S&W M&P 1911

[BakoJ]

Hello fellow CGers! I've tried searching to no avail. Does anyone here have any experience, thoughts or reviews on the Smith & Wesson 1911? I'm becoming a S&W guy and think that I'd like this for my next handgun, pending good feedback. It seems like they may be hard to find. I haven't seen any at my LGS, I bet it isn't on roster.

[saudadeii]

There's no such thing as an M&P 1911. Perhaps that's why you can't find one. There are plenty of SW1911's on roster. Go check it out.

[Old4eyes]

Smith has brought out a new line of 1911's which will not be on the roster. You'll have to do a SSE to obtain one of those. They still supposedly make some of the older line of which some are on the roster.

The older line is reliable out of the box. Two things that are troublesome are triggers that have a fair amount of horizontal play and soft thumb safety. Smith has their own variation of the Swartz firing pin safety (grip rather than trigger activated) and some feel that it is a failure waiting to happen. I've got a steel and alloy frame of the older series, no problems.

The new line has a larger external extractor, eliminated the Swartz FPS with a titanium firing pin and stronger spring. If you look at the Smith section of the 1911 forum you'll see what appears to be teething problems with the new line. I can't say that after you've added the cost of SSE to one if it would be a better bargain over a Springfield.

[Sentenza]

Which new line is this? the 1911e line has been pretty rare, at least in my town.

SSE'd my 1911e earlier this year. Put 1k+ rounds through with with only a couple FTF issues. I've just polished the feed ramp a bit, and will see how that goes. Had zero extraction issues so in my experience, the SW external extractor is G2G.

Hilton Yam identified some issues on early 1911e's, and many of those have been corrected: http://10-8performance.blogspot.com/...ed-review.html

My big issues with my 1911e is the all-steel weight and that it's "ooo, shiny" and tend to baby it a bit.



-S

[BakoJ]

There's no such thing as an M&P 1911. Perhaps that's why you can't find one. There are plenty of SW1911's on roster. Go check it out.

Yeah I messed up when creating the thread title. I'm on Tapatalk so I can't seem to change it.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

[timbo399]

First handgun I ever bought was an SW1911. That was 5 years ago. Since then, it has never once had a ftf or fte, has gone bang every time I pull the trigger w all types of ammo including all HP's have tried. And I don't clean it religiously. Very accurate too. Love it and is why keep it as my primary HD handgun loaded w Spear Gold Dot 230 gr HP's. Never had any work done on it and only handgun I own that has never had a misfire. And still using the same 2 old ACT mags it came with. I do have a bunch of Chip McCormick Powermags as backup but haven't even used them yet.

It is true there is a bit of trigger movement, and when I bought it before I took it to the range I was kicking myself because as a first handgun I figured I should have gotten a Glock and kept it simple instead of a more high maintenance 1911. But has turned out to be my most favorite handgun I own hands down.

[theneko]

My friend has a "E" series S&W and he really loves it. I have shot it and was super accurate with it. Alas its not on the roster.

[wamphyri13]

I like the S&W 1911. I got mine (railed version) a few years ago when it was on the roster. Then I sent it out to Dave Severns for a few custom touches.
Before: (with S&W's rattle can trigger)


And after Dave Severns:



Ryan

[BakoJ]

Wow nice!

[BakoJ]

Walked into a LGS today that I had never been in. They're a pretty cool place with a nice range and a decent selection. What's sitting in the cabinet, right next to the same RIA that I put in jail last last week? Yep, a stainless S&W 1911. It's twice the price of the RIA. But it's fit and finish were waaaay better. Now if have to decide... Christmas for the kids or a shiny new 1911 for dad. Tough choice...

[trigger945]

Get it now!

You still have over two months to save up for Christmas presents.

[BakoJ]

Get it now!

You still have over two months to save up for Christmas presents.

I like your way of thinking!

[fmunk]

No such thing as 1911 in the M&P series. S&W's 1911 are as good as any. There were some problems with the extractor pin backing out and making contact with the frame, thus causing damage. This was caused by the pin not being staked at the factory. I believe that was years ago and has been addressed.

[heidad01]

Any of the SW 1911s are fine and way above a RIA. That is why the smithy is twice the price and well worth it.

[tacticalcity]

You can find deals on used ones on Gunbroker if you look hard enough. I remember almost nabbing one for under $400. The winning bidder paid $425. It was in almost new condition.