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Smith & Wesson 1911 Pro Series 9mm Feedback

And ofcourse a WC CQB Elite 9 mm is a dream - and I am living it despite being a lot, lot poorer as a result :)

But seriously having owned half a dozen of various style and makes - the S&W probably represents the vest value for the asking price in MA (that's the key here). The finish and quality is surprisingly good even in subtle ways (my pair was made in Springfield not the Midwest). I typically customize many internals. Did that in this case as well but the E series parts are still reasonable as bought. I like how they just threw us in a couple of WC ETD mags rather than some piss poor mags like Colt. And while the giamundo external extractor is a deviation from the traditional - it takes out the one of weaker points in the original 1911 design. This extractor (much better built than competing gimmicky internal ones like Aftec) should last a long time and is easier to maintain. And the barrel - slide - frame fit is solid, better than the rattling Colt but easier than the death grip Les Baer. The Cocobolo grips are understated but wow - much nicer in feel than any other factory grips I have owned.

if there was a gripe - it's common to many factory 1911's. Boy it's not easy to figure out or find choices of sights that can work. You need an LGS in most cases to fit. On my pair, I luckily found a front fiber which the LGS adjusted to fit. We then blackened out the rear and widened it just a tad to get a great sight pic.
 
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The aftec is not a gimmick. It works very well, especially on guns that get shot 25k plus a year

Glad to hear about your positive experience. On a custom 38 super full size build with a Caspian frame and slide, I went through 5 months of agony to fix an intermittent (not frequent or predictable) issue of extraction, which would then cause a jam. The LGS who built it (an expert for sure) tried a few times to try and fix the issue and I kept going back and forth for a few months between his shop and the range. I finally took it to Lou at BEC. After some very patient work Lou diagnosed the issue - bad design of at least the Aftec I had. He threw it away, put in an traditional EGW, tuned me a spare, and zero issues for last several thousand rounds!
 
Kinda off subject but not really. I recently bought a unfired Springfield Armory 9mm 1911 that was made in 1986. The front sight is staked. I want to change the sights but need a front sight channel cut for the sights that I want. Dave Santouri said that he will mill the front sight channel for the sights that I want for $40.00. Seems to me that he could remill the sight channels on a Smith and Wesson Pro Series 9mm to accommodate for a change of sights as well.
 
Glad to hear about your positive experience. On a custom 38 super full size build with a Caspian frame and slide, I went through 5 months of agony to fix an intermittent (not frequent or predictable) issue of extraction, which would then cause a jam. The LGS who built it (an expert for sure) tried a few times to try and fix the issue and I kept going back and forth for a few months between his shop and the range. I finally took it to Lou at BEC. After some very patient work Lou diagnosed the issue - bad design of at least the Aftec I had. He threw it away, put in an traditional EGW, tuned me a spare, and zero issues for last several thousand rounds!


Glad the egw worked out. Lou does good work
 
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Kinda off subject but not really. I recently bought a unfired Springfield Armory 9mm 1911 that was made in 1986. The front sight is staked. I want to change the sights but need a front sight channel cut for the sights that I want. Dave Santouri said that he will mill the front sight channel for the sights that I want for $40.00. Seems to me that he could remill the sight channels on a Smith and Wesson Pro Series 9mm to accommodate for a change of sights as well.

yes that works for the front.
 
Do you recommend an aftec on a built to spec new gun, or a standard extractor?

I personally like the aftec, I know a couple of gunsmiths that say why replace 1 part with 4, But the aftec are pretty much set and forget until the springs wear out. Regular extractors do need maintenance. Not a big deal to do while practicing. But in one case I wasn't getting good extraction during a match, so I increased the tension, but went to far and had a lot of issues on the next stage. Obviously my fault, but with an aftec, I would have just needed to add new springs and the tension would be just want it needs to be
 
From a fellow NES'er

View attachment 130698

I am just going to fondle it for a while.

You made a wise choice! I owned two of the S&W 9mm Pro's, one with adjustable rear sight and the other fixed. They were both incredibly well fit, very smooth, wonderful triggers, extremely reliable and very accurate. But the "High End" 1911 bug bit me hard and I sold them both.........I now have two Wilson Combat 9mm 1911's and they are awesome but I should have held onto the S&W's.
 
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