{"id":331905,"date":"2022-09-26T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/?p=331905"},"modified":"2022-09-26T08:24:31","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T14:24:31","slug":"a-tribute-to-the-1911a1-springfield-armorys-mil-spec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/a-tribute-to-the-1911a1-springfield-armorys-mil-spec\/","title":{"rendered":"A tribute to the 1911A1 \u2014 Springfield Armory’s Mil-Spec"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 1911 is older than all of us. Much, much older. Yet the venerable over-built single-stack with laughable capacity still continues to enthrall gun nuts who will go to war over the platform\u2019s relevance. And the Springfield Armory Mil-Spec is where many of them get their start.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Mil-Spec line are all full-size, 5″ 1911s in .45 ACP.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For me, it started with history. I own some guns that are nothing but tools. But I also have a modest collection of historical pieces. Not one of them has any collector\u2019s value, though, because I don\u2019t own a single gun that I can\u2019t shoot. And that\u2019s really what makes Springfield one of my absolute favorite gun makers.<\/p>\n

\"The
The stainless barrel on the Mil-Spec is paired with a stainless barrel bushing\u2014another deviation from the historical 1911A1s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The basic 1911<\/h2>\n

Any attempt to truly catalog the variations in the 1911 platform would need to be in book form, and not an article. The problem with books, though, is that they tend to take a long time to write, and updates are complicated. The way that the 1911 continues to evolve (as it has again with the Prodigy) means the updates to a definitive book would be damn-near impossible to make.<\/p>\n

\"muzzle
The Mil-Spec is my 15-year-old’s favorite handgun, and the Mil-Spec bridges that gap between Hollywood, history, Call-of-duty, and the range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the purposes of brevity, I\u2019ll consider the Mil-Spec up against a couple of 1911 benchmarks\u2014the simple 1911, the 1911A1, and then some of the more widely accepted post 1911A1 updates.<\/p>\n

\"3-dot
Unlike many early 1911s, the Mil-Spec has 3-dot sights that are far easier to pick up in low light.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I could do almost all of this comparison in Springfield Armory\u2019s catalog. This crew knows their single actions. I\u2019ve yet to run any of their custom guns, but I\u2019ve shot most of what\u2019s in their production catalog and have nothing but respect.<\/p>\n

And that catalog, now, opens with the Mil-Spec line. They used to make a G.I. model that was even a bit more affordable, but this is the starting point for their 1911s and for anyone who is looking for an American-made military homage.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield
The front sight is not the typical width of a traditional blade, but it has the extra dot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It looks like an A1<\/h2>\n

The Mil-Spec is parkerized. The gun has checkered wooden (or wood composite) grips. The sights, while not true hump-and-bumps, are inspired by the old military-sized sights.<\/p>\n

And like a 1911A1, the Mil-Spec has an arched mainspring housing that is lined for a bit of extra grip. The front strap is not checkered.<\/p>\n

\"The
The mainspring housing has an arc, like the 1911A1, and it adds some texture to the grip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you want to get technical, neither the cocobolo grips nor the wood composite ones are true-to-form. The A1 did away with the old double-diamond checkered grips, but that likely was a move that was phased out slowly. Either way, they weren\u2019t cocobolo, and they didn\u2019t have Springfield\u2019s crossed-cannon logo, either.<\/p>\n

\"The
The composite wood grips on the Mil-Spec add character and look more like the grips on an A1.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And the Mil-Spec\u2019s sights are three-dot sights. They\u2019re basic, but they\u2019re steel. And they\u2019re a lot faster than the old A1 sights, for sure.<\/p>\n

The upgrades like this, as well as a cut on the ejection port that helps with ejection\u2014aren\u2019t 100% historically accurate. If you want a bog-standard 1911A1, this isn\u2019t it. But that wasn\u2019t what Springfield was going for. This is, after all, an homage.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Mil-Spec has a typically narrow single-stack mag well. Mag changes take some aim and precision.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, the Mil-Spec (at least in its parkerized version) is close enough. It is mostly historically accurate. If you are looking for a way to experience history\u2014to feel what it would have been like\u2014this is a great way to do it.<\/p>\n

But it isn\u2019t just a showpiece for a living history museum. This is a fully functional, reliable, and affordable way to get into an American-made 1911, too.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Mil-Spec models come with either one or two 7-round magazines. That’s not enough for a 1911. You will want more. Many more.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mil-Spec variants<\/h2>\n

There are four of these on the books now. The two CA compliant versions have the cocobolo grips and come with two seven-round mags. One of these is stainless.<\/p>\n

\"Markings
Markings on the Mil-Spec are minimal. The left side has the name, but not much else.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other two have a more interesting name. These are the \u201cDefend Your Legacy Series 1911 Mil-Spec Handgun\u201d models. Again, one is parkerized and one is stainless. These come with simple checkered grips (more in line with those of an A1, though they\u2019re made of the aforementioned \u201cwood composite\u201d). They ship with just one mag.<\/p>\n

As I’m currently writing for a company that specializes in making magazines affordable and readily available, I feel compelled to point out that one is not enough. This is a 1911, after all, and the 1911 is a platform that only performs as well as its magazine. Springfield’s mags are solid, but there are so many other options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The
The steel sights on the Mil-Spec are held by standard dovetails, which might make adding many of the aftermarket sights a job for a gunsmith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pricing begins at $709 and runs up to $898.<\/p>\n

Shooting the Mil-Spec<\/h2>\n

In many respects, the Mil-Spec shoots like a solid 1911. It is heavy, but so are all 1911s. The grip is large, but not larger than any other 1911. You may have to stretch to reach some of the controls, just like you would on the rest of this platform.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield
Note the slightly enlarged grip-safety nub. It is hardly a beaver tail, but it cuts down on some of the hammer bite. Also, the slide serrations on the 1911A1 are vertical. These are canted forward slightly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The addition of the three-dot sights makes accuracy more efficient. The gun has a match-grade barrel. Like many 1911s, the Mil-Spec will test your skills. The gun is as good as you are.<\/p>\n

Cocobolo has a tight grain and is a dense, oily wood. That doesn\u2019t make it a bad choice for grips, but it lacks some of the tooth of walnut. And there\u2019s no texture on the front strap. This will make you work on your grip. The wood composite grips, though, feel really close to the originals.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Mil-Spec puts up solid accuracy. I shot the steel once from 25 yards (the low shot) then used that as a point of aim for the next three. I’m slightly high\/left, but not a bad group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you really are looking for something more, Springfield makes many 1911s with aggressive checkering and upgrades grip materials that will stick to skin like Velcro. But that wasn\u2019t part of the classic design.<\/p>\n

\"Springfield
The match-grade barrels on these are solid upgrades over most of the other entry-level 1911s. This gun performs well out of the box.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Springfield Armory makes the best American-made homage to the classic 1911A1: The Mil-Spec. But there’s more to this gun than a historical knock-off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":332535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2333],"tags":[247,261],"class_list":["post-331905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-firearm-reviews","tag-springfield-armory","tag-261"],"small_media_thumbnail":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Springfield-Armory-Mil-Spec-1911-review-300x225.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331905"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332732,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331905\/revisions\/332732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunmagwarehouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}