LeadPumper
Member
Well, I haven’t done a range report in some time, so here goes.
After generally feeling under whelmed about the first generation GSR’s fit and finish, I approached the latest GSR, the Revolution, with renewed interest. The original had numerous teething problems with its outsourced Caspian frame, barrel, and several other parts manufactures. Many online posts can be found about repeated returns to SIG for servicing due to out-of-spec parts, incorrect feed ramp angles, or any assortment of minor glitches. Those individuals that had GSR’s that ran well swore by them though, so some level of promise existed. SIG revamped, and brought much of the GSR’s production in house and released the revised ‘Revolution’ at this past Shot Show. It was there that I had a chance to examine SIGARMS latest offering to the 1911 world, and I was not disappointed.
SIG had learned well from it’s first effort, the newest batch of GSR’s offered fit, form, and function more in line with it’s $1K MSRP. SIG had several styles to choose from including ‘Nitron’, ‘Target’, ‘Carry’, ‘Compact’ and ‘XO’ levels (some with or without rails) http://sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProduct.aspx?categoryid=25. The TTT and STX really caught my eye, but I’ll leave them for a later date. The one I zeroed in on was the all black Nitron over stainless finished ‘duty’ model with accessory rail and Novak night sights.http://sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=25&productid=112
SIG advertised this gun as ”featuring an all stainless steel frame and slide machined to exacting tolerances and hand-fitted to insure reliability and performance”, and “ contains only premium internal parts including a match grade barrel, hammer / sear set and trigger”. The model I handled at the show did have an excellent lock-up, superior fit and finish, and a noticeable heft that that implied a solid gun. The one part that left me wanting though was the trigger. The demo model had noticeable creep and was both heavier than it should have been and gritty. Now anyone that’s ever shot a 1911 (and even most people that haven’t) will tell you that one of the best features about the 1911 design is its capacity to have an outstanding trigger.
I felt that this trigger issue was not insurmountable and ordered one on the spot.
About a month ago I finally took possession of a new SIGARMS GSR Revolution Nitron Rail with Novak night sights. After the mandatory take down and cleaning, I compared it to my current favorite 1911, a Kimber Custom Series II. The Kimber(8.7 inches) is longer (by a hair) than the GSR (8.65 inches), and has a slightly longer sight radius (6.8 inches to the GSR’s 6.5 inches). The GSR (1.37 inches) is slightly wider than the Kimber (1.28 inches) (another hair) but noticeably heavier than the Kimber (GSR 40.3 oz with rail, Kimber 38 oz without), yet it balances in the hand (empty) right about on the face of the trigger.
All the controls are easily reachable, (as they should be), and operate in a positive manner. The grip safety, slide stop, and thumb safety all appear to be some sort of cast metal (note: SIG advertises the GSR as being MIM free), but do not feel cheap or insubstantial. (Time will tell whether these parts stand up). The magwell is beveled slightly and the front strap checkering is present, but not sharp. I was pleased to find the standard recoil spring guide rod and plug made it’s way into the production model. FLGR’s are better left to target guns (IMHO), and I was definitely getting the impression that this gun was aimed more toward the service industry (LEO). A better comparison might be Kimber’s TLE/RL or Warrior. The Nitron model came standard with two Novak 8 round magazines and no forward slide serrations. Also of note was the lack of a skeletonized trigger and hammer, the GSR uses solid parts throughout. And while dehorned, it does not have a serious ‘meltdown’ as found on some other 1911’s. It is a full sized gun without many reservations.
After finishing my musings and cleanings, I packed my bags and headed off to the range. Over several visits I have put 500 rounds through the GSR, made some minor adjustments (trigger stop and rear sight alignment), and changed out the factory wood grips with molded rubber ones.
Overall impressions are favorable.
I fed the GSR a mix of factory 230 grn Federal and Lake City ball ammo as well as some of my own reloads (200 grn West Coast plated RN). Feeding of all RN ammo was excellent from the factory supplied Novak mags as well as CMC Shooting Star and Power mags (no HP ammo tested as of yet). The Novak three dot night sights offered a predictable and familiar sight picture that was both quick and accurate. The trigger needed some break-in, and initially pulled at about 4.5 lbs on my RCBS scale and exhibited a moderate amount of side wiggle. After 500 rounds however, the trigger smoothed out considerably and settled down to a consistent 4 lbs. The wiggle remained, an annoyance, and I plan to get in there at some later date to correct that issue. The heft of the gun made shot recovery quick, and double taps were easily accomplished.
The first failure was at about round fifty when the slide prematurely locked back (my limp wrist). The only other failures were both ammo related (my out of spec reloads) at round count 412 and 417.
Extraction was by means of a rather oversized external extractor that literally ripped the casing from the chamber. Empties flew six to eight feet to my five 0’clock position consistently. The external extractor does seem to have a nasty habit of nicking the brass however, and I jabbed myself on one such case.
Accuracy was on par with other guns in the same class (near as I could tell without benching it), giving me a consistent high and right POI no matter the distance (max distance tested 75 feet). A little adjustment of the Novak rear sight got me back to center mass in no time with a 6 o’clock hold (my personal preference). All shot groups were consistent with few flyers (despite my crappy reloads), and one-hole groups were possible with very little effort.
The GSR hasn’t quite taken over as my favorite 1911… yet. In fact it still has a ways to go to prove itself dependable, but SIG has put together a great package with much potential. If my brief experience is any indication, SIG is well on it’s way to becoming a staple in the ever-expanding world of the 1911.
As always, YMMV.
