S & W 1911's

[Poboy55]

My question is simple and it may be a stupid one, but someone asked me and I didn't know. Why are Smith and Wesson 1911's more expensive than most? Are they more accurate or reliable than a Springfield or Colt? Even used S&W's are nearly $400 more than others online. And I happened to see one listed for $860 online the other day and it was sold in less than 15 minutes. What makes them so sought after? I appreciate any education you can give me here.

 

[flyandscuba]

Some of them have Scandium frames -- and some are Performance Center models...

 

[Poboy55]

Okay, so they aren't inherently more accurate or reliable than other manufactures. They are just made of better materials, right?

 

[flyandscuba]

There are a wide range of 1911s -- from the crappy LLama's to the top of the line custom builds from someone like Chuck Rogers at Rogers Precision. You get what you pay for -- but most non-custom 1911s probably shoot about the same. Contrary to popular belief, Kimbers are NOT high end 1911s -- they are massed produced just like most of the others you'll find sitting in a gun shop display case.

 

[SAWMAN]

Couple of opinions....... Firstly,you will pay an extra $50-$100 for the S&W or the Colt name. Second...please don't get hung up on accuracy unless you are a pure target shooter or plan to use your 1911 to hunt with at 50yds+.(??) Think about it.....if a 1911 will shoot 3" groups at 15yds why would that NOT be OK ??

There are some really great custom guns out there. I own one(just one). It is accurate...my opinion,more accurate than need be,however...I am not complaining. Reliable...ABSOLUTELY,however you can get reliability out of just about any 1911 by having a average knowledge of the 1911 operating system,how the parts work together,and doing some tweaking on the weapon. (remembering the mags also)

Most of the $2800+ 1911's out there are simply BBQ guns. Some are used by the higher end competitors. Most 1911's that are carried from day to day as either a duty gun(not many of them left nowadays)or for CCW are a <$1200 gun. I would guess that tons of them are a <$800 gun. --- SAWMAN

 

[Poboy55]

I do know that about kimber. I am not downing on them, but I helped a friend replace the plastic mainspring housings on two kimbers he bought. He was mad as hell when I showed him that they were in fact plastic. In truth, my Taurus PT1911AR has outperformed the Springfield mil spec and the Para GI expert I had before it. I know a lot of people down on Taurus for being cheap, but several buddies have converted to PT1911's and none have had any issues in the thousands of rounds we have all gone through together. I agree that, for the most part, you get what u pay for. However, I would never consider Taurus to be a "crappy" 1911, not at all.

 

[ilintner]

I love those bobbed scandium framed E series models, I just can't get over the laser engraving all over them with the warnings and such. Seem to be nice pistols otherwise, but I have never shot one.

 

[TraderDan]

I have a S&W 1911 Thunder Ranch Commander model, that I like better than any others I have owned lately. I have not had any high end 1911's lately, had a Para GI - Springfield A-1 , charles Daly, tarus etc. I had a COLT Gold Cup 25 years ago that I think was better than the S&W, but that would probally be a 2500.00 gun today. The Smith is a sweet shooting gun and seems to be built good. However I am no expert on 1911's just a lover of them! But I also like Sig's Glocks and wheelguns too.

 

[bkitzel250]

Like others have said you get what you pay for. Usually the more expensive production guns have better internals or more features. Also there are a lot of so-so guns that are expensive just because of the name on it. So do some research before you buy. FYI I own two 1911s that are both Rock Island Armory and absolutely love them both. There are reliable as any other and have some decent features found on more expensive guns. They are by no means as nice as a 3k Wilson or Nighthawk but are pretty known as being about the best budget gun you can buy these days.

 

[bobinbusan]

All them 45 ACP's are good to go as long as they go BANG, just like a Timex or a Rolex, they all give you the same time:spy:

 

[Snow Bird]

I have a SpringField Armory 1911A1 that I wouldn't trade for anything...Granted it has a Colt hammer and sear in it and add on sites. But like someone on here said it has been tweaked alittle, nothing major but just enough to make it reliable. Never have even shot another 45 but it will shoot under 3 inch groups at 25 yards and thats more than good enough for me... I have had it about 20 years so there is not alot invested in it. My son is a kimber lover but I haven't been home to shoot it yet to see if it shoots any better than mine but am looking forward to shooting it.

 

[GregG]

I think with smith you are paying for a name. I'm not trying to piss off the Smith and Wesson fan boys, but you will get just as good a firearm with the RUGER SR1911 (which I have) or the REMINGTON R1 1911 ( which are both 100% American made) for about $400 less than any of the smiths. Just my 2 cents.

