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Just came home from the lgs with a new Sig 1911 Nightmare Fast Back, 5". Hoping I made the right decision... A bit of background: a couple of days ago, I traded my S&W e-series with crimson trace grips for a hunting rifle. The smith was my first 1911, and while I liked it, I didn't LOVE it. It was a bit of an impulse buy (no one else here has ever done that, right?); it was a used pistol I saw in the shop and just couldn't pass up. It had some work done on it, namely a trigger job and the top of the slide had been ported, almost beretta style. The trigger was fantastic, but I could have done without the slide porting. I'm not sure it increased performance, but it sure as heck created an opening for something to get in and wreak havoc on the barrel and/or slide. I live in central Oregon, where fine lava rock dust is omnipresent, so the chance of a bit of grit to find its way into the inside of my pistol was a constant (if unsubstantiated) worry. I had a couple other issues with the smith as well.
The fish scale serrations, while attractive looking, were difficult to get a good grip on with sweaty hands. Also, when inserting a fresh mag with the slide locked back, it would jam up almost every time. The first round would half chamber, but the second round would poke it's nose up and get wedged in the feed ramp. I'd have to drop the loaded mag, which was typically jammed up as well, jiggle the offending round out of the way, and some times eject the chambered round as well in the process. Kind of frustrating. Also, on one occasion, the slide stop pin worked its way loose during battery and spun around 90 degrees, requiring complete disassembly. Now, while the feeding problem in all likelihood was a magazine issue, and it's possible (probable?) the pin coming loose was a result of me either not having seated it properly during previous reassembly or accidentally putting pressure on the backside with my trigger finger while racking the slide, between these issues and the aforementioned dissatisfaction with the serrations and ported slide, I jumped at the chance to trade it for a barely used Tikka t3 stainless in 7mm mag with a Zeiss conquest 4.5-14×44. Good rifle, great scope, and exactly what I was looking for for the upcoming mule deer/elk season.
I really wanted to keep a 45 acp 1911 in the collection though, as I find the platform to be very natural pointing and shooting, and I already have a few hundred rounds of .45 loaded up, as well as several hundred more rounds of empty brass and .45 dies. I went to the lgs with an open mind, though I was actually leaning towards an STI Trojan or a SA loaded. However, after handling just about every 1911 available around $1000 (Kimbers, Colts, STI, SA), the fast back Sigs just felt the best in my hand. The only other model which felt as nice was a DW (a valor, I think), but I just couldn't stomach the $1600 price tag, especially for a gun I'm going to be tromping around the woods with. The decision then came down to the nightmare or the emperor scorpion and full size or carry. The two seemed to be basically identical other than grip texture and color, and I preferred the look of the nightmare. While the carry model felt pretty nicely balanced, I plan on taking advantage of SA's 'gear up' promo to get an EMP 4 for daily carry in the next month or so. It seemed like a better deal to get the four free mags with the EMP, as they are proprietary, as opposed to four free 1911 mags that I probably would just end up replacing with Wilson's anyway. The full sized 1911 seemed like a better choice for carry while hunting/hiking/wood cutting against four legged critters who may find me appetizing. Price was a hair over $900, and I picked up an extra Wilson mag for another $38.
The sig is definitely different than the e series, with no full length guide rod or ramped barrel, and it has a series 80 firing pin block, whereas the smith had a modified schwartz style safety. I haven't had a chance to live fire it, but dry firing the trigger doesn't seem quite as crisp as the smith, with a bit more take up. Is that because of the firing pin block? Anyone have any first hand feedback on this model? My priorities are reliability, accuracy, and longevity, in that order. I will admit my decision was swayed by my recent purchase of a 226 ASE, which has gone through about 1300 rounds in a month, with ZERO hiccups using ammo of every shape and weight imaginable in 9mm.
As always, sorry for the novel length post! It's just that after the initial "purchase euphoria", I'm hoping I made the right call.
Cheers, Joe
The fish scale serrations, while attractive looking, were difficult to get a good grip on with sweaty hands. Also, when inserting a fresh mag with the slide locked back, it would jam up almost every time. The first round would half chamber, but the second round would poke it's nose up and get wedged in the feed ramp. I'd have to drop the loaded mag, which was typically jammed up as well, jiggle the offending round out of the way, and some times eject the chambered round as well in the process. Kind of frustrating. Also, on one occasion, the slide stop pin worked its way loose during battery and spun around 90 degrees, requiring complete disassembly. Now, while the feeding problem in all likelihood was a magazine issue, and it's possible (probable?) the pin coming loose was a result of me either not having seated it properly during previous reassembly or accidentally putting pressure on the backside with my trigger finger while racking the slide, between these issues and the aforementioned dissatisfaction with the serrations and ported slide, I jumped at the chance to trade it for a barely used Tikka t3 stainless in 7mm mag with a Zeiss conquest 4.5-14×44. Good rifle, great scope, and exactly what I was looking for for the upcoming mule deer/elk season.
I really wanted to keep a 45 acp 1911 in the collection though, as I find the platform to be very natural pointing and shooting, and I already have a few hundred rounds of .45 loaded up, as well as several hundred more rounds of empty brass and .45 dies. I went to the lgs with an open mind, though I was actually leaning towards an STI Trojan or a SA loaded. However, after handling just about every 1911 available around $1000 (Kimbers, Colts, STI, SA), the fast back Sigs just felt the best in my hand. The only other model which felt as nice was a DW (a valor, I think), but I just couldn't stomach the $1600 price tag, especially for a gun I'm going to be tromping around the woods with. The decision then came down to the nightmare or the emperor scorpion and full size or carry. The two seemed to be basically identical other than grip texture and color, and I preferred the look of the nightmare. While the carry model felt pretty nicely balanced, I plan on taking advantage of SA's 'gear up' promo to get an EMP 4 for daily carry in the next month or so. It seemed like a better deal to get the four free mags with the EMP, as they are proprietary, as opposed to four free 1911 mags that I probably would just end up replacing with Wilson's anyway. The full sized 1911 seemed like a better choice for carry while hunting/hiking/wood cutting against four legged critters who may find me appetizing. Price was a hair over $900, and I picked up an extra Wilson mag for another $38.
The sig is definitely different than the e series, with no full length guide rod or ramped barrel, and it has a series 80 firing pin block, whereas the smith had a modified schwartz style safety. I haven't had a chance to live fire it, but dry firing the trigger doesn't seem quite as crisp as the smith, with a bit more take up. Is that because of the firing pin block? Anyone have any first hand feedback on this model? My priorities are reliability, accuracy, and longevity, in that order. I will admit my decision was swayed by my recent purchase of a 226 ASE, which has gone through about 1300 rounds in a month, with ZERO hiccups using ammo of every shape and weight imaginable in 9mm.
As always, sorry for the novel length post! It's just that after the initial "purchase euphoria", I'm hoping I made the right call.
Cheers, Joe
