Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

26
CDFingers wrote:
AZAndy wrote:I think you made a great choice for a first 1911. Watch out, you might catch Upgrade Fever! My Springfield GI model gradually got turned into a "race gun," which was a lot more expensive than just buying it that way in the first place-- though the learning experience was worth it. Just about every part on the things can be tweaked in some way. Should you take an interest in such things, the Kuhnhausen manuals are worthwhile.
What was the first upgrade, and why? Inquiring minds and all that.

CDFingers
I had the slide milled for Novaks, ‘cause GI sights are ridiculous. Lots more after that, but that was the single biggest improvement.
Reunite Pangea!

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

27
AZAndy wrote:
CDFingers wrote:
AZAndy wrote:I think you made a great choice for a first 1911. Watch out, you might catch Upgrade Fever! My Springfield GI model gradually got turned into a "race gun," which was a lot more expensive than just buying it that way in the first place-- though the learning experience was worth it. Just about every part on the things can be tweaked in some way. Should you take an interest in such things, the Kuhnhausen manuals are worthwhile.
What was the first upgrade, and why? Inquiring minds and all that.

CDFingers
I had the slide milled for Novaks, ‘cause GI sights are ridiculous. Lots more after that, but that was the single biggest improvement.
Thanks for that. For now, the existing sights are better than I am. I will keep shooting it to get used to it, so I'll keep various options open. My biggest challenge now is getting range time factored into my schedule. Retirement is very busy--if you're married! :yes:

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

28
CDFingers wrote:
AZAndy wrote:
CDFingers wrote:
AZAndy wrote:I think you made a great choice for a first 1911. Watch out, you might catch Upgrade Fever! My Springfield GI model gradually got turned into a "race gun," which was a lot more expensive than just buying it that way in the first place-- though the learning experience was worth it. Just about every part on the things can be tweaked in some way. Should you take an interest in such things, the Kuhnhausen manuals are worthwhile.
What was the first upgrade, and why? Inquiring minds and all that.

CDFingers
I had the slide milled for Novaks, ‘cause GI sights are ridiculous. Lots more after that, but that was the single biggest improvement.
Thanks for that. For now, the existing sights are better than I am. I will keep shooting it to get used to it, so I'll keep various options open. My biggest challenge now is getting range time factored into my schedule. Retirement is very busy--if you're married! :yes:

CDFingers
Your Mil-Spec has actual sights on it; the GI model had dinky invisible ones. For Bullseye, you're probably good to go as-is! They stopped making the GI model soon after I got one-- I don't think they were very popular.
Reunite Pangea!

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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Congratulations on an excellent purchase!

You said you intend to use it for Bullseye shooting, and you shot it one-handed on your first range trip.

If you are going to shoot it primarily that way (which is what the pistol was designed for), the GI grip safety should be just fine. The beavertails are mostly for two handed shooters who want to hold very high.

My first upgrade on all my 1911s is a fixed Dawson black target rear sight, fiber optic front sight. Second upgrade is a tapered magwell. Both upgrades are for action shooting. If I was shooting Bullseye style (and my eyes could make out the teeny GI front sight), I wouldn't do either upgrade.
"To initiate a war of aggression...is the supreme international crime" - Nuremberg prosecutor Robert Jackson, 1946

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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CDFingers wrote:Good info. So far, I've not shot it enough to wonder about upgrades. Yeah, I'll just shoot it one handed. I tried a two handed hold at home and it felt weird. :ugeek:

CDFingers
Embrace the weird! Congratulations on going orthodox.
I don't like to think of my self as an artist so much as someone who stares at empty spaces and imagines s--t.

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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That's a great looking gun! Man, I'd love to get a 1911 once I turn 21, but Lord knows they are expensive.

Although, I did hear that they are planning to release the original WW1 and WW2 productions. Anyone know if the general price of 1911's might go down in the future because of it?
Look how he abused me, how he beat me, how he threw me down and robbed me.
Abandon such thoughts, and you will live in love.

- Guatama Buddha

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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levit123 wrote:That's a great looking gun! Man, I'd love to get a 1911 once I turn 21, but Lord knows they are expensive.

Although, I did hear that they are planning to release the original WW1 and WW2 productions. Anyone know if the general price of 1911's might go down in the future because of it?
Quality is expensive. I paid around eight bills for this. A genuine surplus one in good condition will cost about the same. If I collected a surplus one I'd probably not shoot it much, shooting this new one instead.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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Round count now: 140

Today my wife had a one hour, so I dropped her off and hit the indoor range with fiddy .45's from Sportsman's Warehouse because I FAILED to get my reloads done due to not getting the taper crimp correct. I knew this hour was coming, so I wanted to have fifty of my own. But these are things that should not be rushed, reloads.

