Smith and Alexander "mag guides" - aka 1911 magwells - new ones fit different

[fieldgrade]

If you are a fan of these, as I am, and haven't bought one in a while, I just wanted you to know they are now machined instead of cast. What does this mean? They look even better than before, but they don't fit the same. I bought a new S&A mag guide this week and it wouldn't fit into my new Fusion Firearms 1911. I figured it must be the gun because my last two S&A mag guides dropped right into a Colt and a Springfield.

But I got to thinking how Alan Smith told me over the phone last week that they are now machined instead of cast.

So I swapped a cast S&A mag guide that's a couple of years old out of a Colt and it fit into the new Fusion 1911. Voila!

And I took the new machined S&A mag guide and it fit into the 25 year old Colt, but it presses more on the sear spring and increased my trigger pull by a pound. I am okay with this, and glad I got my magwell issues sorta sorted out, but just wanted you fans to be aware the machined ones don't fit the same as the previous cast ones.

I will probably call them this week just to be sure they know. They are nice folks and always helpful. I don't know how recently they started machining these. It's been in the past couple of years or less.

 

[Beef15]

I got a blued one in the last year or so, not positive it's machined, think it was advertised that way. Dropped right in my PSA frame, had to blend the opening is all as one expects.

Rusts faster than anything else I have, well my Warren sights might give it run. Whenever I decide I'm happy with that beater I'm gonna have to have a better finish applied.

 

[Jerzsubbie]

Also bought one in the last year and it dropped right into my SA RO. Not sure if it's cast or machined tho, I'll have to take a look.

 

[fieldgrade]

Also bought one in the last year and it dropped right into my SA RO. Not sure if it's cast or machined tho, I'll have to take a look.

My experience with the cast ones, at least with the ribbed ones is you can see casting "marks", very minor imperfections from the casting.