Every smith 1911 that I ever seen has had the same marks. When I got my PD in 06 it had them and I was afraid something was wrong also. But after talking to S&W And seeing others with the same marks I was ok. Now after 6 k rds and zero problems I believe your 1911 will be ok. Best of luck.
I have the same wear marks in my 1911PD. I called smith and they want to see it and fix it. I'm convinced it has some burrs in the slide. As a result of this is has become very difficult to pull the slide back. are you experiencing this with yours?I'm waiting to hear from Smith. I am definitely sending it in ASAP. I'm waiting for a response for a return label. I agree with all of you. I wouldn't have paid this much if I'd saw that. I would have looked elsewhere. I'm confident S&W will take care of It.
That"s a great observation. I wish i would have looked at mine before sending it in.Not familiar with the "E" series but compared to every other 1911 frame that I remember working on or looking at your frame is missing the top piece where the Slide release goes into the frame. That is normally a window with a rounded top and the upper rail is continuous above the opening NOT cut all the way through as in your picture. It surely looks like someone has "Bubbaed" that frame. Darn sure does NOT look like a new gun.
Chip King
I have the same wear marks in my 1911PD. I called smith and they want to see it and fix it. I'm convinced it has some burrs in the slide. As a result of this is has become very difficult to pull the slide back. are you experiencing this with yours?
vinny
Have had a S&W 1911SC for 2 1/2 months now and nothing but problems. The scratches that you talk about is wearing down under the slide on mine and I've also had scratches under the safety latch. Told by S&W this is normal. If you ask me, poor design and quality control. Recently had the magazine release assembly break. S&W told me the parts are on backorder. Had to buy them somewhere else. Just had a trigger lock up at the range. The safety mechanism malfunctioned.
Don't get me wrong, I have 2 other S&W revolvers and love them but have had it with their 1911's. Time to go upscale.
Yea this is not normal.. I've seen others without this issue. I'm saving up for an Ed Brown. I tried to return/exchange and they wouldn't. I hope it gets fixed. They saw the pics And said it wasn't normal. We shall see. If there's an issue I'll sell it.
Have had a S&W 1911SC for 2 1/2 months now and nothing but problems. The scratches that you talk about is wearing down under the slide on mine and I've also had scratches under the safety latch. Told by S&W this is normal. If you ask me, poor design and quality control. Recently had the magazine release assembly break. S&W told me the parts are on backorder. Had to buy them somewhere else. Just had a trigger lock up at the range. The safety mechanism malfunctioned.
Don't get me wrong, I have 2 other S&W revolvers and love them but have had it with their 1911's. Time to go upscale.
I have to agree with you on this one, it needs to be looked at and made right. Anyone that knows me here, knows I am very tolerant of S&W and not very fussy for minor issues. I prefer fixing or touching things up myself when I can. But those pics are ugly, darn ugly for a new gun!
I don't think I would save up for an Ed Brown, the S&W 1911's are fantastic guns, ones you can be proud of. A little cosmetic issue, most likely caused by a missed burr is no reason to condemn them. I own somewhere around 7-8 of them, too lazy to go count, but I will say I have nothing to complain about. The scratch you or others have seen below the safety is common, not only to S&W 1911's, but to ALL makers of them. I purchased some touch-up tube paint, flat black from Birchwood\Casey... works great..
Hang in there, hope you get better fast.... I believe you'll enjoy that gun more than you realize. Use that ED Brown money for ammo!!