PilotPhil:
I looked over your pics, and frankly these are cosmetic defects, and minor ones at that..I would be more concerned with how the hammer fits into the slot, (is it leaning? Does the hammer rub on the frame?) Anyway, you have to remember that these are mass produced pistols, in a $5-700 price range, for that kind of money, you'll get your dollars worth, but that's it. Since your pistol is stainless, I'd guess they take a bit more time polishing, brushing, the surfaces, as the stainless guns don't have the luxury of being polycoated, as polycoat among other things, being a rather thick finish, can hide a number of casting flaws, that can't be hidden on a stainless gun. If you want perfect, you're going to have to shell out alot more money.. Like Wilson Combat 1911 level of money. For that kind of money, the fit, finish had better be perfect. As an example, I have one of the steel framed compacts (99021) that left the factory with a polycoat finish..I had CGW do some work to it and one of the things done was to have the polycoat stripped, and the frame, barrel, and slide, slide stop and saftey levers black nitrided..It turned out great..however closer inspection on the right side of the frame, by the light rail, shows us two very small pits..leftovers from casting the frame..The only way to remove them would be to draw file that side of the frame, and then, with pitting, there's always the possibilty that you'd never get them completely out as it's almost impossible to tell how deep they go. Some could go almost all the way through the frame, others, just below the surface.(In this case they don't appear to go very deep, and probably could've been draw filed out) Anyway, they were left as is.Does it bother me? No, I don't really care as they are really,really, small, and you have to look for them to find them. And, they don't have any affect on the guns function. So, I would'nt worry too much about the cosmetic defects you've found, I'd just go shoot the pistol, and enjoy it.