Practical/Tactical 1911 Review and Test

[blueboxer]

Ok gun owner community, I'm about to embark on an experiment. An experiment to discover how much I can get out of my new toy--a Sig Sauer Traditional 1911 TacOps--and whether I ultimately will stay will my beloved 1911 platform...or get an M&P45 to supplement it.

Let me give you a touch of backstory. The 1911 is without a doubt my favorite platform to shoot. The weight, the feel, the trigger, etc are all just about perfect in my book, and I'm sure many of you agree with me on that. However, I do not hold an unwavering devotion to the 1911 whereby I treat it as the end all be all when it comes to handguns. Far from it. My goal in purchasing this Sig was to: 1) obtain a railed 1911 I could use as a nightstand gun, 2) determine via side by side comparison and my own use what a modern +/- $1000 production line 1911 is capable of.

Based on the outcome of this little test, I'll see what I really think about the platform and whether I would truly choose it over a more modern design, a la the M&P45. I would love it if you all could join in with your opinions, experiences, and perhaps contributions with a range meet up for some side by side comparison in the future. I'll be taking the gun out for the first time tomorrow, and I'll update this thread with a review and first impression.

...and pics of course. Because yes, I realize this thread is worthless without pics!

 

[churchmouse]

Depends on what your $1000 plus 1911 is set up for. I would not try and go totally offensive with my Trophy Match springer or my RO but I would with either my TRP (railed) or my S&W PD (also railed).....they set up on these guns is totally different.
The TRP is set up for being offensive as is the S&W. The other 2 are great target shooters.

 

[blueboxer]

Depends on what your $1000 plus 1911 is set up for. I would not try and go totally offensive with my Trophy Match springer or my RO but I would with either my TRP (railed) or my S&W PD (also railed).....they set up on these guns is totally different.
The TRP is set up for being offensive as is the S&W. The other 2 are great target shooters.

I'd say it's pretty "offensive." It has Sig's Nitron/DLC coating, a rail, magwell, frontstrap checkering, and night sights. From the factory all I really need is a light! After I've shot it a while I may swap a few parts, but I'll let the gun sort itself out first. It's very much a tactical gun rather than a target gun though.

 

[Aaron1776]

I would love it if you all could join in with your opinions, experiences, and perhaps contributions with a range meet up for some side by side comparison in the future. I'll be taking the gun out for the first time tomorrow, and I'll update this thread with a review and first impression.

...and pics of course. Because yes, I realize this thread is worthless without pics!

I can't meet you with a M&P 45 yet as I haven't done my own field test against my XD line up.

But I can meet you if you want to just do a baseline comparison.
You know, standard combat tupperware vs standard 1911, why you've gone 1911 thus far. (As it sounds like the polymer you'd be willing to switch out with is set on the M&P)

If the M&P wins out against my XD, we could do a part two.... haha

Heck with it. I'll see you at MCFG tomorrow, so I'll bring the XD anyway.

 

[blueboxer]

I can't meet you with a M&P 45 yet as I haven't done my own field test against my XD line up.

But I can meet you if you want to just do a baseline comparison.
You know, standard combat tupperware vs standard 1911, why you've gone 1911 thus far. (As it sounds like the polymer you'd be willing to switch out with is set on the M&P)

If the M&P wins out against my XD, we could do a part two.... haha

Heck with it. I'll see you at MCFG tomorrow, so I'll bring the XD anyway.

Hah, exactly! And yeah I'm set on the M&P45 due to the thumb safety. Not that I have to have one, just that I like having a manual safety to ride 1911 style. I'm really comfortable with that. This is going to be quite the day!

 

[churchmouse]

I would love to meet up with you boys at MCFG tomorrow but work in the morning and at the hospital with the wife in the afternoon.
Post up what you find and I will go with you the next time.

 

[blueboxer]

I would love to meet up with you boys at MCFG tomorrow but work in the morning and at the hospital with the wife in the afternoon.
Post up what you find and I will go with you the next time.

Will do Churchmouse! We will let you know next time we're out there. I hope your wife's recovery is going as smooth as those things can.

 

[blueboxer]

Sig Sauer Traditional 1911 TacOps Review

Packaging and Box Contents
• I paid a whopping (sarcasm) $917.39 for this beauty, less shipping and transfer fee. The gun came in the standard Sig box, which is actually quite nice. Included was the ubiquitous gun lock that I have never and likely will never use. Everything is pretty run of the mill with nothing particularly noteworthy, except that Sig packages the gun with four 8 round magazines. Quite nice for a 1911, and they have wide baseplates too. They'll make good friends with my four CMC power mags I'm sure Out of the box I broke the gun down to inspect the internals, wiped away any grit with a rag, and put a little Hoppes #9 on the rails.


