but I dont like the idea of it.
Now I am going to stick my neck out.
This gun is better than an SA Loaded or Kimber. In fact, in my opinion it belongs up there with Wilson's CQB guns. There I said it. Now where is my Kpot?
Sorry no pics I spent my digital camera money on this gun.
