A friend bought one and loves it. I helped him upgrade it. The accuracy and reliability before were very good. Now, amazing. Tack driver.
Fit and finish is very good. Rear adjustable sight is a big extra.
One of the big advantages with an SA 1911, is that it is utterly stock. Every after market part I ever tried went right in. No weird safety system to deal with.
The firing system was all MIM. I replaced the sear, disconnector and hammer with Les Baer parts. WOW.
The front sight was OK, blacked out, but replaced it with a Trijicon tritium front...just because I had one sitting around. Replaced with grips with VZ Aliens...which I have on all my guns and really like.
Trigger pull was probably 4.5-5, good, but I lightened it with a C&S leaf spring, adjusted a bit. Pull now down to 2.5 lbs [Note, gun is ONLY a range gun]
Lock up very good, but I added a full length guide rod from Wilson Combat...and thought it made it better. Might not make any difference.
I think accuracy was terrific, but these are not meant to be real competition guns. I replaced the factory barrel with a Nowlin 9mm barrel, and fitted the Nowlin bushing it came with.
The recoil spring DID need adjusting. After a few trials, I settled on a Wolff 11lb one, not variable.
This gun now shoots better than any gun my friend has ever had, including high end Colts. It is reliable and a laser beam. Competition level.
At any rate...out of the box...great gun. WELL worth the money.
EASY to upgrade.
Upgrade this gun and you can get it to the point where no other can touch it. For not much money.
Simplest upgrade path:
Les Baer Sear/hammer set, $100 (for a great trigger pull)
Wolff Spring (for reliability and perfect operation)
C&S Leaf spring (lighter trigger)
then...
Nowlin Barrel & bushing, $250 (could be optional, really did not test a lot beforehand)
Hope this helps
Best
J
