I just got one maybe six weeks ago, I've put around 450 rounds through it so far. It hasn't failed on any of the ~50 factory rounds, but maybe 1 out 100 of my reloads will cause a failure to load. But, it prolly has more to do with my reloads than anything else, I'm not the most precise handloader in the world... Come to think of it, that fact that it HAS digested so many of my reloads without many problems is actually pretty good!
The finish isn't very impressive. I posted about it in this forum, and everyone said that my experience is pretty normal. Pretty much anywhere metal touches metal, the parkerization is wearing off. Plus, its a very matte finish and it scratches easily.
The three dot sights on the mil spec are awful. They're definitely a step up from the GI, but even so, they're awful. The front dot is small and hard to see. Compared to the big ol' white dots on the FN .45 or an XD, you can barely see the dots on the mil spec.
But nonetheless, its my favorite gun. It has all the 1911 goodness, and I just love the mil-specness of it. I didn't want a mamby pants 1911 with a rail and fish scale serrations; I wanted something that looked like it came out of a WWII footlocker. Its solid, tough, fun to take apart (once you learn how) and clean, I love the thing.
I shopped around quite a bit for it. 1911's are in low supply right now, and springfield said they couldn't advise on when more mil specs would be produced, but it could be from 9-12 months. So basically what merchants have in inventory is all that's there for a while. There was one at a local gun store for $650, but then I'd have to pay 10% sales tax. Buds didn't have any , cheaperthandirt didn't have any, but I did find one on gunbroker.com with a BuyItNow price of $610, so I grabbed it. After shipping and my local FFL's $25 transfer fee, I was right around $650. I'm unable to find one for that price anymore.