 

[donr101395]

I had a Scandium S&W 1911 for a short period. I liked the gun, I hated the Swartz firing pin safety system. It's the same system Kimber uses and can be a PITA to get in adjustment, it generally doesn't go out of adjustment from normal use, but if it's not set up correctly it's a PITA. I traded it for a SA after about 6 months of range work and the firing pin safety not working properly. There are a few places making a bushing to replace the FP safety cam so you can remove the FP safety, but the easy button was to just get rid of it. I will say it was a nice shooting gun when it shot.

 

[Hossfly72]

I shot my older brothers Colt 1911 when I was a kid. Don't recall if I was accurate with it, just that it rattled a lot.
The only one I owned was an American Classic Commander. Bought it for $600 after my Witness was stolen. Accurate, reliable and not bad looking. I did put Hogue grips on it though. I liked the feel. I probably put 500 rounds through it in the time I owned it and never had a single problem with it. Cops retrieved my Witness and after a thorough check out, I went back to it as my main home gun.... First love and all. Traded the 1911 to a friend and it's his carry piece. He's ex-Army, so it's something he knows well. He's also had no problems. I just can't see paying an arm and a leg for something you're afraid to use for fear of breaking a multi thousand dollar investment. Well, to be honest, I was poor as dirt and it was the only 1911 I could afford, but it worked every time!

 

[donr101395]

I shot my older brothers Colt 1911 when I was a kid. Don't recall if I was accurate with it, just that it rattled a lot.
The only one I owned was an American Classic Commander. Bought it for $600 after my Witness was stolen. Accurate, reliable and not bad looking. I did put Hogue grips on it though. I liked the feel. I probably put 500 rounds through it in the time I owned it and never had a single problem with it. Cops retrieved my Witness and after a thorough check out, I went back to it as my main home gun.... First love and all. Traded the 1911 to a friend and it's his carry piece. He's ex-Army, so it's something he knows well. He's also had no problems. I just can't see paying an arm and a leg for something you're afraid to use for fear of breaking a multi thousand dollar investment. Well, to be honest, I was poor as dirt and it was the only 1911 I could afford, but it worked every time!

If it works it works. I have a few 1911s now, some custom some off the rack Springfield Armory some bone stock Colt, but I keep the Auto Ordnance around to remind where I was 25 years ago. A GI bringing home $517 a month I paid $325 for it at a Hardware store in Spokane and it took me 4 months of layaway payments. It's always worked even with the old Speer 200gr hollow points(the flying ashtrays), but it doesn't look pretty, it's not as accurate as my other 1911s, but it does have character from being well used. By well used I mean it's on it's second barrel and bushing that needed to be fitted in 97 or 98. I remember how it got the scratch on the side when it fell out of a crappy holster and hit the steel bed frame in our first home after getting married and living in Albuquerque. I remember saving for two months to have the Trijicon night sights installed in Albuquerque at a little hole in the wall shop. It's nothing special to anyone but me.

 

[wildrider666]

When you compare 1911's by price you must consider what your getting for the money.

Where was it made? Labor in the U.S. is more expensive then say IN the Philippines: where ARMSCOR Makes 1911's under their name AND makes Rock Island, Citadel, High Standards and Charles Daley. ARMSCORP is also partnered with STI (Spartan) and Para Ordnance (Para GI Expert). Shooters Arms Manufacturing (SAM) makes Century International Arms (CIA) and American Tactical Imports (ATI), and Metro Arms Corp (MAC) American Classic II and Firestorm DLX. Other countries producing 1911's may have lower or higher labor rates.

What material is the frame? Will a lighter Poly (yep there's one) Alloy or Alum work for you: Shoot a little and want a lighter 1911 go with that, or shoot a lot so with Steel and less perceived recoil. Is it cast, forged or milled. Are there any cheaper MIM parts or plastic parts (triggers and backstraps).

How close are the tolerances (sometimes to much of a good thing is bad) Are parts hand fitted or just assembled? Fit, Finish, Deburred? All stainless Guns run $100-$150 more then blue.

Research a lot before you buy. You can upgrade parts if desired but not all parts are inter-changeable and hand-fitting is often required.

Here is a link to some reviews in all price ranges.
http://www.1911addicts.com/showthread.php?511-Buyer-s-guide-for-all-you-1911-addicts