Springfield Armory 1911A1 GI Model

[aka108]

Did a sponsorship with the Elko, NV Friends of NRA event in mid August. In a sponsor drawing was lucky and got the subject pistol. Being a legal resident of Florida, had to have it shipped to a dealer there in order to transfer it to me. Won't be back there until mid Nov. It's the green parkerized model with the early sights. Guess my question is addressed to you who may own one. How good does it run? Any reliability problems? Your general opinion of the piece. Thanks

 

[XavierBreath]

The Springfield GI45 is a good enough pistol that quite a few top notch gunsmiths use it as a base gun for build ups.

As it comes from the factory, it is a durable, reliable and reasonably accurate pistol. The sights are small, and the ejection port can ding the brass, but that is part of owning a GI type 1911.

Congrats on your win.

 

[CornCod]

.45

I have one of those plain vanilla G.I. .45 knockoffs from Springfield Armory. I don't shoot it much due to the prohibitive cost of .45 ACP. I have put a few hundred rounds through it. The magazine was bad so I bought one of those fancy Wilson Combat mags with the extra round and solved that problem. Otherwise, the gun is fine. I understand because the tolerances are tighter than a real GI .45 that the gun should be shot "wet" meaning well-oiled.

 

[oops!]

I picked one up at a show a couple of years ago. It was strictly a price deal, the dealer was wanting to move some iron on Sunday. I think it was like $310.00 OTD.

I didn't even take it out of the safe till about 6 months ago. I took those gosh awful grips off and replaced with a set of old hard rubber I had in a drawer. Took it down to the range at League City one morning with 500 rounds of hard ball reloads. I shot about 300 rounds that morning, 2 mags at a time. Mainly a break-in session. Not a single hiccup, nada, just bang bang.

It is slowly working itself into a very good carry piece. Currently has about 1,500 or 1,600 rounds thru it without a single issue.

A local range in Friendswood loads a 230 grn. gilded truncated bullet that I use exclusively in this pistol.

I used it to shoot my Texas CHL target and kept all 50 in the 10 ring, which ain't saying much.

All in all, a good solid .45 , and IMHO, a good value.

 

[Dr.Who]

I won one a year ago and have yet to shoot it. It has become a safe queen.... I'm currently using my model 70 colt..... plus a few others. It will be ready when I need it.... I understand that this is the base gun the Hennie uses for his work ups.

 

[Hacker15E]

I purchased one used recently, and I could not be more happy with it. I also replaced the grips with GI grips, as well as replacing the MSH with a USGI part and associated internals.

I only have about 500 rounds downrange with it, but it has had only occasional issues. Foremost, it had the same problem with ejecting brass straight back over my head that many SA GIs seem to. There were a few FTEs and I think I remember a bolt-over-base or two. Thanks to 1911Tuner, who did some filing and bending on the extractor and some filing on the slide by the breech face, and replacing the stock mag with a MetalForm mag, all of the issues went away.

Especially given the price you paid for yours, you'll be very happy with it. The SA GI is the highest quality of the base-level 1911s out there currently.

 

[Dr. Dickie]

I have one, but I completely re-worked it. Lowered and flaired ejection port (it was spitting the brass 10 feet straight up), new barrel, trigger, stocks, MSH, hammer, sear, disconnect, added beavertail, and new sights. If you really want to shoot it, and you are over 30, you really should consider changing the sights (unless you just love a challange ).
It's a good pistol and is reliable. I had mine re-worked mainly because I wanted a good 5" carry to compelment my Commanders (and my 1991A1 and 70 Series were too pretty to mar the finish), and I had a friend that was making the transition into being a gunsmith and he wanted to work it over (I just supplied the parts and asked questions).
Like I said, if you plan on making it your main shooter, you will probably want to get the sights re-done, if you just want to take it once in a while and have a GI "looker," then keep it as is. It is one heck of a pistol for the price (for you even better).

 

[OhioPaints]

I'm confused about the Springfield models

What's the difference between the GI and the Mil-Spec besides the sights?

