I was recently loaned this Smith & Wesson 1911 for a review, and have spent the last few weeks inspecting, carrying, and shooting it. I came away with one big reservation, but overall, a positive opinion of the pistol. It – and the other E series 1911s from S&W, all of which cost less than this tricked-out model – should bring some much-needed quality competition to the factory production 1911 market.
Also, please read Hilton Yam’s review of a similar pistol, which goes into more detail, and comes from the mind of an experienced 1911 gunsmith.
Dude, you’re the best narrator in the gun blogosphere… keep it up.
Thank you very much sir!
Grenade launcher? I’m disappointed to see an external extractor, mostly from the traditionalist point of view, which I know, contradicts with me being ok with the ambi-safety, melonite finish and so forth. Additionally, its pinning has the potential to affect reliability. Would a spring/roll pin fix that problem?
It looks like a nice pistol, but I’m not sure that it offers any significant advantages over similarly-priced pistols, like Springfield’s TRP, aside from the external extractor. And, some folks would consider an external extractor to be a step backwards despite it’s drop-in virtue.
The real game-changer may be Ruger’s SR1911–it offers a good set of basic features, in what appears to be a pretty reliable package, at a dramatically lower price than anyone else. It takes advantage of new materials and processes that no one else does. It’ll take a few years for folks to work it over and find any flaws, though. IMHO, it seems to be the closest thing to a 21st century 1911.
I wonder if even the SR1911, though, will ever be as robust and accurate as a Glock, M&P, etc.
I am getting ready to buy an E-Series and was not aware of the extractor pin situation. Thank you for the heads up; definatly something to keep my eye on. (potential recall fix down the road?)
I’m a big fan of your blog and your work with The Firearms Blog and Guns for Sale.
Hilton Yam just noted over at 10-8 that S&W seems to be addressing the problem.
Thanks! I hope you win the Gear Reviews “Gunnie” – can’t say the same about the “Up and Comer” one 😉
I to am interested in the E series, particularly the Commander length with the bobbed grip. If S&W corrects the extractor pin problem it looks to be a fine piece. Good review!
It’d be interesting to see how the sig tacops would compare to this…I hope sig send you one to review!
Hilton Yam also commented positively on the external extractor here:
http://10-8performance.blogspot.com/2011/04/external-extractors-and-1911s.html
Might be hard to holster a grenade launcher 🙂 Thanks for the review!