Fit/Finish/Feel
• Finish. The gun wears Sig's Nitron finish which should be familiar to those of you who own any Sig firearms. It's a beautiful flat black finish that reportedly wears quite well. It wiped down and cleaned well for me, and I'm interested to see how it handles bumps in the future. My particular gun had a rear sight that looked a little worn, and some wear marks on the plunger tube. This doesn't bother me as I view honest marks such as those on a black gun as character.
• Fit and feel. Zero vertical play anywhere along the slide, zero horizontal play at the rear serrations. At the front there is a very slight amount of horizontal play, which I prefer. It allows a little more room for oil to run along the rails, and let's the gun run just a bit dirtier in my opinion. No, and I mean no, rattles. The action of the slide is VERY tight and a hair rough as new 1911's sometimes are. There is a catch from the (totally spacing on the proper name) nub protruding from the frame directly in front of the breech face that needs to smooth out over time. Very smooth with that caveat. By comparison the slide feels more solid than a Remington R1 Enhanced, S&W E-Series, Springfield Loaded models, Ruger SR1911, base Kimbers, etc. It doesn’t feel quite as smooth as some other 1K+ options like Springfield's Operator's. The serrations look rather tame but offer a confidence inspiring amount of purchase, as does the well executed 25lpi checkering on the front strap. While I'm speaking of the front strap, Sig did an excellent Colt high cut. Comfortable doesn't begin to describe it. When I was disassembling the gun I found the barrel is fit VERY well to the slide. I almost thought it was stuck at first. Needless to say, you can't move the hood of the barrel even a hair when the gun is in battery. The bushing is a well machined piece that is fitted tight. How tight? My fingers are still sore...from taking the gun down once. Note to self: BUY A BUSHING WRENCH! Moving to the rear of the gun, the grip and thumb safeties are positive with a capital P. Audible click when engaging/disengaging the thumb safety, and the grip safety has a strong spring with minimal wobble. As a side note, the Ergo XT grips that come on the gun are some of my favorite. Normally I would change out the grips pronto to personalize the gun, but I may keep these. They're slim and have good purchase. The magwell is a well done two piece affair, although it isn't blended to the frame. I prefer that it isn't blended since 1: I feel that's mostly for looks, and more importantly 2: if I ever want to swap magwells and blend one in the future, I can. Finally the SigLite nightsights are well done. Sig places a clear coating over the inserts so dirt can't get into the dots, and to make wiping debris off easier. Smart thinking, that. I did notice the front sight was positioned a tad to the left. More on that later.
• All in all you could say the controls and action of this 1911 operate with authority. It's clinks and clanks sound like mini bank vault doors closing.


Reliability/Function
• Reliability. I had assumed since I didn't really clean the gun and since it was very tight that I would have a few bobbles out of the gate. I couldn't have been more wrong! I won't go as far as saying the gun functioned "flawlessly" as I don't believe that can be said about a firearm until there are many many more rounds down the tube than what I fired. I shot 125 rounds which was all I had on short notice without any issues at all though. I used American Eagle 230gr .45, and CCI Blazer (aluminum) 230gr .45. The Sig fed them all easily, and worked great with both the factory mags and my CMC Power Mags. Interestingly enough I had been initially a little hesitant to purchase the gun since it failed Hilton Yam's extractor test…Well I put the gun through the same test and it passed, firing and extracting/ejecting without a mag in place. I was pleased. The ejection pattern was also consistently between 3 and 5 o'clock. Not that I have a trained eye by any means, but I can say the gun ejected consistently as to the distance and spread of the spent casings. Take that for what you will.
• Function. Being a heavy railed 1911, recoil is something of a memory. I wasn't sure how I would like the shorty thumb safety levers since I ride the safety with my thumb. They have a different feel to them. Not bad, but not what I'm used to. I'll put a number of rounds downrange before I decide to meddle with them. The cuts taken out of the grip safety look a bit odd, but feel good with a high hold. If you position your shooting hand wrong though, the fatter portion will smack into your second knuckle. You don't notice it at first, but after a number of magazines it becomes annoying. Nothing a little habit building won't fix though. The trigger is typical 1911 glory. IMO, even a crappy trigger on a 1911 will be better than 90% of anything else out there. This particular 1911 has a well set pull from the factory (I would guestimate it to be 4.5-5lbs, but I didn't measure it), with just a hint of mush before it breaks. This is in comparison to my Springfield Loaded model which has a slightly heavier but also slightly crisper trigger. I suspect this difference is due to the Sig being a series 80 1911 while my Springer is a series 70. Both are more than acceptable.


Accuracy
• I almost didn't include this, as this gun and almost any 1911 is capable of outshooting me all day long. I will say that I grouped better with this gun than any other gun (1911 or not) that I have shot. I was impressed. Maybe it was the rail, maybe it was the trigger, maybe it was the frontstrap checkering, who knows. Regardless, I'll take it! I did mention that the front sight seemed like it was positioned just a bit to the left while the rear sight was centered. In my hands and Aaron1776's hands it also shot left by a bit. I'll see about addressing that later on.


Potential Changes/Future Tests
• Trigger. I just don't like the looks of the current one, plus I like short aluminum triggers on my 1911's. I have been pondering a 10-8 flat trigger though...thoughts anyone?
• Ambi safety. Depending on how I end up liking the short levers I will either keep it or swap it out. Right now it's staying.
• TRL-1. Frankly I just need one to put it in the nightstand.
• Brownells 1911 Conversion Range Bag. This is a great bag I can throw my .22 conversion slide and barrel into and bring to the range for warm ups.
• Bushing wrench. Because my fingers will kill me if I don't buy one.
• Future tests: Next time I hit the range I'm going to do some practical comparison shooting with an XD45 to see which I actually perform better with, can do faster follow up shots with, etc. I would LOVE to compare the Sig to an M&P45 with a thumb safety at some point. Also, I plan on NOT cleaning the gun until I reach 500 rounds out of curiosity since it ran so well today. Thanks for reading guys, and enjoy the pics!

 

[churchmouse]

I have resisted the urge but the pics make me want to play with one of these. I was never a fan of the external extractor until I noticed (duh) my S&W 1911PD caspian frame has one.
Very aggressive looking piece. I like it.

 

[blueboxer]

I have resisted the urge but the pics make me want to play with one of these. I was never a fan of the external extractor until I noticed (duh) my S&W 1911PD caspian frame has one.
Very aggressive looking piece. I like it.

If you're at MCFG when we are, you're more than welcome to put some rounds through it. Personally I don't mind the external extractor on railed guns like this, since they depart from the original design so much anyway. For non-railed guns I prefer the standard internal extractor.