I blame glennp for this purchase...after shooting his SW1911, I decided I had to get my own! So here it is, SW1911 sku # 108309, titanium firing pin (no FPB safety!), Melonite finish, in .45 ACP, made in Houlton, Maine, USA. I picked it up from Jim Flynn's shop, he's a fantastic guy to deal with!

 

I had a bit of a hard time deciding between this model and the basic SW1911 (108285). Although this one has the FCS, which I'm not a fan of, it's got a nice black/blue Melonite finish and no FPB to deal with. I've cleaned her up after bringing her home but haven't been to the range yet. I'm planning to go tonight, so I'll post back a range report soon enough.

 

Enough talk, here are the pics!

 

External extractor - yes!

 

Other than the "Warning pistol will fire with magazine removed", the roll marks are done very tastefully.

 

Slide to frame fit is outstanding!

 

Here she is in the nude - ready for her first good cleaning!

 

Nice finish on the inside of the frame - no rough tooling marks.

Wow, that's a REALLY nice looking gun. I love the finish on it too.

Yet another fine 1911.

Sweet. Congrats and NJOY!

Wow, sweet looking 1911! Congrats, man!

 

Yeah, I hear ya... Glenn did the same thing to me me too. He let me shoot his 1911 at SCFGPA and now I'm probably looking at getting something from the S&W 1911 lineup, soon!

 

My wallet is hating you, Glenn! LOL! Just kidding, man!

Wow, that's a REALLY nice looking gun. I love the finish on it too.

 

I agree! When you see the picture on S&W's website, it doesn't do it any justice. Looking at these pics, I'm REALLY liking the finish on this pistol.

Pretty. Have fun with it.

awesome 1911, enjoy it!

ohhhhhhhhh...... nice

S&W's 1911 are really nice. Good luck with it/

 

 

If it wasn't for that (no offense) ugly exterior ejector I'd be looking at a new Smith 1911.

Your's has that nice finish that I've seen on the older 4 digit auto's they used to make, looks nice.

If it wasn't for that (no offense) ugly exterior ejector I'd be looking at a new Smith 1911.

 

 

Come on Ray Ray, what have you got against External Extractors (assume that's what you meant)? Even JMB realized this shortcoming and corrected it with his next masterpiece - the Browning High Power. Kimber has been the only manufacturer not to be able to get it to work (so they threw up their hands and went back to the internal type). IMHO, I don't care which a gun has, as long as it works.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

The external extractor is simply evolution. If the original model is always the best, then why dont we use m16a1s anymore?

 

tsk tsk

The melonite finish gives it a rather modern look. I like it.

FCS? FPB?

FCS? FPB?

 

FPB = Firing Pin Block

 

FCS = Not sure

FCS? FPB?

 

Sorry to throw out acronyms...shame on me

 

FCS == Front Cocking Serrations - keep your hands away from the muzzle!

 

FPB == Firing Pin Block (such as used in many modern day semi-autos)

So did you shoot it yet?

If it wasn't for that (no offense) ugly exterior ejector I'd be looking at a new Smith 1911.

Your's has that nice finish that I've seen on the older 4 digit auto's they used to make, looks nice.

 

Yeah, it's a bit of a diversion for traditionalists, but I'm of the opinion that if it works, it's all good. Smith knows how to make these external extractors work, it's what they've been doing for years on all of their semi-autos. Frankly, I'd be more leery if all of a sudden S&W decided to go down the internal extractor path. While not as simple to remove as an internal extractor, they're still pretty easy to remove and replace if needed.

So did you shoot it yet?

 

No, went last night and the range was packed...pie plate shoot or something like that going on. Tonight is IDPA practice so range is closed. I'm gonna try to head over there on Thu evening around 8.

No, went last night and the range was packed...pie plate shoot or something like that going on. Tonight is IDPA practice so range is closed. I'm gonna try to head over there on Thu evening around 8.

 

Give us a full report once you get back from teh range! Would like to know your impressions on how it shoots.

Once again +1 to the smith guns.

 

I like the external extractor... I think it looks nicer... but in any case... in the thousands, probably 5k rounds through mine, not one FTE.

Ok so how come no FPB on this one? I like the look of it - even with the FCS.

Ok so how come no FPB on this one? I like the look of it - even with the FCS.

 

 

If I'm not mistaken, it's because it has a titanium firing pin. A titanium firing pin does not have enough mass to overcome the FP spring in the event of a drop so a FPB becomes unnecessary. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

Can someone please explain to me the pros and cons of having an external extractor oppose to an internal and vice versa? I love the S&W 1911 but a friend told me to stay away from this particular 1911 because of the external extractor.

Can someone please explain to me the pros and cons of having an external extractor oppose to an internal and vice versa? I love the S&W 1911 but a friend told me to stay away from this particular 1911 because of the external extractor.

 

I would not take what your friend says seriously. Listen to those who actually own the gun:

 

in the thousands, probably 5k rounds through mine, not one FTE.

Ok so how come no FPB on this one? I like the look of it - even with the FCS.

 

Smith is going the route of using lighter weight titanium firing pins + extra power firing pin spring to pass some state's (i.e. CA, MA) drop safety requirements instead of using a FPB like they did in all of their past models. Less mass of the firing pin == less chance of it hitting the primer hard enough to set off a chambered round if dropped. All of their new Enhanced series 1911s do away with the grip activated FPB safety too. Makes the mechanism simpler and less prone to failure. There are some reports out there of timing issues with grip activated safeties where you can depress the grip safety in such a way that allows the trigger to move, but doesn't lift the FPB out of the way...you can imagine what the result of this is...click!

 

Just a side note, some folks don't like Ti firing pins as they say there is a larger chance of a light primer strike. If that's the case, then you can simply replace the Ti fp with a standard steel one. These would use the "70-series" style pins.

Good info. Thanks!

 

I actually really really like the look of that 1911. I'm actually tempted to get one...

Can someone please explain to me the pros and cons of having an external extractor oppose to an internal and vice versa? I love the S&W 1911 but a friend told me to stay away from this particular 1911 because of the external extractor.

 

Not sure if there are really pros and cons...if the extractor works, then it doesn't matter where it's mounted, right? The original 1911 design uses an internal extractor. Reading up on some history, this was done primarily for the reason that it's easier to field strip - remember these were made for use in a war zone, so cleaning and fast tool-less take down were essential. An external extractor requires you to punch out the pin holding it in place, thus you need to use a tool.