Easy response Matt. An accurate gun need not be overly tight. I had (I gave it to my father in 1989) a gun that would literally rattle from frame to slide fit and shot 1.6" for 9 rounds from a sand bag at 50 YARDS with me pulling the trigger.
The BarSto was indeed fitted well but certainly not tight.
My guns don't rattle, and I prefer to fit the bushing so you need a wrench to disasemble it, but past that, the guns aren't "tight" by some current standards.
They are accurate and are less prone to dirt and malfuntion because of it IMO.
Take a look at the original 1911s (not the A1) built by Colt. The commercial guns were very nice and TIGHT from all the samples I have seen. The tolerences were changed on the A1s and IMO, to the detriment of the guns that followed. The reliability of the 1911 was defined by the original 1911 before and during WWII, which was a finely made firearm that did not rattle nor was it loose. They shot because they were hand fitted to close tolerences.
A relaible gun to me means accurate and works 100%. Nothing more or less. That also means it has to shoot better than I can hold.
What I can hold depends on my level of practice and my eyes. That changes. But one of the last guns I shot for group did 9 rounds into the size of a quarter from 27 measured yards, standing, off hand. That gun went to Kosovo with its present owner.
It was fitted like the original 1911 Colts.