I'd read in Handloader where dangerous pressure levels could be reached quite easily in the .45ACP with just a small, too-deep seat. I was quite wary. With my revolvers I'm experienced, but this is my first center fire semi auto pistol. I figure it pays to be careful. After all, there's no screeching hurry to get any reloads done. No saber toothed zombies prowling round needing this specific pistol to dispatch them when the .357 is loaded and ready at a moment's notice. So American Eagle it was again, one box in about thirty or forty minutes.

Still shooting one handed from 15 yards, the last trip I had kept my right thumb straight along the body of the pistol. But I researched since then and found the curled, more natural, thumb to be the way this pistol was taught to be fired. I did it this time. Last time I hooked quite a few more shots to the left. This time not so much. Also this time I did not shoot lower than the black, and I got all fifty within the 5 ring. Actually all but two within the 6 ring in this 25 yard slow fire pistol target from Downrange Chico, if you count that one on the border between the 5 and 6 as a 6. Which I would--wouldn't you? All holes appear in the scan below, where the top of the target is on the right, with the words right side up. I put it this way in my dinky scanner.
scan0004.jpg
As you can see, the majority of the rounds hit above center. I was holding the top of the sights around the eight ring low at six o'clock, so I think next time I'll hold at six o'clock at the bottom of the black. Now, the curled thumb had an ancillary advantage in that I did not get some small discomfort in the web of my thumb, on the left hand side, as I did last time--remember last time I shot 90, so there's that. But I think an added 40 rounds would not change the situation in that thumb web. I think I was holding strongly against the grip with the thumb pressing right, where with the curled thumb this is not necessary. It's more "natural," which I think in this instance is a good thing.

The trigger snaps a bit better than last time, but it's still not as crisp as, say, my Vaquero or as the GP100 in single action. Now, both those guns have had several thousand rounds through them. This one, 140, so I'm not yet going to do anything. After 5 or 600 I can consider whether I want to polish various surfaces or what not.

I'll shoot the Bullseye 14 with this, and with both other center fires, and with the MKII. That way I can begin to gather decent data. I have no idea what that will show, but you gotta have data before you interpret it.

All in all a way better way to kill an hour waiting for my wife than dinkin' around on the internet and drinking beer--which is what I'm doing now. :clap:

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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CD I’m assuming your saving the brass you shoot for reloading. I ran across this problem when I was saving brass. Some manufacturers are using small pistol primers in their rounds while others use the standard large pistol primers. Makes for a PIA when reloading.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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Larch wrote:I think it's just the .22/45 version of the Mark III, which is a kinda strange, inconvenient design feature. The old pre-Mark I Ruger Standard also has this issue.
I have a Ruger Standard and I am starting to question who the bright Wunderbunny was who possessed it before me. Much pitting and grime when I got it (necessitating full teardown and removal of bluing to get it acceptable) and it's NEVER locked back. Didn't think it was designed to but now that I'm around Smart People (tm) I learn anew! Thanks for that-- I'll start taking a look at the internals and see if mine is rounded off. Still shoot the wings off a fly though!

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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TrueTexan wrote:CD I’m assuming your saving the brass you shoot for reloading. I ran across this problem when I was saving brass. Some manufacturers are using small pistol primers in their rounds while others use the standard large pistol primers. Makes for a PIA when reloading.
I am saving. I made 50 primed so far, and the small primers fit fine. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the warning.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

42
Added another 49 shots to the round count, bringing it up to 189. This post reference this one about Shooting Russian Style

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=45858&hilit=Russian

Except for about five that I shot rapidly, all these were shot one handed at fifteen yards, this time Russian Style. That is, bringing the pistol up from a 45 degree position fairly quickly, before slowing down at the top, and squeezing at this moment. All 49 are in there. 49 because I think a gun with no bullets produces an imbalance in the cosmic forces.
target49.jpg
This time I leveled the sight at six o'clock where the black meets the white. That seems about the proper Tennessee elevation.

I bent my elbow just a bit more than usual and found it actually more accurate. So, maybe 400 more rounds before I decide about the trigger. It's still wearing in, as I see it.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack
Attachments
target49.jpg

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

43
I made some ammo reviews using this pistol, and I decided that the reviews were more about the ammo running in my pistol than they were about the ammo. I'll leave the two reviews where they are but will paste them into this thread. Also, subsequent ammo reviews using this pistol will go on this thread.

Sorry for the indecision, folks. Things happen. 8-)
Yeah, steel case. Yeah, Russian. Yeah, one-handed. But, hey. Great price point at about ten bucks a box of fiddy. So I figured I'd figure to see whether my Springer milspec would run it. Short answer, yes, it does. Its reputation, the Springfield 1911, is that it eats anything. This box held about the 500th round I've shot out of this pistol since I bought it. Out of 500 rounds of four kinds of ammo, so far: it eats everything. No stove pipes. No fail to feed. No fail to eject.

