Springfield Test

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1911Tuner

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Howdy all. I thought I'd consolidate the threads on the GI Springfield
tests that I've been doing so that anybody who has a little time on their
hands can refer back to'em without havin' to spend time on a search.
If everybody is okay with it, I'll make it a sticky for a while. I'll edit and
add links as I find'em.

Tuner
______________________________


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79358


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79540


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80649


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=79798



http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=80120



http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81244


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81444


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=82503


http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=1011764#post1011764

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?s=&postid=1021845#post1021845
 
Last edited:
Summaries

pauli asked:

think you could add short summaries for each link?

Sure could, if I knew what context folks would like to see. Added under the link? As part of the thread at the bottom? Ya'll let me know what ya want with it and I'll get on it.

I intend to write a summation after the test is over...graded on an A-F
scale as I evaluate a gun for my own personal use...which may or may not
apply to everybody's standards as to what they want in a pistol.
Trigger...sights...accuracy...ergonomics, etc.

Stand by for the Ultimate Torture Test... I'm gonna sift some dry NC Piedmont dirt...(known to everybody from here to southern Georgia as
"Red Clay") until I get a fine dust that's about the consistency of talc...
and throw it all over the gun in and out of various holsters...just to see
how it does.
:what:
 

that's just what i had in mind, though... don't know about anybody else :)
 
 
Double Whammy

Who Knows Who said:

Personally, I like chapter 5... heh heh

chapter five: wherein tuner pastes the same url as chapter three.

heh heh...I was just testin' ya to see if ya'll was payin' attantion. heh heh...Yeah! That's the ticket! I was testin' ya.

Who Knows wins the prize!


:rolleyes:

Ain't no doubt about it...I gotta get me a dang secretary!
 
As a happy owner of a WWII Mil-Spec, I've got to say a hearty "Thanks!" for these threads. I've learned a ton about my pistol and 1911s in general, and there's been a lot of questions I've had that were already asked and answered here. I love this board!

Tuner, one of these days I'll get up enough nerve to get myself a spring-steel extractor, and I'm sure I'll be searching and/or asking lots of questions to make sure I don't dork up my pistol! :D

Thanks again, guys!
 
I have to say that this is eye opening for me. The Springfield seems better than the two I had. I might consider buying another one. Mmmm, this crow isn't bad with salsa.:neener:
 
Fellas - gotta tell ya - I can't begin to describe how pleased I am with the quality of these new GI 45's. I picked up my second one a few weeks ago - a stainless steel version with wood grips and a great trigger - the best of the 4 I tried at the gun shop.

I own a parkerized version, and while is shoots quite well and on line, I have to use a 6 o'clock sight picture at 25 yards, and that's a bit foreign to me.

I took the new stainless GI for a spin today and was very pleased. POA is POI from 8 yards out to 15 yards. The only other hanguns I own that shoot this well are a 9mm BHP and a 9mm SiG P229. The trigger is so light and crisp that I experienced a few unintended double taps.

I had one odd occurance - a spent casing ended up jamming the action open after another round had already been fed...a first for me. It was not a stovepipe, rather the spent casing was in the same orientation it would be if itself had been feeding. Other than that - this thing is just too sweet.

This from a guy that was so disgusted with Springfield 1911's that he sold 5 of them last year - including a pair of TRP's...

I now own two GI 45's, a 9mm XD, and a Springfield M1A Bush Rifle.

Anyway - two thumbs up to Springfield...
 
Odd

varoadking said:

I had one odd occurance - a spent casing ended up jamming the action open after another round had already been fed...a first for me.

That's yet another of the recent Springfield extractor issues. Save yourself a headache and get a Brown Hardcore extractor. I'm in the first stages of testing a C&S spring extractor in this one, so you might want to hold off
for the report. Initial tweak and limited test-firing seems to look good, but the proff's comin' this week...

Luck!

Tuner
 
Thanks to "Tuner" for all the work, and reporting the results.

For those of us less experienced in the world of 1911's, those threads are a great source of info.

Heating up a 1911 to nearly red hot, then dunking in a bucket of water does seem like a somewhat inefficient way [albeit fun] to get hot water for coffee, though. :D :D :D :neener:
 
Is there a "printer friendly" version. :evil::neener: You know, for those people that don't have the internet.
 
re: Or Somethin'

1911WB said:


The President should declare Tuner a National Monument or somethin!!!

Oh yeah! That's just fine, 'til ya remember what PIGEONS do to monuments! No, thanks! If I'd wanted that kinda thing, I woulda
stayed with my last ex-wife!


:neener:

Tuner
 
WOW!

Holy Moly!!

