[Lone Star]

I've seen a lot of blather about Springfield Armory's pistols, with some concern about MIM parts, etc.

If one was wanting a basic grade Government type pistol, equivalent to the M1911A-1, except perhaps in stainless, how good is the Springfield in either GI form or the Mil-Spec grade?

Is their stainless as good as their Parkerized versions? That is, do they have heat treating or fitting issues with stainless not present in "normal" steel?

The bottom line is: Would you take one of these guns from the box, clean and lube and test fire it maybe 300 times, then feel safe trusting your life to it? I' m not into "action" shooting games; this will be a duty weapon in my job as a security officer, and for home defense. I am very familiar with genuine Colt Government and GI pistols, and have owned a few over the years.

I don't want to apply any add-on's, except maybe to change grips. I do want to be able to fed JHP ammo, at least some brands.

What's the verdict? How likely is the gun to work reliably, in the real world? I would be hand picking it for fit and finish.

I know there are "stickies" above, but haven't time to wade through all the comments, some of which don't really address how the guns perform, without custom work or upgrading, etc.

Lone Star

[usp_fan]

These pistols are good to go from the box. Or they can be used as a solid base for a project gun. Mine has been great. One modification many people make is to replact the ILS (locking main spring housing). There is a percieved fear that it might lock while you are shooting and disable the pistol. I've not heard of this happening, but perception is reality in most cases.

I've changed mine from stock, but not before I satisfied myself that it was a good solid pistol in stock form.

Good luck,

--usp_fan

[1911Tuner]

Howdy Lone Star,

Based on the information given above...I'd say yes. If there are issues with the gun that need to be tended to, they'll likely show up quickly. About the only repeated problems that I've run into with the GI Springers is the ejection pattern is a little wild, and only in about one gun in five. They had a little problem with extractors for a short time, but that seems to have gotten
ironed out, and I haven't heard of any lately. Correctly tensioned, their extractors are probably as good as Colt's now.

If there is a problem, the fix for either is simple and straightforward. Replace both parts, and put a good tweak on the extractor. I recommend the Brown
Hardcore. I've gotten a few scattered reports of Cylinder & Slide's extractors
being out of spec.

Sometime when you have a little time to kill...read the Torture Test sticky.
I put one through a wringer that would have busted it if it was gonna bust.
Things that nobody in their right minds would do to a new gun...but i never claimed to be real solid on the mental stability quotient. :D It's a pretty good read, if you'd like to know how much pinishment the gun took.

[Lone Star]

Thanks, guys. I probably will read 1911 Tuner's torture test later, before I buy.

I'd forgotten that obscene lock. Will a WW II GI mainspring housing fit, eliminating the problem? Otherwise, what do you substitute for the factory version? Ditto on such small parts as extractor, ejector, firing pin stop? Will GI surplus parts work?

Lone Star

[Seraph]

I have a parkerized Mil Spec and a GI Champion. Both have been 100% reliable and very accurate. The 5" pistol points and shoots better for me than does the 4", but I have also read opinions to the contrary. I put over 3500 trouble-free rds through the Mil Spec before sending it to SA Custom Shop. I'd consider that highly reliable. I still haven't fired these pistols from a bench rest, so I can't say what their respective best 25 yd groups would be. From a Weaver-ish stance, at a distance of 7yds, I can put 8 rounds through a tattered hole in the X ring, fairly rapidly (using mostly the front sight). At 15yds, the group measures around 1.5"-2", and I use the back sight a little more conciously. At 25 yds, I can group about 3.5", but I have to take more careful aim, and pay more attention to my squeeze. I am not good enough yet to hold such a tight group in rapid fire, at this distance, but I can hammer down and still keep them on a silhouette, mostly within the 8 ring. The increasing distance really shows my inexperience. I need more practice. My accuracy with the 4" pistol is comparable, with the bigger difference showing up when I shoot at 25 yds. Between the Mil Spec and the GI .45, I did, and would again, choose the Mil Spec (I would have bought a Mil Spec Champion, instead of the GI Champion, were one being offered). I don't know if the stainless is as good as the carbon steel, but I plan to make my next 1911 a stainless Mil Spec, which I will build up a little bit, into a range run/game gun. I hope this is the type of response you were looking for.

PS: Yes, any standard 1911 MSH will work to replace the ILS-infected one that comes with. The one on the Mil spec pictured below is an old Colt unit (not USGI, though). Almost all the small parts are fully 1911 interchangeable. Exceptions that immediately occur to me are the .38 Super firing pin, and the Springfield-unique front sight tenon size of .082".

http://www.workhorsearmory.com/seraph/Valentine_Gigolette.jpg

[Boats]

The extractor on mine revealed itself to be crap. However a Wilson replacement dropped right in.

[1911Tuner]

Lone Star...Yes. A standard mainspring housing will work. So will the Ed Brown, Colt, or about any of the other aftermarket housings. For some
reason, the ones from Smith & Alexander have a little issue aligning with the holes in the grip frame...and not just in mine. Older GI arched housings work fine though.

If you buy a bare housing, you'll also need the mainspring cap and the small cap retaining pin. I'd also recommend changing the firing pin and spring.
Ed Brown makes a direct swap for the Springfield .45 caliber pistol. A standard firing pin won't work without slide modification, and the 9mm pin is slightly too small.

Boats...Would you happen to recall what letter your crappy Springfield extractor had on it? The bad ones seem to be confined to the ones
marked A and B...and a small number of Cs. D,E,F and above appear to be okay. I haven't seen any above K...but up to that point, it looks to have been remedied.