My first 1911.

Firing a 1911 just leaves you more satisfied then any other firearm. Also I love the fact that it shoots the end all for rounds, the beautiful 230gr .45 ACP.

DundalkSmithy said:

Any and all info you guys can give me for this make and model are most appreciated.

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Springfield Armory makes what I personally believe to be the best value in the firearms industry. The MilSpec 1911's are just as good as guns twice their price, and you will not find another gun in that price range that is anywhere near the quality SA makes. My biggest question is where the hell did you find it? I haven't seen Springfield's name on anything that wasn't made of plastic in like 2 years now.

Treat it like any other 1911, change the recoil spring every 5-7k rounds, make sure you get the post on the slide release through the hole under the chamber, (had a friend's MilSpec make a nasty sound/hurt my hand pretty bad/change the color of my pants because of that oversight,) and don't carry a round in the chamber with the hammer forward. Also I've never seen any issues with holowpoints/flat tip ammo in a MilSpec, but I have a friend with a GI that doesn't like anything that isn't ball or the occasional semi-wadcutter. The MilSpecs don't seem to be as finicky, just something to keep an eye out for. After 500-1000 rounds of random flat tipped ammo you should have a good idea of whether or not you'll encounter similar issues. Enjoy your new pistol, it's a peice of history and I don't think you'll be disapointed.

I reeciently purchased a Taurus 1911AR. Saturday was my first chance to shoot it. All I can say is WOW!.

You won't regret the 1911. I have had a few,everything from an Officers model to a full custom. What you can do to them is endless and it is addicting!

I was skeptical of the hype surrounding the 1911. I mean, how can anything be as good as people claim the 1911 design to be? Having just put 50 rnds down range, I am now a believer.

My next trip I'm going to shoot an SA mil-spec and if I my experience is like tonights, then I might have to heat up my plastic...

Fallschirmjaager said:

Springfield Armory makes what I personally believe to be the best value in the firearms industry. The MilSpec 1911's are just as good as guns twice their price, and you will not find another gun in that price range that is anywhere near the quality SA makes. My biggest question is where the hell did you find it? I haven't seen Springfield's name on anything that wasn't made of plastic in like 2 years now.

Treat it like any other 1911, change the recoil spring every 5-7k rounds, make sure you get the post on the slide release through the hole under the chamber, (had a friend's MilSpec make a nasty sound/hurt my hand pretty bad/change the color of my pants because of that oversight,) and don't carry a round in the chamber with the hammer forward. Also I've never seen any issues with holowpoints/flat tip ammo in a MilSpec, but I have a friend with a GI that doesn't like anything that isn't ball or the occasional semi-wadcutter. The MilSpecs don't seem to be as finicky, just something to keep an eye out for. After 500-1000 rounds of random flat tipped ammo you should have a good idea of whether or not you'll encounter similar issues. Enjoy your new pistol, it's a peice of history and I don't think you'll be disapointed.

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I found it at HNP Muzzleloaders in Essex, Baltimore county. I plan on tearing the gun down in the first hour I have it to learn as much as I can, but thank you for the info, I will deffinitly keep an eye out. I plan on running JHP and FMJ's through it. it was also brought to my attention that I could even run +P loads through it with no problems for HD, possible or not?? Hate to have it go BANG in the wrong way.

jmiller320 said:

I reeciently purchased a Taurus 1911AR. Saturday was my first chance to shoot it. All I can say is WOW!.

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How was the recoil??

CIGuy said:

You won't regret the 1911. I have had a few,everything from an Officers model to a full custom. What you can do to them is endless and it is addicting!

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Already have my plans for a can.

Fallschirmjaager said:

Springfield Armory makes what I personally believe to be the best value in the firearms industry. The MilSpec 1911's are just as good as guns twice their price, and you will not find another gun in that price range that is anywhere near the quality SA makes. My biggest question is where the hell did you find it? I haven't seen Springfield's name on anything that wasn't made of plastic in like 2 years now.

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What about the STI Spartans? I've been told they are the best bang for your buck in the 1911 market.

The Spartans are made with an Armscor frame, trigger and slide. The main spring housing, hammer assembly, trigger and sear are STI parts.

Armscor makes the RIA guns. They should be a little less expensive then the STI version.

If I could find a Springfield Mil Spec, I would go with that first. Second, the RIA.

mikec said:

The Spartans are made with an Armscor frame, trigger and slide. The main spring housing, hammer assembly, trigger and sear are STI parts.

Armscor makes the RIA guns. They should be a little less expensive then the STI version.

If I could find a Springfield Mil Spec, I would go with that first. Second, the RIA.

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This. STI makes some really really sick stuff but the Spartan is... well it's not a bad gun, you have to try pretty hard to screw up that design. Let's just say that with the SA guns you're more likely to avoid QC issues and while the STI Spartans are probably all great, Armscor isn't known for tight tolerances or great finishes or really anything at all. I'd rather have a gun with 100% decent parts than a gun with all the best quality parts on a crappy frame.