I am a BIG Springer fan but cannot believe the time and expense and EFFORT that you have gone to in this testing. I hang out at the 1911 forum and have just come over here yesterday since the 1911 forum is down. A BIG BRAVO ZULU!! Great write up and research. I have two G.I.s, both are the parked US wood grip models. I replaced the limp recoil spring with an 18 lb Wolff and added Wilson Shok Buffs. I have about 2000 through the first one and none through the second. Runs like a swiss watch. Thanks for taking the time to do all of this and I look forward to more installments!

Deezul
 
E for Effort

deezulsmoke said:

I am a BIG Springer fan but cannot believe the time and expense and EFFORT that you have gone to in this testing.

Hey...It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.:cool:

Actually, this test had been in the plannin' stages for months. I knew that
Springfield's frame and slide were good, and that the internals were
bean-counted, vendor-supplied this and that. I accepted small parts
failures as an assigned risk and proceeded to see how they'd hold up
under the most extreme conditions that I could put it under without
deliberately tryin' to destroy the gun.

FWIW, an older 1991A1 Colt did almost as well as this Springfield, and
any functional issues that came up were directly related to the Series 80
slide parts. (The frame levers never gave a problem.)They just couldn't take the amount of crud that built up in'em, and had they not been there, I have no doubt that it would have been as good...or maybe better than the Springfield. That test was done in 1993.

Welcome to The High Road!

Tuner
 
More on 1911 Tuner

Just a note to say that Tuner not only gives fine advice, he will also teach any idiot that shows up at his front door! I was just such an idiot, but after a only a few hours of patient explanations (he had to repeat things for me), hands-on instruction, and the famous "Poor Man's" trigger job, my village is now looking for a replacement. Many, many thanks to 1911 Tuner for his great service to this forum and the folks that use it.
 
1911Tuner

In your opinion which would be the best GI Mil Spec pistol to purchase, the Colt or the Sprinfield model?

Thanks for all the information!
 
Decisions, Decisions(Rather Long)

Howdy Arizona,

The Colt GI Mil-Spec is about a 900 dollar pistol now, and in short supply.
I haven't even seen one yet. Guess I ain't got dsk's connections.:p

If you mean the NRM Series 80...I bought one a little over two years ago, and wasn't too impressed. The slide to frame fit was bordering on unacceptable, but the price was right, so I bought it. (Private transaction)\
Side to side play doesn't bother me as long as it's within reason, but the vertical slop in this one left me kinda cold. I had to swage the front of the frame rails down and refit the slide to get it squared away....which brought on a disconnector problem. (Search: A Disconnector Story) Easy fix, but
just another THING...ya know?

The Springfield was much better, and was actually a little tighter than I like
in a general purpose, go anywhere-do anything 1911.

The Springfield was loaded up with MIM and investment cast small parts, which wasn't a real issue since I planned on an upgrade with good
aftermarket and USGI parts to replace the "Nearly Steel" stuff in the Springer. Also gotten a few reports of ejection issues with the Springfield that seem to be due to the ejector being a little out of spec. easy fix, though, with a good aftermarket ejector. (The brass flies striaght up or in your face, and the only way that I was able to get it stopped was with another ejector. A call to Springfield will just get you another one just like the other one. Think Ed Brown.

The Colt has a machined barstock hammer(likely blanked and finish machined) A machined slidestop...and, from what I gather...a very good
barstock extractor. (Mine was MIM and broke in less than a thousand rounds) I haven't seen a recent NRM Colt in a while, so I can't say whether the fitting is improved since I got mine.

The Colt sells for around 525 to 575 bucks out the door...depending on the area, and the Springfield will go for somewhere between 375 and 425
on average.

Even though I subscribe to the: "If it ain't a Colt, it's just a copy."
attitude, I was impressed with the Springfield and would buy another one
if I was in the right place with the green in hand. If you want a medium-duty shooter/carry pistol for the least cash outlay, I'd have to say buy the
Springfield. If nothing will do but a Colt, and you're willing to handle a few
to cherry-pick the best of the lot, I doubt if you'll be disappointed. Be aware that the NRMs are Series 80 pistols, and a bit more tedious to reassemble after a detail strip...but not bad once you've done it a time or three...and that you could possibly get one of the older ones that has the MIM extractor. Minor inconvenience...but a possibility all the same. When it
breaks, a call to Colt will get you another one barstock) in about a week,
no questions asked.

Luck!

Tuner
 
Springer Ejector Replacement

Tuner,
How difficult is the ejector to change out? My Springer does everything yours did with the fired cases before you fixed the "Springer Dings"
Dave
 
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