Is the SW1911 9mm pro series worth the $$$

92G · May 30, 2015

I am in the market for a 9mm 1911. Mostly just as range toy and target shooting....maybe competitive down the road.

is the SW1911 9mm pro series worth the $$? They sell for approx $1400, which for this kind of cash I can get a Dan Wesson, performance series S&W or top end Sig 1911. Or go cheap w a RIA 9mm for like $650.

i am wondering from those of you w experience on the Sw1911 9mm pro series, is it worth the price?

my question is not about S&W 1911's in general obviously theyre well built and super accurate. I am specifically asking about their 9mm pro series.

thx in advance.

mikelawtown · May 30, 2015

Why not the Springfield Range Officer? I have one and it's awesome imop. Super accurate and trig is like butter.

NHAtHeart · May 30, 2015

mikelawtown said:
Why not the Springfield Range Officer? I have one and it's awesome imop. Super accurate and trig is like butter.

Second the Springfield, I have their base model .45 1911 and it's fantastic. Good gun for the money.

mikelawtown · May 30, 2015

I bought mine just for a Range Gun (hence the 9mm)and have to say it really shoots great and recoil on the 9 is like a 22..LOL..
I just had Lou install a Dawson Precision front sight as that's all I think it needed to be perfect. My eyes aren't getting any better.
I bought the Wilson Combat Mags for it also which are awesome.

JoeyD · May 30, 2015

I can't imagine it will improve your shooting over a non pro series.

TheQuag · May 30, 2015

just got mine from IDC for abt $1200, $1400 sounds high I love it was thinking abt an STI but thatwas 2K so its all relative

boiler_eng · May 30, 2015

mikelawtown said:
Why not the Springfield Range Officer? I have one and it's awesome imop. Super accurate and trig is like butter.

If only I knew where to get a Springfield Range Officer in MA ....

Supermoto · May 30, 2015

STI trojan is a better gun in the price range, as is a DW.

highlander · May 30, 2015

I own one and I'm quite pleased with it. Fully supported chamber and it has fed both factory and all my handloads some of which have some pretty strange looking cast bullets. Pistol is as accurate as I can shoot. The other pistols are probably as good or better than the Smith but are they available at your local FFL. If they aren't you'll have to go the private sale route and you'll pay top dollar for them. If you're in the area of Cape Ann or Mass Rifle I'd be willing to let you try mine.

glockerblogger · May 30, 2015

Now we are talking. I have owned the pro 1911 9 mm, other 1911 9 mm's (curently have a WC CQB Elite)... If you are willing to spend a couple hundred more, I would strongly recommend a CZ Tactical Sport in 9 mm. I have dry fired it a few times and own its close cousin - Czechmate, and these are simply amazing. A quasi 1911 (series 70 style) but with a bunch of CZ innovations including how the frame is set up for a more natural grip. You can get 10 rd mags for MA.

kelton · May 30, 2015

I have Pro Series in .45 that I didn't realize how nice it was to field strip until I bought a Ruger CMD.

mark056 · May 30, 2015

If you want a Browning designed (although he didn't finish the final design) single action 9mm in a platform designed around that cartridge don't forget the Browning Hi Power available on the used market with plenty of pre ban mags. A very elegant pistol with no grip safety.

*chris* · May 30, 2015

I had one for a while and the 9mm cartridge is boring in a full-size stainless 1911 frame in my opinion. I much prefer a Glock 17 or a S&W M&P in 9mm. If you want a premium 9mm, maybe you should take a look at the SIG P226 or P239.

Regarding competition, check what others are shooting, outside of the 9mm stock classes, shooters are using double stack 9mm so you could be at a huge disadvantage.

Chris

eisenhow · May 30, 2015

I

*chris* said:
Regarding competition, check what others are shooting, outside of the 9mm stock classes, shooters are using double stack 9mm so you could be at a huge disadvantage.

Chris

There are lots of places a 9mm 1911 works for competition. I have an STI Spartan but they stopped making them. An STI Trojan is comparable to S&W in price if you can find someone to transfer.

Good for IDPA ESP (10 rd max)
Good for USPSA SIngle Stack minor (10 rd max minor, probably better off shooting 40 or 45 major 8)
Walls of steel stock auto (10 rd max)
Steel challenge (5 shot minimum strings)

Supermoto · May 30, 2015

eisenhow said:
I

There are lots of places a 9mm 1911 works for competition. I have an STI Spartan but they stopped making them. An STI Trojan is comparable to S&W in price if you can find someone to transfer.

Good for IDPA ESP (10 rd max)
Good for USPSA SIngle Stack minor (10 rd max minor, probably better off shooting 40 or 45 major 8)
Walls of steel stock auto (10 rd max)
Steel challenge (5 shot minimum strings)

Yep, there really isn't any competition other than 3 gun that shoots double stack 9mm minor

TheQuag · May 30, 2015

Somebody PMed me; IDC IS IDC firearms I bought my SW 1911 9mm pro there,

they are also the new exclusive dealer in Mass for STI, they got a bunch of SS and DS 1911/2011 thru the AG as target pistols so if have the money 2K and up go for it ask for Alex

btnh6668 · May 31, 2015

Been wanting a 1911 9mm but i just cant justify spending 800+ for a 9mm range gun.

DW357 · May 31, 2015

I love mine. Very accurate and the overall finish on the gun is nice too. Never shot a STI or a DW but I'm sure they're just as nice if not better.

mikelawtown · May 31, 2015

btnh6668 said:
Been wanting a 1911 9mm but i just cant justify spending 800+ for a 9mm range gun.

