I recently aquired two brand new 1911's: a Springfield Armory "Loaded" model and a Springfield Armory Mil-Spec model (not the GI). After cleaning the factory lube/grease off of them and re-lubing with LSA, I took them both to the range last night.
Loaded Model
Fit and finish are very good. There is a very small 'nick' in the trigger guard on the left side that exposes bare metal. Don't know if its worth sending back for that or not. I didn't measure the trigger pull, but would estimate it between 5 and 6 pounds. There is no creep and it breaks very nicely. Overtravel is fine and if it needs adjusting, it has an adjustable overtravel screw. Due to the adjusting hole in the trigger, my trigger finger started to develop a blister by the end of the eveing.
Sights. Oye.
The front sight looks to be almost bent to one side. Not by a lot... and really its barely noticeable. I figured well, if the gun shoots to point of aim, I can live with it. Well, I guess I can't be that lucky. With my two types of handloads and some Win SXT's, it shot a consistent 2-3 inches low and 2-3 inches left. This is unacceptable and will have to go back to the factory. I may ask about the 'nick' in the finish since its going to be headed back there anyway.
Overall impression: The gun feels great and handles great. I could easily see it becoming my carry piece once it shoots to point of aim.
Mil-Spec Model
Fit and finish are very good. In fact, the slide to frame fit is a wee bit tighter on this one than the above Loaded Model. Again, I didn't measure the trigger pull, but I'd say its closer to the high 4's to maybe 5.5 lbs. A little lighter than the Loaded and very good. Overtravel was excessive in my opinion, but not horrible or worth fixing if you like a stock gun - which I do. It has a short trigger and while I like the fact that there is no hole in it for me to develop a blister, I like a longer trigger myself (long fingers).
Sights. Good - but not perfect. It was much closer to hitting point of aim than the Loaded Model. It was maybe an inch or two left. Elevation was almost dead on. For this gun's purpose, it'll probably stay that way for a while until I can have someone look at it.
Overall impression: Wow - a great gun for the money! Even though I'm not a fan of arched mainspring housings, spur hammers and the GI grip safety, after 100 rounds, I still hadn't been "bitten" in the web of my hand. This gun is a shooter too! I dare say it grouped a little better than the Loaded Model, but that could have been a fluke. I didn't put either through any kind of extreme accuracy testing.
Bottom Line
The Loaded Model is more comfortable for me to shoot with its flat mainspring housing, beaver-tail (duck-tail!) grip safety and commander hammer. The finish is generally better than the Mil-Spec, but it had a flaw where I couldn't find any flaws in the Mil-Spec's finish. If the sights would have been on I really wouldn't have anything to complain about.
The Mil-Spec is one heck of a shooter for the price! Just throw on a King's extended grip safety for those long range sessions and you can't go wrong. No complaints on the Mil-Spec.
Loaded Model
Fit and finish are very good. There is a very small 'nick' in the trigger guard on the left side that exposes bare metal. Don't know if its worth sending back for that or not. I didn't measure the trigger pull, but would estimate it between 5 and 6 pounds. There is no creep and it breaks very nicely. Overtravel is fine and if it needs adjusting, it has an adjustable overtravel screw. Due to the adjusting hole in the trigger, my trigger finger started to develop a blister by the end of the eveing.
Sights. Oye.
The front sight looks to be almost bent to one side. Not by a lot... and really its barely noticeable. I figured well, if the gun shoots to point of aim, I can live with it. Well, I guess I can't be that lucky. With my two types of handloads and some Win SXT's, it shot a consistent 2-3 inches low and 2-3 inches left. This is unacceptable and will have to go back to the factory. I may ask about the 'nick' in the finish since its going to be headed back there anyway.Overall impression: The gun feels great and handles great. I could easily see it becoming my carry piece once it shoots to point of aim.
Mil-Spec Model
Fit and finish are very good. In fact, the slide to frame fit is a wee bit tighter on this one than the above Loaded Model. Again, I didn't measure the trigger pull, but I'd say its closer to the high 4's to maybe 5.5 lbs. A little lighter than the Loaded and very good. Overtravel was excessive in my opinion, but not horrible or worth fixing if you like a stock gun - which I do. It has a short trigger and while I like the fact that there is no hole in it for me to develop a blister, I like a longer trigger myself (long fingers).
Sights. Good - but not perfect. It was much closer to hitting point of aim than the Loaded Model. It was maybe an inch or two left. Elevation was almost dead on. For this gun's purpose, it'll probably stay that way for a while until I can have someone look at it.
Overall impression: Wow - a great gun for the money! Even though I'm not a fan of arched mainspring housings, spur hammers and the GI grip safety, after 100 rounds, I still hadn't been "bitten" in the web of my hand. This gun is a shooter too! I dare say it grouped a little better than the Loaded Model, but that could have been a fluke. I didn't put either through any kind of extreme accuracy testing.
Bottom Line
The Loaded Model is more comfortable for me to shoot with its flat mainspring housing, beaver-tail (duck-tail!) grip safety and commander hammer. The finish is generally better than the Mil-Spec, but it had a flaw where I couldn't find any flaws in the Mil-Spec's finish. If the sights would have been on I really wouldn't have anything to complain about.
The Mil-Spec is one heck of a shooter for the price! Just throw on a King's extended grip safety for those long range sessions and you can't go wrong. No complaints on the Mil-Spec.
