I have owned a few 1911 pistols over the years ranging from an original colt commercial 1911 to a series 70 colt. I have not owned a non colt 1911 and decided that this would be the year to branch out. In no way am I a Colt fanboy it just seemed to work out that way.
I had read about the Springfield Arms Range Officer and everything about it appealed to me. Subdued flat black with target sights, all the bling on the inside and none on the outside. As a matter of fact it is very much how I set up my old series 70.
A quick call to Prophet River on Monday had the pistol to me late Wednesday, Opening the box was not a disappointment as the fit and finish was flawless. It came with the usual Springfield case that besides the pistol carried a plastic holster, mag pouch, cleaning brush and a extra magazine. I was somewhat disappointed to read before I bought the pistol that the Magazines were seven shotters. I Understand a desire for a 7 shot mag for a concealment pistol but for a range only 1911 I would prefer a good 8 shot mag.
Taking the gun to the range at the first opportunity I found the trigger to have a bit of creep and was a bit stiffer than I prefer. I hoped after a bit of shooting it would clean itself up.
Freehand at 25 yrds
Shooting did improve the trigger pull but it was still a bit creepier and harder than I prefer. It took quite a bit of focus to get this freehand group.
Freehand 25yrds
Surprisingly I had the more difficult time getting a decent group from a rest as the trigger pull seemed more pronounced with the butt of the pistol rested on the table top. I Did manage but still pulled one a bit however.
25yrds from a rest
To sum it all up, if you are thinking of a new 1911 the range officer is an awesome choice for the price point. Accuracy with my 5 year old plinking loads was very good and the pistol had no issues feeding the 230 grain Hornady flat point FMJ, however I would plan on having to do a trigger on these pistols if one were to squeeze the most out of them on a regular basis. There were no FTF or FTE during this 80 rounds. The only other thing of note was the grips loosened up.
Jody
I had read about the Springfield Arms Range Officer and everything about it appealed to me. Subdued flat black with target sights, all the bling on the inside and none on the outside. As a matter of fact it is very much how I set up my old series 70.
A quick call to Prophet River on Monday had the pistol to me late Wednesday, Opening the box was not a disappointment as the fit and finish was flawless. It came with the usual Springfield case that besides the pistol carried a plastic holster, mag pouch, cleaning brush and a extra magazine. I was somewhat disappointed to read before I bought the pistol that the Magazines were seven shotters. I Understand a desire for a 7 shot mag for a concealment pistol but for a range only 1911 I would prefer a good 8 shot mag.
Taking the gun to the range at the first opportunity I found the trigger to have a bit of creep and was a bit stiffer than I prefer. I hoped after a bit of shooting it would clean itself up.
Freehand at 25 yrds
Shooting did improve the trigger pull but it was still a bit creepier and harder than I prefer. It took quite a bit of focus to get this freehand group.
Freehand 25yrds
Surprisingly I had the more difficult time getting a decent group from a rest as the trigger pull seemed more pronounced with the butt of the pistol rested on the table top. I Did manage but still pulled one a bit however.
25yrds from a rest
To sum it all up, if you are thinking of a new 1911 the range officer is an awesome choice for the price point. Accuracy with my 5 year old plinking loads was very good and the pistol had no issues feeding the 230 grain Hornady flat point FMJ, however I would plan on having to do a trigger on these pistols if one were to squeeze the most out of them on a regular basis. There were no FTF or FTE during this 80 rounds. The only other thing of note was the grips loosened up.
Jody
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