S&W Performance Center 1911

C

carsong

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I love the look of the S&W 1911 Performance Center with the slide cut outs. To me, it's a real work of art. However, I have some questions, before I shell out that amount of money.

Has anyone had any range time with this pistol? Comments on accuracy and quality of trigger? Reliability? Ammo preferences?

They are pretty expensive, so I'd hate to spend that much, and then be disappointed by the performance.
 
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I have had one for about a year and it is everything you would hope for and expect. The trigger is crisp, the gun functions perfectly with factory and handloaded ammo with cast bullets of varying shapes, is plenty accurate and as you've already mentioned, looks good doing it.

1911PCa_zpsd5529bd0.jpg


I'm a bit of an olde phart who prefers the more classic look of nice wood grips so I replaced the black and blue ones. I also buffed off the black coating from the barrel hood as it was being scuffed by the slide (which is normal for all 1911s). That left the black coating still in the stamping ".45 AUTO PC" so it stands out on the silver barrel hood.

I like mine a lot and think you will too.

Ed
 
Performance Center 1911

Received mine at the end of 2014. My experience is much the same as Ed's.

Fit and finish are great, with virtually no play in the slide/frame fit. Barrel fit is perfect. Thumb safety is very smooth with a decisive click at each position. A great out of the box trigger at a crisp 3.5lb.

No stoppages or functioning issues at the range. Accuracy is very good. I also like the traditional wood grips better so I swapped out the OEM grips which were, well......kind of weird.

I fully expected to have to work on the gun when I got it. Haven't had to do anything but change out the grips.


IMG_0554_zpsfja9lscl.jpg
 
I have the opposite experience. I missed the last of a production run and waited 14 months for my 1911PC to arrive. So, when it arrived, I picked it up and drove home to examine my new treasure. Trigger was the worst trigger I have ever felt on a 1911 (the out of the box Taurus in the LGS has a better trigger out of the box). Had to be at least 6-7 pounds and gritty and creepy beyond belief. Slide to frame fit was something RIA would reject. All in all, I was so disappointed, I put it back in the box and sold it off 2 months later without ever shooting it. Since then, I picked up a 2007 year production 1911PC and love it. I also love my 1911SC Roundbutt model. I am sure I got the lemon of the batch but I was so disappointed, I didn't even want to think about dealing with CS on it. Maybe I should have since, with the horrible slide to frame fit, I probably would have ended up with a new firearm.
As long as you inspect the 1911 first, I am sure you'll be happy.
 
carsong said:
I love the look of the S&W 1911 Performance Center with the slide cut outs. To me, it's a real work of art. However, I have some questions, before I shell out that amount of money.

Has anyone had any range time with this pistol? Comments on accuracy and quality of trigger? Reliability? Ammo preferences?

They are pretty expensive, so I'd hate to spend that much, and then be disappointed by the performance.
Click to expand...
Life is short buy the PC, it's made by S&W so you can't go wrong.
 
I got my PC this summer and I can honestly say that I could not be happier.
After about 200 rounds the trigger became very crisp and clean, no gritty feel, no creep just clean break. As far as accuracy goes I will never be able to out shoot it, very pleased there as well. I believe there was a single FTF early on and since that point it's been 100%, it now has at least 3000 rounds through it.
If there is something about the gun your not happy with I'm sure S&W would make it right.

It goes with me every trip to the range and I know what to expect.

Longone
 
I was on a Performance Center tear for a while a number of years back, picking up a series of 945s, a 952-1, etc., and finally a PC1911. The PC1911 was the only disappointment of the bunch. Even a trip back to S&W didn't fix the issues to my satisfaction, so I ended up selling it. As it turned out, it was my last PC gun, unfortunately.

If I were in the market for a $1500'ish 1911 (am guessing that's what they run now), I'd look at a new Dan Wesson Valor or maybe a lightly used Les Baer.
 
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