Springfield Armory's 1911 EMP® 4” Concealed Carry Contour

[Spats McGee]

I have a question about this gun, but I didn't want to derail another thread. Here's the gun: https://www.springfield-armory.com/products/1911-emp-4-concealed-carry-contour-9mm/

The simplest way to phrase my question is this: Is it really a 1911? I know good and well that this has the potential to turn into a barroom brawl of a thread. Still, . . . . . over the years, I've seen a bunch of threads on 1911s and almost invariably, someone says, "Well, X really isn't a 1911, because it lacks Feature Y." Is the 1911 EMP Concealed Carry really a 1911? It looks like a 1911 to me. It has the grip safety, thumb safety, exposed hammer, single stack mag (I think) . . . .

For those who will tell me it's not a true 1911, why not? What feature does it have or lack that makes the difference?

 

[JR24]

The ones I've looked at sure seem to be.

Other than the fact that maybe the EMP is built around the 9mm/40 and not the .45 so normal 9mm 1911 magazines will not interchange

They seem nice though, especially that 4" bobtail one.

 

[JTQ]

Other than the fact that maybe the EMP is built around the 9mm/40 and not the .45 so normal 9mm 1911 magazines will not interchange

This is the key point with the EMP, though I haven't followed the gun enough to know if the 4" model is the same as the original, though I'll assume it is.

You need to buy specific EMP mags.

 

[skeeterfogger]

May not be 1911 but you should at least look at the Taurus G2s. I had a Springfield XD9 but found the 211 Taurus to handle a lot better. The price nice too. Sold the XD9 and put change in pocket after Taurus purchase.

 

[ATLDave]

I think it depends on what you mean by "really a 1911." My understanding is that it's sort of a 9/10 scale 1911. That means a lot of parts don't interchange with "real" 1911's. But if you were to list features, yeah, it's got the stuff you would expect a "really a 1911" gun to have.

 

[9mmepiphany]

... though I haven't followed the gun enough to know if the 4" model is the same as the original, though I'll assume it is.

You need to buy specific EMP mags.

The EMP4 is basically the same as the original EMP.

The differences are the longer barrel and the taller frame...so original EMP magazines won't fit

The simplest way to phrase my question is this: Is it really a 1911?

For those who will tell me it's not a true 1911, why not? What feature does it have or lack that makes the difference?

It was designed to look and function exactly as a .45ACP sized 1911, but one major difference makes it "Different"...the length of the action, how far the slide travels to extract the case and feed, is sized around the length of the 9x19mm and the .40 S&W.

What this design change does is make it more reliable when feeding the shorter cartridges...especially when you consider how short the original EMP was. It is the most reliable 1911 based, 3" barreled pistol on the market . As such, many parts are not interchangeable with the .45ACP based guns...the most obvious being magazines, trigger, and extractor

 

[Spats McGee]

So what I'm getting, both here and at TFL is that it's "a scaled down 1911." Sound about right?

 

[Hasaf]

It is even more of a scaled down 1911 than my 1911-380 is. I was surprised to see that the EMP uses a 1911 style barrel link, unlike the high-power style link on the 1911-380.

I was on the line between the EMP and the 1911-380 when I went for the latter. As others have said, the EMP is very much a scaled down 1911.

From this thread:

the 15 re-engineered parts in the EMP:
slide
frame
left grip panel
right grip panel
firing pin
firing pin spring
extractor
plunger tube
plunger spring
trigger
magazine tube
magazine follower
magazine spring
magazine base plate
magazine base pad

 

[9mmepiphany]

So what I'm getting, both here and at TFL is that it's "a scaled down 1911." Sound about right?

I think that would be accurate.

Issues only arise when people try to compare their experience, usually as to reliability, with a .45ACP based sub-compact to an EMP. It is an apples .vs oranges comparison

 

[Walkalong]

Is it really a 1911?

Really depends on who you ask. I love 1911s, and I consider the EMP to be a 1911. Yes, shortened in the middle for the shorter 9MM cartridge. It's at least a 1911 variant. But to me, it's a 1911. The purists might protest. Let them. The 3" one I had ran like a singer sewing machine. Very accurate too. My younger son has it now. Great gun. Very well made.