I'm thinking of purchasing this pistol. Serial # is GS084xx. I know the GSR series has mixed reviews and am wondering if anyone can suggest what possible negatives, based on Ser. #, I should be aware of. Thanks for any responses.

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I have one. The good news is the parts they used were all first rate. The bad news is the assembly was hit or miss, as someone at Sig believed they didn’t need hand fitting due to the quality of the parts, or so I heard. Mine didn’t have the problems that some did. Yours is much later in the serial numbers than mine, and has the “Revolution” moniker, so you should be ok. The other issue is that due to the slide profile, not all holsters will fit it. And they are marginally heavier due to the slide profile.

Thank you for the information. I've tried to find a current price range but there is very little history of these being bought & sold. What is there is not of much help; sort of all over the place.
I know the value is whatever I'm willing to pay but do you have an inkling of what it would go for in the current market?

I have always liked the slide profile and aesthetics of Sig’s GSR 1911. I never owned one but I always admired its looks.

What is that circle with the two dots on the back of the slide under the rear sight?

I believe it's referred to as the 'manhole' and is the firing pin plunger retainer.

quote:

Originally posted by mtnwind:
I believe it's referred to as the 'manhole' and is the firing pin plunger retainer.

Which is what I believe was one of the problems with the early models, like mine. It was a piece of shit that couldn't go through a magazine without a failure to feed.

quote:

Originally posted by mtnwind:
I believe it's referred to as the 'manhole' and is the firing pin plunger retainer.

Shun this early production gun like the plague. I had a Revolution Carry in 2007. That was one of the parts that fell out of it and mixed with the brass on the range floor.

Fell out?? On mine it seems like every part was installed using a hydraulic press. When the extractor finally failed I peened a punch trying to get the retaining pin out. Finally took it to a gunsmith.

My experience wit a GSR Revolution was not good. It was a jam-o-matic and the extractor kept breaking. I sent it off to Grayguns, it ran for a bit, and then returned to being unreliable. It was a cool pistol, but I was glad to see it go.

I would be looking at a Dan Wesson, or some other brand, if I was in the market for a 1911.

quote:

Originally posted by Nuclear:
I have one. The good news is the parts they used were all first rate. The bad news is the assembly was hit or miss, as someone at Sig believed they didn’t need hand fitting due to the quality of the parts, or so I heard. Mine didn’t have the problems that some did. Yours is much later in the serial numbers than mine, and has the “Revolution” moniker, so you should be ok. The other issue is that due to the slide profile, not all holsters will fit it. And they are marginally heavier due to the slide profile.

Do you know if a spanner wrench is available for the 'manhole'?

Well, there SHOULD be a spanner to remove the manhole cover, but I’ve never done it, and I can’t recall ever hearing of someone trying it, so I’ve never seen one.

Knowing Sig, they probably never sold them to the public.

In regards to the extractor, I just must be lucky, as mine worked for near 20k rounds before it chipped. When I contacted Sig, they said it should have been replaced around 10k rounds. And they didn’t have any to sell me. So I bought an EGW extractor that’s supposed to be better. I guess I’ll find out if I ever shoot another 20k rounds out of it.

In addition to the firing pin safety parts falling out, my gun also (at different times) nose-dived the second shot (after the first hand-chambered round, I think it was magazine-related) ever fired; broke an extractor causing double-feeds; and disengaging the safety would cause the hammer to drop to half-cock. After the third strike, SIG gave me a new gun, but I traded it off.

For that matter, I have never gotten any 1911 to run. In addition to the SIG, there was a Para-Ordnance P12 (other than the double-stack magazine, a copy of the Colt Officer's ACP) and an actual Colt (used, roughly mid-1990s vintage).

On the fourth trip back to SIG for repairs they decided to refund the money I paid for it. At least that was the right thing to do.

The GSR went through numerous changes. As I recall, there was the first gen, or original version. Then around serial number 600 or so, there was a change in design. I have a version of both. The SIG 1911 has had a troubled history as SIG gradually figured out how to produce a decent 1911. I bought a more recent 1911 version of which I recall Bruce Grey had a positive evaluation.

After much bad press due to issues with fitment and function, it was discontinued to be later reintroduced as the Revolution. That went on for a while, then SIG switch to just 1911.

In the mean time, SIG put out “red box” guns that used various part, I assume left overs, from the earlier GSR days. There are ways to distinguish them if you are familiar with the original GSR.

So, what is often referred to by sellers as the SIG GSR may be any number of variants during history of the life of the original gun.

I love my original GSRs. I’ve also had a couple of Revolutions. I have had some issues, mostly with the extractor breaking and the fitment of the grip safety is not always great along with what because knows as “hammer lean”. Still I love the gun, that is the original.

The quality of the parts and the sources changed over time, but there isn’t any documentation I can find that traces any of those changes to parts, sources and design.

What you have is a GSRevolution, rather than the original GSRail as they were called. GS being Granite State.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: SIGWolf,

I've had some custom work done on these and parts replaced by a 1911 smith.

quote:

Originally posted by mtnwind:
I'm thinking of purchasing this pistol. Serial # is GS084xx. I know the GSR series has mixed reviews and am wondering if anyone can suggest what possible negatives, based on Ser. #, I should be aware of. Thanks for any responses.

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What is the asking price for the pistol?

$600

It's hard to say, not seeing the pistol or knowing anything about it's condition or who owned it and so on.

I had a Revolution full size, when they first came out and it was fine, worked well, no issues, until the extractor broke and it was difficult to replace because of the pin holding it in. However, functionally, it worked fine.

The GSRs I posted ran me around $700 to $750 when I purchased them years ago used. The first GSR I purchased back in 2005 or so was nearly new and I paid $750. At the time the gun went for around $1100 new. Prices now are rather outrageous. The same gun I purchased in the range of $700 to $800 is now selling on an online site for $1200 to $1300 used.

Personally, I think $600 is an okay price, but not great. It would be more attractive to me personally for $500+ assuming it is in excellent condition. If it is in excellent condition and the seller is reliable I might be willing to purchase it.

Having said that, the 1911 platform can be finicky and SIG did take some time to get it right. There were many people who were not satisfied with the guns they bought. On the other hand, I've had three GSRs and with the exception of the broken extractor issue, they all ran flawlessly.

That price assessment is just my personal opinion based on what I would be willing to pay.

SIG guy wanting it for his SIG collection, maybe.

Shooter looking for a 1911, IMO there's too many down sides, being an orphan with non standard parts, especially for a gun with a known history of needing those parts.