S&W 1911's

[soonerbb]

I am kind'a surprised there's not much discussion on the 1911 family. I purchased one the last ones to come into California (according the BassPro clerk). If i lived in a America i would own at least three more models. I have a Stainless (post billboard) and really love it, fits my hand perfectly, accurate, and no issues what so ever....

 

[Sevens]

I believe there isn’t much discussion on these because everyone and their brother makes a 1911, but only S&W made 1-2-3rd Gen, 41’s and 422/622 pistols, so that is what gets discussed in this area of the site.

I have a single S&W 1911, it is the Pro Series 9mm and I’m totally in love with the way this pistol looks. As a shooter, it’s fine, I think it’s average and (hate to say it) but wildly over priced, but I snagged mine used and I paid a reasonable price for mine.

 

[824tsv]

I can't say I agree with Sevens on the "over priced" or on the "average" comment. I have nothing but praise for mine and comparing with the Colt Gold Cup Trophy pictured beside it, I think it was the better buy when you compare features. But, like it's said, there's a seat for every bum.

 

[fmflorida]

Im actually in the market for a 1911 and S&W was one of the 1911s I was looking at. It was their E Series and they were all $1200-1400.

Now I dont mind paying a bit more for a gun, especially one I like, but to me for what it is I did think they were a bit over priced.

That said I did enjoy how they felt in my hand, they has a positive safety it wasnt too easy to push off, good sights but I found a few other 1911s from other makers that were 750-900 and thats where Id like to stay.

 

[Sevens]

I can't say I agree with Sevens on the "over priced" or on the "average" comment.

Okay but to be clear, I’m talking about the MSRP and the typical street price of my S&W1911 Pro Series 9mm, and not any of the other S&W 1911 pistols. My gun, with the adjustable Bomar rear sight, can’t really be found anywhere under $1,100 new.

I think it’s gorgeous and I enjoy having it, but I don’t believe this is in the echelon of other $1,100-$1,200 1911 pistols.

 

[M29since14]

It seems that most of the 1911 guys on this forum tend to be Colt-oriented. That’s OK, and that fact may account for the lack of 1911 discussion you notice. My own perspective is that these days Colt is hardly the only game in town, and not even near the top, IMO. Some of the new Colts are nice guns, but there are lots of other nice 1911s out there for fair prices (comparatively) and, based on my past experiences with Colt “customer service,” I don’t see the reason to be beholding to them.

Anyway, that’s enough theorizing. I really like the S&W 1911s I’ve seen and had a chance to fire. I have one of the early Performance Center 1911s that I think is easily one of the nicest .45s for the money, from any manufacturer. But that’s really not topical when you’re talking with younger customers who are not .45 guys in the first place, and who tend to be far more interested in magazine capacity and audible reset. It seems there are more of them than us, and they’ve got money to spend on toys.

 

[the big guy]

My 1911's are Colt, S&W, Kimber and Sig. Commanders and Gold Cup, or similar, especially alloy frame 4" guns. S&W and Sig edge Colt a little on build quality, in what I have seen. All beat Kimber in appearance. I have had no issues with any for function, and I shoot these a fair amount. Carried a few of the alloy 4" guns daily, for years. Liked the Kimbers for that best, but the 4.25" S&W alloy frame stainless slide gun is the one of the most accurate pistols I have shot. Very sweet piece.

Just bought three Colt 1911's, two in 38 Super, one in 45. Late models, all very nice. For the combination of fine manufacturing and high quality product, any of these brands are good choices. Frankly, the cheaper guns are just that. I have owed them, just don't any more. They leave me unsatisfied.

 

[GaryS]

The 1911 doesn't seem to do anything better than my 457, but that's just an old 3rd Gen fan talking.

 

[H Richard]

I have Colt, Springfield Armory, and S&W 1911's. The S&W is fine as it comes from the factory (E Class), if you are an occasional Shooter. If you are more interested in Bullseye or any other precision game, trigger adjustment is needed. I found the hammer and sear are both coated with that black matte finish so in use today, but does not provide a good smooth surface for a crisp trigger. I stoned the needed surfaces, and put in a 19 lb spring. It now has an acceptable trigger.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

So I have a 1911 SKU 108284. I like it just fine-put a GI trigger in it for my short fingers but that's it. What makes the E series and PC series so much better? DO I need to dump mine and get one of the newer ones???

 

[boatbum101]

Colt hasn't made a good 1911 since 1968 . Oh the small parts are still good quality & like everyone else they use MIM parts . Barrel , slide to frame aren't fitted well . You're paying for the name & the prancing ******* stamped on it .

