Before
After
I have recently finished my Springfield Mil Spec Project. I wanted to provide a write up on it for you all to peruse.
I have been a Browning Hi Power shooter since I was very young, but I have always been interested in the other famous browning design, the 1911. I purchased a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special for a good deal and was pleasantly surprised. I was not sure that is was the best pistol since sliced bread (although others would probably disagree and if it works best for them, they should stick to it.) I was also very nervous about having this expensive 1911 on my person for protection purposes as I didn’t want anything to happen to damage it, and I didn’t want to have it locked in an evidence locker with a case number stamped into the side of the slide and frame for months and months if it was unfortunately used in a self defense encounter. So I began thinking about 1911 options that wouldn’t break the bank and wouldn’t make me worry about using it and holster wear, scratches, etc.
I handled a few and wound up selecting the Springfield Mil Spec to serve as a “working†gun. It was not a love at first sight pistol. The frame to slide fit is great, the bushing/barrel fit is decent and can be taken off with my bare hands (something I haven’t been able to do with the Baer yet, but I hear they will loosen up after a case of ammo or so.) and the sights (while not night sights) are quickly visible and make a good sight picture. I was not too in love with the trigger as it traveled almost completely back into the frame before breaking and allowing the gun to fire. But the price is good (I landed mine for $480) and it served all of my needs for a carry weapon just fine.
I stumbled upon a project that was being produced for this exact model of pistol. It seemed to address most of the things that I was not head over heels in love with on the pistol. I waited and waited, but finally the kit came and I set about installing it. Install was pretty easy and was completed in no time. The hammer, sear, disconnector, mainspring, recoil spring, pins, firing pin stop, grip safety, firing pin spring, and trigger were all replaced. The gun was almost original looking. If you notice, there are only 3 things different; the trigger, the hammer, and the grip safety. Everything else externally is untouched. Something I liked as it was not the end of the world if it got scratched or holster wear set in.
Firing it almost back to back before and after, it is pretty much day and night difference. These results might not be for every Mil Spec but for mine it was very different. The trigger is the most noticeable change. For one it actually breaks where a normal pistol would (not 95% back into the frame). Also the pull is much improved and breaks like a glass rod. I don’t have a trigger pull gauge but I would say it was at least 7 lbs. in the before stage, the after stage is 4 ¼ lbs. (I have another pistol that has been refined and measured at 4 ¼ lbs and both break with the exact same amount of pull.) Also the reset is a lot crisper. The hammer also cocks back with a much nicer feel and drops with a bit more authority.
The first time I shot the Mil spec in the “before†condition I was impressed. It shot very accurately and didn’t have any failures. Aside from the trigger coming so far back into the frame before breaking and firing the gun (which was more of a personal “feel†annoyance than anything else) the pistol would have served me fine. The pistol in the “after†stages is like a different gun. The groups are much tighter and easier to reproduce after a good number of rounds have been fired down the range and fatigue is rearing its ugly head.
All in all I would say that I am very pleased with the gun and its modifications. It is accurate, reliable, cost friendly, and in my opinion handsome in a utilitarian way. I shoot it just as well as I shoot pistols that I have been using for years and it gobbles up any kind of ammo I have fed it. So it fits my needs as a carry weapon very, very well.
After
I have recently finished my Springfield Mil Spec Project. I wanted to provide a write up on it for you all to peruse.
I have been a Browning Hi Power shooter since I was very young, but I have always been interested in the other famous browning design, the 1911. I purchased a Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special for a good deal and was pleasantly surprised. I was not sure that is was the best pistol since sliced bread (although others would probably disagree and if it works best for them, they should stick to it.) I was also very nervous about having this expensive 1911 on my person for protection purposes as I didn’t want anything to happen to damage it, and I didn’t want to have it locked in an evidence locker with a case number stamped into the side of the slide and frame for months and months if it was unfortunately used in a self defense encounter. So I began thinking about 1911 options that wouldn’t break the bank and wouldn’t make me worry about using it and holster wear, scratches, etc.
I handled a few and wound up selecting the Springfield Mil Spec to serve as a “working†gun. It was not a love at first sight pistol. The frame to slide fit is great, the bushing/barrel fit is decent and can be taken off with my bare hands (something I haven’t been able to do with the Baer yet, but I hear they will loosen up after a case of ammo or so.) and the sights (while not night sights) are quickly visible and make a good sight picture. I was not too in love with the trigger as it traveled almost completely back into the frame before breaking and allowing the gun to fire. But the price is good (I landed mine for $480) and it served all of my needs for a carry weapon just fine.
I stumbled upon a project that was being produced for this exact model of pistol. It seemed to address most of the things that I was not head over heels in love with on the pistol. I waited and waited, but finally the kit came and I set about installing it. Install was pretty easy and was completed in no time. The hammer, sear, disconnector, mainspring, recoil spring, pins, firing pin stop, grip safety, firing pin spring, and trigger were all replaced. The gun was almost original looking. If you notice, there are only 3 things different; the trigger, the hammer, and the grip safety. Everything else externally is untouched. Something I liked as it was not the end of the world if it got scratched or holster wear set in.
Firing it almost back to back before and after, it is pretty much day and night difference. These results might not be for every Mil Spec but for mine it was very different. The trigger is the most noticeable change. For one it actually breaks where a normal pistol would (not 95% back into the frame). Also the pull is much improved and breaks like a glass rod. I don’t have a trigger pull gauge but I would say it was at least 7 lbs. in the before stage, the after stage is 4 ¼ lbs. (I have another pistol that has been refined and measured at 4 ¼ lbs and both break with the exact same amount of pull.) Also the reset is a lot crisper. The hammer also cocks back with a much nicer feel and drops with a bit more authority.
The first time I shot the Mil spec in the “before†condition I was impressed. It shot very accurately and didn’t have any failures. Aside from the trigger coming so far back into the frame before breaking and firing the gun (which was more of a personal “feel†annoyance than anything else) the pistol would have served me fine. The pistol in the “after†stages is like a different gun. The groups are much tighter and easier to reproduce after a good number of rounds have been fired down the range and fatigue is rearing its ugly head.
All in all I would say that I am very pleased with the gun and its modifications. It is accurate, reliable, cost friendly, and in my opinion handsome in a utilitarian way. I shoot it just as well as I shoot pistols that I have been using for years and it gobbles up any kind of ammo I have fed it. So it fits my needs as a carry weapon very, very well.
