Springfield Armory Range Officer 9mm

[Robinson]

I am primarily a user of Colt 1911 pistols chambered for the 9mm cartridge. I've had pretty good luck with my Colts, they mostly run great with no drama. But since I'm not really a strict brand loyalist I decided to add a pistol from another manufacturer. I purchased a new Springfield Armory Range Officer 9mm, stainless finish.

I owned a SA 9mm Loaded Target some years ago, and put it through the 2K challenge which it passed with flying colors. You can read that report here:
https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....ll=1#post72251

Hopefully this new gun will perform as well. So far I have fired 200 rounds through it, with two stovepipes and one failure of the slide to go all the way forward -- locking up the gun. I'm not too worried, I've learned from experience that some pistols (esp. 1911s) need 500 rounds or so to get settled in. It happened that way with the Loaded Target I tested, then it had no failures during the 2K challenge.

I hope to use the new gun at a pistol class soon, so my plan is to get it sorted out before then. I will feel confident using it for the class if I can get it to shoot about 500 rounds without failure.

So far the only things I've changed on the gun are I swapped out the ILS mainspring housing for a two-piece MHS/mag well and installed some VZ grips. I will probably also replace the recoil spring with a Wilson Combat flat wire 14# spring. I will post updates here as things progress.

JAD, I know you are watching -- I only call them "stocks" when they are made of wood.

[Robinson]

A few more observations.

The trigger on this pistol is actually pretty good. Crisp break without a lot of take-up. No grittiness or mushiness.

Cases are ejected properly, so far no brass to the face (looking at you Colt).

The slide and frame seem to be mated well together. Pretty tight slide to frame fit, and the rails move smoothly except for one area explained below.

There seems to be a "hitch" in the slide movement, almost like the barrel link is getting hung up. In fact with the OEM recoil spring I can get the slide to remain open not quite fully to the rear without engaging the slide stop. I think a more appropriate recoil spring will help with this, but it still strikes me as odd. Anyone experience this with another gun?

[JHC]

When I went to replacing the recoil spring on my 9mm Operator I pinged SA customer service to inquire what weight the OEM spring was and they told me 9 lbs. I experimented with 12, 11, and then settled on a 10 lb as just right.

[NPV]

A few more observations.

The trigger on this pistol is actually pretty good. Crisp break without a lot of take-up. No grittiness or mushiness.

Cases are ejected properly, so far no brass to the face (looking at you Colt).

The slide and frame seem to be mated well together. Pretty tight slide to frame fit, and the rails move smoothly except for one area explained below.

There seems to be a "hitch" in the slide movement, almost like the barrel link is getting hung up. In fact with the OEM recoil spring I can get the slide to remain open not quite fully to the rear without engaging the slide stop. I think a more appropriate recoil spring will help with this, but it still strikes me as odd. Anyone experience this with another gun?

Sounds like the breechface getting hung up on the disconnector. Happens sometimes with 9mm 1911s as the recoil spring isn't strong enough to overcome the diconnector spring pushing up.

[JAD]

The bug in my RO was the mainspring, which was jacked up from the factory. I was getting light strikes until I took it down; once I replaced the spring, no issues.

If I was going to run the gun at a class I would either dehorn the living hell out of the rear sight, or for preference replace it. I have not researched replacements.

[tgoldie00]

Sounds like the breechface getting hung up on the disconnector. Happens sometimes with 9mm 1911s as the recoil spring isn't strong enough to overcome the diconnector spring pushing up.

I would agree with the above.

With all of my 1911s, especially those that are more "factory" than "semi-custom," I tend to wait until 500 rounds have gone through to make a "state of the pistol" evaluation. For me, on the .45s, I shoot 100, clean, lube, wash rinse repeat. On the 9mms I shoot in groups of 3x150 (clean/lube liberally in-between) and 1x50 (usually shoot 200, but start the evaluation after the 50), and then resume normal operations.

I am also a 500 trouble-free until my life depends on it type of guy. On both recent SA 1911s I have had, I had good luck. I traded them towards other things, but not because I found any issues with them, I was just incrementally upgrading. in fact, from a pure pleasure from shooting perspective, I particularly enjoyed the EMP4 CCC 9mm.

[Robinson]

Sounds like the breechface getting hung up on the disconnector. Happens sometimes with 9mm 1911s as the recoil spring isn't strong enough to overcome the diconnector spring pushing up.

Hmm... Okay I will reevaluate after I replace the recoil spring. I like the Wilson Combat flat wire springs and will probably install that setup.

Thanks for the input.

[Robinson]

When I went to replacing the recoil spring on my 9mm Operator I pinged SA customer service to inquire what weight the OEM spring was and they told me 9 lbs. I experimented with 12, 11, and then settled on a 10 lb as just right.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, back when I ran my 9mm Loaded through the 2K challenge I had replaced the recoil spring as well.

[Robinson]

The bug in my RO was the mainspring, which was jacked up from the factory. I was getting light strikes until I took it down; once I replaced the spring, no issues.

If I was going to run the gun at a class I would either dehorn the living hell out of the rear sight, or for preference replace it. I have not researched replacements.

I forgot to mention I replaced the mainspring when I ditched the ILS housing.

Yeah man the ears on that rear sight are taking some getting used to. I prefer the rounded corners on Colt's adjustable rear sights. I might try to round them off a bit, or replace them down the road. I know both Harrison and Heine offer fixed replacements for the Range Officer, but I actually like adjustable sights as long as they are sufficiently robust.

[TC215]

A few more observations.

The trigger on this pistol is actually pretty good. Crisp break without a lot of take-up. No grittiness or mushiness.

Cases are ejected properly, so far no brass to the face (looking at you Colt).

The slide and frame seem to be mated well together. Pretty tight slide to frame fit, and the rails move smoothly except for one area explained below.

There seems to be a "hitch" in the slide movement, almost like the barrel link is getting hung up. In fact with the OEM recoil spring I can get the slide to remain open not quite fully to the rear without engaging the slide stop. I think a more appropriate recoil spring will help with this, but it still strikes me as odd. Anyone experience this with another gun?

Sounds like the breechface getting hung up on the disconnector. Happens sometimes with 9mm 1911s as the recoil spring isn't strong enough to overcome the diconnector spring pushing up.

If it was the disconnector, it would be hanging up closer to going back into battery, not “not quite fully to the rear” as described above.