Springfield Armory - Where's The Love?

[Trooper224]

This forum isn't down on Springfield, it's just objective about Springfield. You don't find that (objectivity) on most forums.

If one needs their ass powdered to validate their choice, this isn't the place for it.

[Dave T]

If one needs their ass powdered to validate their choice, this isn't the place for it.

Thank you so much Trooper for completely misunderstanding the point of my thread and for the not so subtle insult to top it off.

Dave

[Trooper224]

Thank you so much Trooper for completely misunderstanding the point of my thread and for the not so subtle insult to top it off.

Dave

No misunderstanding on my part Dave, it's not the complicated.

Please don't mistake my apathy towards your feelings as a personal insult. 😀

[Dave T]

I was telling what was meant to be a possibly entertaining tale of discovery and the solution to a problem. I wasn't looking for validation.

Wasted too much time on this one already. I'm done.

Dave

[TicTacticalTimmy]

I don't think many people are Springfield haters because of their 1911s.

Its mainly that they resell Croatian pistols and market them in a way that implies they are American. My limited experience with the XD line was that they felt cheap and had reliability issues, and generally fell far short of the marketing hype. The 2020 is also a known POS, they seem to spend more on marketing than any other gun company and therefore have less to spend on product development and QC. Springfields are the traditional gun of choice for low information gun buyers. They also have that name when having no connection, afaik, to the historical Springfield armory.

And then theres those of us that will never forgive them for supporting gun grabbers through their lobbying in Illinois.

[L-2]

I've cut back my 1911 inventory to four: Sprinfield Professional, Guncrafter Industries railed, Kimber SIS 5", and Doublestar railed.

The only gripes I've got with my Springfield Professional is the warranty is only to the original buyer (I bought it used, although I don't actually need anything warrantied); and Springfield-Armory won't sell me a grip safety (which I dented, but it works fine) and would require me shipping the 1911 to them for installation.

Grip safeties aren't universal and each brand seems to have its own cut to mate with a 1911 frame. I'll just leave the original although it's slightly "dinged up".

Somehow, I bent the original titanium firing pin, unless the previous owner did, but that was easily remedied with an aftermarket firing pin. I think I used a steel Ed Brown-brand .090" to replace it.

I've also got two Springfield-Armory rifles, an M1A Scout and an AR15 "Saint". The Saint needed work, handled under warranty which took ~6 weeks but it's good-to-go now.

[Rock185]

I've had a few Springfields. None exactly trouble free, but I think overall they are good guns and generally well regarded by owners..

[JSGlock34]

I find it hard to have a straightforward opinion about Springfield Armory because their offerings are so broad. I certainly don't care for the dubious marketing that tries to tie the company with the former US government arsenal, particularly since its catalog is full of Croatian and Brazilian imports (though at this point I believe they've phased out the Brazilian manufactured IMBEL 1911s?).

Despite the questionable lineage, Springfield Armory's Custom Shop had produced some high end 1911s that saw wartime service with top US Army and Marine Corps units, not to mention the Professional model's law enforcement credentials. Springfield Armory parts (particularly slides) were used for the USMC MEU (SOC) guns as well. Some great custom builders have used SA 1911s as their canvas over the years. There are some very cool Springfield Armory guns out there.

I find SA's current naming conventions confusing - perhaps deliberately so (Ronin! Range Officer! Garrison! Operator! Emissary! Prodigy!).

I had owned a PX9109L Loaded Model that I later had built into an accurate and reliable MEU(SOC) clone. It was an affordable base gun, and served as an suitable foundation for the build. The rear sight flew off during its first range trip...but my experience with SA's warranty service was very positive, so there's that.

I don't expect a $700 Springfield and a $3000 Springfield to have the same quality...it seems like most of the debate focuses on SA's 1911s on the lower end of the price scale. You get what you pay for - I'm not particularly surprised if a 1911 at the low end of the spectrum requires warranty work or gunsmithing. But the price scale isn't always a reliable indicator, as illustrated by frustrations with the Warren 9mm guns on this forum. If you get a good one, terrific, but as a manufacturer I think the reputation for inconsistency is deserved.

[jeep45238]

The love of their production guns is in the same place as their quality control/assurance.