SW1911 Pro Series 3” 9mm: Full Review

The popularity of the subcompact 1911 has skyrocketed in recent years, particularly those chambered in the insanely popular caliber of 9mm. So, when a major player like Smith & Wesson announces yet another choice in this ever-more-crowded segment it might be hard to get really excited about it. That is until you shoot one. I’ve tested many of the 1911 mini’s in both .45 ACP and 9mm and they all seem to have left something on the table when making the compromises necessary to squeeze Browning’s classic blueprint down to pocket sized. Most will tell you that John Moses never intended his pistol to be so small, nor did he intend it to shoot 9mm Parabellum. Doing either of those things almost always either leads to reliability problems or a no-frills gun that rattles like an old pickup going over railroad tracks. But somehow, the folks at Smith’s Performance Center have found a way to make the 1911 mini-me in 9mm with all the bells and whistles that runs like a full-grown model. I don’t know whether they sharpened their pencils or waved a dead chicken… but they pulled it off. I liked this gun more than I expected to—let’s talk about why.

How It’s Built (Specs and Stuff)

The SW1911 3″ 9mm Pro Series is a well-built handgun, starting with the selected specifications and “options.” And sometimes it’s as much about what was left out. More on that in a bit.

It starts with the decision to make a tiny 3″ 1911 pistol. Many have tried—nearly as many have…well, not failed, but struggled with challenges in reliability and accuracy. It gets further complicated by going with the 9mm chambering. A solid choice for sure when it comes to market demand, but a caliber that can be fraught with feeding problems (this author has experienced enough of that firsthand). Other considerations are the heft of an all-metal pistol compared to the plethora of pocket wonders on the market with polymer frames. Lastly, the issue of capacity has to be addressed. The consumer’s expectation today is double-digit round count and near key-fob size for their carry gun. Is there really a market for a gun like this? I think so—and clearly, Smith & Wesson thinks so.

Let’s start with the first topic—reliability. I will confess that (based on my previous experience with others) I expected a small percentage of malfunctions, particularly misfeeds. I was pleased when I opened the box, pulled back the slide and saw a generous feed ramp integral to the barrel. There are very few who can make a reliable feeder in 9mm using the frame ramp and traditional throat of the .45 ACP design—yet many still try. Smith has included ample material in the hunk of stainless steel that becomes the barrel to include a very nice feed ramp (and nicely polished, too). And okay, since I mentioned the barrel—what a barrel! The stubby 3″ barrel resembles a small maritime cannon from the Spanish Armada. It is a bull barrel, to say the least. That weight out front is appreciated when shooting and works in tandem with the next component to discuss—the recoil spring assembly—to keep the gun running flat.

A full-length guide rod also serves as the foundation for the dual recoil spring configuration. One spring is captured and one is easily removed for cleaning. The springs were well engineered in that they not only manage recoil like a champ, they also provide impeccable timing—another key to a reliable gun. And while a full-length guide rod can be a challenge on some full-sized 1911s, the configuration of this pistol is such that it is easily removed during fieldstrip. A small bushing holds the guide rod in place at the muzzle. There is no barrel bushing.

Smith employs a Scandium frame—a lightweight but strong rare-earth metal ideal for such applications. This results in a very manageable weight of just a hair over 26 ounces for the entire gun – including that aforementioned bull barrel and stainless steel slide. The overall length is respectable at under 7″ and the far more critical dimension—height—is just under 5″. The sights are steel and Novak-style with a 3-dot combat setup. At this price point I would expect to see night sights minimum, ideally Ameriglo or TruGlo with a bright ring out front surrounding a Tritium vile. It’s a good sight picture at the range, but for a carry gun, I want more.

The rest of the build list is what we’ve come to expect—a set of nice grip panels that don’t slip, extended beavertail grip safety with memory-bump extension, and good checkering front and back. S&W throws in the ambidextrous safety—a nice touch even though it does add some width. But I was interested by what the Performance Center chose not to add. No forward serrations in the slide or mounting rail on the dust cover. It’s not a subcompact pretending to be tactical. I like that. The vertical lines in the front strap are understated compared to the more aggressive checkering of the backstrap (25 LPI, if my eyes can be trusted). I thought I might notice some slip but even shooting in extreme heat with sweaty hands, the grip was very good. It is also an interesting note that S&W opted to make this a Series 80 gun, which means it has a firing pin safety block. In theory, the trigger might be a tad smoother without it, but it was a non-issue for me.

How It Shoots

Through the course of testing this gun, which spanned more than one range day (I fired hundreds of rounds through it—nearly half a case, in fact). Not one malfunction. Could not make this pistol jam or have any trouble feeding, extracting, ejecting, etc. Closest I came was when I hadn’t seated the mag fully and thought I’d had a light primer strike. Nope—it was me. Hundreds of rounds or even a few thousand are certainly no exhaustive test, but it’s been my experience that you can learn most of what you need to know about a gun with 100 or 200 rounds. What I learned about the SW1911 subcompact is that it’s a shooter!

Most of my shooting was relaxed off-hand stuff between 10 and 15 yards, and much of that at a small steel target. I could “hear” myself miss occasionally if I got on it too hard and my trigger control went to Hell (I send ‘em left every time). But as long as I did my part, this little gun just kept ringing the steel, and usually in the same fist-size spot. The sight picture is easy to pick up and hold and gets the job done. I found the size of the sights to be just right for defense distances. However, what got and kept my attention was just how flat this little gun shoots. The recoil management is superb for a lightweight 3″ shooting warm factory loads. This also means that you can train with it for long range sessions without unusual fatigue and that people who are recoil-sensitive can also handle it.

My expectations for accuracy are commensurate with the gun I’m testing, or at least I try. I opted for a target just 10-12 yards back and rested on a sandbag for shooting some groups. I mixed it up with ball ammo that I consider “good range stuff” and higher end carry ammo.

It is encouraging that the best groups were produced with the carry loads – that is not always the case. There were also no cycling issues at all, not even with the SIG V-Crown which has a very wide mouth. Another testament to the fixed feed ramp design. This test also marked my first time trying SIG Sauer’s new 365 load. It produced the best five-shot group of them all, though the traditional V-Crown 124 grain delivered a ½-inch group for the best three-holer.

Just My Opinion

If you’re Smith and Wesson you can afford to indulge yourself occasionally and add SKUs to the catalog just to say “me too.” I confess I wondered if that would be the case with the SW1911 Pro Series 9mm subcompact. It’s not the easiest gun to make well, and even though it has “Pro Series” stamped on it, it is still a mass-produced gun. But the engineers did their job with this gun, and it ticks all the boxes. More than anything, it’s a shooter—all-day reliable and more accurate than I can demonstrate. The fit of the parts is tight, yet it feeds everything I gave it. It carries well in an OWB leather holster, and would easily go IWB if preferred. A friend complained about the safety levers being hard, but I actually like a pronounced “click” on and off. After a week of use, I could feel them breaking in nicely. They are just to my liking. I’d like to see a better set of sights on the gun for upwards of $1,300—and I think the market expects that. Apart from that, I can’t find much to dislike about this little brute. This is a gun to carry and trust—and have a great time training with!

Visit S&W to learn more about S&W’s 1911 3″ 9mm by clicking HERE.

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