03Oct05

Scandium S&W 1911 Commander:

I've received my Scandium 1911 back from master pistolsmith, Jim Ga rthwaite. It subsequently received a thorough workout at long-time friend, Tom Given ' s, excellent range in Memphis, TN where Tom and I put on an Advanced Defensive Pistol Class last weekend.

I had a long conversion with Jim about my compunction with S&W's ve rsion of the Swartz grip-safety/firing-pin-interlock. Due to the problems we had wi th it (described in my Quip of 14 Sept 05), I was considering removing all Swartz parts, thus having the grip safety function only in the conventional

sense. Jim indicated to me that it was just a matter of timing and fitting of parts. He believes the S&W, as it comes from the factory, is inherently so und. He adjusted the existing system, and slicked up the entire pistol. In two days of shooting, we were unable to get it to fail.

Any pistol one carries in Memphis had better reliable! Based on my experience on the range, I carried it without hesitation. It really likes heavy-hitting ammunition like Cor-Bon 185gr DPX, and it is flat, slick, and light, the way a concealment pistol ought to be.

For a concealed-carry 1911, the Scandium Commander, and the Detonics Combat

Master, are hard to beat. In both cases however, attention by masters, the

likes of Jim Garthwaite, was necessary to get them to the point where I was

comfortable carrying them.

/John