Are neither tuned to reliably handle JHP?

If one wants a full sized RELIABLE carry gun, which model would that be? I have target .45s (Kimber Gold Match, Colt Gold Cup) but I do not consider them appropriate for carry. I am not looking for anything fancy, just basic and reliable,

Ken

 

[aka108]

Thanks for you comments and experiences with the SA GI model. Probably won't be a heavy use item for me. Getting old and scrounging up brass is getting about as difficult as getting in and out of a sports car. Generally I shoot a S&W model 625 revolver that handles 45 ACP with clips. Brass stays with it. Think this 1911 will be fun and might try it with Blazer or some Wolf.

 

[oops!]

I put a box of Golden Sabres thru mine, without feed issues. My brother gave them to me.
I like those grips on yours, I think I'll order a set of generic checkered walnuts from CDNN tonite. I can't seem to find any GI grips in my stash.

Its just a crying shame we have to resort to foreign made basic 1911's.

 

[varoadking]

As it comes from the factory, it is a durable, reliable and reasonably accurate pistol.

All I have to go on are the three I have owned and the one I still own, but I would say you have understated its accuracy. My SS GI is every bit as accurate as my uber-accurate Nighthawk Talon and my similarly uber-accurate Yo-Bo 1* Enhanced...tiny sights and all.

 

[10-Ring]

That's a nice prize you won! Congrats, don't worry & enjoy it

 

[ugaarguy]

What's the difference between the GI and the Mil-Spec besides the sights?

Mil Spec has a lowered and flared ejection port and the slide serrations are angled instead of strait

Are neither tuned to reliably handle JHP?

My GI model eats ball, JHPs, and even SWCs

If one wants a full sized RELIABLE carry gun, which model would that be?

For carry I'd get the base parkerized model from Springfield's "Loaded" line. The low profile sights and beavertail grip safety are the big draw to me. The parkerized finish is pretty tough too. I'm no 1911 expert though, so really listen to the guys like Xavier, Fuff, Tuner, and others.

 

[Cousin Mike]

Just my $0.02

deleted.

Sorry, didn't read and posted something irrelevant to the original post.

 

[Detritus]

i put about 6-800 rounds through mine (standard black/grey parked version) before i foolishly used it as trade material towards a rifle. during that time, it always dinged up the case mouths to some extent, exhibited an ejection pattern that varied from 4-6 o'clock, and during the first 400 rounds would stovepipe on a regular basis tapering off as the gun broke in. after about the 550 mark (i bought mainly 100rd "value packs" of WWB to break it in, so round count was easy to track) the stovepipe jams ceased. i personally never had any other reliability issues with it, just the stovepipes and i think that was a combo of getting it broken in and slicked up, and the fact that as a "budget gun" not much effort was/is put forth to "tune" ejection beyound the "yep it works" stage. on that note as a fun gun the GI versions are just fine, but if i was going to use one as a carry piece i'd consider having the extractor and ejector tweeked/replaced to provide more positive and or consistent ejection to lessen the risk of a stove pipe at a "bad time".

don't know about the GI model eating JHPs b/c i never got around to shooting anything but hardball in mine. loved it and wish i still had it, a replacement is probably next on the purchase list.

 

[Geronimo45]

I use my GI45 with hardball - Remington and Wolf. Only 'failure' was when I snicked off the slide stop and it didn't chamber the round properly. Pulled the slide all the way and let it go again, and it worked.
They like oil, for sure. Oil it every two weeks or so for consistently easy slide raking, and oil it on the outside to make sure the finish is looking good.

It's cheap enought to fit with useful aftermarket parts for a good price. No trouble with the mag... well, maybe one.
The 7-rd mag has a tiny dot/bump/what have you on the mag follower. If you like to thumb the rounds out, the last one seems to catch. Never had trouble with the gun loading the last round, that dot may help it to engage the slide stop.
The 10-rd Springfield Armory mag I have feeds perfectly - and doesn't have that dot.

P.S. The extractor tends to dent the empty cases, which might be a problem for reloaders.