Springfield Mil-Spec 45

C

Claywms

New member
I'd like to hear about your experiences with this gun and any opinions you have on it. I can get one for 449.00 NIB at a local gun shop. How good of a gun? Durable? Accurate? Reliable? This will be my first 1911 style pistol. Good entry-level gun?

Also, are there any online articles about it I need to read?

Thanks!
 
They are decent guns. Some downsides include...
  • Razor sharp edges
  • Grip profile doesn't follow the original Browning specs. Same with dust cover. Bulky and blocky instead of sleek and sexy.
  • Doesn't have a horse on the slide.

Some upsides include....
  • Decent price.
  • Good warranty
  • Series 70 ignition system.
  • Good sights.

Decent gun overall (if you can stand the frontstrap). Sounds like a real nice price too. Buy it. :)
 
What Inspector Callahan said...

Paid $489 for mine on sale. Good gun. FWIW, mine was flawless for the first 200 rounds, then next range session had multiple failures to eject. Cases were getting stuck almost horizontally in the ejection port and crunched by the slide. Inspection revealed an extractor with virtually no tension. Field stripped, adjusted extractor tension, and back in business! Fun, accurate gun to shoot.
 
You might look at the new Kahr Auto Ordinance too. It's similar pistol in a similar price range. I picked up one last week and have only run about 150 rounds through it (and that was with just taking it out of the box, swabbing the barrel with a little CLP and squirting a dash on the barrel and rails). It ran flawlessly (ball only) was surprising accurate. Trigger pull a little heavy, but I think it's in the "smooth out with use" range. I think the barrel could do with a little throating. (It had no feeding problems, but I think it would help.) I think it's a keeper. Overall, it had a quality feel, and I didn't find any sharp edges 9 (a la SA)--it's too soon to tell, but I think QC-wise, it's a little better than my last 1991A1.
 
Okay, another dumb question. Bear with me because I am very new to the 1911 pistol and the manual that came with it is less than informative. I can pull the hammer back about 1/8 of an inch and it will click into that position, not quite fully forward and not cocked. What is this mid-position for? Is it a "safety" kind of position to carry with a loaded chamber? Thanks for any help.
 
Sorry to break this to you guys, but I got mine nused in box (no more than 50 rounds through it, if that) for $275 a few years ago.

The parkerizing wasn't even fully worn off of the rails yet.

Decent guns. I've shot a LOT of bowling pins with mine.

As mentioned, mine also catches and crunches maybe 5 percent of the brass. I'm not worried about that, as I normally find more on the range floor than I lose to crunching.

No, it doesn't have a horse on the slide, but it also doesn't have a horse's price.

But, come to think about it, last time I was at the range, there was a REAL horse's ass on the lane next to me.

Does that count at all? :)
 
Like is said decent handguns. I picked up one used for 400 before it was called a mil-spec, box stock with short trigger and high profile sights. It works, but:

Compared to my 70 series horse model its not as sleek, trigger is absymal.

I own 4 1911's now and its the only one to ever get a loose plunger tube which happily I fixed tonight with solder, if it comes loose cocked and locked you are not going to get that safety off. Bad deal. much better now. Also its the only one that would hang a firing pin forward in the bore if inadvertantly fired with an empty chamber. This too tonight was cured by chamfering the pin bore at the back side of the breech face, polishing the pin, and most importantly installing a Wolff pin spring. Its the same free length as a stock spring but has more coils so it hits coil bind earlier stopping the pin before it jams its taper in the bore.

My carry piece is now 52 years old and very mil-spec except for sights, stocks, a trigger job, and Wilson mags. It beats the springy hands down in fit, finish, and most importantly reliability. Not throated or polished, feeds everything. I guess I expect a higher level when buying new stuff like SA's or Kimber.
 
Claywms,

That notch is known as a "half-cock" notch, and it's there to catch the hammer before it can reach the firing pin, should something cause it to slip off the full cock position unintentionally.

It is not intended, nor should it be used, as a carry position. Either carry it fully cocked and thumb safety engaged (preferred and safe), or hammer down on an empty chamber (slow to put into use if it's a carry gun).

Good luck.
 
I bought mine for $421 before Kimbers existed.

Mil-Spec is a misnomer because mine came with a beveled mag well, lowered/ground ejection port, and big three-dot sights.

It didn't have razor-itis.

Trigger pull was so-so.

Only problems so far have been dirt-related or bad magazines.

Has fed every hollowpoint except Gold-dots, which jam at the top of the frame portion of the feed ramp because the barrel is a bit roughly ramped, and over hangs the frame ramp by just a touch on one side. One of these years I'll fix it, but as the gun doesn't particularly care fo Gold-Dots accuracy-wise, it's not much of an issue. I moslty feed it Hydra-shocks for serious business.

And it makes a great Hand Rifle.:D
 
IMNSLE

The Springfield pistols are generally not very accurate as compared to Kimber line.

Suggest Kimber for base model 1911 (unless Colt quickly gets 1911 act together).

Not opinion; actual testing.

Springfield makes excellent base gun for customizing; then either brand is okay.
 
OUT of spec

the reason they are "out of spec" is they need the extra material around the grip frame to do a proper front strap checkering...
the dust cover is install the scope mount and needs the extra for the screws...Hey Larry Vickers will only work on guns out of Geneseo...this is the BASE gun for a custom peice..
bottom line nothing out of Springfiled is a dog..
 
I am always amused by the 1911 debates. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject. After all an expert is a man who knows 187 ways to make love but doesn't know any women. That said, 1911's were designed to shoot ball ammo and any stock 1911 that digests any HP is giving you more than you bargained for.

Being a fan of accuracy over jello, jeans and goats, I would and have felt well-protected with a 1911 stoked with ball ammo.

The man got a good gun. I know this will lay me open to multitudes of flamenpostens but from what I see at my range, the compact versions of the Kimber aren't worth it. I can't speak to the full size models so I won't.
 
Larry Vickers & Base Guns

Actually SNOWPIG, Mr. Vickers works on ALL Colts, SA, Caspian, and CMC frames and slides so long as they are not compact models:cool:
 
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