S&W 1911

[Guest pherman926]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a 4" 1911 for daily carry. I had a Springfield Compact LW but it was destroyed when my home burned down and they don't make them anymore and seem to be hard to find now-a-days.

So, I'm considering the Commander sized S&W 1911 PD. Anyone have any experience with this gun or any of the S&W 1911s?

Thanks for the help.

Paul

[Donnie]

Yep. I've shot a 5" S&W (mine) and a friend's Commander length SC. They're good guns and I've yet to have any problems with mine, though I've only got about a hundred rounds through it. His Scandium framed commander is very light compared to my Stainless framed 5" and he's had it for a couple years without any problems. He has an extended barrel on his and has a supressor for it as well. The only problems he has ever had is when the supressor is mounted up and the slide doesn't want to lock back on the last shot.

[Marswolf]

I know this is going to sound stupid from a guy who buys Wilson Combat 1911s and who carries H&Ks, but I have a suggestion if you insist on carrying a 1911 (I wouldn't).

Rock Island makes a very reasonably priced 1911 in Commander size. I've owned one and several of my LE friends have bought them just to plink around with. We found them surprisingly accurate and reliable. One of my buddies and I like to do pistol practice at targets 100 yards away. We did very well with the Rock Island, especially considering the bullet drop in 45 ACP.

They are not super-customizable. A lot of standard 1911 parts won't fit, so you are pretty much stuck with what comes on the gun.

It might not give you any bragging rights, but it is fine as a carry gun in a 1911 style, and if you left it in the car and it got stolen, you wouldn't cry too much.

[Donnie]

I know this is going to sound stupid from a guy who buys Wilson Combat 1911s and who carries H&Ks, but I have a suggestion if you insist on carrying a 1911 (I wouldn't).

Rock Island makes a very reasonably priced 1911 in Commander size. I've owned one and several of my LE friends have bought them just to plink around with. We found them surprisingly accurate and reliable. One of my buddies and I like to do pistol practice at targets 100 yards away. We did very well with the Rock Island, especially considering the bullet drop in 45 ACP.

They are not super-customizable. A lot of standard 1911 parts won't fit, so you are pretty much stuck with what comes on the gun.

It might not give you any bragging rights, but it is fine as a carry gun in a 1911 style, and if you left it in the car and it got stolen, you wouldn't cry too much.

+1 on the Rock Island 1911s

The friend of mine that has the Commander sized SC runs a gun shop down here in Winchester. He sells all the Rock Islands that he can get his hands on and actually prefers them to the "mil-spec" versions of some of the bigger names like Colt and Springfield. They are a great bang for the buck gun.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

Havent really shot one, but they have great reviews.

[Guest Jason F.]

I have a Charles Daly compact that is from the same family (Armscor) as the Rock Island stuff. It has been a very nice gun. I have 200 or so rounds through it and it had 300 through it with a previous owner. It has not failed to feed or eject with any of the ammo I have feed it. Seems to have great fit and finish, not $1000 dollar custom gun fit and finish but good.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

Nice gun as well Jason.

[Marswolf]

Yeah, that looks nice.

I've never shot a Charles Daly, but have a very gun knowledgeable friend who makes custom 1911 gun grips for a living who loves them.

One thing we all did was change the grips to Pachmayr 1911 Rosewood Grips with Decelerator Rubber as shown in this link. It's not on a Rock Island, but you can get the idea. For some reason, I can't get it to come up as an image on this post, although it works as an image link on my other home gun board.

http://image.sportsmansguide.com/dimage/55613m2_ts.JPG?cell=320,320&cvt=jpeg

[Guest GlocKingTN]

My understanding is that Charles Daly guns are descent guns. I know the shotguns are. And not too bad expensive either.

[TGO David]

Back before I bought my Kimber, the guys at Franklin Gun Shop had recommended the S&W 1911s to me as an option. From what I have read, they are very good quality guns.

I just still have a mental stigma about S&W because of the way that they caved to anti-gun groups in the 1990s under previous management. It's really hard for me to get excited about their products anymore.

[molonlabetn]

Based on my limited experience with S&W 1911s, I consider them to be of slightly superior quality than most comperable Kimber and even some Springfield 1911s.

I'm holding out for a Dan Wesson Razorback, myself...

Charles Daly makes some fine pistols, not quite in the same league as the more main-stream makers, but still un-questioningly shootable and carry-worthy. RIA is hit and miss... I've seen some which functioned fine with any ammo, even SWC, and I've heard of a few which barely fed ball ammo reliably.

But, that's neither here nor there... A S&W 1911 PD Commander would be an excellent choice for carry, no question. Certainly very competently crafted 1911s.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

I have only heard good stuff about S&W. My buddy just traded his S&W for that XD357 because he wanted something different. It wasnt a thing wrong with it at all. Actually he qualified for the THCP with it. He shot 100%!

[Marswolf]

The S&W caving happened when they were owned by the British. Now that they are back in American hands, I can forgive them.

What I have a problem with is the New Jersey SW99 (I think it was the 99) scandal that led to an officer's death when the gun jammed. NJ quickly canceled the contract and got rid of the guns.

Guess that isn't fair to the other S&W pistols but if that's their design and QC, I'm a little nervous about them.

[Guest Loaded247]

I got a chance to shoot the SW1911 when I was up at the S&W Academy. I was VERY impressed with it.

Last year, my boss and I went through a course with Tom Givens at RangeMaster. My boss used his Kimber first, which kept giving him fits, so he switched to his SW1911, and was able to complete the course with NO issues at all......

I feel that when it comes to 1911 style pistols, the SW1911 is a very good choice.

[Guest RN MEDIC]

A good friend of mine who has been a FFL dealer for decades, and was a REAL MARINE gunnery sergent for years said he bought some for his shop when they first came out. Soon a friend bought one so they went and shot it. Not only did it look very well made, but it shot very very well. My friend has sold several of them and each buyer has been very well pleased with it. About a year or so ago, I bought a good Kimber Eclipse new from that dealer, but if he'd had a S & W in stock then, I'd probably have bought that as it would have been about $350 or so cheaper.

Everyone has their own opinions, and mine is that I've bought that .45 for defense, not to try to put all the bullets in the same hole on a ransom rest. The Smith will give very adequate accuracy for defense, and that's all most of us want anyway. If extreme accuracy is desired, a Model 41 S & W in .22 caliber is better anyway.

The Smith is in my view a well built gun that shoots well enough for defense. It's not a "Wilson Combat" and neither is the Kimber, but it doesn't cost like a Wilson either.

Respectfully, RN

[Guest db99wj]

I have a Charles Daly compact that is from the same family (Armscor) as the Rock Island stuff. It has been a very nice gun. I have 200 or so rounds through it and it had 300 through it with a previous owner. It has not failed to feed or eject with any of the ammo I have feed it. Seems to have great fit and finish, not $1000 dollar custom gun fit and finish but good.

You mind me asking, about what you paid for the bad boy? Where?

I like it. I've heard they shoot well, are reliable and priced decently.

[Guest Jason F.]

I acquired it from an individual here in the Nashville area.

It has been a nice addition to the arsenal and well worth it even at the cost of a new one. What I would like to have is the Charles Daly Empire Custom Match Target model but it is not in the budget right now.

[Guest db99wj]

Ohhh, that's kinda cute in a full size hunk of steel that spits a fireball with another hunk of metal in the middle of it kinda way.

[Guest GlocKingTN]

I like the looks of it if nothing else.