3" pro

BOOMER72 · #1 04-23-2012, 04:06 PM

Does anyone have any experience with the Pro Series 3" 1911? I love my E-series and was looking for a CC 1911. Thought this might fit the bill.

ret. lt bob · #2 04-24-2012, 11:39 AM

Have mine for several mos. now. Approx. 500 rounds, zero malfunctions. No tools needed to fieldstrip. Fit and finish very good. Did not put a trigger pull gauge on it, but feels the same as my gunsite model. Do not like 3 dot sights on any of my handguns, so had novak's 45 shop install plain blk rear (wide notch) and front tritium, but that's my personal preference, not a diss on weapon. very accurate. Recoil is subjective; if you switched from a 5" steel frame to it, you would notice it. But going from gunsite to pro series, not much different, maybe a hair more muzzle flip, not at all uncomfortable. Hope this helps.

TRSOtto · #3 04-24-2012, 01:58 PM

I have a 3 inch Lew Horton Special. That is the scandium frame model. When I first shot it, groups were WAY high at 25 yds. Like 5-6 inches high. I was able to contact S&W and got a front sight that is about 0.020 taller and that dropped the POI to about 1.5 inches high at 25 yds and on this gun I can live with that.

It still has a problem where about 10% of the time, the NEXT to last round in a mag will not feed and the slide gets hung up about 3/8 of an inch from battery. I've tried CMC mags. I've tried different ACT mags (which are what it came with) and it still happens about 10% of the time. Yesterday it happened 4 times in a box of 50. I bought a few Wilson compact mags and will try those this weekend.

It is a fun little gun and very light to carry. Recoil is not a big deal.

zork52 · #4 04-25-2012, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ret. lt bob

Have mine for several mos. now. Approx. 500 rounds, zero malfunctions. No tools needed to fieldstrip. Fit and finish very good. Did not put a trigger pull gauge on it, but feels the same as my gunsite model. Do not like 3 dot sights on any of my handguns, so had novak's 45 shop install plain blk rear (wide notch) and front tritium, but that's my personal preference, not a diss on weapon. very accurate. Recoil is subjective; if you switched from a 5" steel frame to it, you would notice it. But going from gunsite to pro series, not much different, maybe a hair more muzzle flip, not at all uncomfortable. Hope this helps.

Do your levers scratch up the frame like the E series guys are reporting?

Is the frame finish "tougher" than the E series?

skeeter1911 · #5 04-26-2012, 02:44 PM

I like my 3" Pro very much. I did have an issue at first though. When I bought it I fired ball ammo to break it in and had no issues. I did notice that certain hollow point ammo would not chamber correctly. It felt as thought the nose of the hollow point snagged at the feed ramp. I sent the gun back to S&W and they sent it back working perfectly. It's a good shooter and I actually like shooting it more than my S&W 1911SC Gunsite.