Should I Buy A 1911 Springfield stainless steel-Model LOADED-45cal. Handgun?

[veteran-USMC]

Should I Buy A Springfield 1911 stainless steel Model- Loaded-45 cal. Handgun?



Shooters-Hello I haven't been on this forum in quite a while. I am considering buying a Springfield 1911 stainless steel Loaded model handgun for both plinking & home defense. Here's a review of this handgun- http://www.gunblast.com/RKCampbell_Springfield.htm

My main concern is (1) how reliable in both feeding & ejecting ammo and functioning is
this handgun?

(2) how accurate is this handgun?

(3) how's the recoil on this handgun?

And in general what are your opinions on this 1911?

Thank-you shooters for your time & attention!

Semper Fi!

[WDW]

No, buy a Glock 17 & spare yourself regret & future disappointment. If you absolutely must have a 1911, buy a basic Colt Series 80 or XSE.

[TCinVA]

1. It's difficult to say. Some of the Springfield guns work beautifully. Some don't. The worst 1911 I ever owned was a Springfield.

2. It's difficult to say. Some of the guns they ship are probably very accurate, while others are probably not so accurate. Most are probably adequate for any defensive use you might want to put it to.

3. It's difficult to say without knowing what your perception of recoil is. The 1911 chambered in .45 ACP doesn't have an uncontrollable recoil impulse, but anything spitting a 230 grain projectile out the front end at 900 FPS is going to have a bit of pushback to it. If you have a proper grip odds are that it won't be much of a problem for you unless you're shooting a large number of rounds per year. (Like, say, 50,000) That many rounds per year can beat up your joints pretty good. Similarly, if you have joint issues or carpal tunnel, a .45 ACP is going to probably give you more problems than a comparable 9mm would. If you won't be shooting that much and don't have joint issues and you're an average sized male or better, odds are it won't be much of a problem for you.

4. In general - Personally because I've had bad experiences with Springfield's lower end "loaded" 1911 (their custom shop puts out pretty good stuff) I'd buy a Colt instead if I were looking for a 1911. Others have had very different experiences and would probably buy something else.

Generally many will tell you that if you're looking for a pistol that's reliable out of the box, the 1911 is one of the riskier ways to go unless you really know the 1911 well. A properly built 1911 works very well and will probably outlast most of us with sane maintenance...but only relatively few people know what a properly built 1911 actually is. Similarly most would probably ask if other calibers can be considered, since for most civilian uses there isn't a whole lot of difference between the performance you can expect from a 9mm vs. a .45 ACP.

An HK45, for instance, is in the same price range as the typical decent 1911, but is typically an exceptionally reliable, accurate, and durable handgun. It can even be had with the ability to carry it cocked and locked if that's preferred...and that's if you were set on a .45 ACP.

[SteveK]

From the 10-8 Performance website (article on the 1911 for duty use):

"The Springfield Loaded Full-Size MC Operator (PX9105MLP), with the green and black paint job, is also a very solid option. It bridges the quality between the Loaded and TRP grade 1911s and is an excellent value. These guns exhibit excellent overall build quality and tend to run well out of the box. The correct Picatinny spec light rail, corrosion resistant finish and overall configuration of the MC Operator lends itself well to duty use. The TRP models with the standard dust cover (PC9107LP Stainless, PC9108LP Armory Kote) are also excellent choices for a traditional format gun.

If you want to bridge the gap between a full blown hand built custom and a lower priced/entry level production 1911, the Springfield Professional is an excellent choice. You'll get extremely high build quality on a standardized feature set with a reasonable wait time. I have seen a lot of these guns and have a few myself. Statistically, there are more of the Professional Models out in real street service than any other factory custom 1911, so the quirks are pretty well worked out. They have consistently improved since the original run of guns, and overall are very nicely done. They offer cleanly executed checkering (some of the best on a production type gun), a nice beavertail fit, a blended S&A mag well, premium grade components, real Novak sights with Trijicon inserts, and excellent accuracy from the match fit Nowlin barrel. These guns typically work very well right out of the box, though they should be monitored closely during their break in period. It is available in a standard dust cover format (PC9111) and with the shortened Operator light rail frame (PC9111LR). If you find one of these on the secondary market, it is preferable to pick a later production specimen that has the Trijicon sight inserts and pinned front sight. Very early (low three digit CRG 1xx serial numbers) guns had IWI sight inserts and no pins in the front sights. While these were good guns, the sight inserts do not wear very well and you will want to replace them with Trijicons. Each run of guns differs as to whether their ejectors are pinned or glued, but the Springfield Custom Shop will pin the ejector if you desire."

