re:
2-piece barrels have been around for a long time. You can find'em even in some high-quality pistols. If they're well-made, you'll never know the difference unless you're chasing 2-inch groups at 50 yards.
Well-made investment castings are also very good. Bill Ruger proved that. The problem with an investment cast 1911 frame and slide is that...there are so many sharp corners...and corners promote stress cracking. If a crack starts, it travels fast, and you usually can't stop it by check-drilling the way you can with machined steel.
I've used a couple of Thompson Auto Ordnance pistols as beaters. Nobody can argue that those castings weren't junk...and yet, the frames lasted well into 35,000 round territory. The slides didn't fare as well, giving up the ghost
in about 20,000 or so. When the slides broke, they gave zero warning, and broke clear through in both cases.
The areas to keep an eye on are: (Slide)Junction of spring tunnel and slide at the corners. Rear corners of the rails and ways. Ejection port at the junction of the port and first locking lug.(Frame) Junction of rails and dust cover. Slidestop crosspin hole at the bottom. In the rail/way corners on the undersides. For some reason, the left side seems to be more prone to cracking here.
On a final note...If you do happen to shoot one loose, and want to peen or swage the frame rails to tighten it up, cast rails don't usually do too well for this. Some have peened cast frames with good results, while others have
had them brreak clean off with the first hammer fall. Count me in the second
category. The slides don't tolerate squeezing in a vise at all. Ask me how I know...
For a shooter who doesn't plan on using the gun enough to require 2 or 3 rebuilds and refittings...they're fine. If you shoot as much as 30,000 rounds annually, and figure on rebuilding the gun when it gets loose, machined steel is cheaper in the long run.
Cheers!
