Picked up my parked Loaded model on Wednesday, spent yesterday evening and this morning wringing it out.
Initial MeetingTaking it apart is a bitch due to the full length guide rod, the first I've ever dealt with. After that, it's a breeze. Broken down, lubed up and cleaned prior to shooting, it felt great in the hand, like a 1911 should. I'm no fan of aluminum frames, and this steel frame balances just like it's supposed to. The grips are nice cocobolo scales with deep checkering, not too sharp. Feels like somebody knocked them down before finishing them. The Springfield humped grip safety doesn't feel quite natural to me, and will likely have to go unless I can get used to it.
The trigger was set very well, with almost no travel and a hint of overtravel, feels good, if a bit heavy. I guess probably set around 6 pounds, maybe a little more. Not bad, but I prefer closer to 4-4.5 pounds. Safety was ambidextrous, easily large enough to catch with the thumb in a hurry, and had positive engagement and disengagement without being excessively heavy.
The gun was supplied with two keys and a lock in the straight mainspring housing, which effectively locks up the weapon and keeps the hammer from being moved from the down position. Locked very strongly and positively, too. That's nice, now I'll take it out.
The mags that came with the gun don't look bad, everything appears to be in spec, and they lock securely, but with the slightest bit of side-to-side play at the bottom. I think this is normal, but I'm not sure. The Novak nightsights are every bit of what I expected, and easy enough to pick up any time of day or night.
Shooting the BigmouthYesterday turned out to be a horrible range day, and I'm thankful that the firing line was covered, for the lot of good it did us with the rain blowing in from the side. Shots were taken at the fifteen yard line, with only limited checking of targets close up, since the monsoon season was apparently upon us.
The gun digested everything I gave it, including light and heavy handloads, factory target loads, and Speer Gold Dot carry loads, having no difficulties even with mixed rounds in the same magazine. It functioned perfectly for nearly two hundred rounds, right up until the time I said, "Wow, I expected it to be hell breaking this thing in." Two rounds later, "click."
The factory magazine had allowed a round to nose dive and lock up between the breech face and the feed ramp. Tap, Rack, and Bang, we're back in business.
Groupings were great, if a bit low. In fact, 4-6 inches low, using 230 grain rounds. I don't know what can be done to address this, but I'm working on it. I would rather my weapons shoot to the point of my aim. Most groups at fifteen yards were in the 2 inch range, normal for me, considering it was defensive stance and rapid fire. I'm sure it would do much better from a rest. Ejection was good, most rounds flying just over my right shoulder and about 5 feet to the rear
A return to the range this morning with some McCormick Power Magsproved equally fruitful, with many more mixed magazines going through it, including some as-yet untested handloads. All shot well, but still far too low for my liking. Another 250-300 rounds today, with one more FTF, this one from a handload with an A-Merc case. Typical problem child that I must have missed in my culling process. All those cases go in the trash, since they tend to FTF in both my Sig and my old Kimber as well. Seems to be reliable enough, factory mags and horrible ammo notwithstanding.
The McCormick Power Mags were not expected to work, since they would not lock the slide back when cycled by hand. On the range, they performed their duties admirably, and locked it back perfectly.
Close up, rapid fire shots from simulated defensive situations out to seven yards proved that the gun was still more than adequate for protection, with rounds going exactly where I wanted them to, time after time. The gun points well and the dots on the sights seem to draw my eyes to them.
ImpressionsAs stated before, this thing just feels right in the hand. The wood grips look so at home on the gun that I haven't yet decided to whether to replace them or not. This is to be a defensive carry gun, so the whole thing about not shooting to point of aim bothers me, but it can be fixed.
The parkerized finish is smooth and really uniform, and appears damn tough, part of the reason I chose that skin. After the limited use it has seen though, already the parkerizing under the travel area of the safety is showing some wear. The serrations are cut well, not too deep, and not too sharp, easily grippable even with wet or sweaty hands. Springfield touts this model as having a "carry-bevel," but if mine had it, I sure couldn't tell.
The Loaded model could probably benefit from an enlarged magazine well, but it's not too big a deal for me, an extended magazine release would also be welcome. A necessary addition though would be some sort of checkering on the smooth frontstrap, which would probably be difficult to hold with slick or sweaty hands or gloves.
I don't exactly know what the purpose is supposed to be for the full length guide rod, but I intend to find out. It better be a good one too, to make it worth the hassle when breaking the gun down. I was told to keep the allen wrench used to screw and unscrew the guide rod nearby, but in nearly five hundred rounds, it was not needed. In fact, there was no loosening of the guide rod at all.
Overall, I certainly would feel adequately armed with this weapon for the defense of my home and family, though it does have its issues that need to be addressed. This is my re-entry to the 1911 platform, and I find nothing so far to indicate I have made a poor choice of weapons.