Hickok45 height
After 92 years, the classic John Browning design for a semiautomatic pistol still remains one of the most popular.
Used smith and wesson 1911: I hate cheap guns. Because no one has yet developed a better design! I fired everything from lightweight hollow points to military hardball to target wadcutters through the SW Originally Posted by kaaskop
The basic design has been built by the millions for both military and civilian use in several different countries, and by countless manufacturers. It has been manufactured by some of the largest gun makers, and also in several small one-man shops. An entire cottage industry has emerged and prospered just to service the custom parts market.
It is the most popular pistol design used in the fast-action pistol shooting games, and also continues to dominate bullseye target shooting.
The tide of popularity of the has receded and swollen over the years, but it is now more popular than ever. Aside from the tremendous popularity of the design among competitive shooters, many elite law enforcement units have also adopted the as their primary fighting pistol. Why, after all these years, do so many prefer the old slab-sided warhorse as their pistol of choice?
Because no one has yet developed a better design!
In the late s and s, the high-capacity auto pistol was going strong. It seemed as if every pistol factory in the world was cranking out a nine millimeter pistol that would hold almost half a box of ammo in the magazine. Then, with the passing of the magazine capacity limitation of ten rounds, suddenly the modern "wonder nines" lost much of their appeal.
Shooters soon realized that they would prefer to carry eight or nine s instead of eleven 9mm cartridges. This has led to a proliferation of choices in a style pistol, and with competition, the quality keeps getting better.
One of the finest pistols yet produced is the subject of this article: the Smith & Wesson SW
S&W has produced several great auto pistol designs for many decades, and even has an excellent double-action auto pistol, but this is their first entry into the true pistol market, and it appears that they got it right.
These days, competition in the market is fierce, and if you don’t build it right, shooters will buy elsewhere.
This was not always the case. I remember that back in the ‘70s and 80s, shooters would plunk down several hundred dollars for a new Colt ACP, and then go spend another couple of hundred dollars to make the thing work reliably with modern ammunition. After that, another hundred bucks for a decent set of sights resulted in a fine weapon.
Standard pistolsmithing packages included tuning the extractor, opening the ejection port, throating and polishing the barrel and feed ramp, and replacing the barrel bushing and maybe the springs on a new Government model, along with a trigger job and new sights. It was pretty easy to end up with over a thousand bucks in your new Colt, and this was back when a new pickup truck was under dollars.
Shooters today looking for a new have it much better.
A new single action auto can be purchased that is entirely reliable and accurate right out of the box, as is exemplified by this new SW from Smith & Wesson.
The SW is a true design, with a couple of improvements. The most noticeable change is that of the extractor design. The Smith uses an external pinned extractor in place of the internal design of the original.
When properly tuned, the "classic" style internal extractor works great, but can give feeding problems if not set up properly.
Smith and wesson 1911 hickok45 biography Remember Me? Mike, SC Hunter Member. I'm not a glock fan. Similar Threads.I have experienced this myself. I once had a A1 that drove me crazy with feeding problems until I finally figured out that the extractor was the culprit. The external extractor on the SW is an improvement over the earlier design. Before some of you want to slay me for blasphemy, remember that John Browning himself abandoned the internal extractor in his later pistol designs, in favor of the external extractor.
Another unique feature of the SW is the use of a firing pin blocking automatic safety.
Smith and wesson 1911 revolver The primary changes between the two are often difficult to spot. All rights reserved. Sig P mec-gar mags work too. I have experienced stove pipes, failure to feeds, double feeds.Colt tried a similar design on their Series 80 pistols, but many shooters objected that it adversely affected the trigger pull. Smith & Wesson got around that problem by linking the firing pin safety to the grip safety, thereby leaving the trigger pull unaffected, while adding a useful safety device in the event that the pistol is dropped upon its muzzle.
Great idea!
Along with these two unique and useful improvements to the classic design, Smith & Wesson has adorned the SW with top quality features to make the pistol almost perfect right out of the box. I will start first with my only complaint. The gun has no manual left-handed safety.
Colt 1911 Triple Lock M The SW is a true design, with a couple of improvements. I'll pass on the ford version!! It comes complete with a hard plastic carrying case, two magazines, a cable lock, bushing wrench, and instruction manual.I am left-handed, so that makes me prejudiced, but on a pistol of this quality, an ambidextrous safety would be a nice feature. In the shooting sports, many games require the shooting from either hand. This gun is ready to be competitive right out of the box, without any other custom work, except for the ambidextrous safety. Perhaps S&W will offer it as an option later.
That is my one and only gripe with this pistol, and it is admittedly a small one. Every other feature of the pistol is just as it should be.
The fitting of the slide to frame and slide to barrel is as tight as any production that I have ever handled. The fit and finish of the SW is excellent. The gun has many features that are custom options on other pistols, if available at all.
The Smith wears a set of Novak sights that are dovetailed into the slide, with both the front and rear being windage adjustable, and the elevation can be adjusted by replacing the front sight. These sights are made of steel, are of the three-dot configuration, and are an excellent design for a fighting pistol.
