New S&W 1911. Thumbs up!

M

mini14jac

New member
Just a quick note, (no pics yet. Sorry.)

Picked up a new S&W 1911 yesterday evening.
It the "economy model". Stainless, rubber grips, fixed sights.
Here's the link:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&productId=33856&tabselected=tech&isFirearm=Y&parent_category_rn=
Price was $659 before tax, trade, and background check.

This is the first full-size 1911 I've had.
Others were Colt Defender, Daly Officer-size.

I guess I shouldn't be amazed that a gun with a 5" barrel is much more accurate than the 3 and 4 inch barrels I normally shoot, but I was anyway. :)

When I got the background check approved, it was almost closing time, but the dealer told me I could have 20 minutes at the indoor range.
I grabbed a box of Wolf ammo, to go with the WWB that I had.
I pulled the slide back and dabbed some grease on the rails, and hung a target.

I ran about 8 mags through the gun in the 20 minutes.
Mixture of Wolf and WWB, with one mag of Remington jhp thrown in.
No failures of any kind.

From 15 yards, taking my time, I could easily make one large hole, wherever I wanted.
At 25 yards, shooting as quickly as I could find the front sight, I put 6 out of 8 rounds in the head of a B-29 target. :eek:

Guys, that is awesome shooting for me.

Recoil was not really noticeable.
Takedown was different from the Glock and Kahr that I'm used to, but not bad at all.

When I stripped the gun to clean it, I was a little surprised.
Except for the grease that I dabbed on the rails, the gun was bone dry. :(
(And it ran like a Swiss watch anyway!!??)

I did find the little sharp edge that 1911Tuner posted about.
(Thanks for the heads-up Tuner.)
A few minutes with a file got rid of it.

This is probably the most expensive handgun I've ever purchased.
But, strangely, this was one of the most satisfying shooting experiences I've ever had. :confused:
Kind of reminds me how it feels shooting my .36 cal. Colt repro. blackpowder revolver.

Now I need to get Milt Sparks working on a holster for me, and start buying ammo.
 
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E

Extremist

New member
Yes, the SW1911 was also the first 1911 I had in 12 years also after being turned off of them due to a Colt 1911 accurized that was a PIA to dissasemble and clean.

The 1911Sc Commander impressed me so much that I now have about EIGHT! :)

James
 
L

LH2

New member
:)

That's awesome - and a good price too!

Shopping for my first 1911 has been hell. You get so many opinions on so many different brands that it turns into system overload.

But SW consistently gets thumbs up for reliability and general owner happiness it seems.

Biggest complaints I hear are some guys hate the Swartz FP block and external extractor, even though Smith really seems to have the extractor dialed in.
 
D

D-Man

New member
I agree.....I bought my S&W1911 earlier in February, and haven't had one problem with the gun itself. Shoots great, or at least as good as I can shoot (which is actually pretty bad). Great price too - I paid $699 for mine.

One thing to watch will be the followers on the magazines. Mine came with the ACT-Mag's, and one developed a hairline crack on the follower. The other one looked liked it was stressed in that area too.

I called Customer Service, and they are aware of this issue, and it may of been a bad batch of magazines, so you may not have the problem. I mailed mine in, and they will be sending out replacements.
 
A

AFshooter

New member
I just bought one. It has not come in yet.
I looked at the older version of the one I bought (Commander size) and I liked it a lot.
The SW1911 PD is the one I got. $600
I can't wait until it comes in. My first 1911 let alone .45.
 
D

D-Man

New member
From speaking to the customer service rep, it seemd as if the original plan was to stick with the Wilson Mags they had been using, but due to supply/demand, they switched over to the ACT-Mags (sounded like they couldn't get enough supply from Wilson, and had to switch).

I like the ACT-Mags, actually even better than the Wilson one I have. I also have some Chip McCormick Shooting Stars, which work, but don't have nearly as nice as a feel as the others.

The S&W rep said that they were looking into other alternatives, including possibly using a 10 rounder stock mag for their 1911's. These would be about the same size as the 8 rounder, but have a smaller bumper.

The S&W was my 1st 1911 and 1st .45. It was the second gun I bought, and only a month after my first one. Damn this stuff is addicting!!!
 
H

hodaka

New member
Congratulations

You'll like it. I bought the same model about a month ago. Came with ACT magazines. I have about 1000 rounds of my 230 gr cast reloads through the pistol without a single FTF or eject. Had a slight burr on the mag release that hung up the first time out but it took about a minute to repair. Very tight and accurate. More money than I've ever spent for a pistol (I have a Glock and Makarovs but this was money well spent.
 
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Shaun

New member
went and shot a bunch of 1911 rentals the other day, and the guy at the counter told me to check out the s&w line. The commander size was excellent, and even though i perfer a steel frame for the recoil, the Sc alloy was quite managable and gave me tight groups at 7-15 yds. The full size was amazing to say the least, very accurate and the weight allowed for quick and pinpoint followup shots. 2 and 3 inch groups at 25 yds off hand. I'd definitly get a s&w if they made a Steel frame commander, no questions there.
 
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