As for +P you should be fine running just about any factory ammunition through it, I've never done it because I'm a cheap bastard and regular stuff works fine for me. Then again I don't actually own one (yet) so I'm working on the experience I have with several guns owned by friends. If there's anything in the owners manual about not using +P than avoid it, but that would surprise me a lot.

mikec said:

The Spartans are made with an Armscor frame, trigger and slide. The main spring housing, hammer assembly, trigger and sear are STI parts.

Armscor makes the RIA guns. They should be a little less expensive then the STI version.

If I could find a Springfield Mil Spec, I would go with that first. Second, the RIA.

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This. STI makes some really really sick stuff but the Spartan is... well it's not a bad gun, you have to try pretty hard to screw up that design. Let's just say that with the SA guns you're more likely to avoid QC issues and while the STI Spartans are probably all great, Armscor isn't known for tight tolerances or great finishes or really anything at all. I'd rather have a gun with 100% decent parts than a gun with all the best quality parts on a crappy frame.

As for +P you should be fine running just about any factory ammunition through it, I've never done it because I'm a cheap bastard and regular stuff works fine for me. Then again I don't actually own one (yet) so I'm working on the experience I have with several guns owned by friends. If there's anything in the owners manual about not using +P than avoid it, but that would surprise me a lot.

Very nice purchase!

Congrats! I just got the same gun two weeks ago. I love it need to pick up some after market mags though having some feed issues.

Fallschirmjaager said:

This. STI makes some really really sick stuff but the Spartan is... well it's not a bad gun, you have to try pretty hard to screw up that design. Let's just say that with the SA guns you're more likely to avoid QC issues and while the STI Spartans are probably all great, Armscor isn't known for tight tolerances or great finishes or really anything at all. I'd rather have a gun with 100% decent parts than a gun with all the best quality parts on a crappy frame.

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You'd be right about the Armscor and tight tolerances but I've heard/read that STI inspects each unit and tightens up the fit to make sure it's all top notch. So while it's still and RIA with a few upgrades it's a better fitting RIA with a few upgrades.

Congratulations on your Springfield. My 1911 A1 has been a great gun. I can count the times i had a FTF/FTE on one hand. Enjoy it well, run it hard, they like it like that.

Fallschirmjaager said:

This. STI makes some really really sick stuff but the Spartan is... well it's not a bad gun, you have to try pretty hard to screw up that design. Let's just say that with the SA guns you're more likely to avoid QC issues and while the STI Spartans are probably all great, Armscor isn't known for tight tolerances or great finishes or really anything at all. I'd rather have a gun with 100% decent parts than a gun with all the best quality parts on a crappy frame.

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mrozowjj said:

You'd be right about the Armscor and tight tolerances but I've heard/read that STI inspects each unit and tightens up the fit to make sure it's all top notch. So while it's still and RIA with a few upgrades it's a better fitting RIA with a few upgrades.

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These statements couldn't be further from the truth. I own a RIA Tactical model (full beavertail, nicer trigger, dovetailed sights), and I have yet to find a gun with tighter tolerances. The only thing I've found that was as tight was another Armscor product that was at On Target today. I would have bought it, but it was a little more than I wanted to spend today. It was black finish with front serations, nice looking gun. The frame was tighter than any of the Taurus guns or the sub $1,200 Kimbers that they carry (I didn't handle any of the over $1200 guns). Had a better trigger than any of those as well.

The inside of my gun isn't polished in unnecessary places, but everything that should be polished an fitted is done right. There is no slop in my slide, or the other Armscor product I saw today, can't say the same for any other 1911 I've picked up. The one at OT is $610ish, I paid less for mine from Dan, and when he gets more, I may just buy another.

Every piece of bad posting I've seen about the RIA is from people who admit they haven't held or shot one. Here is some press from someone who has: M1911 E-zine article 1911 torture test which is a preview of "The Gun Digest Book Of The 1911: A Complete Look At The Use, Care and repair of the 1911 pistol", Volume 2 By Patrick Sweeney
He tests a Wilson CQB, a Kimber, a Charles daly and a RIA. The only malfuntion of any of them was during the underwater test when one gun (the preview and other excerpt I've read don't say which) bulged the barrel while firing HP ammo 3 feet underwater. Oh and the CD and RIA cycled better and more often than the CQB and Kimber during that test as well.

The bottom line is, the RIA is a well made gun and well priced to boot. I put another 100+ rounds through mine today, 4 guns, 400 rounds of ammo and a couple hours to kill makes for a nice Friday evening..

If the trigger pull seems a bit heavy or has a lot of creep, the best upgrade you could do is to get a trigger job. Have someone with a trigger pull gauge measure it. My recommendation is 4 to 4 1/2 pounds.

Nice purchase. Now you'll need to spend a couple hundred $ customizing it to your needs. Trigger group parts, grips, that nice threaded barrel you want, better sights, magazines, etc.

As for threaded barrels, you can buy them but most available are gunsmith-fit only and are threaded for compensators - not suppressors. I'd consult a competent gunsmith if you'd like to fit a suppressor to it.