Joined
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239 Posts
I just got one today, and wanted to post a little something about my first impressions of the pistol. If you're not familiar with it, look here:
http://www.springfield-armory.com/prod- ... trpo.shtml
I don't have time to take and post pics, so that'll have to do for now. Sorry.
Anyway, the production gun is exactly as pictured on the site. My gun came with the Surefire P001 light attached, which I promptly wrestled off. The 6V Surefire is huge, ungainly, heavy, and the crossbolt switch is impossible for me to reach. An ITI M3 was briefly tested, with positive results. The gun was handled and tested without a light for a 250 round range session. I took it out of the box, saw that it was oily, and shoved the two included 7 round Metalform mags full of 230 gr ball, and went to town.
My first group at 7 yards was a single hole. The fully serrated Bomar style rear with 3 dot tritium inserts made an easy transition from using Novak 3 dots. The sight picture is actually more similar to Heinies, if they had 3 dots. The gun was perfectly sighted in, so I didn't need to adjust the sights. The gun ran all 250 rounds perfectly -- no malfunctions or other hidden caveats. I don't work for Springfield, so I gain nothing from hiding if the gun choked. It didn't.
I found that the gun was very soft in recoil, compared to an otherwise identical Springfield 5" gun. It would likely have to do with the fact that the gun has a very beefy full dustcover, a two-piece full length guide rod with reverse plug, a full profile slide, and a coned bull barrel. I didn't get to swing between widely spaced targets, but the gun came back down on quickly on stationary targets. Having shot scoped comp guns, I don't anticipate the extra 6 oz to be catastrophic. The trigger pull was a fairly crisp 4 or 4.5 lb pull, and extremely usable. The gun was stable in both rapid and slow fire.
The fit and finish of the gun is quite good, with excellent slide to frame fit and very smooth cycling. The bull barrel is only a standard grade fit, and a loose rear lockup is evident. The gun has a light dehorn, though Springfield doesn't seem to like to bevel the bottoms of their slides at all. Other edges are sufficiently friendly. The beavertail fit, while a touch generous in spacing, is cosmetically pleasing. The mag well is a 2 pc unit, incorporating the new locking system. It's not really obtrusive, and the unit functions much like the SA mag well. The hammer appears to be a MIM component, and is rather rough in appearance on the sides. The machine cut 20 lpi checkering on the front strap is nicely executed for a factory gun, exhibiting about 90-95% sharp diamonds, with only a few flats. It was sufficiently grippy, especially when paired with the sand textured grips.
Overall, my initial impressions of the gun are extremely favorable. I haven't yet taken the gun apart for a detailed examination, and I suspect I'll find a MIM disconnector and sear inside as well. Kimber really hit everyone hard on price cutting when they introduced MIM, so I have no ill will toward SA for keeping up. The gun is put together well, and I would consider it a better product than some Kimbers I've seen -- better fit, finish, and feel. The pistol would be perfect for LE patrol, SWAT, or as a home defense pistol for the 1911 buff. I would consider it as being too heavy for concealed carry. It'd be a great out of the box IPSC Limited gun for someone looking for a little edge without going nuts on custom stuff. In the long term, I'd consider replacing the mag well/MSH with an SA, changing out internals for machined steel parts, and doing a better dehorn on the gun. I'd love to figure out a way to pare down the weight, but it'd be too labor intensive. The Milspec Operator with a bushing barrel oughta be a hot ticket for this platform, as it'd lose the weight of the guide rod and cone barrel. I'll keep shooting this thing and reporting back as I get to know it better.
_________________
DBS
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Hilton Yam on 2001-08-10 19:49 ]</font>
http://www.springfield-armory.com/prod- ... trpo.shtml
I don't have time to take and post pics, so that'll have to do for now. Sorry.
Anyway, the production gun is exactly as pictured on the site. My gun came with the Surefire P001 light attached, which I promptly wrestled off. The 6V Surefire is huge, ungainly, heavy, and the crossbolt switch is impossible for me to reach. An ITI M3 was briefly tested, with positive results. The gun was handled and tested without a light for a 250 round range session. I took it out of the box, saw that it was oily, and shoved the two included 7 round Metalform mags full of 230 gr ball, and went to town.
My first group at 7 yards was a single hole. The fully serrated Bomar style rear with 3 dot tritium inserts made an easy transition from using Novak 3 dots. The sight picture is actually more similar to Heinies, if they had 3 dots. The gun was perfectly sighted in, so I didn't need to adjust the sights. The gun ran all 250 rounds perfectly -- no malfunctions or other hidden caveats. I don't work for Springfield, so I gain nothing from hiding if the gun choked. It didn't.
I found that the gun was very soft in recoil, compared to an otherwise identical Springfield 5" gun. It would likely have to do with the fact that the gun has a very beefy full dustcover, a two-piece full length guide rod with reverse plug, a full profile slide, and a coned bull barrel. I didn't get to swing between widely spaced targets, but the gun came back down on quickly on stationary targets. Having shot scoped comp guns, I don't anticipate the extra 6 oz to be catastrophic. The trigger pull was a fairly crisp 4 or 4.5 lb pull, and extremely usable. The gun was stable in both rapid and slow fire.
The fit and finish of the gun is quite good, with excellent slide to frame fit and very smooth cycling. The bull barrel is only a standard grade fit, and a loose rear lockup is evident. The gun has a light dehorn, though Springfield doesn't seem to like to bevel the bottoms of their slides at all. Other edges are sufficiently friendly. The beavertail fit, while a touch generous in spacing, is cosmetically pleasing. The mag well is a 2 pc unit, incorporating the new locking system. It's not really obtrusive, and the unit functions much like the SA mag well. The hammer appears to be a MIM component, and is rather rough in appearance on the sides. The machine cut 20 lpi checkering on the front strap is nicely executed for a factory gun, exhibiting about 90-95% sharp diamonds, with only a few flats. It was sufficiently grippy, especially when paired with the sand textured grips.
Overall, my initial impressions of the gun are extremely favorable. I haven't yet taken the gun apart for a detailed examination, and I suspect I'll find a MIM disconnector and sear inside as well. Kimber really hit everyone hard on price cutting when they introduced MIM, so I have no ill will toward SA for keeping up. The gun is put together well, and I would consider it a better product than some Kimbers I've seen -- better fit, finish, and feel. The pistol would be perfect for LE patrol, SWAT, or as a home defense pistol for the 1911 buff. I would consider it as being too heavy for concealed carry. It'd be a great out of the box IPSC Limited gun for someone looking for a little edge without going nuts on custom stuff. In the long term, I'd consider replacing the mag well/MSH with an SA, changing out internals for machined steel parts, and doing a better dehorn on the gun. I'd love to figure out a way to pare down the weight, but it'd be too labor intensive. The Milspec Operator with a bushing barrel oughta be a hot ticket for this platform, as it'd lose the weight of the guide rod and cone barrel. I'll keep shooting this thing and reporting back as I get to know it better.
_________________
DBS
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Hilton Yam on 2001-08-10 19:49 ]</font>