anyone know the definition of "National Match". i see alot of parts listed as NM or match grade. i'm wondering if there are strict specifications for calling something NM or match. i was at a barrel manufacturer's website of dubious quality advertising match grade drop in barrels. then i see other manufacturers advertise "match quality"...which i assume is more a marketing term than anything else. if anyone can shed some light...tia....

-kotonk

Go back to the early days of "The Match". Camp Perry was / is a showcase. Firearms were / are built to be the best possible. Remembering that in the earlier days, 1911's were built for reliability (for the troops). Tighter tolerances were not condusive to reliability. Most of the "National Match" parts were so marked to indicate parts with closer tolerances than normal run of the mill parts.
This is not the complete story, and it may not be correct, but this is the answer I received a long time ago when I asked the same question.
Good shooting!

Though the term has been recently overused and even bastardized by some,
the term National Match suggests a precisely fitted pistol built from the highest quality parts...and the finished product had to meet certain accuracy
requirements before it would be a real player in National Match competition.

Some of them were a little finicky as to reliability. Nature of the beast.
When there is less room for dirt to go, something has to give. Not all
were like that, though. A few years back, I had the privelege of handling
and firing a pistol that had been set up for the Camp Perry games by one of the old masters of the craft, Austin Behlert. Though the pistol was high-mileage, and showing its age, it was still an amazing piece of work. Imagine, if you will...a 1911 pistol that will shoot tighter groups at 50 yards than many off-the-shelf bolt action sporters...WITH a scope attached. The gun never stopped in a 500-round range session...Not once.

There is also a false assumption (and old wives tale) to the effect that:
"The looser she is, the better she'll run." While it's true that a gun with
more clearance in certain areas will allow it to function better under adverse
conditions than one that is tight...there comes a point of diminising returns,
and the gun can get so loose as to make it less reliable.

Good question...Good response by stumbler. Let's hear from some more
who have experienced the old National Match pistols.

Tuner

I put the term "National Match" in the same category as "Tactical". Overused, bastardized, and gone to the marketing table as a label to increase sales. Stamp "Tactical" on it, a then jack up the price $300.

good info all around...thanks people.

on a side note, i had someone point out on my springfield that my NMXXXXX serial number(pointing out the "NM") was a national match frame which made it better. a quick email to springfield's custom shop debunked that. later on, i was told the NM prefix on the springfield frames denotes that the pistol was finished in the US, not brazil.

thanks again everyone.

-kotonk