But people will pay 700 for a plastic G17. Lol. I paid 750 OTD for my range officer.

Kevski · May 31, 2015

I wanted one of these firearms for a long time and finally purchased one. I was very disappointed with it and got rid of it within a month - the smith 9mm 1911 is not worth the money in my opinion.

Maybe I got a lousy one - but I let others with more experience on the 1911 platform shoot it and they didn't like it either.

I have heard the range officer is a better option

DW357 · May 31, 2015

Kevski said:
I wanted one of these firearms for a long time and finally purchased one. I was very disappointed with it and got rid of it within a month - the smith 9mm 1911 is not worth the money in my opinion.

Maybe I got a lousy one - but I let others with more experience on the 1911 platform shoot it and they didn't like it either.

I have heard the range officer is a better option

Not to start a huge debate, but I was just curious why you were disappointed with this gun? I've had mine for a little over 2 years with no issues so far. The only thing I didn't like was some tooling marks inside the chamber area of the slide. Other than that it shoots great.

Knob Creek · May 31, 2015

I picked up a gently used one for less money. Took it to the range and and ran a couple mags through it to try it out. Then shot the entire match with it. Thing ran like a sewing machine and was dead on accurate.

tuna · May 31, 2015

Can't warm up to smiths anymore. Last one I owned (not a 1911) was a turd, and customer service sucked.

Kevski · May 31, 2015

andrew1220 said:
Not to start a huge debate, but I was just curious why you were disappointed with this gun? I've had mine for a little over 2 years with no issues so far. The only thing I didn't like was some tooling marks inside the chamber area of the slide. Other than that it shoots great.

It is an absolutely beautiful firearm in my opinion which I really wanted to love but just couldn't. I had a Smith and Wesson E series in the past which I really liked and shot really well. I was struggling to put any sort of decent grouping together with this - and so were some really good shooters at some of my local clubs.

Prior to this, I had a Sig 226 which I shot really well and sold off. I guess I expected more out of the firearm for the high price. I think I figured I would be able to shoot this about "$500 better" than my Sig 226 which was not the case at all. I ended up eating a $500 lunch and brought it back to where I bought it and told them I wanted to swap even for a Sig 226 which has been great. Below is a typical grouping at 50' with my P226 - I never even came close to anything like this with the SW 1911 9mm.

I won't bash Smith though they make some outstanding revolvers, and I enjoyed my E Series, but in my opinion I don't think this piece is worth the higher price tag than the e series or performance center models.

dcmdon · May 31, 2015

I can't comment on the others, but I have a Dan Wesson Pointman 9 and am very very happy with it.

It is extremely accurate and has a better trigger than any Wilson, Nighthawk, or Les Baer I've owned.

If the OP can make it to Woburn, I'd be happy to let him try it.

Regardless of what gun you end up with, there is only one mag to use with it in my humble opinion. Thats the Dawson Precision 10 round mag.

Don

p.s. Here's mine with a set of Les Baer hand cut wood grips. I prefer magwell style grips that don't have the beveled base or cutout for the mainspring housing pin.

Here it is with the stock grips wit the horrible pressed in "checkering". Thats a Dawson Precision 10 round mag sticking out the bottom. I'm left handed so it went back to the CZ Custom shop shortly after this picture for an ambi safety.

SJan · May 31, 2015

Supermoto said:
Yep, there really isn't any competition other than 3 gun that shoots double stack 9mm minor

who needs Major when you shoot all A's........... you do shoot all A's, don't you?

glockerblogger said:
If you are willing to spend a couple hundred more, I would strongly recommend a CZ Tactical Sport in 9 mm. I have dry fired it a few times and own its close cousin - Czechmate, and these are simply amazing. A quasi 1911 (series 70 style) but with a bunch of CZ innovations including how the frame is set up for a more natural grip. You can get 10 rd mags for MA.

I wouldn't consider the CZ tactical sport and chechmate to be "A quasi 1911"

dcmdon · May 31, 2015

SJan said:
I wouldn't consider the CZ tactical sport and chechmate to be "A quasi 1911"

I agree. Its based on the CZ75. It looks very sexy. A friend had a Tangofolio race gun, also based on the CZ75. He liked it. I never shot it.

mikelawtown · May 31, 2015

squib, I can meet if you want to try mine.

92G · May 31, 2015

Hey thx everyone I ended up acquiring a SW1911 9mm pro series and shot ~150 rds tonight. Incredibly easy gun to shoot....am impressed. My only complaint is grip safety feels stiff and twice i shifted my grip gun wouldnt fire until i repositioned...never had that issue w a 1911 before. Can i swap out a spring or some way to make the grip safety engage easier?

i changed the grips over to thinner magpul variety that I prefer on most 1911's....cant really imagine this would be source of issue.

glockerblogger · May 31, 2015

Squib308 said:
Hey thx everyone I ended up acquiring a SW1911 9mm pro series and shot ~150 rds tonight. Incredibly easy gun to shoot....am impressed. My only complaint is grip safety feels stiff and twice i shifted my grip gun wouldnt fire until i repositioned...never had that issue w a 1911 before. Can i swap out a spring or some way to make the grip safety engage easier?

i changed the grips over to thinner magpul variety that I prefer on most 1911's....cant really imagine this would be source of issue.

you can do 2 things- check "1911forum" for lots of detailed info, pics

1. Lighten up the grip safety (right arm of the 3 prong spring) by tweaking it

2. In addition, tweak the grip safety engagement arm so it activates at the minimal push in

Is the SW1911 9mm pro series worth the $$$

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