XR,
My Premier II, that has about 3000 rounds through it has worked in fantastically. Though I bought it for target and local "combat shoot" use, it is now much easier to manually operate the slide.
My Concept VIII (The Commander) has only a few hundred rounds through it and it still has that stick to it that needs to be overcome to manually rack the slide.
It doesn't bother me. I can do it quickly, but my wife had a hard time with it.
Don
p.s. The safety has also worked in nicely on the Premier II. I actually just cleaned it tonight after about 600 rounds with nothing more than a bit of oil added occasionally and it still looks brand new inside. (But boy is that bushing snug)
Nighthawk and Baer Commander Length Guns, with a lightweight Officers ACP on the Botom.
Premier II Government Length
p.p.s. My Nighthawk Custom is a slicker feeling gun. Its nicely rounded and the action, while not any smoother, requires less effort to operate.
In summary, I'd say that I'd trust the Les Baer to function properly when brand new, but would probably want to shoot it enough to make the action easier to operate, prior to carrying it. For range/competition use its nearly perfect. The other weakness that Baers exhibit is that they are traditionally profiled 1911s. in other words they're sharp. Even the guns with their "tactical" dehorning, are sharp compared to my nighthawk.
So for now, my Baer is a range toy/HD gun. My nighthawk, just carries easier, so it comes with me almost every day. And while the Nighthawk is not nearly as accurate as the Baer, its much more accurate than any Glock or M&P I've ever owned. In fact the Nighthawk compares favorably with every semi-auto I've ever owned as far as accuracy is concerned, except for the Baers.