Springfield EMP 9mm thoughts?

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bikemutt

bikemutt

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I ran across a used SA EMP 9mm today at a local pawnshop and kinda like the gun. It comes with 4 Italian-made MECGAR mags and VZ grips. Looks like it's seen some action, maybe 500 rounds down the pipe. Includes box with ambi safety and slide release, and pretty much everything it came with new.

I don't know anything about these handguns other than what I've seen with this one. Anyone here know anything about these?

It's not a cheap gun by any stretch but it seems very well made, I don't mind dropping the dough if it's as good as the salesman says it is :)

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The best compact/subcompact 9mm 1911 on the market, hands down.

They're reliable, they're great shooters, they'll fit any 1911 holsters you've already got.

If you can get it for a reasonable price, I'd go for it.
 
I owned one of the early EMPs--s/n 1705 IIRC.
It had more problems than any ten semi auto pistols should have.
Light primer strikes.
Failures to feed.
Failures to extract.
Failures to lock back on an empty mag.
Locking back on a partially full mag...and several others that I can no longer remember.

That one went back to Geneseo twice. Springfield replaced it with s/n 2750 (again, IIRC...it's been since 2007). This one had only about half as many problems, and went back to Geneseo twice...seeing a pattern here?

It finally ended up working about 95%, and I sold it for a huge loss with full disclosure. The new owner sent it back again (at least once, maybe twice).

He offered to sell it back to me about two years ago, and believe it or not, I met with him, shot it and seriously considered buying it back (although at the price he was asking, it was adding insult to injury).

As tempted as I was, I passed.

My thoughts on the EMP:
--It is a jewel of a design.
--The design and the execution are two very different things.
--If you get a good one, you will very likely love it.
--I wish I had waited a year...or two...or three.
--Today, I still own the 3" Kimber Ultra Carry that I owned before the EMP.

The Ultra Carry weighs the same as the EMP and fits the same holster (the EMP is fractions of an inch smaller in several dimensions, but for all practical purposes, is the same size) and fires a .45 acp instead of a 9mm round.

To me, the main advantage of a 9mm is the ability to build (carry) a small pistol. The EMP does not capitalize on this advantage; the Kahr PM9 does.

For my money, if I'm going to carry a 3", 24 oz 1911, it will be a .45acp.

YM(may)V. :)
 
I picked up one of these for my wife several years ago, soon after they came out. We had similar issues to what orionengnr had with his, and ours took a trip back to Springfield. The repair improved things but not 100%.

We ended up selling it with full disclosure and replaced it with a custom built 1911 in 9mm that has been much more reliable.

Would the gunshop let you try before you buy?
 
Had the EMP 9mm for a couple of years. Front sight fell off right away but Springfield fixed it free and the gun has been 100% since. This is a great pistol if you like the 1911 platform. It's light, accurate, a great size. For my money the 9mm is the way to go, the .40 version is noticeably heavier. For all the publicity about the Kimber Solo, I much prefer the EMP for a relatively small, light pistol.
 
Had one, in 40, front sight died from recoil, "night sights" replaced them both with trijcons. Gun shot fine, was very heavy for a single stack sub compact. The 9 is aluminum and much lighter. I would go for a 45 for the size and weight. Either a Kimber or a S&W pro series.
 
Mine runs great, but it doesn't like fat reloads. If you want a compact 9MM, it's hard to beat.
 
One of my favorite guns.

Had some problems feeding hollow points when new but SA CS is second to none and they made it right.

Excellent CC weapon.

Very happy with mine.
 
Any comparisons between the EMP and the P938? I have a P938 I really like and that I got for far less than an EMP.

Would love an EMP, but I just made the switch to 45ACP and all funds ante invested in that at the moment.


Sent from my iPhone
 
I've never owned a 938, but I've shot a couple belonging to other people.

I would say that the price difference accurately reflects the quality/build/design difference between the two.

The two 9mm pistols that I carry the most often are the Kahr CW9 and the EMP. I've shot them both in IDPA competition and they have acquitted themselves very well...I wouldn't try that with a 938
 
Well, I own a P238 and I've handled a few 938s. There's a big difference, to say the least. The 938 is a pocket pistol, the EMP is larger and superior in most respects (EMP certainly doesnt have a plastic trigger!). Heck, the EMP has a better out of the box trigger than my Colts.
 
