[Hoser]

Is there any quality or desireability difference between the USA vs Brazilian made Springfield Armory pistols?

 

[gyp_c2]

Which are which...?

 

[Hoser]

I don't know. Saw one in a shop that said it was USA made. Looked to be an older model.

 

[gyp_c2]

Probably shoulda' bought that one...They've been makin' 'em all over there 'cept for the targets and Pro models I believe...Even the frames and slides for those are comin' from down under...I think it's mostly the fitting that's done on these in the States...all the standard factory parts come from Brazil. The Pro and Target have some non-factory parts that have to be fitted here. That's it for me...and that's second hand except the part about the frames and slides.

It's kind of an on-going question that pops up every month or so on at least one of the forums...:wink:

 

[RMLamey]

All of the frames and slides are rough forged in Brazil. Some of the real early springfeilds had frames made in Germany (Suhl).

There was a long period that the early springfeilds had no Brazil stamp, but they were still rough forged in Brazil. The current frame/slides are still forged there, some are stamped and some are not.

Most of the stamps were on the right side dust cover, while some of the newer ones are on the bottom of the cover (frame). I have a current gun with a very light mark on the bottom dust cover. I also have a current gun with NO Brazil mark any where and the old NM serial #, versus the current N serial # prefix. Most of the newer guns also had a "dot" matrix serial # instead of a traditional stamp. Both my current guns, the NM and N prefixes are stamped.

What it comes down to is this, most of the finishing/fitting is done here in the states. I hope the newer guns will eventually not have the Brazil stamp, as i think its ugly... just more un necassary writing.

Im sure glad i found one of the NM serial # guns recently, it was fit exceptionally well for a factory gun, had a storm lake s.s. barrel, traditional rear only slide serrations, and had very clean script and emblem on the slide. I sent this gun to Larry Vickers for some work, should get it back next month.

Thanks, Matt

 

[arejaye]

Is there any quality or desireability difference between the USA vs Brazilian made Springfield Armory pistols?

I just recently bought a Springfield .45ACP from a pawn shop in GREAT condition. At the time, I didn't know they were assembled both in the U.S. and in Brazil, but in less than a week I've had 2 different gunsmiths tell me that the Brazilian made gun is actually a step above the U.S. made, but when it comes to guns it's not a surprise to find guns from Belgium, Germany, etc. that blow away guns assembled in the U.S. My first semi auto's were Llama's from Spain and I got joked about 'em jamming up, blah blah blah, and out of some 4000 rounds at least I had ONE jam and it was from a reload. Other than that the gun was flawless. If you've got a Springfield assembled in Brazil, I think you got the better deal(no offense to the guys in the US that put these things together, but when you only make a dollar or so a day, you make damn sure your work is A1++ so you can feed your family), but kudos to the whole Springfield team for a great gun! As far as MY Springfield is concerned, I HATE to quote McDonalds or even eat their 'food', but "I'm lovin' it!"