Sw1911

[I_Route]

Bought a nice S&W 1911 (SKU 108282). All SS. It will be here Thursday.

Here is the pic from the S&W site:

[Apdl]

it is purrty
the only thing i don't like so much about the S&W is the external extractor
but i bet it will be a tack driver!

[I_Route]

Originally Posted by Apdl

it is purrty
the only thing i don't like so much about the S&W is the external extractor
but i bet it will be a tack driver!

My GSR has an external extractor. If it runs like that then I will be happy. No issues so far.

[shipwreck]

SW1911s are very nice!

[Brickboy240]

Did they get rid of that ugly "billboard" markings on the other side? You know, the huge "SW 1911" that was huge and took up the whole side of the slide? I was also not a fan of the "gun will fire without magazine" stamping. Duh...most 1911 people know this...don't they? Lawyers!

If S&W got rid of these markings...yes...their 1911 would be beautiful. I too was taken by the S&W 1911s I have seen. They're priced right, too.

The extrenal extractor? Well, it works on the Hi-Power. Just because Kimber could not make their external extractor fly right, does not mean S&W couldn't get theirs to work. SIG's external on their GSRs seems to work just fine.

-Brickboy240

[kat1950]

S&W as Sig, has used the external extractor for years, they have it down to a science. S&W 1911 is probably the best production 1911 made,very accurate,very reliable, you would have to go to a semi custom from one of the big 4 to find what this 1911 has. And I am a Colt person.

[Tungsten]

Originally Posted by Brickboy240

Did they get rid of that ugly "billboard" markings on the other side? You know, the huge "SW 1911" that was huge and took up the whole side of the slide?

Yep.




Click for a stupidly large version.

By the way, that one of mine (above) is the one that S&W ships with Crimson Trace Laser Grips. I replaced them with some "Operator" grips from VZGrips and am in the process of adding a blued magwell / mainspring housing, blued ambi safety and Heinie Straigt Eight night sights.

[Brickboy240]

Wow...that looks MUCH better than the billboard stampings that first came out.

I might have to look into a S&W for my next 1911...I have seen them sellgin in the 700 dollar range around here, but I don't know anyone that owns/shoots one. I wonder how they stack up against Kimber Custom IIs and TLEs in the quality dept?

- Brickboy240

[scalce]

My buddy has a SW 1911 with adjustable sights and he loves it.

Of course I like my TRP better.

[Tungsten]

Originally Posted by Brickboy240

Wow...that looks MUCH better than the billboard stampings that first came out.

I might have to look into a S&W for my next 1911...I have seen them sellgin in the 700 dollar range around here, but I don't know anyone that owns/shoots one. I wonder how they stack up against Kimber Custom IIs and TLEs in the quality dept?

- Brickboy240

I have owned two Kimbers previously and own one Kimber Pro CDP II now also. The S&W isn't near the gun that the Kimber is in terms of small parts fit and finish, but it's also not priced like the Kimber was either.

I like the S&W well enough, but I am actually becoming more and more tempted to sell it and go for a Springfield TRP. The external extractor on my Smith has never let me down and I've shot a few USPSA single stack matches with it... but there is a lot of talk from "people who know" that say the external extractor design is less than ideal in a 1911.

Hilton Yam of 10-8 Performance is someone who's knowledge on these matters I would trust, and he has said on his forum that the S&W extractors are known to cause problems and that he greatly prefers the internal extractor the way that God and John Moses Browning intended. That speaks to me since this guy really knows his 1911s.

But like I said... my Smith hasn't given me an ounce of problems. The thumb safety feels kind of mushy but that's part of why I am wanting to replace it with an ambi safety instead. I think the feel of the safety greatly depends on how well it is fitted to the action by the gunsmith.