SPRINGFIELD
ARMORY'S MIL-SPEC™ 1911A1
A
few years back while I was still in the military; I
purchased a Springfield Armory 1911A1 Pistol in .45
acp. Like a lot of people in the military, I heard from
some of the guys who had been in while the 1911 was
being issued, that it didn't shoot well. I heard the
normal stories that" you couldn't hit a target at 25
yards" or "if you held it in your hand and shook it,
you could hear it rattling".
I'll let the horror stories go about the 1911, hell
I'll even write it off to either A) poor maintenance
of the weapon, B) the fact that many of the issue 1911's
if not most have been around since World War II. C)
The lack of marksmanship of the individuals or D) a
combination of the previously stated reasons.
The first time I took my 1911A1 out of the box and to
the range, I'll admit, the accuracy was less than I
expected. I soon realized that it was the shooter not
the weapon. After about 50 rounds I noticed a significant
decrease in the size of my groups. With practice, it
was soon clear to me that this pistol is capable of
"hitting a target at 25 yards" without question.
Now, I'm not an IPSC shooter, but since that time I
have made some minor adjustments to my pistol, not that
they were needed, but more as an experiment. I have
replaced the standard guide rod with a one-piece guide
rod, added a heavy-duty spring, adjustable trigger,
and a few other items of preference. Some things made
a little difference, some things only cosmetic differences,
but I'll say it to anyone, this pistol was great out
of the box.
Below, I have listed the specs for the Mil-Spec™
1911A1 from Springfield Armory, including the recommended
retail price.
MIL-SPEC™ 1911-A1
Part No.: PB9108
Special Features: The MIL-SPEC™ model is for purists
who demand an authentic 1911-A1. With its no-nonsense
Parkerized finish, original black plastic grips, and
military hammer, the MIL-SPEC™ is not only an outstanding
firearm, but it's also an outstanding value
Retail Price: $519.00
Finish: Parkerized
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 7+1
Barrel: 5", 1:16 LH
Sights: 3-dot hi-viz. fixed combat sights
Size: 38.5 oz. 8 5/8" long
Sight Radius: 6 1/4"
Trigger Pull: 5 to 6 1/2 lbs.
I know I'll be inundated with mail from some IPSC shooter
who will tell me that I need to do this or that to decrease
lockup time 1 millionth of a second or from some 9mm
fan who will want to have a debate to the effect of
" if it's so great, why did the military switch to the
Beretta in 9mm"
I'll end this article with a few of my thoughts.
1) It must do something right, the pistol and round
are still going strong after close to 90 years.
2) The adoption of the 9mm for U.S. military use had
to do with NATO, Marksmanship, Physical size of some
military personnel and other factors I won't
get into
3) A friend of mine, who is very competitive in IPSC
once told me "There are two kinds of shooters, those
who shoot a .45acp and those who can't"
To get a real close look at the other pistols and rifles
made by Springfield Armory, Go to their web site at
www.springfield-armory.com
By: Ron England
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