 

[M29since14]

So I have a 1911 SKU 108284. I like it just fine-put a GI trigger in it for my short fingers but that's it. What makes the E series and PC series so much better? DO I need to dump mine and get one of the newer ones???

Absolutely not. Why would you, if you’re happy with what you have?

Differences... The PC guns you have to evaluate on feature-for-feature basis. The principal difference with the E-series, at least as I understand it, is those guns do not use a trigger- or grip safety-operated firing pin safety.

My PC 1911 has the firing pin safety but the trigger is so good I can’t tell it while shooting.

 

[soonerbb]

If i ever get out of here (CA.), that ported P.C. 1911 with the blue grips will be my first purchase....Love the look and feel (handled one when on vacation)...of it...

 

[mattallamerican]

dan Wesson all the way for the money

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Most of my handguns are S&W's, but my 1911's are a Springfield Mil Spec, Remington R-1 and Rock Island. They deliver what I am looking for considerably less.

 

[Handgunner50]

It seems like everyone I know that has guns has a 1911. I don't have one but I am wanting an early JRD serial no. or what I have seen referred to as a "Billboard" 1911 to add to my assortment of handguns. Anybody have one that can offer an opinion?

 

[mbliss57]

dan Wesson all the way for the money

I picked up the Dan Wesson that was sold on this forum yesterday morning. I know the seller so I actually have it in hand already. He lives 10 minutes away! What a quality piece of machinery. For the price point they phenomenal. They are very close in quality to some Les Baers and my WC isn't that much better built. I want to buy (own) a S&W 1911 but have not found one of excellent quality that is under $1500. The 945s have been selling on the Big Auction board for close to $2K. Way over priced IMO.
I bought the Dan Wesson Valor full size for $1050. It's a 1 year old pistol with very few rounds through it. Granted I have not shot it yet but it's reviews are excellent and it is super clean.
S&W makes a great looking 1911 for sure..minus the big billboards. I am sure they are much better than my Springer 1911 GI.
I just haven't been in the right place at the right time.

 

[Sevens]

The 945s have been selling on the Big Auction board for close to $2K. Way over priced IMO.

Certainly, IMO is clearly stating your opinion, but I’ll still try to sway it using a rational argument. 945’s are under priced in the market, it’s not a model made by 50 different manufacturers, it’s a single model only produced in one single place in man’s history and only for a short span of time... less than a decade and now out of production for a decade, and will never come back.

Collectible handguns have plenty of different components that help make up their trending market price, but one of the larger components is their original MSRP. It would be silly to discuss the market of the 945 without comparing it directly to the market of other S&W Performance Center pistols, and these pistols carried a MSRP of $2,157 in the 2008 S&W catalog.

If we see where the 952 trades, I cannot agree that 945’s are over priced where they trade at right now.

Also FWIW, though a certain slew of them in the past month have sold for north of $1,500 the market for the 945 over the past many year’s span has been significantly lower than the 952.

These are my opinions, of course.

 

[AveragEd]

I cannot say anything negative about S&W 1911s. I own four and every one works well and is plenty accurate. Conversely, I used to own three Kimber 1911s and had problems with two of them and a Kimber 22LR Target conversion kit.

Even when installed on a Kimber Gold Match frame, that kit malfunctioned more often than not. After two trips back with repair invoices stating "replaced small parts," I sent it back on my Kimber GM frame and they replaced the frame's mainspring housing. I don't see how that part could affect slide operation but they're the experts...

Finally, they exchanged the kit for me but out of 100 CCI MiniMags fired, 74 of them either failed to chamber, failed to fire, failed to extract or failed to eject! Their reply was that I was not holding the gun properly.

I replaced that conversion kit with an Advantage Arms Target conversion kit and have yet to have a malfunction on any frame. I've since sold all my Kimbers and replaced them with S&Ws. All three .45s and the .38 Super are great guns!

Meanwhile, two fellow club members showed up one day with Kimber kits on their 1911s and went through the same frustrations as I had. I loaned one of them my Advantage Arms kit and he shot several boxes of ammo without a hitch.

Regardless of who makes it, the best product in the world is worthless without quality service behind it. And a poor product backed by equally poor service is the next thing you should sell.

Ed

 

[epj]

I have 1 S&W 1911 E type. It’s a stainless base model. It has been 100% in function and more accurate than most factory 1911’s I’ve shot. I’m an old bullseye shooter, and the accuracy surprised me. When it came time to buy a 9mm 1911, I ended up going with a STI Trojan. At the time, they could be had for about $1000-1050. The accuracy of these guns is hard to beat. I understand that STI has discontinued all their single stack offerings. That’s a shame.