And if so, how have they performed? Mine have been great. The only thing I had done was a trigger job on my OD Green model because it had some creep. Breaks at 4.5 pounds now.

Do yourself a HUGE favor & have a gunsmith replace the barrel with a good NM barrel such as Wilson.

The SA models, with a few exceptions, come with a two-piece barrel. These are noticeably less accurate than a one-piece barrel.

As a comparasion, Brownells sells SA factory barrels for $60-65. A good NM barrel will go for $150 or more. You get what you pay for.

After I had barrels changed, my groups went from 4" groups to less than 2", if I do my part.

My .o2

I'll disagree with Mr. Cole, and say keep your SA barrel. Out of the 9-10 SA's I have owned, including my current two (one is an OD), they are more accurate than I can humanly be. One ragged hole is pretty good combat accuracy for me, so I dont see the point in spending money on a new barrel, when there is nothing wrong with your existing one. I have YET to see any first hand proof of o called accuracy problems with SA barrels, unless the ones I have had have all been just lucky. Thats a lot of luck on my part, and I am not known to have THAT much good luck.
My SA's have all been 100% reliable as well. Onyl problem any of them have had, is my current OD had 2 FTE's, in the first 50 rounds, but I found the problem, and the gun just needs to be shot some more.

Just my $.03. Worth what you paid for it.

If you want to do serious target shooting...as in Bullseye or higher level IPSC competition, then a match barrel...fitted by someone who knows how to do it right, and there are not nearly as many of them out there as you may think...is mandatory, along with sight changes, blah, blah, blah. All this will cost you several times what the gun did originally... but that's not usually why guys get a service grade 1911, and for any realistic practical use, the gun is fine as-is.

I, too, dislike their two piece barrels, but have never seen any indication they are causing serious accuracy or reliability issues among the several shooters I know who have them. There are many things other than barrels that affect "accuracy" with a given handgun, and even a really worn out 1911 using military ball ammo will shoot into 10-12in. at 50yd...5 to 6in. from your point of aim...more than good enough to give a bad guy some second thoughts!

The old saying among Bullseye shooters is "You can buy X's but you can't buy 10's", meaning you must first be a good enough shooter to keep your shots inside the 10 ring before you can expect any real improvement with a seriously accurized pistol.

Buy ammo dude...LOTS of ammo!

Thanks all.  Competition shooting is not why I carry, however it would be cool to get into it. My theory is, if I can keep 'em inside a paper plate at 10 to 15 yards then I'm doing just fine.

Quoted: I'll disagree with Mr. Cole, and say keep your SA barrel. Out of the 9-10 SA's I have owned, including my current two (one is an OD), they are more accurate than I can humanly be.

Then I'll have to agree with you: you've been lucky.

I'm certainly not saying a SA barrel won't hit water from a boat. It is, however, much less accurate than a good aftermarket barrel.

How else do one explain Brownells selling factory SA barrels for $60 & good NM barrels for $150 & up? Does one not get what one pays for?

Quoted: Quoted: I'll disagree with Mr. Cole, and say keep your SA barrel. Out of the 9-10 SA's I have owned, including my current two (one is an OD), they are more accurate than I can humanly be. Then I'll have to agree with you: you've been lucky. I'm certainly not saying a SA barrel won't hit water from a boat. It is, however, much less accurate than a good aftermarket barrel. How else do one explain Brownells selling factory SA barrels for $60 & good NM barrels for $150 & up? Does one not get what one pays for?

Dont know. I do know that all of my friends who have them have had the same accuracy results as me.

I think Ikor hit on the big distinction here. For a combat gun, a 2-4 inch ragged hole at 15 yards is plenty good. I dont intend to use my handgun past about 20 yards anyway.
If you want 1 inch groups at 25 yards, then by all means, get a new barrel. But I would say that about ANY comparable handgun on the market, with the exception of the high end guns, like Wilson, Les Bauer, etc. But thats part of what your paying for in that high price. I dont need nor do I want match grade accuracy. I want/need combat accuracy. If I can hit a man size target centermass of the chest at 15 yards, or even a head shot at 10-15 yards, then thats all I need. Mine do that.

Again, just depends on what you want your gun to do.