The rear sight is of the low mount design, and is about as rugged as an anvil.
The satin finished stainless slide has almost vertical serrations on either side at the front and rear, with sixteen groves in each location. These are helpful when working the slide to chamber or eject a cartridge.
The front serrations are particularly helpful in ejecting a live round into the palm of the shooter’s hand.
The slide is laser-etched with the S&W logo and the SW model designation on the left side.
The SW has a lightweight skeletonized trigger and hammer, and a high-ride beavertail grip safety that is very comfortable to the web of the hand and prevents any chance of hammer-bite.
The trigger is adjustable for overtravel. The thumb safety is of the extended easy-to-use style that is preferred by most shooters. The synthetic rubber grip panels, along with a serrated front strap and checkered mainspring housing, provide a positive non-slip hold on the weapon.
For functional reliability, the SW has a full-length stainless guide rod, and a throated and polished feed ramp.
The gun is supplied with two eight-shot magazines that are polished blue with an extended polymer floorplate for positive insertion, and the magazine well is beveled for faster reloads.
I used several different varieties of ACP ammunition for both function and accuracy testing of the SW The pistol never malfunctioned during the formal testing sessions, nor has it done so since in a couple of months of shooting since.
This is set up to feed anything, even an empty case. I have found that if a new pistol will feed an empty case from the magazine, it will offer no problems with loaded ammo. I fired everything from lightweight hollow points to military hardball to target wadcutters through the SW It never failed to feed, fire, and eject with any cartridge, even fifty year old World War II surplus. As expected, my target handloads turned in the tightest groups, with five shots going into one and one-quarter inches at 25 yards.
Smith and wesson 1911 airsoft gun They can suck occasionally, just like any other maker. In other projects. Its single stage trigger is almost impossible to beat in a handgun and now available with double-stack magazines, the platform is synonymous with professional shooters. That is my one and only gripe with this pistol, and it is admittedly a small one.Also as expected, the excellent Cor-Bon Pow-R-Ball turned in exceptional performance, grouping into one and three-quarters inches. In fact, every load tested shot very well in the SW, but I could get by with just the wadcutters for targets, and the Pow-R-Ball for everything else. As I’ve stated before, I believe the Cor-Bon Pow-R-Ball to be the best ACP ammo available for social work.
The trigger pull measured five and one-half pounds when new, but has since settled into a nice, crisp, four and one-half pound pull. Excellent for a fighting pistol.
With a five-inch barrel and a weight of 39 ounces, the SW is a full-sized combat with the built-in accuracy to double as a target gun.
It comes complete with a hard plastic carrying case, two magazines, a cable lock, bushing wrench, and instruction manual. The list price is $, but the actual in-store price will probably be less. Still, even at list price, the gun costs no more than a and the necessary custom work of thirty years ago, and the SW is a better pistol.
Check out the SW online at:
For a serious auto that is built like a custom gun right out of the box, I highly recommend the SW
Jeff Quinn
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Author considers the Smith & Wesson SW pistol to be one of the finest production s ever made.
The SW comes with a cable lock, plastic case, two magazines, and a bushing wrench.
The basic design is A1, with a few real improvements.
The SW's most obvious design improvement is the external extractor.
The SW comes standard with many features most often found on more expensive custom guns, such as a lightweight trigger with adjustable overtravel stop.
The SW features a first-class set of "combat" sights, consisting of a steel Novak windage-adjustable rear sight and a dovetailed front sight.
The front sight can be easily replaced if needed to "dial in" your favorite load.
Along with the excellent Novak rear sight, the SW also features a nicely-fitted high-ride beavertail grip safety, extended thumb safety (which, at least for now, does not accommodate Southpaws like the author), and a skeletonized hammer.
The SW's firing pin safety is a real improvement over previous designs, which used the trigger to actuate the firing pin safety.
S&W's solution intelligently operates the firing pin safety via the grip safety so trigger pull is unaffected.
Reliability of the SW is enhanced by use of a full-length guide rod, which is another option often seen on expensive custom pistols.
"Gun control" is assured by a checkered flat mainspring housing and synthetic rubber grips.
Author never thought he'd encounter a production that would shoot with his favorite , an old custom National Match, but the SW proved itself worthy.
Jeff tested the SW with a wide variety of ammunition, including WWII surplus hardball, commercially-loaded ball, his favorite target semi-wadcutter load, a variety of Cor-Bon loads, and Cor-Bon's excellent Pow-R-Ball defense load.
The SW digested them all without a hitch, and Jeff couldn't even make the gun jam by feeding empty cases!
As Jeff expected, best accuracy was turned in by his favorite grain lead semi-wadcutter target loads. Close on the heels of the target ammo was the Pow-R-Ball, with all ammunition, even the year-old surplus ball, shooting well out of the SW
Smith & Wesson's decades-late entry into the market was well worth the wait.
Bottom line: the SW is a fine defense/service pistol that is capable of target-grade accuracy without ruining your "bottom line"!