That being said (quoted), I think the loaded models are pretty good renditions of the 1911. I have a 9mm that I've ran the dogwater out of. If you are mainly shooting ball ammo I wouldn't expect you to have any issues. Run 1000 rounds through it and see if any problems arise. A couple hundred rounds of your carry ammo through it should let you know if it will be reliable with it. If you don't mind the light rail the MC Operator is a really nice gun and a solid starting point. The 10-8 Performance sight really is a wealth of information on the 1911. Hilton Yam has years of end-user, maintenance and gunsmithing experience with the 1911 and many here consider his word as gospel. Good luck and enjoy.

[Robinson]

Of course, there is the possibility you will get headaches with a Glock too.

My current carry gun for cool weather months is a basic Colt Series 80 with tritium sights installed, so I agree that can be a good choice.

I did own a stainless Springfield Armory Loaded model .45 and I never had a bit of trouble with it. That is not nearly enough to make a buying decision on though, it was just a single example out of thousands. Recoil is the same as with any other steel 5" 1911.

I also owned a 9mm Loaded model that made it through the 2,000 round challenge (which you can read about elsewhere on this forum) with flying colors.

That said, all of the 1911s I own now are Colts.

The answer to your question is "it depends".

[JonInWA]

You've gotten some good responses above. And Hilton Yam has recently backed off from 1911s personally....as have others/other organizations. A 1911 can be a great pistol. A Springfield can be a great pistol. A 1911 can also be a problematic pain in the kitten. I'll echo the recommendation for a Colt as a base 1911 entry. I'd also remain with a 5" gun. And yes, you'll still probably need, or more than incrementally benefit, from having a genuine 1911 expert/organization go through it and set it up properly.

For plinking, they're great. For serious home defense/carry/general use, while they're certainly viable, I'd caveat that by recommending that for home defense/carry/general use an expert needs to go through it first to ensure that it's properly set up. And then you'll need to ascertain which magazines optimally perform with it, and obtain a sufficient stock of those...

A 1911 can be a journey, before you can trust it on the trip. With other contemporary guns, you have a greater likelihood of simply being able to take the trip....and they're usually less expensive, leaving more resources for ammunition/practice/competition/training, if resource constraints are a factor for you.

You're likely to get more out-of-the-box reliability from a Glock or HK in their 45 ACP incarnations, if it's the caliber which is your main attractant.

Best, Jon

[Kyle Reese]

An HK45, for instance, is in the same price range as the typical decent 1911, but is typically an exceptionally reliable, accurate, and durable handgun. It can even be had with the ability to carry it cocked and locked if that's preferred...and that's if you were set on a .45 ACP.

I'd go this route and save yourself the potential headaches associated with the 1911 platform.

[WDW]

Yeah, if I wanted a 45 I'd go the HK45 route with the Sig 220, G21, or M&P 45 as considerations also. I have had great success with my Colt Rail Guns though....another 1911 option.

[SteveK]

If the .45 acp is the driving factor there are indeed many good options out there. HK, Sig and the S&W M&P are all very good options. I have also recently picked up an old S&W 645/4506 series pistol. These are very reliable options. Magazines can be hard to locate for these pistols but they are still out there. I've had a couple of Glock 21s but never could bring myself to like them.

[Drang]

Are you asking because you want a 1911, and this is the one you're looking at?
Are you open to other makes/models/calibers?
I'm a 1911 guy myself, but if I were advising somebody who was just getting their first handgun for elf-defense, I would recommend a 9mm, and probably something other than a 1911, probably a S&W or Sig, FWIW.