smith and wesson 1911

[FutureCop1]

Question: I was at the local gun store today and I saw a 1911 I think I am going to buy. Just wanted to get some info about it first, if anyone has any. It is a Smith and Wesson 1911 in charcol blue finish with bone grips. It also has a logo engraved on it. The guy at the gun store said it was from "nite site" which I have never heard of. It is the outline of an eagle, sound familiar to anyone?? Any way the gun is on consignment and it is beautiful. Does this sound like something anyone has seen or does the logo ring a bell????

Thanks,

[FutureCop1]

nevermind. I found it myself snooping around. It's Gunsite. Its the Smith and Wesson Gunsite 1911.

[Nightshift va]

Smith and Wesson was smart enough to hire a bunch of designers from Kimber when they started their 1911 line of handgun's with exception to the older 945 model 1911 which is simply a gem from the performance center group.
All I can tell you is I bought a simple model 1911 commander sized Sc which stands for "scandium frame" and it shoots like a competition target gun....it's awesome...I imagine any of their 1911's would be worth the purchase and you would be very happy with it's performance just as you would be a Kimber except with Smith you get the life time guarantee. I just won't pay 1k or more for a handgun. I got lucky and bought mine used from a acquaintance for $500

[FutureCop1]

Thanks for the info. As soon as the shop opens Monday, I am gonna go over and pick it up. It's pretty sweet!!

[WC145]

The S&W 1911s a really nice guns, you don't hear much about them because they work and work well. The Gunsite edition is a very nice piece, you'll have to post a range report.
I carry a S&W 1911 9mm Pro Series on duty, great gun, wicked fast and accurate.

[JasperST]

I wonder how the Kimber guys got the external extractor to work.

[fishAK]

I'm not knocking these at all, first of all, but the main reason I didn't buy one (I was recently buying) is because every one I looked at had a wiggly trigger. You could shake the gun and the trigger would rattle back and forth. That just worried me about build quality, so I went with something else.

I'm curious if you guys that own these have any issues with this?

[Nightshift va]

They come with match grade barrels and high quality parts..the rattling of the trigger is because the recoil spring is so freakin tight and there is such little tolerance in the moving action something has to move because everything else is too tight. You wan't to hear rattling take a GI model or well shot Government model and shake it the Browning design with the tilt barrel sounds like a rattle snake but has nothing to do with how well it performs. The biggest issue with most 1911's are the magazines and that can be overcome with Wilson combat mags or Mecgar or Chip MCcormick magazines.

[Hitthegym]

I personally can't wait to see how the new S&W E series is cause they look pretty darn cool. I've shot some SW1911 DK series guns and those things are badass.

[Bighead]

The Smith 1911PD Commander is also a Scandium allow frame gun, and is very similar to the Gunsite model, if you're looking for a slightly better price point.

Also, don't forget that Smith has good First Responder discounts, check out the prices at Buds Police Supply, ExpressGuns, or your local Smith & Wesson law enforcement dealer.

[fishAK]

I wonder how the Kimber guys got the external extractor to work.

By not having it....lol. My Pro Carry II is an internal extractor, unless I'm going crazy.

[WC145]

I'm not knocking these at all, first of all, but the main reason I didn't buy one (I was recently buying) is because every one I looked at had a wiggly trigger. You could shake the gun and the trigger would rattle back and forth. That just worried me about build quality, so I went with something else.

I'm curious if you guys that own these have any issues with this?

My S&W has the wiggly trigger, as does my friend's 1911PD, I guess it's pretty common with their guns. I called and asked S&W about it and was told it was a "floating trigger" I don't know if I buy that but I do know that the trigger pull on my gun is clean and crisp and you don't notice any movement shooting.

[fishAK]

My S&W has the wiggly trigger, as does my friend's 1911PD, I guess it's pretty common with their guns. I called and asked S&W about it and was told it was a "floating trigger" I don't know if I buy that but I do know that the trigger pull on my gun is clean and crisp and you don't notice any movement shooting.

I was about ten seconds from buying one, but that issue, and not knowing if it was quality control or supposed to be that way, kept me from doing it. That and the fact that the guy at the gun shop took the gun apart in an attempt to show me how easy it was, and then couldn't get the slide back on....lol. I just decided to take my business elsewhere at that point.

[SCV-Sop]

I called and asked S&W about it and was told it was a "floating trigger" I don't know if I buy that but I do know that the trigger pull on my gun is clean and crisp and you don't notice any movement shooting.

They are absolutely full of it. What it comes down to is taking the time to fit it properly or just grinding it down so you know it operates. They simply took more material that was needed than fitting it to the minimal friction and minimal slop sweat spot.

I’ve replaced 4 triggers (from long to short), and took the time to get the minimal slop without increasing friction between the trigger and frame. The first time I tried I ended up taking too much material off and it was sloppy. It worked all the same, but it was sloppy.

It doesn’t need to be like that, but it doesn’t function any worse. One can argue it produces less friction and less trigger pull. I like mine without slop, and I only give up maybe a 0.1 of an oz.

There’s also another challenge in the trigger bar clearance between the frame and magazine. More clearance on the frame produces drag on the magazine. More clearance on the magazine produced drag on the frame.

[1911user]

The unoffical scoop on the wiggly triggers is, the frames are milled slighly off and S&W won't change the tolerances. The new "E" series guns being produced in NH have new triggers, which have a thin PAD to take up the slop. I found it hard to believe myself, but heard it from a rep who was at our dept. range recently. I'm truly surprised at S&W for dropping the ball on this. Mill the dam frames right and fit the triggers and be done with it. It is a GREAT pistol.

Mine has the wiggly trigger, even after being worked by the Performance Center. The gun is super reliable and a joy to carry. The external extractor works and should not be a factor in ones purchase decision.