S&W 1911 Pro in 9mm

I came across a Handloader magazine article on the SW1911 9mm, October 2009. Lot's of accolades like any other gun review except fot the accuracy issue. Just a little chart showing their accuracy results firing from a pistol rest. The best group was 1.5", worst 2.5" average 2.0" from 5 different factory loads. The problem is those groups were fired from 25 feet!
That's pretty bad. I've never owned a 9mm that wouldn't group under 3" at 25 yards.
 
Calliope said:
That's pretty bad. I've never owned a 9mm that wouldn't group under 3" at 25 yards.
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You can probably fix that problem by just buying yourself a new M&P9. :D

I wonder if that 25-feet was a typo? But seriously, if you have never had a 9mm pistol that wouldn't consistently group under 3-inches at 25-yards you have been really lucky. All of the 9s I have had over the years wouldn't qualify - Brownings, 39s, 59s, SIGs, Glocks, etc.
 
M29since14 said:
You can probably fix that problem by just buying yourself a new M&P9. :D

I wonder if that 25-feet was a typo? But seriously, if you have never had a 9mm pistol that wouldn't consistently group under 3-inches at 25-yards you have been really lucky. All of the 9s I have had over the years wouldn't qualify - Brownings, 39s, 59s, SIGs, Glocks, etc.
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I wonder if it wasn't a typo too. I cannot imagine any 9mm 1911 that wouldn't do under 3" at 25 yards.
Maybe I have been lucky with my 9mm's, but they have all been box stock and all would do 3" or better at 25 yards. G-19, G17L, P226 Navy, Springer 1911 loaded (accurate but unreliable), USP Elite (6"), and the star of the show a S&W 952.
The 952 was super accurate and beautifully made, but the ergonomics just didn't work for me.

I hoping some experienced shooter will chime in with some realistic 25 yard expectations for the SW1911 9mm.
 
I only have one gun - the adjustable sight model. It is erratic. I have seen it shoot groups (5 rounds, 25 yards, bench rest) anywhere from 1-5/8" to over 7", depending on the ammunition. From group to group with the same ammo (what it prefers), it will run anywhere from 1-5/8" to around 4". The fitting of the various parts of the gun indicate why it does this. It is not a precision-fit piece. Mine is a beautiful gun to look at, and as I said earlier, the trigger is now really very good, but the way its barrel is fitted is no different than any other S&W 1911 I have seen. It is obviously made to favor function with a variety of ammunition, not to produce accuracy like a target pistol - and that's what it does. :)

BTW - just to be clear, in my mind, a "3-inch pistol" has to shoot five consecutive 5-shot groups at 25-yards with all five groups each measuring less than 3-inches. One group doesn't prove a thing to me. It may be a pretty tough standard, compared to what I seem to read here. I see a lot of service-grade pistols that won't do that, but most quality revolvers will. Autoloaders seem to have made some substantial strides in reliability over the last 40-years or so. In accuracy, I don't see that so much.
 
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I guess my definition is any pistol I can shoot sub 3" groups with occasionally. If I'm having an off day I don't score it against the pistol. I don't do much bench shooting, but I have gotten pretty good on my hind legs. So if I can shoot <3" groups, the pistol must be at least a little more accurate than that.
 
Can you tell me what you are using for a load in your S&W1911 9mm ?

I just bought mine yesterday, tried several different loads and can't get a group. Thanks in advance..

Jim
 
Jim, FWIW, my 1911 Pro 9mm definitely favors ammunition with a bullet shaped more like the standard 9mm ball round than a truncated cone. You might look around for some Remington 115 or 124 gr JHP factory loads that have bullets basically shaped like an FMJ with a HP, and see how you get along with those. That is what my gun is most consistent with.
 
M29since14 said:
Jim, FWIW, my 1911 Pro 9mm definitely favors ammunition with a bullet shaped more like the standard 9mm ball round than a truncated cone. You might look around for some Remington 115 or 124 gr JHP factory loads that have bullets basically shaped like an FMJ with a HP, and see how you get along with those. That is what my gun is most consistent with.
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That is unusual for a 9mm. All of mine have preferred cone shape bullets for pure accuracy.

The 125 grain Hornady HAP is the most accurate bullet in the majority of 9mm's that I have owned. Basically it's an XTP without the final nose forming operations to save money.
 
Does Winchester make the Winclean 124 BEB anymore?
That was accurate factory ammo.
So was the Winchester USA 147 JHP, that one was a very rounded, FMJ shaped bullet, always a good target round.
 
looking for more info on the grouping size for 1911 SW 9mm pro series.

using ransom rest, still couldn't go less than 3" groupings at 25 meters.
 
That's pretty disappointing, I'm sure. Have you tried a different bullet weight? Seems to me that the heavy bullet weights are favored by many for competition. May have nothing to do with accuracy though.
 
epj said:
That's pretty disappointing, I'm sure. Have you tried a different bullet weight? Seems to me that the heavy bullet weights are favored by many for competition. May have nothing to do with accuracy though.
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i'm using 147 gr hydra shock.
 
Since you have a Ransom Rest, you might try some different loads and see if there is a magic bullet. My gut tells me that since it is a Pro model and not a PC gun, S&W will tell you it shoots within spec. Maybe not. Worth a try. Any play in the barrel bushing or in the hood when locked up? If not, maybe the answer is a new, properly fitted barrel. Kart maybe? That's a bummer for sure. I once fondled a Pro and was comtemplating buying it pretty seriously. Ended up with a Trojan instead. The barrel fit on the Pro I was looking at put a Springer 9mm in the same case to shame. I would have expected better from the Smith.
 
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