I'd gone to shoot the last part of this current Bullseye with my GP100 .357mag with the Stealie gripz. Thought I'd warm up on the .45. Turns out the .45 with what ever ammo is much more pleasant to shoot than the American Eagle .357mag I'd selected. One would think that Rooskie ammo in the Holy US 1911 would somehow suffer tissue rejection at the worst, or at the least we'd see some disagreements with respect to something or other. But that was not the case. This ammo was as accurate and predictable as the American Eagle I'd shot last time. Who knew?

Were this to have been in a magazine or something, I would have chronied it to see. But it's not, so I didn't. Several websites list it as 850 fps, which is what J. Moses B. had in mind when he led us to the promised land. When you examine all 50 rounds below, you'll see that the ammo is better than I. I think it prints slightly lower than the American Eagle .45acp I've shot mostly. However, when the casual observer examines the target, he or she would find that when and if the shooter does his part, this ammo is very consistent at 15 yards. Since it's so inexpensive, I'm going to shoot some more of it.

Yeah, it's upside down. I've not got the hang of my elf-sized scanner. So sue me. :wtf:

targ1.jpg

.357 report will be down in Bullseye when I make the post.
CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

44
Being a long time revolver guy, owning a center fire semi auto pistol presents me with questions I've never asked myself about revolvers. All ammo of the proper caliber and chambering "runs" in all revolvers. Only thing to pay attention to is whether it'll blow up your gun. 8-) Not so with semis. Hanging out in one's LGS allows eavesdropping on conversations in front of the now-locked-up (California) ammo shelves, which is where you'll hear tales of fails to feed, to fire, to eject, tales of stovepipes and dirty actions, and other talk of semi-woes, that this gun or that gun runs or doesn't run this or that ammo. Tales? Fugeddaboudit. I'm a-gonna test, I says to myself.

A proper test would cover all variables. This is not proper. :roll: It's a pretty specific test like the last one, fraught with uncontrolled variables--perfect for a range trip, eh. As if a reason were needed.

One handed Bullseye style at 15 yards, one box. This test is the Sellier & Bellot 230 gr .45 acp, FMJ, brass cased.
targ2.jpg
At least this time I got the pic right side up. I noticed some things. The flash color was different from the Tula I reviewed last time. Where the Tula flash is more orange, this flash is more golden. After 50 rounds, again not a single fail to anything in my Springfield 1911 milspec. Flawless function. The advertised velocity is a very precise 853 fps. Didn't chrony this either. Accuracy was comparable, and the recoil was the same. Here we see 9 out of the black where with the Tula there were 11 out of the black. Except for the three in the lower left that I pulled, this S&B seems to have produced a tighter group than the Tula--this might have more to do with my trying to eliminate that pull to the lower left than it does with the ammo (the Tula pic is upside down). I'll have to do this several more times so a pattern emerges, but one thing for sure, the brass is beautiful.
CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

45
This time I tried some Italian ammo, Perfecta. Here are ten rounds off a rest at 7 yards, shot slowly and carefully. Not stellar accuracy. Hold was on the bull center.

[pic lost in database fungoo]


While the ammo itself is lovely--sort of golden in color cartridge and bullet rather than brass and copper as one would expect, it recoils snappier, like a .40 rather than the .45 I'd been shooting. The Springer ate it easily and each round functioned perfectly.
P1010344.JPG


Very happy with this pistol, especially with American Eagle .45 acp.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack
Attachments
scan0004.jpg

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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It's been almost a year. I have a hard count of 740 rounds, but I have a couple more empty boxes.

I had never cleaned it until today. My son flew up to help me with some gnarly yard work and as a reward, we spent a couple hours stripping and cleaning this guy. Here's the barrel.

P1010364.JPG

It's really quite lovely in there, all variegated and marked like you're looking at the world from the inside of a piece of licorice striped candy. Now, I'd shot just about every brand of ammo I can get up here in northern California. Not a fail to feed, not a fail to eject, not a fail to fire. 100% success. Even with Tula or Blazer Brass. They left some dirt, yes. The inside of the body was worse.

P1010358.JPG

Zoom in on that mess: click it then use Control +

Now it's all shiny and stainless-ee and such. My schedule has been so tight I've only dry fired it for maybe a couple months. I'm gonna have to open up some time to shoot some matches and get it dirty again. Not used to it being so clean.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

Re: My new Springer 1911 mil spec

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lurker wrote: Sun Nov 03, 2019 7:26 am part of the joy of 1911s is that they like it dirty,
I clean my rifles right after I shoot corrosive milsurp ammo. I like it that the Springer likes it dirty. I don't like to over clean. That doesn't work for houses, though--just task my wife.

CDFingers
Crazy cat peekin' through a lace bandana
like a one-eyed Cheshire, like a diamond-eyed Jack

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