In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.

S.A.M. 1911 - Parts matching-numbered?

machine gun moranmachine gun moran Member Posts: 5,198
edited June 2014 in Ask the Experts
I just bought an S.A.M. 1911, straight Gov't configuration, to see how those basic guns stack up against the other makes. My initial observations were that it seemed to be very well-fitted, and extremely smooth in dry reciprocation. I disassembled the gun 100%. I noticed that the frame had been numbered with a 4-digit number on the top, next to the disconnector hole. This was not a part of the serial number. When I removed the firing pin stop, I noticed that the slide had been numbered the same, on the interior surface just like the pre-war Colts. The FP stop was also numbered on the mating surface. Long story short, the barrel, slide stop, grip safety, MS housing, thumb safety, trigger, and hammer (this was actually numbered on the hammer strut, a staked semi-permanent assembly), all had matching numbers on their interior surfaces.

These are obviously not part numbers, being all the same. Interestingly, S.A.M., in their parts list, uses part numbers which are U.S. Army Ordnance Drawing numbers.

Does anybody have an S.A.M.-produced gun, to compare? It's a well-fitted gun, yes, but this kind of parts-numbering is labor-intensive, and may indicate that S.A.M. guns are not assembled with just the next part from the bin.

On the interior finish, it seems to be better than any of the other Government-configuration 1911's that I've bought in recent times (6 Colts, 2 Springfields, 3 RIA's, and 3 Turks), with the exception of the Turks.

Comments

  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    My take on all matching part numbers, per your pistol. Is that they are hand fitted and assembled, from non standardized parts. Then numbered by the finisher/assembler, so they will all go back together correctly. After they are polished and blued.

    This kind of labor intensive, hand fitting and numbering of individual parts. Went out of fashion, when the krauts quit making Lugers in the 40's. Doesn't seem to me, to be a positive as far a 1911 clone is concerned. John Browning didn't design them that way. I don't see the point of folks in the Philippines, reinventing the wheel and using non standard sized 1911 parts?
  • perry shooterperry shooter Member Posts: 17,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hello I have some knowledge of 1911 and 1911A1 type pistols . Some of the people here may not know what S.A.M denotes MYSELF INCLUDED I will take a guess and ASSUME you are talking about a pistol Made BY SPRINGFIELD. If the information you seek is Not in any of Charles Clawson books or Joe Poyer or William Goddard or Bill Jenkins I doubt any of us will have any meaningful information unless you give us a serial number so we can compare our pistols to yours and you also post pictures of what marks yours has ."PRAISE THE HARD BALL GUN"

    EDIT CLONE made THERE [V]. HIGH QUALITY THOSE 2 THINGS DON'T GO TOGETHER [xx(][:(]
  • dcs shootersdcs shooters Member Posts: 10,870 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by perry shooter
    Hello I have some knowledge of 1911 and 1911A1 type pistols . Some of the people here may not know what S.A.M denotes MYSELF INCLUDED I will take a guess and ASSUME you are talking about a pistol Made BY SPRINGFIELD. If the information you seek is Not in any of Charles Clawson books or Joe Poyer or William Goddard or Bill Jenkins I doubt any of us will have any meaningful information unless you give us a serial number so we can compare our pistols to yours and you also post pictures of what marks yours has ."PRAISE THE HARD BALL GUN"


    Karl, it's NOT Springfield. Here it is,

    Shooters Arms Manufacturing Incorporated

    www.shootersarms.com.ph

    Shooters Arms Manufacturing, Inc. is a world- class manufacturer of firearms and ammunitions catering to both domestic and international clients, whose track ...
    yFirearms - yShooters Guns & Ammo ... - yVideos - yImported brands
  • HerschelHerschel Member Posts: 2,035 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Like Karl, S.A.M. meant nothing to me. A few more key strokes could have saved some of us a lot of head scratching and speculation. This being the A. t. E. forum suggests that the readers here are experts and should know all gun related abbreviations. [:)]
  • machine gun moranmachine gun moran Member Posts: 5,198
    edited November -1
    Sorry for the use of an acronym instead of the name, I thought the Shooter's Arms guns were more in the common domain than they actually are. The gun is import-branded with the 'American Tactical' name.

    I took a really close look at the fitting. The slide stop is tight in the hole, requiring perfect alignment to insert it. The frame to slide fit is devoid of free play, as is the front end. The barrel stands on its 'legs' on the slide stop when in battery, and not on the link. The mating of the locking lugs with the slide seems prefect. When the slide is very slightly retracted (slide pressure at the rear end of the barrel neutralized), no lateral movement at the rear of the barrel, develops. The gun may actually be too tight for my purposes, which is 'general gravel-pit banger/home defense'.

    Granted, 'cheap' and 'well-made' usually don't go together, but the power of the U.S. Dollar in foreign countries is still substantial, and 'third-worlders' produce some pretty good aircraft turbines. If they put their minds to making pistols, like the Turks, anything can happen.

    BTW, this thing was purchased new, for dirt - $310 with shipping included, from High Plains Gun Shop In Topeka. [:)]
  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by machine gun moran
    Sorry for the use of an acronym instead of the name, I thought the Shooter's Arms guns were more in the common domain than they actually are. The gun is import-branded with the 'American Tactical' name.

    I took a really close look at the fitting. The slide stop is tight in the hole, requiring perfect alignment to insert it. The frame to slide fit is devoid of free play, as is the front end. The barrel stands on its 'legs' on the slide stop when in battery, and not on the link. The mating of the locking lugs with the slide seems prefect. When the slide is very slightly retracted (slide pressure at the rear end of the barrel neutralized), no lateral movement at the rear of the barrel, develops. The gun may actually be too tight for my purposes, which is 'general gravel-pit banger/home defense'.

    Granted, 'cheap' and 'well-made' usually don't go together, but the power of the U.S. Dollar in foreign countries is still substantial, and 'third-worlders' produce some pretty good aircraft turbines. If they put their minds to making pistols, like the Turks, anything can happen.

    BTW, this thing was purchased new, for dirt - $310 with shipping included, from High Plains Gun Shop In Topeka. [:)]



    Get back to us with a report, after putting 1000 rounds of hardball through it. You might have a problem with break-in, if the tolerances are that tight. On the other hand, if the parts are out of spec hardness wise. It doesn't matter how tight it is. It going to shoot loose, sooner rather then letter.
  • machine gun moranmachine gun moran Member Posts: 5,198
    edited November -1
    That was my only (other) question, the quality of materials - not the steel formulation necessarily, as they are advertised as being all 4140, but the heat treat. I know that Colt began a double heat treat to the front half of 1911 slides in 1913, to prevent cracking problems which developed at around 5,000 rounds at the rear of the recoil spring tunnel. The gradient can be actually seen on some military guns which have phosphate-type finishes. They were also spot-heat treated at the slide stop notch.

    I hope that at the end of the story, I didn't end up just over-paying for another bag of .45 parts that I don't need, LOL.
  • machine gun moranmachine gun moran Member Posts: 5,198
    edited November -1
    I shot the thing today, 50 rounds each of FMJ handloads, lead-bullet handloads, and PMC ball. All were 230-gr roundnose. No failures, targeting was done with the PMC at 50 feet, and turned in groups of just under 2 inches (7-shot groups) that were windage-exact but 3 inches above POA. But there is plenty of stock on the rear sight to shave. BTW, I did not use the 8-shot Act-Mag that came with the gun, as I prefer to use only original GI mags in 1911's.
Sign In or Register to comment.