Gonna add a 1911 to the stable, advice?

[44splfan]

Considering the SW1911 5" steel frame with fixed sight and blued-#108285, or one of the Kimbers maybe the CustomTLE full size.
My question is, honestly what accuracy are you guys getting from the full size Smiths? I alraedy have an old LW Commander, so the fullsize steel frame is what I'm after.

Pics help! Sell me on the Smith!

 

[44splfan]

Considering the SW1911 5" steel frame with fixed sight and blued-#108285, or one of the Kimbers maybe the CustomTLE full size.
My question is, honestly what accuracy are you guys getting from the full size Smiths? I alraedy have an old LW Commander, so the fullsize steel frame is what I'm after.

Pics help! Sell me on the Smith!

 

[G-ManBart]

I don't have an SW 1911, but have handled them and they seem okay.

I recently purchased another 1911 for USPSA Single Stack Division and went with an STI Trojan. Extremely well made, all steel, hand fit slide to frame, ramped barrel standard, ajustable sights standard, ambi-safeties at no extra cost, high undercut frame (under the trigger guard), nice chain link pattern on the front strap, front cocking serrations, fiber optic front sight at no charge (from some dealers), and the list goes on. Extremely well made and they run right a bit under $1000 with everything. Mine has run flawlessly since I got it. I swapped out the fire control parts because I'm a trigger job snob, but it wasn't necessary. Nothing like an extremely well made, ridiculously accurate gun made in the good old USA. They also offer the Spartan which is made on an Armscor frame and slide...not as nice finish and a few less extras, but they're only about $600. The recent writeup I saw of a Spartan had a one-hole group at 25yds with factory ammo....pretty impressive. I now own four STI guns (two are full custom built up from parts) and they're all incredibly nice guns. They also offer customer service that's probably second only to Dillon in going above and beyond to make you happy. You simply can't go wrong with an STI 1911 in my personal experience.

For the same basic $1000 you're going to get a lot more gun, with a hand fit slide/frame/barrel in an STI compared with a mass-produced model like the Smith 1911. That's not to say that the Smith is a bad gun, but you're paying for the name and overhead of a large manufacturer compared with a small shop that does things in house, mostly by hand.

A good place to read some reviews is www.m1911.org. R,

 

[Bugs100]

I have 3 S&W 1911's their a great 1911.

 

[KyJim]

I own several 1911 variants but not a SW. I have heard good things about them. Kimbers are darned accurate handguns but they sometimes make duds. Between the two, I would go with SW. Colt, Dan Wesson, and Springfield also make good guns.

 

[torrejon224]

I currently have 17 1911s and five of them are S&W's (one full size, one tac rail, one full build on S&W frame/slide and two Gunsite Commnders). Thousands of rounds downrange with zero malfunctions! They are great 1911s and the external extractor is a non-issue. I would buy one over a Kimber or Springfield any day.

 

[Flyinfast]

 

[Dave686]

Of the two you are looking at; I have owned both.

I had a Kimber Custom TLE II; it was an exceptional 1911. But I didn't like the finish. S&W was offering 1911's and I had an opportunity to shoot one at my local range.

I bought a new SW1911 Stainless with target sights. (408284) it shot exactly the same as my Kimber and they both performed flawlessly. So I sold my Kimber.

About a month later my SW1911 failed while showing my BIL how the safety's on a 1911 worked. It fired with the safety on.
S&W immediately sent me an overnight shipping label and fixed the gun.

My thumb safety is MIM. I thought I would just get a stainless one and switch them out; but I found out it has to be fitted. I emailed S&W and they said the only option they have is MIM.

So until I send it off to an aftermarket place somewhere to be fitted with a proper safety; it makes an exceptional range gun but I don't trust it enough for it to be a carry gun.

 

[G-ManBart]

Originally posted by Dave686:
Of the two you are looking at; I have owned both.

I had a Kimber Custom TLE II; it was an exceptional 1911. But I didn't like the finish. S&W was offering 1911's and I had an opportunity to shoot one at my local range.

I bought a new SW1911 Stainless with target sights. (408284) it shot exactly the same as my Kimber and they both performed flawlessly. So I sold my Kimber.

About a month later my SW1911 failed while showing my BIL how the safety's on a 1911 worked. It fired with the safety on.
S&W immediately sent me an overnight shipping label and fixed the gun.

My thumb safety is MIM. I thought I would just get a stainless one and switch them out; but I found out it has to be fitted. I emailed S&W and they said the only option they have is MIM.

So until I send it off to an aftermarket place somewhere to be fitted with a proper safety; it makes an exceptional range gun but I don't trust it enough for it to be a carry gun.

Sadly, more and more companies are using MIM for thumb safeties. It's okay for something like the grip safety that doesn't really get stressed much, but a lot of people ride thumb safeties hard and if they're MIM, they're going to break soon or later...just depends on how much pressure you put on them and how often you use them.

When you decide to replace the safety on your Kimber, the absolute best 1911 thumb safety made is the SV Infinity bar stock version (various widths and ambi or single side). They're easy to fit....I'm no pro and can fit one perfectly in 15-20 minutes, and they never break. Any competent gunsmith should be able to fit a new safety for you.

P.S. shot a match today and one of the guys on my squad was shooting his SW 1911 (one of the higher end versions) and it was malfunctioning literally every stage and usually once every other mag. His ammo looked good and his mags seemed okay...not sure what was going on there, but he said he's thinking about sending it for some reliability work (polish the feed ramp, throat work etc).

 

[44splfan]

Thanks all for the input, Gmanbart- I was actually looking at the STI's also, thanks for the info. The Lawman & the Trojan are now in the running too!

 

[shawn mccarver]

Originally posted by 44splfan:
Considering the SW1911 5" steel frame with fixed sight and blued-#108285, or one of the Kimbers maybe the CustomTLE full size.
My question is, honestly what accuracy are you guys getting from the full size Smiths? I alraedy have an old LW Commander, so the fullsize steel frame is what I'm after.

Pics help! Sell me on the Smith!

I have never had a problem with the S&W 1911 and have had with Kimbers. The only change I make to the S&W is to replace the full length guide rod with the standard recoil spring plug and guide. I believe the S&W 1911 #282 in stainless and #285 in blue are the best value for the money around and the only thing better is a custom shop job from Springfield Custom Shop, the S&W Performance Center or Les Baer. And yes, I have tried all of those listed.

 

[smitty_bs]

Why not get a blued 5" S&W? I have the basic version and it is quite accurate - more accurate than I am.

It is the 5" blued steel version, wood grips, fixed novak sights, no forward serrations on the slide and the short military guide rod. It gets a lot of looks a the range....very sharp looking. I've got close to 600 rounds through it and it is trouble free. I can't think of a better buy.