How does this beauty compare with the likes of Wilson Combat, Ed Brown, etc?
They are really a completely different gun from the high end 1911's. It is big, 6" barrel and weighs in at 45 1/2 oz. They are really made for serious target work.
I have never had a Brown or Wilson. Les Baer is in my metro area and I know Les through my work with the Friends of NRA. In my opinion, Baer's guns are every bit as high quality as the others at about a grand less. I have heard that the Baer guns are more accurate as that is Les's big thing. He guarantees all his guns to shoot 3" at 50 yards and also sells guns with a 1 1/2" guarantee for $150 more.
Baer's problem is he does not offer many options as far as grips, sights, and coatings. His business has been such that he is busy with his standard guns. Lately he has been adding some options and is charging like the other high end guys for them.
In my opinion, the quality of the SIG Mastershop guns is every bit as good as the high end manufacturers in this country. Their designs are really more conducive to higher accuracy in my opinion. Being imported drives the price very high though.