Good shooting,
-LeadPumper
After generally feeling under whelmed about the first generation GSR’s fit and finish, I approached the latest GSR, the Revolution, with renewed interest. The original had numerous teething problems with its outsourced Caspian frame, barrel, and several other parts manufactures. Many online posts can be found about repeated returns to SIG for servicing due to out-of-spec parts, incorrect feed ramp angles, or any assortment of minor glitches. Those individuals that had GSR’s that ran well swore by them though, so some level of promise existed. SIG revamped, and brought much of the GSR’s production in house and released the revised ‘Revolution’ at this past Shot Show. It was there that I had a chance to examine SIGARMS latest offering to the 1911 world, and I was not disappointed.
SIG had learned well from it’s first effort, the newest batch of GSR’s offered fit, form, and function more in line with it’s $1K MSRP. SIG had several styles to choose from including ‘Nitron’, ‘Target’, ‘Carry’, ‘Compact’ and ‘XO’ levels (some with or without rails) http://sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProduct.aspx?categoryid=25. The TTT and STX really caught my eye, but I’ll leave them for a later date. The one I zeroed in on was the all black Nitron over stainless finished ‘duty’ model with accessory rail and Novak night sights.http://sigarms.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=25&productid=112
SIG advertised this gun as ”featuring an all stainless steel frame and slide machined to exacting tolerances and hand-fitted to insure reliability and performance”, and “ contains only premium internal parts including a match grade barrel, hammer / sear set and trigger”. The model I handled at the show did have an excellent lock-up, superior fit and finish, and a noticeable heft that that implied a solid gun. The one part that left me wanting though was the trigger. The demo model had noticeable creep and was both heavier than it should have been and gritty. Now anyone that’s ever shot a 1911 (and even most people that haven’t) will tell you that one of the best features about the 1911 design is its capacity to have an outstanding trigger.
I felt that this trigger issue was not insurmountable and ordered one on the spot.
About a month ago I finally took possession of a new SIGARMS GSR Revolution Nitron Rail with Novak night sights. After the mandatory take down and cleaning, I compared it to my current favorite 1911, a Kimber Custom Series II. The Kimber(8.7 inches) is longer (by a hair) than the GSR (8.65 inches), and has a slightly longer sight radius (6.8 inches to the GSR’s 6.5 inches). The GSR (1.37 inches) is slightly wider than the Kimber (1.28 inches) (another hair) but noticeably heavier than the Kimber (GSR 40.3 oz with rail, Kimber 38 oz without), yet it balances in the hand (empty) right about on the face of the trigger.
All the controls are easily reachable, (as they should be), and operate in a positive manner. The grip safety, slide stop, and thumb safety all appear to be some sort of cast metal (note: SIG advertises the GSR as being MIM free), but do not feel cheap or insubstantial. (Time will tell whether these parts stand up). The magwell is beveled slightly and the front strap checkering is present, but not sharp. I was pleased to find the standard recoil spring guide rod and plug made it’s way into the production model. FLGR’s are better left to target guns (IMHO), and I was definitely getting the impression that this gun was aimed more toward the service industry (LEO). A better comparison might be Kimber’s TLE/RL or Warrior. The Nitron model came standard with two Novak 8 round magazines and no forward slide serrations. Also of note was the lack of a skeletonized trigger and hammer, the GSR uses solid parts throughout. And while dehorned, it does not have a serious ‘meltdown’ as found on some other 1911’s. It is a full sized gun without many reservations.
After finishing my musings and cleanings, I packed my bags and headed off to the range. Over several visits I have put 500 rounds through the GSR, made some minor adjustments (trigger stop and rear sight alignment), and changed out the factory wood grips with molded rubber ones.
Overall impressions are favorable.
I fed the GSR a mix of factory 230 grn Federal and Lake City ball ammo as well as some of my own reloads (200 grn West Coast plated RN). Feeding of all RN ammo was excellent from the factory supplied Novak mags as well as CMC Shooting Star and Power mags (no HP ammo tested as of yet). The Novak three dot night sights offered a predictable and familiar sight picture that was both quick and accurate. The trigger needed some break-in, and initially pulled at about 4.5 lbs on my RCBS scale and exhibited a moderate amount of side wiggle. After 500 rounds however, the trigger smoothed out considerably and settled down to a consistent 4 lbs. The wiggle remained, an annoyance, and I plan to get in there at some later date to correct that issue. The heft of the gun made shot recovery quick, and double taps were easily accomplished.
The first failure was at about round fifty when the slide prematurely locked back (my limp wrist). The only other failures were both ammo related (my out of spec reloads) at round count 412 and 417.
Extraction was by means of a rather oversized external extractor that literally ripped the casing from the chamber. Empties flew six to eight feet to my five 0’clock position consistently. The external extractor does seem to have a nasty habit of nicking the brass however, and I jabbed myself on one such case.
Accuracy was on par with other guns in the same class (near as I could tell without benching it), giving me a consistent high and right POI no matter the distance (max distance tested 75 feet). A little adjustment of the Novak rear sight got me back to center mass in no time with a 6 o’clock hold (my personal preference). All shot groups were consistent with few flyers (despite my crappy reloads), and one-hole groups were possible with very little effort.
The GSR hasn’t quite taken over as my favorite 1911… yet. In fact it still has a ways to go to prove itself dependable, but SIG has put together a great package with much potential. If my brief experience is any indication, SIG is well on it’s way to becoming a staple in the ever-expanding world of the 1911.
As always, YMMV.
Good shooting,
-LeadPumper