Mine had a 16k serial nimber. It did not function from the factory. Springfield paid for both trips to the factory. It ran great after that.

Issues:

1) Incorrect ramp geometry. They recut it and polished various parts.
2) Incorrect link. The firing pin nearly hit brass. They changed the link to center it up.

After a few hundred rounds, the gun's slide locked up. The extractor was glued into the frame and worked its way loose. SA fixed it by pinning it into the frame.

The gun ate any steel cased, cheap brass FMJ, or expensive JHP after that. It was always very accurate. It just did not do anything a Glock 19 could not do except not fire due to the safety. I sold it for a Glock 21 Gen 4.
 
bike, My brother has one, purchased new in the last 2-3 years. As received it had "issues', both functional and cosmetic. From what I've read, not unusual with the EMP. Anyway, a trip back to Springfield, resulted in a new slide, maybe a new barrel too, but can't recall for sure. Afterwards we tested it with every kind of 9MM factory ammo we had on hand. Ball, hollowpoint, std. stuff, +P, +P+, etc. Absolutely reliable with everything. I was not too impresed with it as received, but now that SA has addressed the issues, neat little gun. Just annoying that SA couldn't have taken more care in production and their QC person/s passed it. The issues were not difficult to see. I would not care to purchase one without a warranty...ymmv
 
I have had a 9mm EMP for a few years. She has has somewhere between 7-10K rounds down the pipe with no issues whatsoever. Seems to even be immune to limp wristing. It is the favorite firearm of all of a brother and a son of mine. Amazingly accurate for such a short pistol, and a joy to shoot. I really can't say enough about how satisfied I am with that pistol.
 
I had gotten one for my wife. Biggest piece of crap gun I've ever owned. Wouldn't lock back after the last shot. The dealer insisted on sending it back to SA. Couple of weeks later it came back and I took it downstairs to their range. Now I couldn't get through a mag without multiple FTF, FTE, FTRB. You name a failure, and it did it. The dealer gave me a refund as a store credit and my wife went home with a Para PDA.

On the plus side, when it did fire, it was accurate.

I doubt i'd buy another SA after that.
 
Very nice gun. Accurate, reliable and easy to tote around. I carry mine routinely.

The only bad thing is I get off center firing pin hits and the heel digs into my back a bit.

I would buy another if I lost this one or I broke it.
 
I should mention that a lot of the bad press/experiences have been from the early guns.

The early EMPs on the market had tight chambers and loose extractors. Springfield fixed the ones that were returned for service and made production changes to correct the problem.

Mine has been reliable for a couple of thousand rounds, with the only bobble with overly long lead reloads (not mine). It has always functioned with my defensive loads (Ranger 127gr +P+ & Golddot 124gr +P). There was a slight hesitation when going into battery...if you eased the slide forward...which I'm sure would have cleared up with use, but I had the factory clean it up as I intended the gun for carry.

I have a couple of friends who also bought EMPs for CCW and they have run smoothly (they don't shoot reloads).

The only thing I've changed on mine has been the thumb safety (I prefer a strong side only) and I'm not thrilled by the Novak style 3-dot sights. I've blacked out the rear dots and looking for a replacement rear sight as monies become available
 
I should mention that a lot of the bad press/experiences have been from the early guns.
Click to expand...

My gun was recently made at the time and the problems were due to a lack of proper QA.
 
The early EMPs on the market had tight chambers and loose extractors.
Click to expand...
My 3 digit EMP had a tight chamber. It was touched up with a reamer by SA and polished by me. Runs like a Swiss watch. It is still on the tight side compared to a lot of 9MM guns, but runs factory ammo and quality reloads 100%. I case gauge all sized brass and scrap anything that will not drop free of its own weight. They also replaced the slide due to very rough internal machining of the firing pin channel. It is a great gun. Very tight fit and superb finish inside and out.
 
I've always admired the fit and finish of the EMP (mine is in the 11xxx serial range) and felt it was between the TRP and the Professional...which in my mind makes it a great value
 
Massad Ayoob thinks very highly of his EMP 9mm & he carries it regularly. I'm not saying that should sway you one way or the other, but it's a datapoint.

The EMP owners I've personally talked to all praise the gun & compare it to a fine custom gun with jewel-like machining precision & silky smooth operation.
 
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